Once Upon a Time “Birth” and “The Bear King” 

Birth

Why is it that with every question answered, two more are raised? This week we’re treated to the Big Reveal that Emma’s final transformation to the Dark Swan was actually an act of love. She has been enduring the criticism of friends and family for weeks, when she alone knew that the price she paid was nothing compared to the loss she would otherwise face.

As usual with this show, the heroes have just managed to gather all the pieces together when some villain comes along and forces them to give them up. Emma risked herself to retrieve the spark, but Arthur wants it to use for himself. With Merlin still bound to Excalibur and Emma’s family held captive things look bad, but Emma is smarter than Arthur gives her credit for. She traps Zelena with ease, and talks Merlin into fighting against Arthur’s control. Hook takes the opportunity to slip out of his bonds and knock Arthur on his ass. Finally. Someone had to do it. Sadly, Hook was nicked by Excalibur, setting up the need for the sacrifice from Emma. After all, Excalibur is an enchanted sword, and the wounds it inflicts never heal.

No doubt these actions by Arthur are heading towards another big reveal and a turnabout in his attitude, but for now he and Zelena deserve each other. They both share the same petulant mindset, where nothing is their fault, and nothing is fair. They sound like whining children. I sincerely hope that Arthur has a change of heart, and soon. If not, somebody better put him out of his misery. After all, he doesn’t have much to complain about. Merlin promised him a kingdom, and even with only half a sword, Arthur is still king of Camelot. He has Guinevere as his queen. He has knights who are loyal to him. And yet, this issue of the broken sword still has him gunning for Merlin’s life.

In Storybrooke, Emma has taken both Hook and Zelena back to her dungeon. The plan is simple. Force the darkness into Zelena, then kill her with Excalibur. The Dark One would be vanquished forever. Emma doesn’t seem to see all the holes in her master plan, the biggest of which is that giving Zelena all that power is begging for trouble. But her plans are thwarted before she can begin. Hook and Zelena escape the dungeon, and the truth behind her actions is finally revealed. To save Hook’s life she made him a Dark One in his own right. Now they’re forever joined, but it’s not by love.

It will be interesting to see how Hook handles this new power. Will he stand with Emma, or will he fight against her?

The Bear King

After losing the sword to Emma, Arthur decides to travel to Dunbroch to find the enchanted helmet he tried to win once before. Merida is about to be crowned queen, her people have seen that she’s a capable leader, but of course it’s not that easy. The enchanted helmet has tainted the reign of her father the Bear King, and she needs to set things right before she can claim her crown.

It feels like a cruel trick played by the witch who produced the helmet in the first place. She promised King Fergus that the helmet would allow him to protect the kingdom, and yet he was killed in the very battle he needed to win. How Arthur heard about the helmet so soon is anyone’s guess, but he lead his knights on a quest to find it, killed King Fergus to acquire it, and found it to be a fake. Strange that he’d turn back to it again after losing Excalibur, but at least with Zelena’s magic he has a better chance of finding the real thing this time.

Merida has her own struggles with the helmet. She lost faith in her father when she thought he used it to rally his troops to fight. She lost faith in herself when she faced off against Zelena’s magic and lost. But in the end, the witch’s trick turned out to be for the best. Merida learns the truth about the helmet; her father threw it away unused. Her faith is restored, her kingdom is safe, and she is finally crowned as the rightful queen.

Moment of Goodness: Sacrifice

As Hook lies dying on the floor and everyone has realized that repairing Excalibur means his death, he asks Emma to align the blades so he can see it repaired before he goes. It was a valiant effort to manipulate her into staying in the light, but he was doomed to fail. It was a lovely moment, and ultimately the catalyst that forced Emma’s change.

Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8/7c on ABC.