Once Upon TIme Episode 5x10 "Broken Heart"

Once Upon a Time: 5×10 “Broken Heart” Review

Well, nothing says fun like a portal to Hell, right? Especially a portal to Hell that brings back every Dark One that ever existed in the flesh! But I am getting ahead of myself.

Last time we left Storybrooke, we learned that Emma turned Hook into a second Dark One in a desperate attempt to save his life. Which is romantic and horribly stupid all at the same time. Time and time again this series has shown us what happens when darkness is allowed to corrupt people. So even though Emma jumped through seemingly impossible hoops to save the person she loves, Hook has been corrupted by the darkness and is nowhere near the person he once was. But that comes forward slowly. When he was turned back in Camelot he had to deal with the knowledge that Emma completely went against his wishes and turned him into the thing he despised most. On top of that he had to deal with Emma lying to him about Excalibur’s location, because she did not trust him. This was the icing on the cake, because despite her being the Dark One he had always believed in her.

So basically within twenty minutes of being a Dark One, Hook was one hundred percent done with everything. At that point he figured he might as well finally get the revenge he had always wanted, and finally kill Rumplestiltskin. Of course there was that problem where they were all stuck in Camelot, and no one was going to willingly take him back to Storybooke while he was still the Dark One. Clearly Hook’s only option is to cast a dark curse, using Merlin’s heart as the toll. After all Hook is technically connected to all Dark Ones, and Merlin is the person Nimue loved the most. Luckily, or unluckily, Emma is able to catch on to Hook and adds in a “memory loss” aspect to the curse. That way she could buy herself some time before Hook realized he was the Dark One.

Now none of this explains how Hook did not hear the voices of the past Dark Ones talking to him. Memory loss could not take away the fact that he is the Dark One, so he should have figured it all out long before Zelena returned his memories. Then again there is that whole thing where love could banish the darkness from a person’s mind, and he may have been so focused on saving Emma that the darkness did not have a chance to reach him. Still, the show could have taken the five seconds to mention this instead of ignoring a large plot hole.

Anyway.

After Hook realizes his nature as a Dark One he decides to finally go about getting his revenge, but not in the way that people expect. Sure, he steals Emma’s memories and makes all the pomp and circumstance about challenging Rumplestiltskin to a duel, but he does not actually want to kill him. Well, at least not in a duel. Instead he grabs a bit of Rumple’s blood to open up a portal to Hell. While this is going on Emma decides she needs everyone’s help, and gives them back their memories. A little late for it to be of much help, but I suppose the thought counts.

Next week it the Winter finale of Once Upon a Time, and I doubt that much is going to be fixed in an hour-long episode. Usually the Winter finale is where they tie up some loose ends before turning the series towards a new direction for the Spring. Yet I have no idea how they are going to put a bow on this plot. Of course that makes it all the more exciting, and I really look forward to next week’s episode!
 
 
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