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S05.E01: Dark Swan

formerlyfreedom

By formerlyfreedom
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formerlyfreedom

formerlyfreedom

Immediately after becoming the Dark One, Emma disappears and the heroes must band together to save her, but first they have to find her, which will require the help of an unlikely ally. Meanwhile, in the Enchanted Forest, Emma struggles to resist her dark urges as she searches for Merlin in the hope that he can stop her transformation. Along the way to Camelot, she gets help from the plucky and brave warrior princess Merida, as well as King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

 

 

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Mari
Mari

I do have to admit that Zelena's reason for wanting to keep the baby was entirely in character--both for Zelena as an individual, and Zelena as a female member of the Mills family.   It was still al

LizaD
LizaD

And Emma gave about as fair a shake as she could to a complete stranger with the weird accent she could barely understand and was willing to kill to get what they want, all the while hefting around ce

placate
placate

I'm thinking that darkness and savior should be added to the drinking game, but I don't wanna die.

gik910

gik910

So- a few good moments but not crazy about the jumping off point.

 

I am astounded they kind of acknowledged the rape of Robin (FFS Zelena-go to a sperm bank if you want a baby).  

 

Cannot believe they are doubling down (tripling down?) on the amnesia & back flashes.  Also, the inconsistency with what we saw of Rumple's journey to being the dark one vs. Emma-but I guess I kind of expected that...

 

Merida was ok- curious to see how else she is going to fit in this season?

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mjgchick

mjgchick

Dark Swan wears even more clothes than Emma Swan does.

Yikes when Emma touched her mom's face I got chills. That was scary man. The show ended the last 10 minutes with a cute reunion, meeting Might be Shady Arthur to Emma terrifying her loved ones.

Meh to the promo. I'm going to be annoyed if we still have flashback scenes to Enchanted Forest 3 decades ago.

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Morrigan2575

Morrigan2575

Loved it. I'm calling Hook Guyliner from now on.

My only complaint is the time jump. I hate the trope and it's worse because they keep using it.

Looking forward to Dark Swan and Savior Regina. Love the role reversal. Their odd friendship/relationship is the my favorite thing about the show.

Wee little Emma Swan was adorable. I look forward to seeing how that plays out. I was surprised to see Merida in this episode. I knew she was going to show up but, I didn't expect into see her in the first episode

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Jul 68

Jul 68

It was good until the very end. Maybe I should have started drinking earlier.

I actually liked that she gave Regina the dagger. It was good thinking during a stressful time. Besides, if anyone should become the Dark One, better Regina than anyone she loves. If Regina were evil again (as if), they would know how to deal with her. BTDT

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Worsel

Worsel

 

 

Cannot believe they are doubling down (tripling down?) on the amnesia & back flashes.  Also, the inconsistency with what we saw of Rumple's journey to being the dark one vs. Emma-but I guess I kind of expected that...

 

I think the difference is Rumple didn't know much about the Dark One and also immediately embraced the power to save Bae (and the rest of the kids) from the Ogres; also he is a "villain".  Emma knows a lot more about the Dark One and is actively resisting the power because she is a "hero".  Although I believe there are shades of gray and all of them have both villainy and hero inside of them.

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Mathius

Mathius

(edited)

Liked it except for everything to do with Regina. I cannot help but sympathize with Zelena no matter how annoying she can be, since she actually seems to recognize the unfairness of Regina getting everything and is as frustrated about it as we are.

She was also dead-on about Robin Hood not being much of a lover.

Edited by Mathius
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Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory

(edited)

I am pretty sure people are going to find things to nitpick but I really enjoyed this season premier. I have been looking forward to what the show would do with Dark Emma and so far I like it.

Emma and the Dark One voice in her head was fun....and funny. You know you have problems when the voices in your head are talking back to you. "You need a hobby. Something to take your mind off all the terrible things you are going to do." N

I loved the line by Hook to Regina "how's this for irony? You've done too much good."

So baby Neal's first big adventure. Kids grow up so fast.

I still find no chemistry between Regina and Robin. Hell Regina puts off more heat when she is fighting with Hook.

Amnesia and time jumps. They should all be used to it by now. Every time the jump universes they return with no memory.

Edited by Chaos Theory
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Arnella

Arnella

Fast forwarded to Rumple's bits.  Wasn't interested in all the yammering about being good, who was good, yadda, yadda.  At least we got the old Rumpelstiltskin (sort of) for a while.  I was about to give up on this story line altogether but kinda likin' Dark Emma at the end.

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bmoore4026

bmoore4026

Other than the last couple of minutes, the premiere was a bit "meh" for me.

 

Not a fan of Sword in the Stone.  Not a fan of Merida (whom I want to call Meridia every time) or Brave.  Don't give a shit about Witchypoo's hellspawn.

 

It was nice seeing Granny and The Dwarves again, and I was a bit worried when I didn't see some of them among the others when they came back.  Ooooo, don't be dead, Granny!

 

Of course, Camelot looks exactly like The Disney Castle.

 

I liked Jennifer Morrison's acting when Rumple was telling her to rip Merida's heart out.  She actually looked ready to cry.

 

And Lana Parrilla was rocking that Camelot outfit!

 

I'm still watching since I'm a big fan and I've been watching this show since the start.  It's just everything felt drab.

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ParadoxLost

ParadoxLost

Jennifer Morrison was fantastic as "Dark Swan" though I wonder why they made her have grey hair.  It doesn't make her look more evil….it just makes her look old.

 

The one thing about costuming that I found interesting was that Emma's original wardrobe and hair was very like Rumple's Dark One minus the gold glitter.  I think the change is a reflection of Emma's darkness rather than lingering left overs from prior dark ones. 

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Rumsy4

Rumsy4

I liked the episode. I was fully spoiled, so I don't know how much that influenced my enjoyment. The last scene with Emma as the Dark One was chilling, especially her stroking her mother's cheek! I can't wait to see all the #DarkSwan shenanigans. 

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KingOfHearts

KingOfHearts

(edited)

What a great premiere. I was surprised by what I liked and what I didn't particularly care for.

 

Pros:

* Jennifer Morrison totally killed it. She did a superb acting job both in trying to fight the darkness and in villain mode.

* Shockingly enough, I found the Zelena stuff entertaining. Captain Cobra's plot, while dumb by design, I still found believable. Zelena's just as psycho as ever and I actually enjoy watching her if it's not excessive. That entire middle section was clever and fun.

* Not!Rumple was amazing. The idea is nice and I'd like to see him throughout the rest of 5A.

* The Dwarves. I loved that speech about side characters wanting to get involved. Almost felt meta.

* Merida's design. I like how she looks and sounds.

* Regina. She was tolerable in most of her scenes, and I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of insensitivity in the baby blanket scene.

* Hook! His reactions were truly organic.

* This premiere did well in introducing new characters while giving adequate spotlight to the mains.

* Young Emma's casting was spot-on.

* Nice Oz references. ("Over the rainbow", "it's a twister!")

 

Cons:

* While Merida was okay, she wasn't jawdropping. I'm not interested in her story.

* The Usher!Merlin scene was too vague and weird. It didn't get me excited for Camelot lore.

* Emma almost crushing Merida's heart was unoriginal. Didn't we just watch this scene with Lily and a gun in 4B?

* Camelot's castle belongs on a Candyland board.

* As far as the Dagger/Excalibur twist goes, I found it contrived. It's just sort of random while trying to look clever and planned.

* Arthur and the Knights were unimpressive, but we saw very little of them so I'll give it another week.

* Memory loss... stupid. Can't these writers come up with anything new?

 

Solid premiere. Can't wait to see what they do with it.

 

 

It was good until the very end.

Yeah, I'm not sure what to think about the ending. It was a little awkward and out of left field. It was like waking up from a dream... so jarring.

Edited by KingOfHearts
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retrograde

retrograde

(edited)

Yay, this was great.

 

Liked

  • JMo killed it
  • Zelena, surprisingly. I think I just hated the 3B storyline and storytelling, but I generally dig the unashamed moustache-twirling villainry
  • Hook and Regina at each other's throats. As it should be.
  • The Merida actress is spot-on
  • Imp Rumple (and nothing but Imp Rumple for the foreseeable future). He is super menacing always standing over Emma's shoulder
  • Hook's hair
  • Cheesy Camelot CGI.
  • New costumes for all!
  • That ending. Yeah okay, time jump and amnesia are hardly new, but I'm glad to see them changing the format up a little. I like the idea of a mystery unravelling across the season.

 

Not so much

  • There's a reason the dwarves get left behind. What use are they?
  • Little John couldn't babysit Roland and Baby Do-over?
  • So Belle now has to lug that giant glass rose thing around everywhere? Gee, thanks Blue.
  • There are a lot of characters -- and likely subplots -- this season. I hope they can keep all those balls in the air.
Edited by retrograde
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satrunrose

satrunrose

(edited)

Man,I was just bursting into an enthusiastic rendition of excerpts from Camelot when that last scene happened. I don't like that they went the time jump/amnesia route again but I like how JMo is doing her own evil thing and not just being a rehash of Rumple or Regina. As always, I love the CS moments. 

 

Ps. Actress who plays Merida, can you do a passable American accent and would you be interested in sending an audition to the Outlander folks? She could be amazing on that show, and we know she'll only be around for a half season tops on Once. 

Edited by satrunrose
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Mari

Mari

Dark Swan wears even more clothes than Emma Swan does.

 

That's true aquarian1.  You can't be truly evil unless you have Clevilege! 

True.  Even Dark Imp Rumple had even more cleavage.  

 

But, it does sort of make sense--especially if she's closing herself off from other people.  That is one seriously closed-off outfit.

 

Emma and the Dark One voice in her head was fun....and funny. You know you have problems when the voices in your head are talking back to you. "You need a hobby. Something to take your mind off all the terrible things you are going to do." N

 

 

 

 

I've always hated Dark Imp Rumple.  He was too over the top and obnoxious to me, even though I truly enjoyed Carlyle's Gold.  This was the first time I can say I liked Rumplestiltskin in full Dark One mode.

 

 

 

Did Rumplestiltskin say something about Merida's accent being hard to understand?  That's funny, since I usually have to use closed captioning to understand what HE'S saying half the time!

I think they were just going for an inside joke--her accent was supposed to be Scottish, and is Carlyle's natural accent.

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YaddaYadda

YaddaYadda

(edited)

Giddy as fuck over Camelot. The way those scenes were shot was really awesome. 

 

RIP Sir Kay, we hardly knew you.

 

Excalibur broken into two, we get Arthur's sword and the dagger. So the sword clearly recognized a jerk and someone who was not meant to have the sword and obliterated Kay, while Arthur was able to pull it unharmed because of a prophecy. Ok, I can roll with that.

 

Merlin going to wee!Emma was all sorts of creepy, especially the way he was talking to her. I'm an adult and I had no clue what he was blathering on about, so I can't imagine what a 6 year old even thought, especially since she seemed frightened. Also, how did Emma end up in Minneapolis? I thought she was in Maine.

 

So Henry and Hook seem to be the two people who can chase the darkness away. 

 

Chalk me up as completely in love with Camelot already. Very much under the spell of that very hawt king. I have a weakness for guys like that, so yay 5A! I even loved the awful CGI of the castle.

 

Merida was alright. Seems like a lot of bullshit happened to her since her movie came out.

Edited by YaddaYadda
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Senna

Senna

I really hated parts of 4B, so I was apprehensive going in, but there's still enough I like of this show to keep watching (... for now).  The episode really flew by, perhaps because of the live thread.

 

Merida was all right.  Camelot and time jump, eh.  I have hope that Dark Swan will be fun, though.

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Watt

Watt

Did Rumplestiltskin say something about Merida's accent being hard to understand? That's funny, since I usually have to use closed captioning to understand what HE'S saying half the time!

I just thought it was funny since that's his accent irl.

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Panopticon

Panopticon

(edited)

Likes:

 

Wee little Emma! The casting team with this show always does spectacularly when casting younger versions of the characters for flashbacks. But how did little Emma end up in Minnesota? I was always under the impression that teen Emma ditched Boston when she realized she would never be adopted, and happened to be in Minnesota when she was caught and thrown back into the system.

 

Merida! I like her and enjoyed her interaction with Emma. And I love that the mission Merida is on is to save her brothers. Although I'm sure her brothers have already made the kidnappers very sorry they ever snatched them. The kidnappers will doubtless be begging Merida to take the triplets back by the time she gets there...

 

I liked that we actually saw Emma's internal struggle, complete with the physical representation of Rumpel. 

 

I liked the appearance of the Beauty and the Beast rose so Belle will know how Gold is doing without sitting by his beside.

 

To my surprise, I liked Emma giving the dagger to Regina. Regina gets shit done, and Emma's right that Regina is the one who would survive taking the ultimate step to get rid of Dark Emma if need be. But I liked it even better that six weeks later the dagger was back in Emma's glittery hand.

 

Emma's guys Henry and Hook working together, complete with Star Wars reference, may have been my favorite. They make a good team right until the moment that they don't.

 

I appreciated the acknowledgement that Robin was not a willing participant with Zelena, and the fact that Robin has now learned to recognize Zelena in a glamour.

 

Emma's head snapping around at the sound of Hook's voice.

 

Rumpel bitching about Merida's accent being a bit much and he can't understand it. Silly stuff like that is why I end up forgiving this show a lot... I'm easily entertained.

 

Dislikes: Eh, I'll nitpick tomorrow.

Edited by Panopticon
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Mari

Mari

 Also, how did Emma end up in Minneapolis? I thought she was in Maine.

 

So Henry and Hook seem to be the two people who can chase the darkness away. 

How did tiny, tiny Emma end up several states away from where she was found?  Apparently, she was in federal custody instead of state custody, like no foster kid ever, in Realityville.

 

 

Hook and Henry being able to bring Emma back to herself makes sense.  And, as long as they get the true Emma back that way, instead of a certain feminine Storybrooke light magic/dark magic /soul feeling resident discovering yet another way she's more magical and special than everyone else, I'll probably enjoy it.  Snow and David should help.

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Rumsy4

Rumsy4

Merida was alright, but I wasn't particularly interested in her or her story (also haven't seen Brave). 

 

I wonder when Arthur is supposed to have pulled the Sword from the Stone. As Lancelot was with him, I take it that was a flashback to a long time ago. But then he seems to not have aged since then. Was Camelot also in a convenient time-bubble?

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ABitOFluff

ABitOFluff

(edited)

Don't give a shit about Witchypoo's hellspawn.

LOL. Witchipoo is actually the Wicked Witch of the West's sister, Well, according to the Paul Lynde Halloween Special (old reference).

 

True story, but I was a weird kid and loved the Wicked Witch and Witchipoo. I know a lot of people don't like Zelena, but I can't help but sympathize with her.

Edited by ABitOFluff
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gik910

gik910

I think the difference is Rumple didn't know much about the Dark One and also immediately embraced the power to save Bae (and the rest of the kids) from the Ogres; also he is a "villain".  Emma knows a lot more about the Dark One and is actively resisting the power because she is a "hero".  Although I believe there are shades of gray and all of them have both villainy and hero inside of them.

 

I was talking about her coming from the cave of black goo as her "rebirth" and Imp-Rumple saying that all the Dark Ones fought the temptation at first.  I agree he embraced the darkness more easily- and maybe it is because she tethered herself vs. stabbing the old Dark One but we will see how it goes.

 

For all my bitching I do actually kind of love the show. :) 

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scenicbyway

scenicbyway

Um, why is it imperative that Belle go along to Camelot and how does she think she'll get back if the rose dies?  I suppose she's there to babysit Henry and Neal?

 

Did Charming have any lines?

Snow just felt off, like she was only there to break up fights between Regina and Hook.  Shouldn't Emma's parents have just as much fire as her boyfriend and frenemy?

 

I do think it's silly that JMo spent her summer press tour saying that Emma took on the darkness to save "everyone" not just Regina, but right in the premiere Emma says she did it to save Regina's happy ending.  Way to put that to rest for the shippers, writers!

 

I'm meh on the premiere, I didn't find "Dark Swan" believable, Emma looked like she was nauseous most of the time, maybe that's because Rumple is constantly in her ear?

 

I thought the Captain Swan reunion was fairly dull as was her reunion with Henry.  Camelot Castle looks so cartoonish.  But at least the clothes are cool!

 

It's a tough episode when Zelena and her shenanigans is a bright spot.

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Scovies

Scovies

I really enjoyed the whole thing.

 

I'd been spoiled, so I was really worried Hook had been given the Idiot Ball when it came to recruiting Zelena. I was happy to see that he actually had a really solid plan to get her to work with them with the whole heart-stealing thing. 

 

JMo and Colin absolutely killed it. And I haven't seen Brave, but I really liked Merida. All in all, that was a pretty great premiere for me.

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YaddaYadda

YaddaYadda

I wonder when Arthur is supposed to have pulled the Sword from the Stone. As Lancelot was with him, I take it that was a flashback to a long time ago. But then he seems to not have aged since then. Was Camelot also in a convenient time-bubble?

 

Arthur was saying that the prophecy was from long ago. Am I getting that Merlin has been wherever he has been  waiting for the peeps from SB to show up and Arthur has just been waiting. And then there's Percival who seemed surprised they didn't know about the prophecy.

 

Maybe knowing about these prophecies is what fucks up everything? I'm just sayin'.

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Mari

Mari

Um, why is it imperative that Belle go along to Camelot and how does she think she'll get back if the rose dies?  I suppose she's there to babysit Henry and Neal?

 

Well, there are also places in Camelot we haven't seen her nap, proclaim her love for Rumple and belief in his good heart, or trip over her high heels, yet.  Those are important duties.

 

Someone on another board said Emma looked like a female Draco Malfoy. LOL

Well, she kind of does.  :)

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