"Once Upon a Time" Recap: "Birth" & "The Bear King"

Written by Shae

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

"Birth"
This week’s Once Upon a Time gave us just a bit more of a fix than usual. We ended up with a two hour two episode extravaganza last night. Fear not, it wasn’t our mid-season finale, but we do have a week break before the next episode. The first part answered a lot of questions we were dying to know. So, with that being said, let us break it down.
 
Emma is up to something, but she now has the power, that’s right, she has the sword, all as one massive thing of doom. What does that mean? Well, it means her plan can begin. There is only one person who can help her now, Nimue. Or can she? Emma has gone through some twists and turns, and finally she has what she wants. But what is it that she wants? In Camelot she struggled to bring the flame of Prometheus to life. She couldn’t ignite the flame because she wasn’t ready to let go of the darkness, but why? She’d been fighting it so hard.
 
The thing about the darkness is, it offers great power. While Emma struggles with it, and the flame, Merlin appears. Upon Arthur’s command, he must retrieve the dagger and the spark. Arthur will have Excalibur united, one way or another. If Emma does not hand it over, her family will die. Emma isn’t about to let this fly, oh no, she has a few tricks up her sleeve. Using her magic, she goes to them, and offers the box with the spark. Only, it traps Zelena. Emma talks Merlin into fighting the darkness and the commands, and he does, long enough for Hook to slip free. In his tussle with the horrid king, Killian is cut on the neck with the infamous blade. Arthur and Zelena run, and Emma heals her beloved pirate…
 
It’s not until later when they are back at Grannie’s that Regina takes the dagger and demands to know why Emma won’t give up the darkness. Hook stops her and Emma takes the blade and the embers away from everyone. She finally confides in Killian that she’s afraid of their future. She’s scared because all the happy moments in her life always get ruined. Killian assures her that their future is safe, and she admits she wants that more than anything. The spark ignites into a flame. Upon attempting to merge the blade back into one, they find out that Killian isn’t fine. Excalibur was meant to cut the tethers of life, and bringing the two halves together will kill him.
 
Emma takes Killian away….there’s one thing she can do, she can free Merlin’s soul and tie the blade to Killian’s. Doing so technically creates two Dark Ones in a way, and Killian even tells Emma not to do it…she doesn’t listen. She can’t live without him, and so she does what she has to do in order to save the one she loves. Which, I’m pretty sure kills Merlin. But, you know…details.
 
Back in Storybrooke, Hook is demanding answers that Emma won’t give. She’s sped up the birth of Zelena’s child. Everyone thinks that she’s done so in order to take the first laugh of a new born, a crucial ingredient in destroying the light. However, it’s not the baby she’s after, it’s Zelena. The plan is simple. Take all the darkness and place it into Zelena, then destroy her. Emma chains Hook and Zelena in her basement, but the two break free and Hook finds the squid ink Emma stole from Rumple, he uses it on her, and then Zelena reveals the truth. Hook is a Dark One. Emma did it to save him, and by the looks of things, he’s not happy with the result….

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"The Bear King"
Part two took a break from the action. It focused on Merida and what happened to lead up to her father’s death and after it. Invaders were coming, so the mighty Bear King went to the very Witch that had turned his wife and sons into bears. He asks for something that will help him win this upcoming war. She creates a helmet, enchanted to do just that. The Witch will grant it, but in return she wants the promise of the King to pay whatever she asks for later. He signs her contract and takes the helmet.
 
As he goes to prepare for war, he brings in someone to help train Merida, someone we have not seen in a long while, Mulan. She teaches Merida how to fight while they wait for the invaders. The two become fast friends and we learned that Merida’s infamous bow came from her father. A gift to show he trusts her. Sadly, none of it is enough to stop her father from being killed by the invaders. The knight who kills him takes the helmet...but the knights are no match for the clans…and so, they win.
 
Two years later, Merida has her kingdom back from everything that’s happened. She is about to have her coronation where she will become the Queen of the Clans…when the Witch appears. She comes demanding a stupid amount of gold. Which, the clans cannot pay. The other option is simple, return the helmet, of which they do not have. They have until Sundown the next day. Merida goes and finds Mulan in a tavern, she asks her friend for help, only Mulan is different. The bitter woman finally agrees to help, after taking all the money Merida has on her.
 
They track down the arrow that has a piece of the knight's cloak. The very arrow that missed the knight who killed her father. The knight, as it turns out, is Arthur. And he too is looking for the helmet. He has Zelena with him. The helmet was enchanted enough to make any army follow the wearer into any battle. Arthur needs that helmet if he is to have his knights go up against Merlin and the Dark One. Zelena takes Merida’s bow for a tracking spell, and they leave. Merida heads off to tell the clans that she cannot find it. But whoever does will be King of their people. Meanwhile Mulan goes off to find the Witch to help her locate the helmet with the piece of the cloak. She’s greeted by a Wolf. The Wolf isn’t just a wolf, she’s someone we know and love. Ruby. After the whole mess with Zelena, and after Snow introduced Neil to everyone, Ruby went back to the enchanted forest to find her pack, with the curse broken, she can change at will…and well, she doesn’t feel she belongs anywhere else. Mulan breaks the witch's spell, and Ruby helps her find Merida and knows how to find Arthur.
 
Along the shores where the battle took place, Zelena magically pulls the helmet from the water. Merida and Mulan show up with some help, and while Merida fights Arthur, Ruby knocks Zelena out with sleeping powder. Merida wins the scuffle when reinforcements show up. Arthur and a drowsy Zelena flee the scene. Merida takes the helmet, and the clans son’s bow to her. Declaring her the Queen they need to lead, and rightfully so. She was willing to die for them, and save them at whatever cost…
 
Mulan tells Merida she was trying to get over a broken heart when they had met. It seems Mulan and Aurora were not just a subtext thing, but Mulan was really in love with her. Ruby offers the advice of moving on, and even offers to travel with Mulan. Merida returns to her kingdom and is crowned just after the Witch appears. Our feisty red head refuses to give her the helmet. Knowing her father didn’t use it, instead he threw it into the water before the battle, has changed a lot of what she knew. The helmet must be destroyed. The Witch agrees and says it was all a test. She gives Merida something as a gift for passing and becoming queen. This magic will allow her to speak with those who have passed to the underworld. She uses it to speak with her dad one last time….and gets the closure she desperately needed…but now, her hate for Arthur is fueled….and he will pay.

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