Once Upon A Time Season 5A Preview
Once-Season5-Emma-Snow
WHAT HAPPENED IN CAMELOT?! | For sure, that is the No. 1 Q to be answered in Season 5A. "Emma, as we see in Camelot, is trying to resist the Darkness — and then she went full-on 'Lady Stardust' at the end of the premiere," Kitsis notes. "So we're wondering, what happened? And how did that happen?" As those missing weeks are revisited, the EP warns, Emma's "relationships with everybody are going to be tested" — her greatest frenemy and her lover included. "[We] love the notion that two of the people that [Emma] has expectedly and unexpectedly grown closest to over the years, Regina and Hook, are both people who've battled darkness themselves," says Horowitz. "How their experiences can inform what she's going through, and either help or hinder her, is something that we want to explore this half of the season and beyond."
Did a loved one in fact wrong Emma in Camelot? Or did Emma bring this upon herself? "Choices are going to be made by different characters, by Emma and the people who care for her," Horowitz says, "and some choices that may seem like the absolutely correct thing to do are going to turn out to be maybe the worst thing to do."
Once-Flashbacks
HOW WILL FLASHBACKS HE HANDLED? | As you've surely surmised, Season 5A will echo a previous time when the heroes and villains found themselves zapped with a sizable gap in their memories, courtesy of the Wicked Witch. "It's going to be very similar to Season 3B," says Kitsis, "in that we are going to be flashing back to Camelot and then [return to] present-day Storybrooke," with origin stories for Camelot's Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot, as well as Merida, sprinkled in.
Once_season5-Emma-regina
IS REGINA READY TO LEAD THE CHARGE TO SAVE EMMA? | Having possession of the Dark One's dagger in Camelot, at Emma's insistence, "is a lot of responsibility for Regina," Horowitz notes. "So she is kind of struggling with: How does she do the right thing, and how does she help Emma?" Meanwhile in present-day Storybrooke, with Emma gone dark and interim sheriff Sneezy rendered inert, "It's going to be everyone looking at the mayor," Kitsis previews. Alas, that Evil Queen mantle is still one she has yet to fully shake. "It's one thing to ask everyone's forgiveness; it's another thing to lead people," Kitsis points out. "[Regina] is going to be thrust into a leadership position in saving the town — a town [with], quite honestly, a lot of people that are still frightened of her."
Once-Rumple
IS RUMPLESTILTSKIN DOWN FOR THE COUNT? | In flashbacks, Rumple-as-Emma's mentor "will be around until she accepts the Darkness or not," says Horowitz. As for the former Dark One's Storybrooke state, "I don't think it'd be much fun to see him lying around the whole season," Kitsis says of the character's coma. "His arc in Storybrooke is something we haven't fully seen before. It's going to go right into his very essence as a character."
Once-Belle-Rose
HAS BELLE ABANDONED RUMPLE? | Though Rumbelle fans cheered the sight of the Enchanted Rose from Beauty and the Beast, some carp that the device paved the way for Belle to leave her comatose husband's side. Kitsis, though, reminds of what Blue said, that Belle is too important a player to sit on the sidelines while everyone else is adventuring in Camelot. He then adds: "My favorite Belle is the one where she's strong, and we're going to see that strength this year." Horowitz meanwhile offers this reminder to the couple's fans: "Belle cares about what's happening to Gold/Rumple right now, but that doesn't mean that all is forgiven and everything that happened before doesn't need to be dealt with. It does."
Once-Arthur-Knights
IS KING ARTHUR TELLING THE TRUTH? | As seen in the premiere's opening minutes, Arthur removed the Sword in the Stone (RIP, Sir Kay!), only to discover that a section of the blade that would make him king was missing — the part that now forms the Dark One's dagger. So one would be wise to wonder if a hidden agenda is at play when he and his knights gently greet Emma & Co. "There's more going on than what we've seen so far," Horowitz affirms. "In the next few episodes, you'll see some more of that explained and explored."
Once-Camelot-Emma-Hook
WHAT'S COMING UP IN CAMELOT? | Episode 2 of the new season will feature a grand ball and all the pomp and circumstance that comes with such an event. "Beyond whatever mythology that we're exploring, being in this place of romance and adventure has an effect on each and every [character], and we're going to see stories where that really impacts them," Horowitz attests. "While the stakes are super high for Emma, there's still room for the fun and swashbuckling adventure."
Once-Emma-Darkness
MIGHT EMMA'S DARKNESS SPILL OVER INTO SEASON 5B? | Though Once is sticking with its split-season plan of recent years, "The ramifications of what happened in this premiere are felt throughout the entire season," Horowitz makes clear. Whether the Darkness stays with her or not, "Emma's journey is going to encompass the whole season."
Once-Merlin-Emma
WHO WAS THAT MYSTERIOUS USHER? | In the cold open's flashback to Minneapolis circa 1989, a young Emma is warned by a movie theater usher to, no, not steal candy, but not remove Excalibur from the stone, as she one day will be given the opportunity to do — or else "bad things" will happen, despite her intentions. The usher, for those who haven't kept tabs on Season 5 casting news, is actually Merlin, played by Elliot Knight (Sinbad). "Merlin is going to get an origin story that will explain his whole thing," the encounter with Emma included, says Kitsis. "That warning will be explained... in the first seven episodes."
[polldaddy poll=9098681]