‘Once Upon a Time’ recap: Captain Hook enters a dark place in ‘Broken Heart’

Memories being returned and love being rekindled (or not) were the draw for Oncers in the “Broken Heart” episode of “Once Upon a Time,” but it may not have brought clarity and it definitely opened up cans of worms for the rest of the season.

As we begin, Dark Emma Swan still can’t move. Squid ink, don’t you know, is always good to fend off a Dark One. Know what’s not good? Zelena. As Hook hunts for revenge, she’s just out to be wicked. Hook ends up taking some kind of memory from Emma as she’s frozen in place. Zelena then slaps the magic blocking bracelet on Emma and Zelena and Hook take their leave. They will work together, as long as they steer clear of each other.

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Back in Camelot, we see as Hook becomes a Dark One after Emma’s ‘helpful’ deed of transforming him to save him from dying. The transformation brings up all of his painful memories, especially from his quest to slay Rumplestiltskin for killing the woman he loved -- and for cutting off his hand. Adding insult to injury, Rumple voices the dark power that Hook and Emma have to hear. But it is not Rumple, as evidenced by the fact that it goads Hook into planning how to kill Mr. Gold.

As the heroes find Emma, they hear how Hook is now a Dark One. Regina’s furious, Mary Margaret’s reserved, and David is just in protect mode, also trying to find the dream catchers that Emma used to take everyone’s memories. They’re gone. We do still see that Emma, despite her power and the darkness, is still Emma. She messes up, tries to do everything herself though she knows she shouldn’t and later confesses it. The others seem to quickly forgive her and move on to the question of, as Regina puts it, “What the hell is Captain Dark One up to?” Henry, though, gives Emma a stern talking to when she asks them to remove the magic-canceling bracelet: “I’ve seen what you do with dark magic.” Oohh, Violet residue. And with that, they leave the bracelet on Emma as they formulate their plans.

The first place Hook goes as he gains his Dark One knowledge? Mr. Gold’s Pawn Shop, to pay a visit to Rumple and Belle. Hook wants to kill Rumple, but not outright. He wants to do it slow and be all witty about it. Rumple knows he can’t kill Hook. But Hook tells him all he has to do is beat him, take Excalibur and he’d be able to kill him. We all know that’s almost impossible, right? In swordplay, Hook could take out Mr. Gold with one hand tied -- well, no need. But Mr. Gold is smart, resourceful and cunning. Maybe ...

Back in Camelot, the assembled heroes and a de-powered Merlin prepare to fight Hook and Emma. Lancelot’s mom, the lady of the lake, could be of help, so off he goes on a quest. Did we know she was his mom? Eh, I forget. Anyway, while they’re thinking of ways to stop the Dark Ones, Emma and Hook are seemingly trying to fight the darkness and figure out a way to get rid of it.

As the heroes figure out what Hook is up to in Storybrooke, Mr. Gold goes his own route. Rumple tells Belle that saving her from a mind-controlled (heart-controlled?) Merida doesn’t erase a lifetime of cowardice. And that’s true. Rumpbelle gets their moment then as Mr. Gold decides to split from the heroes. Belle wants him to go with them, but he wants to fight Dark Hook himself. “I want to love you in a way that I never could before,” he says. Then he proposes to basically re-marry Belle by the wishing well -- that is, if he’s alive after his confrontation. Not sure about the timing there, Gold.

Sisterly fight. Zelena comes to get her child, but Regina is there. The baby is hidden, and Regina won’t let big sis anywhere near it if she’s thinking about taking the baby away from Robin. Regina leads them back to Robin, who says Zelena will get to see her baby. Regina is hoping that like her with Henry, the unconditional love of a child could make Zelena be not so wicked. Robin and Regina will allow her to visit the child anytime she wants -- with supervision. I still say there better be a backup spell -- some kind of a magical baby LoJack system. The scene holds the show’s best line, too. Upon arriving to see Robin, Zelena says: “Once you go green, you’ll never go queen!”

Dark Hook telekinetically smacks Merida, who was called in to guard Emma when the heroes left her behind. The pirate is out for revenge against Mr. Gold -- and against Emma for how she hurt him by making him a Dark One. He jabs at her with lines such as, “That’s why you’ll always be an orphan.” Then he leaves again, without revealing his plan. Emma really needs those dream catchers.

We can see where his hurt began to grow back in Camelot. The duo seems intent on fighting the darkness, but Emma doesn’t tell Hook that she has Excalibur -- though she did lie and say that it disappeared. Not a good way to build trust with a newly formed Dark One. Hook leaves, revealing his teleportation smoke is red. He’s later summoned back by Emma, using the sword. Such a wrong thing to do, Emma. Forcing him to come back reinforces why he hated to be a Dark One in the first place. But, to show that she trusts him, she gives him Excalibur so that he can determine his own fate. Bad move...

Back in Storybrooke, Emma asks Rumple for help in fighting Dark Hook. He basically says no, that he’ll fight Hook himself without using magic. Emma then goes to Henry for help, and his mild mistrust of her is suddenly put aside as they hunt for the dream catchers with Henry actually leading the way. They find them in the clock tower, a poor hiding place by Hook, and as further evidence of his trust, Henry sprinkles a little magic on Emma’s bracelet, freeing her. When did Henry start messing with the magic? Maybe when he became the author? Another debate for another time.

Mr. Gold and Capt. Dark Hook fight on board the Jolly Roger. It’s not much of a fight, and soon Rumple is on his back with the pointy end of a sword close to his neck. As Hook is about to kill Mr. Gold, he’s distracted by his own dark power’s voice, and Rumple drops a sandbag on him, then grabs Excalibur. He has Dark Hook on the ropes, but lets him teleport away?! He’s been cut by Excalibur, it seems, so he won’t survive for long! But he can at least hold onto that sword instead of tossing it away. Where’s sensible Belle?

Speaking of sensible, Emma and Hook say ‘I love you’ to each other in Camelot. Awwww.

Then Capt. Hook double crosses everyone. The sneaky pirate breaks in on Merlin in Granny’s Diner as he’s casting a spell to warn others about the Dark One -- whom we now know meant Hook and not Emma. Hook snatches Merlin’s heart from his chest. He wants to perform a dark spell to take them all back to Storybrooke so that he can enact some plan that Nimue wants. Though a dark spell can only happen when you crush the heart of someone you love. So, Nimue comes back as part of the dark ones -- meaning that when Hook crushes Merlin’s heart, killing him, it’s Nimue doing it as well. And she’s always loved Merlin. Despite Emma being there, Hook does it -- and kills Merlin.

Wow. While Emma checks on Merlin -- there’s nothing she can do -- Hooks starts the curse to take them back to Storybrooke. Emma then acts, taking Hook’s memory of being a Dark One and knocking him out. She also knocks out anyone else who would’ve know that Hook was a Dark One and takes their memories. She can’t stop the curse, though, and they’re all sent back to Storybrooke.

So, the whole mystery of what happened in Camelot is solved. The newest mystery is also laid to rest as Emma restores everyone’s memories in Storybrooke. They all now know what happened, and Emma knows what Hook’s plan is as she restores the memory that Hook stole from her at the beginning of the episode.

On a side story note: Rumple meets Belle at the wishing well, having fulfilled his quest and gaining Excalibur. As he reiterates his love and wish to continue the relationship, Belle utters the dreaded phrase: “Some part of me will always love you.” That’s never good. She realizes that she doesn’t want to be with him any more. She’s lost the ability to trust him. She turns and leaves. Another wow.

The third and final wow comes as Hook and the Rumple voice stand on the shore of a lake that doubles as a portal to the underworld. Hook needed the blood of a man who has died, or been to hell and back, to open the portal. He got Rumplestiltskin’s blood as they dueled on his ship. He uses the blood to open the portal, and Nimue and the Dark Ones sail through. Their plan? Extinguish the light (magic?) anywhere they can find it. Hook’s plan? We don’ know yet.

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In a twist, we add insight to the straight-laced recap by publishing occasional questions, concerns and comments submitted by Layla Andre, 8, a fervent fan of “Once Upon a Time” and the daughter of a Los Angeles Times staff member. They come about while she watches the latest episodes, and they’re probably some of the same that many viewers have.

-- Rumplestiltskin should have gotten Merida to help him fight Captain Hook.

-- Henry was mad at Emma because of what she had done to Violet. But he forgave her and helped her find the dream catchers. I would still be mad at her if I were him.

-- I think Hook is going to die. That will make Emma like Black Widow.

-- Why haven’t they told us the name of Baby Hood?

--Two surprises: I did not not think Merlin was going to die and I did not expect Belle to break up with Rumple.

-- Why does the moon have a face on it?

-- What does Hook want all the Dark Ones to help him with?