OUAT: I Could’ve Danced All Night

Last time on “Once:” Our heroes went searching for Emma after she was taken away by the cloud of dark magic. The Apprentice gave them a wand to use but someone with dark magic needed to wield it. Regina has become good so they have to turn to Zelena. She continued to victimize Robin so Regina ix-nayed that idea but Hook wrangled Henry into going behind Regina’s back. Zelena busted out and tried to use the wand to go back to Oz. Regina tricked her and used Emma’s baby blanket to transport a bunch of them in Granny’s.

In the Enchanted Forest, Emma learned being the Dark One came with its own annoying tutorial. This one happened to take the form of Rumpelstiltskin, believing it to be the form most familiar to Emma. He spent the time encouraging her to use her magic and embrace the darkness. Emma, though, was determined to make it to Camelot. Along the way, she met up with Merida and the two journeyed together until Merida overheard Emma fighting the Dark One about killing Merida.

Granny’s arrived just in time so they could stop Emma from crushing Merida’s heart. The gang promised to help Emma and Merida goes off to solve her problem. As they returned to Granny’s, King Arthur showed up to take them to Camelot. They entered the kingdom…and then ended up back in Storybrooke with the last six weeks erased.

Emma has become the Dark One and they need to piece together what happened in Camelot to help her.


The dwarfs have tied petrified Sneezy to the roof of Leroy’s van. Really? 

(C'mon, guys)

They stop at the town line and the remaining six gather at it. Leroy asks for a volunteer to go over it just as the Charmings and Regina show up. Mary Margaret begs them not to cross the town line since they don’t know what’s going to happen this time. But Leroy says they can’t stay in Storybrooke. Emma’s the Dark One and she’s a wild card. He also doesn’t trust Regina to save the day.

(Good thing no one ever really comes that way because no one is going to figure out how that tree got there)

So they nominate Dopey and send him across the town line. When nothing happens to him right away, he turns back to give them the thumbs up though we see that he may not be able to come back. We don’t see everyone standing on the other side, just like Robin no longer saw Regina when he crossed the line with Marilena and Roland. But Dopey is soon changed into a tree and everyone is surprised. “Well, that’s new,” Regina says.

We flashback to Camelot. Arthur welcomes the main cast (plus a couple extras) to Camelot and introduces his wife, Guinevere. Charming is practically fanboying over being in Camelot and meeting Arthur. Guinevere says they’ve been waiting for them since Merlin predicted they’d come and Charming says he hopes they haven’t been waiting too long. Arthur reveals it’s been decade and Charming apologizes.

(David is such a fanboy)

Meanwhile, we have our only Zelena appearance. She threatens to tell Arthur about Regina being the Evil Queen and Emma being the Dark One if they don’t remove the cuff from her. Regina silences her and threatens to lock her in Granny’s freezer. She tells her to pretend to be her mute handmaiden or things are going to be really bad for the Wicked Witch. Robin watches on, amused by and proud of how Regina has Zelena under control.

Charming tells Arthur about the Dark One, keeping out that Emma is said Dark One. Especially as it seems Arthur is definitely not fond of it. Killian gets a bit fed up with the pleasantries and wants to cut to the chase: When do they start looking for Merlin? Arthur says they know where he is and leads them out to a tree. He explains that Merlin is trapped inside and Killian looks ready to facepalm with his hook. Arthur goes on to say that it was predicted that a Savior would appear and free Merlin. 

Emma is about to step forward when Regina uses the dagger to keep her silent. Regina says she’s the Savior and that she’s going to free Merlin, stop the Dark One and get everyone home. 

(And she means it)

Arthur is pleased and announces that there will be a ball in their honor. For a show about fairy tales, we get very few of those.

Back in Storybrooke, Hook pays a visit to Belle’s shop. He asks her about the time she tried to kiss Rumple and if it worked. Belle says it started to but he stopped it because he didn’t want to give up the power. Hook though holds onto the fact that True Love’s Kiss can work and heads out to find Emma. Belle gives him a warning, telling him it’s easier to hate the Dark One than love the Dark One.

Henry stands at the docks and chants his mother’s name three times. Ahh, yes, that’s right. The Dark One can be summoned like Beetlejuice. Emma appears and Henry apologizes for failing her. She assures him that he didn’t do anything. Everyone else failed her. She doesn’t seem to want to hurt him but he keeps his distance anyway.

Regina approaches the two and tells Emma to stay away from her son. Emma asks if Regina’s scared Henry will find out what happened in Camelot. Regina’s like “That would be a good threat…if I knew what went down. But SOMEBODY stole our memories.” Emma rolls her eyes and tells her “It’s a curse, Regina.” Regina asks why she cast it but Emma is tightlipped. Henry says he knows Regina can break it but Emma says it can’t be broken. There’s no Savior and Regina certainly will never be one.

(Emma taunting Regina)

Meanwhile, Grumpy and Happy grab their axes and attempt to go uproot Dopey. Or get him out. They plan to do something but are stopped by Arthur and his knights. There’s a tense exchange between the two and all I could think of was Eomer and Gimli in “The Two Towers” but eventually Arthur pretty much demands to be taken to their leader.

David apologizes to Arthur as he reveals that they withheld the fact that Emma was the Dark One from him. Arthur is none-too-pleased as he really, really doesn’t like the Dark One at all. He wants to destroy Emma but Mary Margaret reminds Arthur that she is their daughter. Robin enters to reveal that a lot of other people from Camelot have also landed around Storybrooke. He has his Merry Men rounding them up and everyone sets out to get them settled. Regina and Mary Margaret hang back, though, as Regina admits she doesn’t know if she can handle being the Savior. Mary Margaret supports her.

Back in Camelot, Regina and Emma go snooping around Merlin’s tower, hoping to find answers. Emma tells Regina to never do that to her again and Regina says she had no choice. She says they can’t risk Arthur finding out that Emma is the Dark One so she needs to stay in the background. And not use magic. She accidentally gets Emma to do a few things while waving around the dagger and Regina does get a little joy out of it. But once the dagger is away, Emma thanks her of her own volition.

(Regina might be enjoying this a bit too much)

Regina wanders around the camp set up for the Camelot people, distracted. So much so, she misses when Robin calls out to her. He manages to get her attention and asks her what’s wrong. She says that Emma said she can’t be a Savior and Robin tells her the people don’t believe that. Regina, though, says that they don’t see her as the Evil Queen anymore but that doesn’t mean they trust her. Robin hugs her.

(Excuse me while I relish in my OQ moments)

Arthur sets up a tent and I don’t know, but I found the image of King Arthur in full armor hammering a stake into the ground humorous. He looks up when he hears his name called, relieved to find Guinevere running toward them. They are reunited and Guinevere notices that Excalibur is missing. Arthur says he must’ve lost it when they came to Storybrooke and a passing David promises to find his sword.

Robin and Roland gather firewood when a dark shadowy figure sweeps down. It creeps on an unsuspecting Robin but Roland spots it. He yells out just as the creature captures Robin, who seems to have this “Why me?” face right before. Regina and Mary Margaret coming running over, protecting Roland as all they can do for Robin is watch him get carted off by the shadowy demon.

(It's beautiful but terrifying)

Hook goes to Emma’s yellow bug and asks for her. She appears and is reunited with him. Like with Henry, she seems softer and not as vengeful around him. She invites him over to her place and poofs them there.

(Tonight on Lifestyles of the Dark and Evil...)

Emma’s got herself her own house. And it’s a big one too, so either she wanted a mansion or she’s making room for Hook and Henry. I’m gonna go with both. She shows off the house and her new look as Hook is enticed by the door with a giant lock on it. Well if that doesn’t scream “I’M SUSPICIOUS!” I don’t know what does.

Emma still wants to be with Hook and he’s a bit surprised, unsure if he wants to be with the Dark One. She assures him she’s still the same and he says she isn’t. But he’s going to make her all better. He tries to lay True Love’s Kiss on her but all it does is make her ready for sexytimes. She invites him upstairs but Hook walks away, realizing Emma likes the power too much to let it go.

Meanwhile, Regina and the others chase after the Dementor’s prettier cousin to rescue Robin. It does a number on Regina and we get to add more gifs of Regina being thrown to the ground to the collection. She tries to fight despite being flung around like a rag doll but it hurls her into a tree, taking off with Robin. 

(Regina is not pleased to be paired with Floor again)

Regina wants to pursue but Mary Margaret insists on going to hospital instead. Emma has played head games with Regina and so she thinks it’s because Mary Margaret doesn’t think she can be a hero. Mary Margaret realizes how self-destructive Regina can be and insists Regina needs to get out. She, David and Arthur will go after Robin while Leroy takes her to the hospital.

In Camelot, Robin and Regina study the tree together. Sir Percival approaches and offers Regina a necklace to wear, saying Arthur would be honored. Regina accepts it and Robin puts it on. It’s…not really Regina. It’s this hunk of purple stone and it overpowers her. Sir Percival says he is looking forward to having a dance with her and after her leaves, Robin reveals he’s looking forward to it to. An “Oh shit” face forms while Outlaw Queen fans are doing this:

Up in Snow’s rooms, she gives Doc some tips about taking care of Baby Neal. She offers to get Granny instead so he can go to the ball, but Doc says he’ll just be roped into being Grumpy’s wingman. He’d rather stay with the baby. But Regina offers to stay because she’s not going to the ball. Snow says she has to but Regina says she needs to figure out how to get Merlin out of the tree. But her stepdaughter isn’t fooled and demands the truth. So Regina spits it out:

She can’t dance.

Okay, let’s pretend that someone like Cora, who conspired to make her daughter queen from the moment she was born, didn’t make her daughter suffer through hours of dancing lessons. Charming offers to teach Regina how to dance and Snow points out she has to practice in a dress. So Regina poofs herself into one of her old Evil Queen numbers but the Charmings convince her to go with something less…scary. So she poofs up a nice pink number and Charming begins to teach her how to waltz, saying that no one will know she was an Evil Queen.

(This is pretty sweet)

Except for Sir Percival, who is spying on her using the necklace. So, Merlin is shady and now Percival is. Wunderbar.

Snow helps Emma get ready and she’s all in white, looking beautiful. There’s even a flower crown in her hair. Too bad Emma can no longer sleep because she looks like she still needs it. Anyway, Snow prattles on about her first ball and how she couldn’t wait to share it with her daughter. Emma takes her mother’s hand and says she’s glad they can share it, even though this isn’t Emma’s first ball.

(Bonding moment!)

Mother and daughter are announced (as “Lady Mary Margaret” and “Lady Emma” instead of “Princess Snow White” and “Princess Emma”. Interesting) and approach their respective men. Hook has heart eyes as he takes Emma in and she gives him a smile. Then Regina is announced as the Savior and she meets Robin’s eyes as well as his smile, returning it with one of her own.

(Look at Savior!Regina)

Regina storms into Gold’s pawn shop and rages at her former mentor, despite the fact he’s still out cold. She says he turned her into a villain, into a monster, and now she won’t be able to become the Savior Storybrooke needs—the Savior Robin needs now.

Before she leaves, Belle says she thinks she knows what took Robin. She opens a book and explains he was taken by a Fury. She says it’s a demon from the Underworld, come to collect a price not paid. And so she’s taking Robin to the Underworld, but can only do so when the moon reaches a certain point. So Regina has some time but not a lot to save her soul mate.

(It looks more terrifying as a drawing)

The ball in Camelot looks to be going well. Belle’s even there, watching her rose. Leroy tells her that it represents hope to him because every petal still on the flower is a chance for Belle to save Rumple. She thanks him for his kind words and asks him for a dance. It’s about time the writers remembered these two are friends!

(It's a miracle!)

Our main couples share dances and everyone holds their own—including Regina. As Snow and Charming dance, she directs her husband’s attention to their grandson. They notice that Henry is staring at a young woman who is standing along the edge of the dance floor. David realizes his grandson is smitten and goes to give him some manly advice.

And that advice? Go introduce yourself! Henry gives his grandfather a look. David gives him some drinks and tells him to use the fact he’s from a strange land, that he’s mysterious. Channel your inner James Dean, Henry. As Henry goes over to the pretty young lady, David looks so very proud.
Henry hands the drink to the girl, who says she’s bored because they have dances like this every night in Camelot. He pretends to not be excited and they lapse into silence. So he does what anyone would do—grab the iPod he’s been hiding in his tunic. The girl is interested by it, especially once Henry says it was a token of appreciation from the Savior. Apparently Regina had time to get Henry a new iPod as a thank you for saving everyone from Isaac’s AU fanfic. Now she’s really impressed. Henry shows her how to listen to it and presses play as a song starts up. She introduces herself as Violet.

(I've dubbed them Cobra Camelot)

Thanks to the people on tumblr, I learned the song played in this scene is called “Only You” and this version is sung by Alison Moyet.

We then get to see Captain Swan and Outlaw Queen dancing to the song. And since they are my OTP, we’re going to focus on Outlaw Queen. Look at how beautiful and adorkable they are:

But then they get interrupted by Sir Percival, who asks for a dance with Regina. She agrees and spots Henry talking with Violet. Regina wants to know who her little prince is talking to but Percival wants to talk about her. He tells her a story about how a little boy came home to find his village ablaze, the people trapped inside and being burned alive. He tells about how the boy hid as the Evil Queen emerged amongst the destruction. She saw him, he says, and she smiled at him. Regina realizes he was the little boy and he tells her she was the Evil Queen. 

(Uh oh)

She asks him if he’s told anyone else and he says he hasn’t because then they would’ve stopped him from pulling a sword on her and trying to kill her.

Robin notices it and he takes down Percival, fighting with him for the sword. Emma raises her hand but Hook stops her, reminding her that she can’t use dark magic. Thankfully everyone seems too focused on the fight to make note of that. As Percival gets the upper hand and turns the sword on Robin, Charming grabs a sword of his own and kills Percival. So far in season 5, we’ve had more deaths than episodes! Regina rushes to Robin’s side, panicking when she sees the blood on his shirt.

Uh oh.

Regina somehow finds out Emma’s new address and goes to visit her. She demands that Emma show herself and the Dark Swan obliges, making a snarky remark about housewarming gifts. Regina tells her to call off the Fury but Emma says she wasn’t the one who summoned it. She tells Regina that she (Regina) didn’t pay the price of magic in Camelot and so she has to figure out how to stop the Fury and save Robin Hood. If Regina fancies herself a Savior, she needs to step up and actually do some saving, Emma says.

Uh, Emma, have you forgotten the other times Regina has saved the day? She undid a spell so you and your mother could get back from the Enchanted Forest. Then she was willing to sacrifice herself for the whole town. And then she undid her own curse to save everyone again. She took on and initially defeated Zelena. And it was her sacrifice for Henry that helped him undo Isaac’s alternate universe. Regina is a savior.

Many times over.

Back in Camelot, Regina tries to heal Robin but is unable to do so. She senses that the sword was enchanted to kill her so her magic was useless. Regina turns and pleads with Emma to heal Robin. The others don’t want Emma to use her magic and Emma isn’t sure what her new powers will do. Regina says she’s asking her because she doesn’t want to lose love again and that she’s not going to use the dagger, not going to make Emma. Emma agrees.

Before she can heal Robin, Rumple pops up to tell her she has to set a price. Emma doesn’t want to do that but Rumple says them’s the rules—for the Dark One to do magic for someone else, s/he has to ask for a price. So that wasn’t just Rumple being greedy. Interesting. Emma says she’ll pay the price as everyone wonders if Emma’s losing it. She squares her shoulder and uses her now gold magic to heal Robin. He takes a deep breath and Regina rushes to him, sharing a kiss. Emma grabs Hook and lays one on him, leaving an awkward Snowing amongst all this kissing.

(Kisses all around!)

Hook pulls away and asks Emma if she’s okay. She says she’s feeling woozy and decides to turn in. As she leaves the room, Rumple annoys her again. He tells her that she liked the power but Emma is just glad she could help Robin. Rumple doesn’t believe her though because her attempt at a True Love’s Kiss with Hook didn’t work.

The Fury deposits Robin on the banks of the lake as smoke begins to cover the water. It flits over him, using its magic to blow back Mary Margaret, David, Arthur and Leroy as they try to save Robin. A boat appears with a cloaked figure riding toward shore, no doubt ready to “collect” Robin.

Regina rushes forward, telling the Fury to take her life instead. It blasts her with purple energy and starts to suck her life from her. Mary Margaret tells her she won’t let Regina do this alone and grabs her hand. David, Arthur and Leroy all do the same and give part of their lives to save Robin in a moment that had everyone recalling Guardians of the Galaxy. You know you thought it too.

(Come on. How obvious is it?)

The price is paid and the Fury heads back to the Underworld, presumably with the cloaked figure on the boat. Regina drops down next to Robin, who is conscious and tells her that she found some believers. She kisses him as she cradles him. She thanks those who helped her and Leroy says he now believes she will be the one to save them from Emma.

In Camelot, Regina comes clean to Arthur. He assures her that Camelot is a place of second chances and hopes that she won’t let Percival’s murder attempt put her off the place. As she assures him she is the Savior and will save Merlin, she keeps one hand in Robin’s. It’s sweet.

Arthur then sits at his round table as Guinevere comes to talk to him. She says she doesn’t trust the people from Storybrooke and that they lost Percival to them. But Arthur says they can get Merlin out of the tree so I guess they have to tolerate them a bit longer.

(Can we trust these two?)

Everyone ends up at Granny’s. Belle and Hook commiserate over loving Dark Ones while sharing a drink. Henry befriends Violet again, introducing her to the jukebox. He plays the same song from the ball and they are just so adorable. Meanwhile, David promises Mary Margaret that they’ll win against the darkness but she points that that means Emma has to lose.

Speaking of Emma, she watches everyone having fun without her at Granny’s and walks away, dejected. She returns to her house and we learn what’s behind the NOT SUSPICIOUS AT ALL door. It’s Excalibur, trapped in the stone again. 

Emma tries to remove it but it doesn’t work, which Rumple taunts her about. He also then tells her she has to try to overcome the weakness of every other Dark One—their loved ones. We see shots of Emma’s friends and family in Granny’s—and Regina finally frees Sneezy from petrification. Yay!

So far, this season has been on point. And I think we all needed some of this romance—even if Robin was put in peril twice this episode. I think every shipper could go away happy from this. It also added to some of the tension between everyone and Emma. And we’re seeing the characters interact with each other more, something that got pushed to the wayside the past couple seasons.

Next time: Arthur and Charming begin an epic bromance, both in Camelot and Storybrooke

Screen caps from here.