Once Upon a Time Bosses on Emma's Next Move, Belle's Mission and More 

, Emma popped a question at Hook, Belle got an eyeful, a new villain made himself known and a “dead” friend resurfaced.

Once Upon a Time: Hook’s Dad Is On the Way, Plus Merida/Mulan/Ruby Fun — And Maybe a ‘Rumbelle’ Baby?

panel at New York Comic-Con on Friday — at which we screened this week’s episode, “Siege Perilous” — I asked series co-creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis about the biggest twists, and what’s next.

WILL EMMA TAKE ‘NO’ FOR AN ANSWER? | Challenged to profess his feelings, one way or the other, for newly Dark Emma, Hook answered, “I

tense. Will she let that stand or push the issue? “Her next move is a well-placed mixtape,” Kitsis quipped. “No, Emma’s next move is more like

is going to make the next move, finding out who she is. Hook has spent a long time pursuing a Dark One and thus knows a lot about Dark Ones, so his main goal is saving Emma from herself.” As evidenced in one of the producers’ favorite moments from the episode — when Hook sees through Emma’s romantic machinations and asks what the Dark One is after — “The internal conflict remains a huge thing for her,” Horowitz said. “She

dark, but she does have feelings for Hook, and those things are at war within her and really are pushing her in the action she’s going to be taking next.”

MUST WE ALREADY MOURN THE CHARMING/ARTHUR BROMANCE? | After all, it has been revealed in both timelines that the king is not as noble as he may seem, having pinched the crimson toadstool from Charming during a Camelot quest and now pulling the wool over the Storybrookers’ eyes, even if it means sacrificing the occasional pawn along the way. “It’s a tricky one,” Kitsis noted, “because you can tell that Arthur and Charming would be best friends in another world. But Arthur is doing what he thinks is best for his kingdom, and Charming has to do what’s best for his family, and that’s going to put them at odds.” Added Horowitz, “Arthur isn’t a villain in the pure sense of villains that we’ve had before. What we saw is what we’ll continue to see — a man who’s really conflicted and is driven by doing what he thinks is right, and what he thinks is his destiny.”

? DID WE KNOW THAT…? (IT’S ALL VERY CONFUSING.) | Horowitz, at my request, recounted how in Season 2 it was revealed that the Lancelot with whom Snow White reunited was actually Cora using a glamour spell. Regina’s mother then gloated that she had killed the brave night.

was she full of hot air? “A lot of that will be clear in next week’s episode,” Horowitz assured, when we take a deeper dive into the tempestuous affair Arthur told Charming about. “We’re going to learn a lot more about Lancelot’s past and the iconic love triangle involving him, Arthur and Guinevere.”

MAKE OF RUMPLE’S VANISHING? | For no sooner did the rose reveal to her that he was awakening from his coma, she arrived at his bedside to find him AWOL. Will Belle set out on a search? “Oh,

,” Kitsis previews. “She knows he’s been taken, she thinks Emma is behind it, and she’s going to go look for him…. Belle gets really strong this year.” Horowitz echoed that sentiment, saying: “Belle is activated now. She knows he’s awake and she’s determined to find out what happened.”

As for Rumple’s level of helplessness now that he has a clean heart/is a “blank slate,” Kitsis put it at a 5 (on a scale of 1 to 10). “He has no magic, but he carries the wisdom of everything he’s gone through,” the EP said during the panel. “At the same time, he still probably wants to run rather than fight.”

, or for any other show? Email insideline@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.

I still love my show, but I’m still not loving this season. So Lancelot is alive now? And Arthur is bad? I DO hope they’re not going to disrespect Le Morte de Arthur TOO badly with this upcoming story. (They’ve already reduced the Brave Robin Hood to a milquetoast cuckold.) The only things I’m really digging about this season is Regina, Belle, and the upcoming return of Red. And I’d still REALLY like to see Snow and Charming find their brains one day. They seem to lose more grey matter with each passing episode. Looks like OUAT will be a 2nd half team again this year!

If you look at King Arthur’s history and not the myths that King Arthur was not a nice man.

Are we really sacrificing who Emma is so that we can redeem Rumpelstiltskin? Gross.

I’ve been getting a lot of flak for not being into this whole Dark Emma thing. I’m glad to see I have some company. Emma was already a nuanced character; Dark Snow was far more interesting than Dark Swan will ever be, imo.

I don’t think Dark Swan is very much like Emma. We don’t really see much of her struggle in present day, and we already saw that all roads lead to her becoming the Dark One in the first episode of the season. To me, seeing how far she’s fallen is just using her in Rumple’s redemption arc, and now she is even going to be the one to force heroism on him.

Plus, we already saw the Dark One abuse Belle until even RumBelle shippers were upset with how horribly he treated her. I don’t want them to do that over with Captain Swan to make Rumple’s treatment of Belle seem less awful. Emma was better than the manipulation she’s been using on her loved ones this year, and I don’t blame the dagger. I blame plot-driven storylines and the men in charge for not caring that they ruined a bunch of strong female characters to get to this.

Especially since Rumple could’ve avoided the whole Darkness escaping by staying in New York. The dark one had no magic out there. He only returned to save his own life since he was dying. Why is no one resenting him? He had a chance to die so the dark one would not hurt his loved ones and apparently they weren’t worth it.

Personally, I’d like to see “Clean” Rumple realize this and sacrifice himself for Emma and the crew. It’s not that I want him to die, it’s that, at this point, that action is the only one that could make up the all the things he has done. It’s time he actually fought and defeated his own selfishness and cowardice instead of being forgiven time and again despite not changing his ways.

Rumple’s basically rewarded for being a selfish jerk and Emma gets kicked in the teeth for actually being a hero.

Welcome to our world. Regina and Hook have had endless amounts of happiness. You can argue Hook isnt as “bad” as Rumple but Regina? No way!!! She’s destroyed entire villages filled with families. I’d say Rumbelle fans are in need of a redemption arc….at least for an

episode or two. So please, be kind and let us enjoy it while it lasts…cuz it won’t! Lol.

I sooooooo hope we are!!!!! Killian’s speech about how he was the villian in the Milah arc was a Rumbelle fans dream!!!! Then to have Dark Swan wake Gold…I know our ship’s happiness, if given, won’t last long, but I’m gonna ride it for whatever we can get! #shipRumbelle YAY!!!!

Okay so….. I’m confused. Was that a CS breakup? This entire article feels like a non-answer to that part.

No it isnt. There is still a love story happening between them. And Hook doing all he can to save the woman he loves… thats still in the story and narrative… they are still the story they are telling and being a couple in development.

“And Hook doing all he can to save the woman he loves… thats still in the story and narrative… they are still the story they are telling and being a couple in development.” Not sure if you’re watching the same show as me….. Considering he told her he LOVED her (past tense) and that he can apparently only love her if she’s good. True love is unconditional. Belle at least loved Rumple even AS the Dark One.

We ALL know Emma for four years – is this the real entirely the Emma we know? no not really. There is Emma and their dark curse in her.

Emma says she is better, she isnt better. She was better and best when she was the Emma Swan. There is MEGA difference here.

Also Hook knew Emma/DO was there to manipulate him and playing a game. Love is a weapon coming in theme.

Emma is still Emma, even though she’s also the Dark One. Like Belle said to Rumple in S2, “There’s good in you. I see it. I’ve always seen it.” And Regina said to Dark Emma last episode, “I know you, the good you. It’s still in there.”

But Hook doesn’t seem to feel that way so far. He wants to separate ‘Emma’ from the ‘Dark One.’ He wants to believe they’re two different entities, even though that’s the last thing Emma needs. She needs someone to believe in her and KNOW she’s still the same person deep down. She needs someone who isn’t afraid of her.

It’s like if your family member is an addict. You know the addiction causes them to do terrible things, but you also know the addiction is NOT them. It’s just a part of them. You can accept it and try to help them, or you can protect yourself and give up on them. Neither choice makes you a bad person.

I would be fine with Hook giving up on Emma if it were really about protecting himself, the healthy choice. But it doesn’t seem like it is. He made it clear: “I liked your walls. I liked being the one to break them down.” She’s always been more of a conquest to him than a girlfriend…he’s a pirate after all! He lives and loves obsessively. He wants the power, and now that everything’s swapped, Emma is the villain, she has the power and he has none…he’s uncomfortable. And probably scared.

Emma needs someone who isn’t afraid of her. I would say she needs a Belle to her Rumple, but that’s unhealthy too…so much manipulation! Emma needs someone who’s an equal match in power. Someone who can accept her as she is without letting her manipulate them. I hope Hook can get over himself and step up, or bow out and let someone else help Emma through this. I can’t wait to see where they go with this!

Look, at Hitler. Are you saying that his true-love wouldn’t have second thoughts about being with him after all the horrible things he did?(Assuming she defined the things he did as horrible and was even remotely “good”)

Heartbreaking Emma and Hook scene. Love is a weapon being used.

Hook loves Emma. But as we all know and can see – this is not entirely Emma, she isnt better like she said. She was better and best when as the Real Emma Swan we love.

I hated the episode!!!!My Captain Swan heart is almost broken….so much pain!!!!!

Angst is angst and have faith in it, and their love. Still more to come it seems.

Hook loves her. As he said he will spend centuries if he has to, to save the woman he loves

Ok i liked this episode the hook swan scene was sad because he knew that she was after something and she was since she said she worked hard for the sword which she used to wake up gold

Also seeing now that Arthur is the villain and as this article says not in the real sense but for his kingdom and people I look forward to see what happens that makes everything tie together and why he lied about having the mushroom and the dagger completing Excalibur

My main takeaway from this season so far: I REALLY miss BBC’s “Merlin.”

Someone really needs to explain how in the h*ll Arthur knew how to drive the truck. I don’t buy a quick “steer with this, press this to go” – even if I did miss it.

YES!!! And looking at the age of that trucks I bet it was a stick shift!

I liked this episode because Hook reminded the viewers that Rumple wasn’t a bad man to begin with. He was under a curse. He did good things (stopped the war, saved the children)with the dagger at first but then he succumbed to its darkness.Regina burned down villages with children in them, killing them and their families. I dont see how either character is more likeable than the other. In real life I wouldnt be friends with either of them. In tv land though my favorite couple is Rumbelle.

While the Camelot stuff seems a bit of a bore, the whole dark swan story is the best they have done yet. I thought it was a solid episode.

The husband says, “I know what she’s doing. She’s going for the Spock look!” Why is it Snow White seems to leave her long, cute, curly hair in the past kingdom? We’ve got to tell Sephora to open in Storybrooke, with all their fantastic curl products. She looks so darling in her long hair, our perfect fairy tale princess. We like fairy tales in the present, too.

The husband says, “I know what she is doing. She is going for the Spock look!” Why does she seem to leave her long, cute, curly hair in the past kingdom? We need to tell Sephora to open in Storybrooke, with their wonderful curl products. She could wear her fairy tale curls in the present, too.

How on earth does Arthur know how to drive a pickup truck?!!!???!!!!

I’m enjoying this season so far and (in an episode I thought I wouldn’t like) I think this episode pushed the story along. Sometimes you just need episodes to do that and this one flowed rather nicely even though I’m not usually into Charming episodes. I think the only question I’d ask is do they not have surveillance in the sheriff’s office at all anymore? Or , better yet, why is no one ever there when visitors come? Good episode and this season is good thus far.

The “Emma as The Dark One” is necessary to keep the story interesting, but it fails because Jennifer Morrison just isn’t a strong enough as an actress to carry it off. I don’t buy any part of her performance. I wince whenever she tries to play the bad girl.

That said, the concept is a good one. In every one, here exists the potential to choose evil. Clearly, Emma has chosen evil, and as with Rumple, power is a difficult drug to resist.

Never have been a CS shipper, so I don’t care if Emma and Hook ever get back together. Since their love affair was always a forced thing by the writers, I would be quite happy to see Hook develop a love interest with some other female character and ride off into the sunset. I vote for Ruby.

Hook still loves Emma. He doesn’t love the dark one. And that was the dark one manipulating him. He literally said last episode “the woman I love”. I’m sure some people would love if he was, but he’s not stupid. He knows the dark one was trying to manipulate him. By not telling her loves her and using the word “loved”, he managed to get through to her for a moment, and gave her another reason to fight against the darkness that is wanting to take over her. And with other articles and writers/actors comments on him, he does not see her as a conquest and truly does love her. I see a lot of people are jumping to conclusions, and it kind of annoys me. I’m sure 5×08, will be proof that CS are okay.

Look at it this way too. Rumple’s heart turned black and he almost died. As Hook said Rumple was a coward but a good man until he let Darkness overcome him. He does not want same thing happening to Emma.

And Dark One inside Emma was trashing past Emma and has been implying that she is better the way she is &needed to change. By saying he loved her, he is saying the real her was and is worthy of love, and she didn’t need to change. He is trying to get her to believe in and fight against the DO posessing her. The others except David don’t even seem to be doing anything in SB to bring Emma back. Just trying to confine damage DS is doing.

Ok my dear friend Matt, tell me your thoughts on the dark-not-rumple in Emma’s head saying that Emma “crushed Hook’s heart even more” at the end of the episode? It seems odd and very specific that they chose the term “crushed” in reference to his heart when, ahem, someone’s heart needed a good crushing in order to get back to storybrooke. Which would mean someone else’s heart is now in hook’s body….possibly a split Emma heart. Which sounds all far-fetched but then Jane Espenson’s tweet about Hook’s heart being on the line? COME ON NOW.

Love love this episode! It was horrible to see Emma using Hook, I know however their relationship will survive this. Great season so far, great episode. What is Aruther up to? Is that really Lancelot? I hope so

So will the jail security camera show Arthur giving the poison to his squire ? That was the camera that showed Wicked Witch off her self after being hexed by Rumple. Or will David have forgotten to turn it on or change the tape or something.

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