I wasn't impressed with this episode but it will do. On the positive side I realized that the Original Dark One looks like the tooth fairy from 2003's 'Darkness Falls'. Look it up.
We start this episode with Emma inside the cave with the two pieces of Excalibur. The Rumple Dark One asks Emma if she knew what Excalibur represented. She answers power. Dark Rumple corrects her and states it represents a promise from Eons ago.
The next scene we see Merlin and a companion traveling in a desert about to die from thirst. They come across the cup of the gods aka The Holy Grail. Merlin’s companion attempts to drink from the cup but immediately turns to dust. Merlin utters drink or die before taking a sip from the cup. When he touches the cup, however, nothing befalls him. Instead he gains magic and immortality.
The next scene is Emma, Merlin, and the crew in Camelot. Merlin explains that he needs team charming to retrieve the sword from King Author so he can rid Emma of the darkness. Hook decides now is the time to go on a rant because Merlin can’t give him specifics about the future and he is not immediately saving Emma’s life. Merlin explains that Hook needs to have patience with Emma because her power is a heavy burden, whether good or evil.
The next scene is Merlin 200 years in the past. He finishes healing a couple when he comes across a beautiful distraught woman who asks for his help to defeat a man named Vortigan. He destroyed her entire village and she escaped on foot. She tells Merlin that she wants revenge. She pulls out some flowers and tells Merlin that it only grows in her village and she wants to get revenge by having them prosper despite Vortigan’s misdeeds. Merlin matures the seeds into flowers and advices Nimue to stay around to watch them. Nimue asks if Merlin can see her future and Merlin tells her that for someone reason, he cannot.
The Next scene is Emma and Merlin discussing their plan for defeating the Dark One. He explains that they need the spark from the flame of Prometheus in order to forge Excalibur. He explains when they reach the flame, Emma will have to defeat the original Dark One. He also explains that they have two possible outcomes when they reach the flame. Either Emma will resist the Dark One and they retrieve the spark or Emma succumbs to it and kills Merlin.
The next scene is Hook and Emma having a beautiful moment. Hook gives her a necklace with a ring and explains that it has brought him good luck and he wants it to do the same for Emma. Emma explains that she is immortal but Hook informs her that the Dark One is the immortal one, not Emma. They kiss each other goodbye.
The Next scene is Merlin and Nimue 200 years ago. Merlin explains that he loves Nimue but he fears that because he is immortal, Nimue will die and he will continue a long life without her. He then explains how he received his powers and Nimue because eager to drink from the cup. Merlin explains that he cannot allow that to happen because he knows what the burden of immortality feels like. He then proposes to Nimue and they run off together, unaware that Vortigan is watching them form a distance.
Team Charming is coming up with a plan to retrieve the sword. When Zelena reveals the flaws in all of their plans. She offers to tell them what she knows about the layout of the castle if they restore her magic. She leads them to a tunnel that was abandoned for years. Regina says that they will restore her magic if everything checks out. In the meantime, Snow White will guard her until they return.
The next scene we see Author acting crazy and preparing for Team Charming. He mixes a concoction that is akin to acid and orders that his men poor it on any stranger he sees and amazingly enough, Gwen does not look impressed by his antics.
Emma admits to Merlin that the Darkness is winning but Merlin does not seem to care because he knows what has to be done.
We flashback to Nimue and Merlin, they are in the midst of the ruins of her village. Nimue explains that if she had power like Merlin’s, none of this would happen. Merlin calms her down and notices that there are cups surrounding them and deduces that Vortigan was searching for the Holy Grail. He asks Nimue to make sure it is secure. She tells him that he could destroy Vortigan with one word. Merlin rejects her statement and says that if he does, evil will take root and nothing is worth that.
He decides to transform the Holy Grail into Excalibur in order to free himself of his immortality. Nimue turns around and notices Vortigan behind her. Vortigan grabs her and Nimue attempts to fight him off but Vortigan stabs her in the abdomen and she falls to the ground seemingly dead.
Flash forward to the Camelot timeline. Merlin and Emma reach the spot where the Dark One killed Nimue. He explains to Emma that she will need to retrieve the ember from the original Dark One. Emma uses her dagger to call it and Merlin explains that the original Dark One is a woman and not a man. The original Dark One appears before Emma. When she looks down at the dagger she sees Nimue’s name on it. Nimue removes her mask to reveal a scaly, green face.
We flash back to the past. Nimue gets off the ground and rips out Vortigan’s heart. She then reveals that she drank from the cup and pretended to be dead in order to remind Merlin what mortality feels like. Merlin begs her not to destroy Vortigan’s heart because it will destroy her and their relationship. Nimue does not listen. She crushes the heart and the Darkness takes root. He skin turns green and before Merlin can try to retrieve Excalibur, she breaks it in half.
Back to the Camelot time line. Merlin tells Nimue that he has thought of her every day and Nimue says that she will be his last thought before trying to kill him. Nimue then explains to Emma that it doesn’t matter if you love the person you are killing if they try to take away your power because you need to stand up for yourself. Emma rejects her and rips the ember from Nimue’s body. Nimue tells her that it isn’t over before disappearing.
Emma tells Merlin that she could feel that Nimue still loves him but it is twisted up. Merlin then reveals that it is possible that they may find someone who can wield the dark power but not use it for evil.
Zelena tether’s Merlin’s soul to the sword. Author calls Merlin to him. Author orders Merlin to get rid of Team Charming. Merlin tries to reason with Author but Author does not want to hear it. He sees the greed in Author and tries to repair the damage but it is too late.
Emma forges Excalibur in the presence of all of the dark ones. She remembers that Merlin warned her not to touch the sword but she grabs it anyway. That is how we end the episode.
The Review:
Hook was annoying this episode. I understand that he loves Emma but he acts like he doesn’t understand the limits of magic. He needs to lash out at Author instead of taking it out on someone who will not cause him harm.
Another issue I had with this episode was how obvious it was that Nimue was the original Dark One. They have been telegraphing this for months. I just wished they did a better job so that way I could have been genuinely surprised. Instead I am left unimpressed by the twist and their love story. We have seen this too many times in ‘Once Upon a Time’. I would love to see something a little more uncommon.
This episode was decent but it could have been better.
Final Score: 7/10
Don't for get to check out our podcast for this episode at: http://buff.ly/1kyNF4Q
