- Title: Once Upon a Time – Dark Waters
- wiki: link
While the Aladdin (Deniz Akdeniz) storyline gets pushed to one of the episode’s subplots, “Dark Waters” picks up a thread of Hook’s (Colin O’Donoghue) past as the pirate confronts the appearance of Captain Nemo (Faran Tahir) and the Nautilus in both the present and in flashbacks. Tying in the theme of the Evil Queen‘s (Lana Parrilla) attempts to sow dissension among the heroes, the villain reveals Hook’s refusal to destroy the shears to Henry. Bringing the kid’s resentment to the pirate’s growing role in his family, the pair eventually come to an understanding as Henry helps Hook deal with one of his biggest regrets which has coming calling.
The sudden appearance of Hook’s other brother Liam is a surprise, but fits well into the season’s theme of characters dealing with unfinished business. Although it makes Henry a bit of a dick, his jealousy towards Hook is understandable and allows him to simply be a teenager for an episode rather than an author or the truest believer. While Nemo isn’t all that memorable, I enjoyed the look of his submarine (a bit of Atlantis: The Lost Empire influence there) and the effects of the Kracken worked fairly well in the flashbacks.
In other stories, despite giving up his role as the Savior Emma (Jennifer Morrison) convinces Aladdin to step back in and do what he can for his people and for Jasmine (Karen David). Belle continues to struggle with what role the father should have in her pregnancy, and beyond. And, after failing yet again, the Evil Queen strikes up an old alliance to get the one thing she has always wanted.
