Speculation WITHOUT Spoilers: Lalalalala! I can't hear you!

[OnceUponAJen]

I'm not exactly sure what Dark One Emma is going to look like. It won't be like Imp!Rumple, because that's Carlyle's creation. I can only think that it might lead her to be very withdrawn, joyless....maybe she won't even believe that she can be saved. I hope her family keeps a tight hold on the dagger!

[Watt]

Maybe she'll get a bit slutty and finally sleep with Hook.

Edited May 12, 2015 by Watt

[RadioGirl27]

As for Emma going DO: at most I can see her maybe struggle at dealing with things, but I can't see her going evil.

Logically, given what we've seen of Rumple as the Dark One, no. But given that it's TS, TW, I expect them to have Emma be more evil than Regina at her village-slaughtering worst.

 

I hope not. It's one thing for Evil!Snow to crush Doc's heart in an AU. It would be babynapping levels of character destruction if Emma goes slaughtering villages like Regina--excuse me--the Evil Queen--did. A&E won't go that far with Emma. She may end up offing someone though--to protect Hook or something like that.

 

Yeah, one thing is what logic dictates and another completely different thing is what A&E would do. So I'm sure they are going to have Emma do some terrible things. That way they can drag the angst for two seasons: season 5, Emma is the Dark One; season 6, Emma is so traumatized for the things she did as the DO that she pushes her family away.

 

I'm not exactly sure what Dark One Emma is going to look like.

I expect lots of dark make-up and cleavage.

 

But you know what I fear the most about next season? The "cute" Rumbelle/Outlaw Queen moments they would include to try to compensate the lack of Captain Swan cute moments.

Edited May 12, 2015 by RadioGirl27

[Mari]

But you know what I fear the most about next season? The "cute" Rumbelle/Outlaw Queen moments they would include to try to compensate the lack of Captain Swan cute moments.

Gaaaah!

I hadn't even thought about that, and now it's stuck in my brain.   

 

Yeah, one thing is what logic dictates and another completely different thing is what A&E would do. So I'm sure they are going to have Emma do some terrible things.

I think it really will depend on what they hear over the next several weeks.

 

If they hear a lot of "Yay!  Dark Emma!  Go!" stuff, I think we'll likely get a lot of Evil Emma.  If they get a lot of really negative feedback, they could drop it like they did Tamara, Greg, and home office.

[OnceUponAJen]

But you know what I fear the most about next season? The "cute" Rumbelle/Outlaw Queen moments they would include to try to compensate the lack of Captain Swan cute moments.

If there is going to be a lack of Captain Swan, and I suppose there will be, I propose that they shoot the moments during last half season that happened in Offscreensville to compensate. CS flashbacks galore...the missing six weeks, everything.

[YaddaYadda]

Maybe she'll get a bit slutty and finally sleep with Hook.

 

Well...that's nice...I guess?

 

I've been wondering about something and the reason why Snow was the Evil Queen in the AU and why David was not so great either (though I didn't mind him at all, plus he was hot with the clothes, the scruff and the guyliner)...

 

Hook this season tried to explain to Emma how darkness is something that creeps up on you and you don't really get it until it's too late.  He's walked on the dark side, he lost himself in it.  But Snowing never did.  Snowing got their cherries popped (eh might as well) during the AU.  Now they both know what it's like to be a villain, to have that darkness in you.  I'd like to think the writers did that because they have in mind that Emma will need her parents to really have an understanding of what she's going through and her struggles.

 

Or at least that's what I'm hoping for.  One of the things that has severely lacked in the relationship between Emma and her parents (and by that, I mean her mother), is understanding.  So I'm hoping that it will rectified in some way during season 5.

 

ETA -

 

The scene in the beginning, when they finally released that old guy from Hook and Belle's board that they pretended they never heard about and had no idea where he lived...[/sarcasm]

 

So I was wondering about something.  The Apprentice technically should know everyone and who they are.  He knew who Lily was and where to find her, he had that sort of lengthy talk with Henry, he apparently knew exactly what was going on with Isaac from inside the hat because his first words were that they needed to stop Isaac and how he thought no one would ever want to release him again.

 

During his little speech he sort of stopped talking for a second and looked at Hook like he was surprised to find him there.  And it's one of those scenes that's done on purpose.  I'm fully expecting Tim Weber to be back next season and it sort of got me wondering if there wasn't more going on there.

 

The Apprentice seems to know everything and everyone and his reaction to Hook was just weird, I guess.  At first, I thought it had to do with Emma but I'm really doubtful on that now because of the way Hook acted in that scene.  He averted his eyes and looked ashamed...

 

Any thoughts?  Too soon to speculate?

Edited May 12, 2015 by YaddaYadda

[Shanna Marie]

One thing I'm worried about for next season is that there doesn't seem to be any room for hope or levity. Emma is in a dire situation and may or may not be an antagonist, and that will affect all the other characters. Snow and David are her parents, Hook is desperately in love with her, and Henry is her son. I don't see how any of them are going to be able to make too many snarky remarks other than when they're getting surly and frustrated with each other and the situation, and that's not really the funny kind of snarky. There's not going to be a lot of room for awe and wonder or adorableness or adorkableness, or anything like that. I suppose Regina can remain as narcissistic as ever and comment on their wardrobe and hair while they're desperately trying to save their loved one, but it won't help her character much, given that this happened because Emma was trying to save her. Even Robin might be a little sad, if only because to him Emma is a woman he might have been stranded with for twenty minutes at some point in the future so he had no choice but to move on with his life with her.

[Curio]

During his little speech he sort of stopped talking for a second and looked at Hook like he was surprised to find him there. And it's one of those scenes that's done on purpose. [...] At first, I thought it had to do with Emma but I'm really doubtful on that now because of the way Hook acted in that scene. He averted his eyes and looked ashamed...

 

I thought The Apprentice was giving Hook that stare because Hook was the one who pinned him down and watched Rumple suck him into the hat. He was basically giving Hook the stink eye I expected Blue and the fairies would have given him when they were released from the hat in "Darkness on the Edge of Town."

 

One thing I'm worried about for next season is that there doesn't seem to be any room for hope or levity.

 

This is where I hope they use the flashbacks properly and show us scenes from the 6 weeks we missed after Rumple left town. It'd be nice to parallel some of the current drama with scenes like Emma and Hook going on a date, or Charming and Snow having dinner with Emma, or even how Emma and Regina somehow managed to become "friends." But we'll probably be stuck with flashbacks about random characters from Camelot or round 785029834 of Regina vs. Snow in the Enchanted Forest.

 

(Also, if the Dark One smoke monster made Emma disappear to another land like Camelot, can we please get an episode where we parallel Hook's magic bean search for Emma from Season 3 with his current search to find her in Season 5? Pretty please? No? Should I move this to the wishes thread instead because it probably has zero chance of ever happening?)

[pezgirl7]

The Apprentice seems to know everything and everyone and his reaction to Hook was just weird, I guess.  At first, I thought it had to do with Emma but I'm really doubtful on that now because of the way Hook acted in that scene.  He averted his eyes and looked ashamed...

 

Any thoughts?  Too soon to speculate?

I took it as that he was just surprised to see Hook there, and maybe was slightly worried, since the last time he saw Hook, Hook was holding him down to be hatted. I wanted Hook to apologize to him, but I guess there wasn't time for that, instead we got 2 long minutes of Henry running through an empty Storybrooke and a dragged out shot of a record player.

I don't see Emma being a big bad as the DO either. Even Rumple was still able to love, and didn't go around killing entire villages. I can see Emma still loving her loved ones, but maybe having a hard time dealing with her dark power. Maybe she won't want to give it up if she and the heroes have to defeat another big bad.

[OnceUponAJen]

The Dark One curse may not affect Emma outwardly if she's still in Storybrooke. I mean Rumple looked completely normal and had a relationship with Belle. However, I expect her personality and motivations may keep her apart from those she loves. They may not be able to trust her. I'm curious to see what they.have planned.

[YaddaYadda]

I thought The Apprentice was giving Hook that stare because Hook was the one who pinned him down and watched Rumple suck him into the hat. He was basically giving Hook the stink eye I expected Blue and the fairies would have given him when they were released from the hat in "Darkness on the Edge of Town."

 

 

I took it as that he was just surprised to see Hook there, and maybe was slightly worried, since the last time he saw Hook, Hook was holding him down to be hatted.

 

See, but that's the thing.  This guy knew exactly what was going on in town from inside the hat.  The Apprentice knew that Isaac had been released and that he was about to wreck havoc on everyone.  If he knew that, then he also knew that Hook was basically coerced into doing the things he did, he should know the guy nearly got his heart crushed, he should know he has changed, is in love with the Savior...Hook averted his eyes, lowered his head, he was upset about what he had done, but I thought the scene lingered a tad longer than what I was expecting.  The Apprentice just stopped talking.  Dude has fucking magic.  Powerful magic at that.  I will never understand why he was so vulnerable to Rumple and a guy holding him back who has just one hand.  It's like he let himself be trapped in the hat.

 

I guess I'm just getting the impression that there might be a lot more going on.  But it's this show...so clearly I haven't learned anything yet!

 

Also, why is everyone so stupid when it comes to this whole Dark One thing?  Emma can just leave town, plain and simple once she gets back to SB.  I like how magic doesn't work outside of Storybrooke, but we just keep everyone inside anyway.  Both Rumple and Chernabog were banished to the other side, so WTF!  

[Curio]

See, but that's the thing.  This guy knew exactly what was going on in town from inside the hat.  The Apprentice knew that Isaac had been released and that he was about to wreck havoc on everyone.  If he knew that, then he also knew that Hook was basically coerced into doing the things he did, he should know the guy nearly got his heart crushed, he should know he has changed, is in love with the Savior...

 

I'm going to say that the writers gave him a case of "omniscient but not completely omniscient." The Apprentice knew what was going on with the author because of...reasons...but he might not have known everything that was going on in town.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Curio

[KingOfHearts]

4B was like 3B in that it was simply a bridge to get from one point to another. Zelena, The Queens of Darkness and the Author were all what this show likes to call a "means to an end". They wanted the time travel and Frozen. They wanted the AU and Black Swan. While the villains got their snarky days in the sun, they were not the target of the story. They were simply the pre-show.

 

That being said, 5A has a good setup. We're not introducing a major Big Bad right away, and Emma seems to be the main focus, so I'm hoping for some main character action. There's a clear-cut goal as opposed to a reactive goal. In a sense they're reacting to the darkness in Emma, but it's not an immediate threat. Therefore, it's bent on the will of the characters to initiate #SaveEmma. What I am happy about is that she is a character that's been very unappreciated as a person and now everyone gets a chance to miss her, realizing how important she is in their lives.* I'm really hoping it's more about saving Emma and less about getting the Savior back.

 

* Hook is an exception. He's proven his true affections already. I'm speaking more of Snowing and Regina.

Edited May 13, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[LizaD]

I'm waiting to see who they cast as Merlin. That could tell us a bit more. I was thinking that if Robert is really going "see ya suckers" at the end of this season and they want to keep going for 7, then possibly Merlin could be set to take over Rump's role. If they manage to get a "biggish" tv name, it'd be a good sign. That or one of their Lost buddies.

 

It would also mean he can't possibly be a good guy cause no way in hell they put so much focus on a guest star that's a good guy. They couldn't even the story on Elsa or Anna and they had help from Disney! That Frozen arc was all Ingrid.

[YaddaYadda]

That or one of their Lost buddies.

 

I'm willing to bet Terri O'Quinn makes their short list and he would fit the role just because he's done it on Lost and A&E can't move on from Lost, so there's that.

[Souris]

I really like Terry O'Quinn, so I'd be OK with that.

[Camera One]

They promised no new characters, so maybe they'll spend all of 5A looking for a way to get to Camelot, and we'll finally get there in the 5A finale.  Too bad The Apprentice didn't open a door with his convenient little fingers before he died, eh?

[Crimson Belle]

So I got to thinking about the worst plot that TSTW vould do, and I now have a panicky fear that DarkEmma will kill Hook.

So I got to thinking about the worst plot that TSTW vould do, and I now have a panicky fear that DarkEmma will kill Hook.

[YaddaYadda]

Too bad The Apprentice didn't open a door with his convenient little fingers before he died, eh?

 

So did he actually die or just pass out?

[Souris]

I could see a parallel to Charming deliberately taking the arrow that DarkSnow meant for Regina. Maybe Hook steps in front of a spell that Emma means for somebody else. I don't think it would kill him, but could hurt him badly. Charming doing that to keep Snow's heart from darkening opened her up regaining her memory with a kiss. Perhaps something similar could happen with Hook/Emma.

 

So did he actually die or just pass out?

 

At first I thought it was unclear. But then I remembered that A&E said that a death presaged the change in condition. So I think he died.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Souris

[OnceUponAJen]

They need to command Emma with that dagger just like Anna did with Rumple....close all your loopholes!

[pezgirl7]

I hope the first thing they do is try to command her with the dagger. I then see three possibilities: it doesn't work, or she shows up and somehow gets control of the dagger, or she does appear and they all make their way to find Merlin.

I just had a thought. What if Hook pretends to go bad in order to gain Emma's trust and stay by her side? Then we can see him being all piratey and badass with Emma, without him actually reverting back or doing anything too horrible.

[LizaD]

They promised no new characters

I thought that was only for the finale? As in no new characters in finale like we did with Elsa or something? But 5A is a free for all. There's no way they'll do without a bunch of new characters. How else are they going to fill out 11 episodes? I mean there are ways but it ain't the A&E way.

[Camera One]

Oh darn.  You're right in that I'm sure they will bring on new Camelot characters for flashbacks and whatnot.  I thought maybe we won't be getting any big supporting characters on the scale of Elsa/Anna or the Queens of Darkness (though they fizzled out after a few eps).  It sounds like 5A will be Storybrooke-based, which would suggest Emma is just hiding out in the woods or something.  

 

Depending on how heavy they make the Dark-One-influence, this could result in a re-framing of how much of Rumple's crimes were due to the influence of the Darkness and the limits of his free will.  If even Emma struggles not to be cruel, then that would be a way to vindicate Rumple somewhat, at least in A&E's eyes, who seem to feel he has already taken a huge step forward by not murdering Will.

[KAOS Agent]

The Rumpel fans are already heavily proclaiming that Rumpel had no control over anything and now that the Dark One is removed, he's a redeemed good man. I find this all kinds of problematic - not the least of which is that it essentially removes all character development for the last four years. This idea would also destroy any and all development for Emma since presumably she wouldn't have any free will either and nothing she does means anything. That's just stupid as a narrative, so it's probably what we'll get. 

[Souris]

Of course they're going to use this to "redeem" Rumple and hand wave away his crimes. Muddying heroes in order to make the villains look better is their modus operandi. This time they'll sacrifice Emma on Rumple's altar.

[Camera One]

They've pretty much systematically written Snow doing almost every crime Regina has committed (killing someone's parent, carrying out the Dark Curse, ripping a baby away from their mother and depriving them of enjoying their offspring's childhood), to equalize the playing field between the two of them.  Let's hope that they don't use Emma for the same purpose, except for Rumple... if there's a scene of Emma turning someone into a bug and stepping on them, murdering mute maids, taking out people's tongues, or flaying them, I would not be pleased.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Camera One

[Souris]

Not to mention ripping out someone's heart and crushing it in front of their loved one.*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Unless she crushes Regina's heart in front of Robin. I'll find a way to be OK with that. As long as there's no take-backs.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Souris

[Camera One]

How about Emma murdering the pregnant Zelena for Regina.  

[Curio]

How about Emma murdering the pregnant Zelena for Regina.  

 

I'll allow it.

[pezgirl7]

What if Emma cuts off one of Rumple's hands, and then keeps it in a jar, and when Rumple wants it back to go on a date with Belle, Emma curses it? I'd be fine with that. Not really, but whatever.

[Souris]

I won't, because murdering a pregnant woman is across that moral event horizon. I don't want Emma to have to face that after she undarkens. And also, nothing ELSE on Regina's behalf.

[Camera One]

Yes, in A&E's words, that would be "crossing a line".  And you know that Emma would be shamed for it until the series finale if she so much as swats a butterfly, shamed along with her babynapping parents.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Camera One

[KAOS Agent]

The one thing I sort of cling to with regards to Dark!Emma is that A&E did seem to realize that they couldn't make Emma do anything too dark in 4B. They referred to not wanting it to be Once Upon an Ick. Sort of in line with Disney setting a few boundaries for certain beloved characters,  I think that there is a basic understanding that you can't take the "hope" from the show by having her sacrifice everything and becoming a horrible, evil person for real (not some random AU with no consequences) - even if it is a curse. People don't want to watch a fairy tale where Emma is a mass murderer. If we go with the direct Saviour parallel, it would be like if Jesus died on the cross and then came back and started slaughtering innocent towns. That's not the hope for salvation that the Saviour represents.

 

I'm one of those who will shut off the TV in the middle of the episode and will never return to the show if Emma crosses a moral event horizon. That would be it for me. There's shades of grey in everyone's actions, but I have no interest in them destroying Emma in this manner.

[Camera One]

5A Season Outline:

 

Episode 1: Dark Emma is a Faux Villain much like Elsa, at least in the first episode, as everyone searches for her.

 

Episode 2: Granny and Grumpy leads the mobs to protest Emma being allowed to live on Main Street.

 

Episode 3: Snow and Charming try to find another baby to transfer the darkness over, before everyone goes tsk tsk and Lily reminds them how much her life was ruined by their actions.  

 

Episode 4: Rumple and Belle have a cheeseburger on their first real date, while in flashback, we see who Rumple killed to get that useless gauntlet.

 

Episode 5: Regina tries to get through to Dark Emma in a reverse "Breaking Glass", featuring "all I want is to be your friend".

 

Episode 6: Robin is preoccupied with a pregnant Zelena, and Henry bolsters Regina's spirits with another whine basket.

 

Episode 7: It turns out Zelena is actually Evil King Arthur, who is out to sap the evil from Emma.

 

Episode 8: Evil King Arthur steals Emma's dagger and commands her to burn a sheriff's car.

 

Episode 9: Blue realizes she had a potion all along to drain Emma's darkness.

 

Episode 10: The heroes try to stop Evil King Arthur, but he has enacted the Dark Curse, transporting everyone to Camelot.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Camera One

[Selina K]

So we have the dagger with which one can summon the Dark One, the gauntlet Hook could use to find what he loves the most, locator spells ... what magical items am I missing that randomly won't work to find dark Emma because reasons?

Eta: Rumple's globe of finding people

Edited May 13, 2015 by Selina K

[Serena]

Making Merlin/Arthur evil and Morgana good is EXACTLY something this show would do, and TBH I don't think I'd mind it. I thought the show "Camelot" already went pretty close to it... they were insufferable.

 

If Robert really is about to peace out, and they get some heavyweight to play Merlin and then maybe take the DO curse on himself after hashtag Dark Swan, it would make sense.

[FurryFury]

Making Merlin/Arthur evil and Morgana good is EXACTLY something this show would do, and TBH I don't think I'd mind it. I thought the show "Camelot" already went pretty close to it... they were insufferable.

 

If Robert really is about to peace out, and they get some heavyweight to play Merlin and then maybe take the DO curse on himself after hashtag Dark Swan, it would make sense.

Well, Camelot Morgana wasn't exactly good, nowhere near it actually (hadn't she done the exactly same thing Zelena did - rape by fraud?Twice, even?), but she was played by Eva Green and I can forgive her characters everything, it seems.

 

Anyway, I would not care if Emma crossed the moral event horizon if the show wouldn't use it to whitewash Regina and Rumple. At this point I just don't give a damn. I love Emma. If she will kill pregnant Zelena, I'll be cheering for her. Or turn Robin into a bug. Or be rude to her parents. Steal someone's heart. Basically, rape is the only thing I'll find unforgivable because I can't do it ever (not that I believe she'd do any of these things, except maybe heart-snatching and rudeness).

Edited May 13, 2015 by FurryFury

[RadioGirl27]

So I got to thinking about the worst plot that TSTW vould do, and I now have a panicky fear that DarkEmma will kill Hook.

I'm pretty sure we are going to get a scene when she comes really close to kill him, maybe when he is trying to stop her for doing something horrible. And it would be a moment of realization.

About Merlin, I think he is going to be the next Rumple, the big bad for the rest of the series.

[YaddaYadda]

Depending on how heavy they make the Dark-One-influence, this could result in a re-framing of how much of Rumple's crimes were due to the influence of the Darkness and the limits of his free will.

 

And that would be bullshit of the highest level.  What about when Rumple was on the side of heroes and did the right thing?  In 4x08, there was a whole scene between him and Emma that was fantastic and sort of explained the character more.  Rumple is a weak man, period.  He is everything Emma is not.  Rumple like Regina never feels that what he has is enough.  He was after the hat for years so to remove the control the dagger had over him.  So what he did this season was nothing new.  He was willing to kill to get what he wanted.

 

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  This is who Rumple is.  He wanted to be the most powerful sorcerer there was, he wanted to have his cake and eat it too in his real life and in the AU.  And even in the AU, he reverted to his old self.  There is no amount of apologies and I have/had to do this/it that will make him look good.  

 

So them saying that it was all the Dark One's powers?  Not buying it.  It might've started out as wanting to do the noble thing, save his son from the Ogres War, but it devolved into something else entirely.  He wanted to hold on to his power and then some, so no, I can't look past that and I will call bullshit if they decide that the Dark One is responsible for everything disgusting Rumple ever did.  Like HELL NO!

 

Also, Merlin seems to be a bit of a bumbling fool.

 

He tethered a human soul to the Dark One after he won his battle against it/him and created the dagger to be able control him, but the fool likely lost the dagger which means he lost control over the Dark One.

 

He creates a hat that can let the Dark One not be controlled by the dagger anymore...

 

WTF!  Like seriously, what in the fucking sodding Hell is this?  

 

Merlin might be a force to reckon with when it comes to magic and he is likely the most powerful wizard ever, but he's apparently a complete idiot.  So that should be fun!

 

Anyone else think he's already in Storybrooke?  I'm guessing the search for him starts in his mansion where they might find clues as to where he could be, especially if they're not ready to go to Camelot just yet or have no way of getting there if the Apprentice is indeed dead.  

 

TVLine has him under "possible" fatality.  So I guess that's still pretty ambiguous.

[FurryFury]

Merlin might be a force to reckon with when it comes to magic and he is likely the most powerful wizard ever, but he's apparently a complete idiot.

 

Well, we already have Blue and Glinda who are supposed to be good mages but are absolutely ineffective and not very smart. On this show, good is dumb.

[Souris]

So we have the dagger with which one can summon the Dark One, the gauntlet Hook could use to find what he loves the most, locator spells ... what magical items am I missing that randomly won't work to find dark Emma because reasons?

Eta: Rumple's globe of finding people

 

The Wishing Star.

[Shanna Marie]

The Wishing Star.

That belonged to Elsa and Anna, so they probably took it with them. But they can probably just open a door in the Mysterious Mansion to get there. The trouble is, who do they have left who's pure of heart who could wish on it? Henry?

[YaddaYadda]

Well, they can use the globe to locate Emma.  Then Hook can use the conk to call Ursula who can then open an underwater portal for him to Avalon.  Boom!

[Curio]

Well, they can use the globe to locate Emma.  Then Hook can use the conk to call Ursula who can then open an underwater portal for him to Avalon.  Boom!

 

Emma can also use mirror magic to communicate between realms. She was able to talk to Henry via iMirror in Neverland and could also spy on Ariel and Eric in another world when her magic was still very undeveloped, so her Dark One powers should be strong enough to communicate with everyone back in Storybrooke via mirrors if she's off in a different realm.

 

Actually, if that's the case, why didn't Rumple ever try to talk to Belle in Neverland? I could see Regina not being able to mirror-communicate with Robin because he was in the land without magic, but Rumple should have been able to at least check in and see what Belle was up to. Why couldn't Dark One Emma and Hook have a long distance relationship where they just chat into pocket mirrors every night while she's away in...whatever place she's in now?

Edited May 13, 2015 by Curio

[Shanna Marie]

Why couldn't Dark One Emma and Hook have a long distance relationship where they just chat into pocket mirrors every night while she's away in...whatever place she's in now?

That could be an interesting scene -- he's moping in the captain's cabin of the Jolly Roger when Emma appears in a shiny silver tray or other mirror/like object, startling him.

 

Except on this show, it'll probably be Regina's mirror, and she'll be chatting with Regina from afar.

[KAOS Agent]

I'm fairly certain that Emma is in Storybrooke, not off somewhere else. This show just wanted a dramatic disappearance and a shot of the dagger for the big cliffhanger ending. 

[HoodlumSheep]

I'm telling you people she's trapped inside the dagger!!!!

Joking, joking...

[Curio]

I'm fairly certain that Emma is in Storybrooke, not off somewhere else. This show just wanted a dramatic disappearance and a shot of the dagger for the big cliffhanger ending. 

 

I'll be disappointed if Emma's just chilling somewhere in Storybrooke. What a huge copout to have her disappear into the night, only to have her pop back into the same spot. When someone goes up in a cloud of smoke, you expect some big changes to be happening. (This might also just be wishful thinking on my part because I really really want an excuse to get out of Storybrooke, and a search for Dark One Emma would be the perfect opportunity to do that.)

 

I'm telling you people she's trapped inside the dagger!!!!

 

This reminds me of the speculation about The Sorcerer's Hat that never came to be. I thought it would have been awesome if there was an entire hat-world where the fairies and The Apprentice were hanging out that we could have explored, but alas...nothing.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Curio

[OnceUponAJen]

I'm fairly certain that Emma is in Storybrooke, not off somewhere else. This show just wanted a dramatic disappearance and a shot of the dagger for the big cliffhanger ending.

Yes, as far as I recall Rumple wasn't whisked away somewhere when he became the DO. I am aware that the circumstances were different in this case, and they can make up anything they like. I'm sure they're all going to have to go searching for Merlin, and in that search Emma will go from looking like regular Emma to her DO persona. I'm sure leaving the Land Without Magic would bring about that physical change in her.

Edited May 13, 2015 by OnceUponAJen