- Title: Once Upon a Time – Swan Song
- wiki: link
“Swan Song” brings every previous Dark One to Storybooke in hopes of trading their place in the Underworld with that of the town’s inhabitants. The only way Emma (Jennifer Morrison) knows to stop them is to sacrifice herself, but Miss Swan won’t be the one who makes the ultimate sacrifice in an attempt to vaquish evil from the world. That honor, and the episode’s flashbacks, go to Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) who despite his recent dark turn will reconnect with the hero within to save Emma and her loved ones.
The mid-season finale is a satisfactory end to the Dark Swan storyline, although I’m a bit disappointed when all is said and done the show’s writers couldn’t think up something more original that returning to the status quo by returning the powers of the Dark One back to Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle). Gold’s small arc as a hero breathed some fresh air into the character and his return to darkness ends one of the best subplots the show had going for it. With Hook dead, Rumpelstiltskin back in power, and Emma once again the Savior, the show ends by setting the stage for its spring return which will focus Emma leading a group of heroes into the Underworld to rescue her love in a storyline I’m guessing will take up most of the remainder of the season.
