TV Recap: Once Upon a Time 3-5 - Good Form

I know there are lots of Emma/Hook shippers out there.  I’m not one of them.  I could have gotten on board with Emma and August, but I like the idea of her getting back together with Neal.  I’m a first love/true love kind of guy, I guess, and that is in keeping with fairy tales.

Having said that, I know lots of people who were looking forward to a certain kiss last night.  And, considering everyone thinks that Neal is dead, I could certainly get behind it.  However, leave it to Pan to take the wind out of Hook’s sails.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let’s start, as always, with the flashback which focuses on Killion Jones in the days before he becomes the pirate known as Hook.

Jones started out as a sailor in the King’s navy.  He is second in command under his older brother.  While the two obviously love each other, he clearly resents the way his brother treats him.  Yep, sibling rivalry is alive and well with the Jones brothers.

We join the brothers as they are sent on a mission by the king (and we never learn which king this is) to procure a plant with magical healing properties.  The kingdom is at war, and this would be a great aid to their side.  They have a special sail made out of Pegasus feathers that allows the ship to fly.  Killion uses a special sextant he has been given to aim the flying ship to the second star to the right.

They land at the island (in daylight), and are met by Pan.  Captain Jones asks if he has seen the plant, and Pan warns them that the plant is actually a very deadly poison.  Of course, it’s Dreamshade.  Killion is willing to listen, but his brother is convinced the king wouldn’t lie to them.

So they head up to the top of the bluff where the plant is.  Killion is still ready to believe Pan, so his brother cuts off a branch from the plant and then sliced his arm with it.  At first, everything is fine, but then his brother collapses.  It seems to be working faster than normal, doesn’t it?

Pan reappears and lets Killion know that the Captain will die when the poison reaches his heart.  Only one thing can possibly save him – water from the spring behind the plant.  It is magic and is what keeps everyone on the island healthy and strong.  But, Magic always comes with a price, right?  Killion doesn’t care.  His brother drinks it, and he lives.

They return to their land without the plant, but as soon as their ship lands on the water in their realm, the Captain dies.  The poison was only held at bay by the water until he touched his own land.  Then the poison came back.

In the final flashback scene, Killion takes over the ship – not that anyone on the crew refuses to join him.  He is not going to work for a king who sent them to bring back a poisonous plant.  That is bad form to use it in a war.  Instead, he and his crew now become pirates to steal from the king.

So, what does this mean for our current Neverland time line?

David is getting worse, but he’s still hiding it from everyone but Hook.  Hook figured he has a day at best left before he dies.  He does have an idea of what could cure David, but David isn’t going to take time out for himself.  Instead, he’s going to die fighting for his family.

However, while he and Hook are out talking, he finds a patch from Captain Jones, Hook’s brother.  That gives Hook an idea.  Maybe they can find the sextant from all those years ago and that will help them decode Neal’s star chart.

So David and Hook set off.  When they come to the cliff, Hook sets off first and then plans to lower a rope to help David climb.  However, when Hook gets to the top, he finds Pan waiting for him.  Pan wants to offer Hook a deal.  He will let Hook and one other – Emma – go if Hook will betray the others to Pan.  And as a sign of good faith, he must kill David before the poison takes effect.  Before Hook can respond, David appears at the top of the cliff.  He got tired of waiting for the rope and climbed up.  He heard voices, but Hook plays it off as if he was talking to himself.

However, David heard more than he let on, and when they get to the patch of Dreamshade with the fountain behind it (not that David knows what is back there), he attacks Hook.  Fortunately for all involved, the poison becomes stronger and he collapses.  Hook then hacks his way to the fountain and fills his canteen.  He comes back and revives David enough to give him the choice.  Die or drink the water and be trapped on the island.  David drinks, figuring he can help his family and send them safely home.

Meanwhile, Emma has seen the marks on the wall in Neal’s old home where he kept track of how long he was on the island the first time.  He stopped when he gave up hope – something Emma recognizes from her years as a foster kid.  She realizes they need to get word to Henry so he won’t give up hope.

So they set a trap for one of the lost boys.  Unfortunately, he happens to be the lost boy Henry had dueled with earlier.  He refuses to take the message back, so Regina takes his heart and then they send him back to the lost boy’s camp with half of a compact mirror set.  Henry is very skeptical about the message at first, but soon appears to believe when he starts talking to Regina, Emma, and Mary Margaret via the mirror.  But then someone is coming, and he throws the mirror down, breaking it.

Back at Neal’s old camp, Hook and David have returned without the sextant (that was a ruse to get David to agree to climb up for the water).  But David is singing Hook’s praises for rescuing him from an ambush.  Everyone but Regina drinks to Hook (Regina doesn't drink Rum); Emma is last, and she goes to return his rum bottle.  They have been flirting all episode (David even warned Hook away from Emma at the start), and Hook starts flirting again, telling her that a thank you might not be enough for saving her father’s life.

So Emma kisses him.  And we’re not talking about some little kiss, but a major one both seemed to enjoy.  Emma then walks off, telling him to collect firewood for a few minutes before returning to camp so no one knows.

While Hook is smiling to himself, Pan reappears.  He congratulates Hook on getting the girls without Pan’s help, but then offers him news.  Neal is alive and on the island.  It is up to Pan what he does with this information.  Will he share it with Emma or keep it to himself?

But no, that’s not the cliffhanger.  Pan catches up with some of the lost boys who have been dragging a box across the island.  Inside is a drugged Neal.  Pan is happy and says, “Put him by the other one.”  Our last shot is of Neal in the box being raised to dangle by another box also in a tree.  But who is in the other box?

Even not being an Emma/Hook fan, I did have to appreciate the kiss.  Yes, they are just setting up a love triangle, but they are doing a good job of it.  If Neal weren’t potentially in the picture, I could get behind the relationship.

How will David leave the island?  I mean, we know he will, and I’m sure they’ve figured out a way already, but what is it?  Basically, we still need to find a permanent cure for the poison, although this is a good temporary one.

Who is in the box?  I watched this episode with a friend last night, and he suggested Gold, but Gold is too magical to allow himself to get captured.  My first thought was Tinkerbell, but then I got to wondering if it is Ariel.  We are supposed to meet her next week after all.

And is Henry really turning to the dark/lost boy side?  He had his moment with the sword, yes, but when the boy came to deliver the message, he said, “I don’t want to fight you.”  Is there still hope, or will we have to fight for Henry when we find him?  Why did he throw the mirror down instead of keeping it?  Is there any significance to the fact that it is broken?  Or did he do that on purpose?

Speaking of going dark, is Emma turning dark in her obsession to get Henry back or is Regina right and stuff like taking that lost boy's heart why she is there - so she can do the dirty work while everyone else stays clean.  Or will condoning those actions have an effect on Emma?

Did you notice that in the flashback, we actually saw sun on Neverland while in every present day scene all season it has been night?  Is Pan controlling that?  Or is it the loss of magic that Henry is there to fight?

Lots of interesting questions to ponder.  Not sure I have any good theories on them, but hit me up with any you have.

And is anyone familiar enough with Pan and Neverland to know if the water on the island is really what gives it the magical properties we already know about?  That hasn't been a feature in the movies, which is how I best know the Pan story, although it was part of the Dave Barry/Ridley Pearson prequels.

Next week, we get to meet Ariel.  I’m very excited about that, and the previews looked wonderful.  Although I’m curious just how and why Regina is playing Ursula.