Dark Waters (Once Upon a Time)

Opening sequence

A giant squid called kraken is featured in the forest.

Event chronology

The Enchanted Forest events take place at the time of the first Dark Curse, after Emma decided to stay in Storybrooke in "Pilot" (which is when time started moving again the Enchanted Forest, according to "Broken") and before the curse is broken in "A Land Without Magic". The Storybrooke events take place after "Street Rats".

In the characters' past

During the period of the first Dark Curse, Hook is yelling at his crew on the Jolly Roger when he is soon confronted by an unknown man who snuck aboard the vessel. But just as Hook is about to kill the unwanted guest, a Submarine appears, and the mysterious man pushes Hook into the ocean, jumping in after him. Hook then wakes up aboard the Nautilus and meets the stowaway, revealed to be Captain Nemo, who wants Hook to help out with a mission and shows him an enchanted spear blade to make a point. Nemo is aware about Hook's vengeance and knows the feeling too well as he wants revenge also. Inside the caverns, Hook and Nemo search the area and makes friends with a crewman who tells Hook that he also wants revenge on the person who killed his family. Out of nowhere a giant squid attacks Hook upon reaching the location and Nemo uses the spear on the squid, allowing the crewman to save Hook.

As Nemo opens the treasure chest, he reveals a key to the gateway of the "Mysterious Island," where they can each start a new life that was devoid of loss. During their conversation, Hook recognizes a blade on Nemo’s desk, causing him to inquire about the crewman, and discovered that it belonged to his half-brother Liam, who is revealed to be the person that accompanied Hook and Nemo. As Hook decides to leave so he wouldn't face Liam, Nemo tries to stop him, but Liam discovers the truth and tries to stab Hook. However, Nemo takes the hit and Hook escapes. As Liam holds a dying Nemo, Hook escapes off the ship. Nemo is able to survive, but only by going to the Mysterious Island, where his life is paused.

In Storybrooke

In the present day, Regina stands outside of Zelena’s house, calling out the Evil Queen, and gets her and Zelena's attention, unaware that it was a ploy to free Archie (still in his cricket form), and succeeds. When Zelena and the Evil Queen hear Robin crying, they are given a warning from Regina, Snow, and David, and disappeared.

At Granny's, Aladdin, who no longer sees himself as The Savior, is being convinced by Jasmine to help save Agrabah. When he leaves, she calls Emma for help. Emma later found Aladdin trying to steal a car, then takes him to the city line to show him that like him, she has run from her duty as the Savior many times. Suddenly Aladdin opened up to Emma about what happened in Agrabah. When they returned, Aladdin apologized to Jasmine, who told him the kingdom disappeared after he left.

As Emma goes searching for Aladdin, Henry, who was at home with Hook, goes outside to take out the trash, and the Evil Queen appears to tell Henry that Hook has kept the Fates’ Shears inside a box instead of burying them as he told Emma. When Hook leaves the house to look for Henry, he realizes that Henry knows the truth. and headed to the docks to stop Henry from throwing the Shears into the ocean. As Henry becomes furious with Hook over why he lied to Emma, out of nowhere crewmen from the Nautilus take Hook and Henry hostage and bring them to the submarine. On board as prisoners, Hook opens up to Henry about how he killed his father, after he abandoned him and Liam, and later learning his father remarried and also had a new son, which Hook tells Henry it was too much for him to handle. As the two find a way to escape, they can find only one suit, so Hook insists on Henry to use it to alert Emma and after he escaped Hook is suddenly confronted by his half-brother Liam, who explains that Hyde took Nemo to the Mysterious Island, revealed to be the Land of Untold Stories. Henry, realizing that Hook is family, returned to distract Liam, allowing Hook to knock his brother out.

At the hospital, Snow and David brings in one of the new citizens from the Land of Untold Stories, who has been seriously injured, while Snow helps out Belle in the waiting room, ready for her first ultrasound without Gold, who by the way was catching on the Evil Queen's deception involving the Shears (of Destiny, as Gold called it), which he wanted to acquire to change the destiny of his unborn child, but she lies to him that they're gone. Later on, Hook visit Liam at the hospital where he learns that the unidentifiable patient was Captain Nemo, who will survive after being treated and Nemo forgave Liam. Hook comes clean to Emma about the Shears and that he and Henry disposed of them for good and she forgave Hook. Belle later dropped a picture of the ultrasound at the door of the Pawn Shop as The Evil Queen visits and seduces Gold, but didn't walk in. The Evil Queen then shows Gold the Shears she just retrieved from the ocean after having told Henry earlier that she didn't want them, and proposes a plan with Gold's help, which is to take Snow's heart.

Production

Ratings

The episode posted its lowest numbers so far in the series, as it placed a 0.9/3 rating among 18-49s with 3.04 million viewers tuning in. The drop was due to the competition from both the 2016 World Series on FOX (the night's top rated program) and Sunday Night Football on NBC.

Reviews