Hook

"Where are my manners, we haven’t been formally introduced. Killian Jones. Now what are you doing aboard my ship?"

- Captain Hook to Rumplestiltskin

Hook, also known as Killian Jones, and Captain Hook, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the fourth episode of the second season. He is portrayed by starring cast member Colin O'Donoghue, and does not have a Storybrooke counterpart.

Hook is based on a character from the play, Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up.

Before the Curse
Before becoming known as Hook, he was called by his real name, Killian Jones. He first met Rumplestiltskin and Milah at a tavern where he was entertaining Milah with stories of the lands he had visited. Rumplestiltskin approached the table and asked Milah to come home with him, but she refused. Jones made a comment about how Rumplestiltskin was taller than Milah had described. Baelfire, who had been told to wait outside, comes into the tavern, and at her son's appearance, she returned home with him and Rumplestiltskin. The next day, Jones and his crew seemingly kidnap Milah, and Rumplestiltskin goes to his ship to ask him to give Milah back to him. Jones says that he is a man with a code of honor, and that if Rumplestiltskin can fight him and win, he will allow Milah to go back with Rumplestiltskin. But when he throws the sword to Rumplestiltskin, Rumplestiltskin will not fight, and so concedes the fight and Milah to Jones.

Several years later, Jones returns to the same tavern where he met Milah and proceeds to drink and enjoy a good time with his crew. In the alley outside the tavern, he is bumped into by a seemingly helpless beggar, whom he then makes fun of by referring to him as a crocodile. The beggar begins to laugh hideously, and casts off his cloak to reveal that he is none other than the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin. Rumplestiltskin asks Jones where Milah is, and at first Jones pretends not to know her, then he tells Rumplestiltskin that she died years ago. Rumplestiltskin challenges Jones to a duel, and he takes Jones' sword, saying that he finds something poetic about killing Jones with it. In the battle, Rumplestiltskin gains the upper hand and, plunging his hand into Jones' chest, prepares to rip his heart out.

At this moment, Milah makes her presence know and orders Rumplestiltskin to stop, saying that she will give him the magic bean once owned by William Smee if he will spare both her and Jones' life. She also reveals that she and Jones are lovers, and that she joined his crew of her own free will. Rumplestiltskin agrees and says that he will meet them at Jones' ship the Jolly Roger the next morning, and he threatens the lives of Jones' entire crew, if he tries to run. The next day, Milah offers Rumplestiltskin the bean, but when he moves towards her in a fit of rage, she tosses it to Jones. Jones clenches it in his fist as he watches Rumplestiltskin rip Milah's heart out. He runs to her side and holds her, as Milah tells him she loves him. She dies in his arms as Rumplestiltskin crumbles her heart into dust.

Rumplestiltskin demands the bean, but Jones refuses. In response, Rumplestiltskin cuts off Jones' left hand, which he believes holds the bean. Jones cries out in pain, then grabs a hook near Milah's corpse and drives it into Rumplestiltskin's chest. Rumplestiltskin laughs and disappears in a cloud of dark red smoke, leaving the hook to clatter to the deck. Jones takes the hook and replaces his left hand with it, before burying Milah at sea. He then tosses the magic bean, which was concealed in his other hand, into the sea, where it creates a portal. As he sails the ship to the portal, Jones states that he and his crew are going to a place where youth is eternal. When Smee asks the name of this place, Jones, now Hook, says, "Neverland". Upon Baelfire arriving at Neverland via being carried by a being called the Shadow, he manages to ward the creature off with fire. As a result, Baelfire falls into the ocean and an approaching ship spots him in the water. The crew throw a rope to pull him aboard. Sputtering and confused, Baelfire awakens to meet the captain of the ship, Hook, and one of his crew members, William Smee. Sometime later, Hook returns to the Enchanted Forest and breaks into the Evil Queen's palace to learn from Belle how to kill Rumplestiltskin. Belle cannot provide him with an answer, but the Evil Queen steps in and informs Hook that she plans to cast a curse that will transport everyone to a land without magic, where Rumplestiltskin could be destroyed much more easily. In exchange for this information she asks that he travel, via Jefferson's hat, to Wonderland and rip out the heart of her mother Cora; to do this, the Queen enchants his hook, providing it with the magic to remove only one heart. She requires that her mother's corpse be returned to her home world, so she sends a dead soldier with him.

Upon arrival at Cora's palace in Wonderland, where she is known as the Queen of Hearts, Hook attempts to rip out her heart, but she had since removed and hidden it. Hook then tells Cora that her very own daughter Regina sent him to kill her. Hook is swayed into a partnership with Cora, when she tells him that it would be impossible for him to enact his revenge in the Land without Magic, as he would no longer remember Rumplestiltskin, let alone what he had done. However, if he would help Cora get close enough to Regina to rip out her heart, Cora promises to transport Hook to this new land with memories of his hatred for Rumplestiltskin.

When Cora overhears Regina confesses she still loves her mother, she decides to change her plan. She and Hook return to the Enchanted Forest, before the casting of the Dark Curse, to an island over which Cora casts a protective shield that keeps them and all of the Safe Haven's inhabitants safe from the curse. There, Hook learns from Cora, that they will be frozen for 28 years until the curse is broken.

After the Curse
In the present day Enchanted Forest, Hook is shown standing on a seashore near the small island hamlet where the survivors of the Dark Curse live. Cora approaches and shows him the ashes of the wardrobe. They talk about using the ashes to get them to the other world. Hook says that Cora will get to meet her daughter and he will get to skin a crocodile (referring to Rumplestiltskin). When Emma, Mary Margaret, Mulan and Aurora come to Safe Haven, they discover Hook beneath a pile of bodies. He attempts to deceive the four of them by saying that he survived Cora's attack on the camp by playing dead and that he was a blacksmith who had lost his hand in an ogre attack. Emma is not buying his story and puts a knife to Hook's throat, saying that she can tell when a person is lying. She ties Hook to a tree, whistles for the ogres, then begins to walk away. Hook then reveals his true identity as a shocked Mary Margaret pulls his hook out of his satchel. He states that he was working with Cora, but will now join forces with Emma and her team, reveals that he knows a way to get to Storybrooke, and that he wishes to go with them there, to get revenge on Rumplestiltskin for the loss of his hand. Emma then cuts him free. He leads them to a giant beanstalk stretching up into the sky, and tells them that there is an Enchanted Compass at the top, but first they must deal with the giant. Emma tells him what she knows of the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. After hearing her brief synopsis, Hook states that while it is a good tale, it is not quite how it happened. He reveals that there was a man named Jack who led an invasion of the giants' realm, killing all but one giant. Hook tells the four women that he possesses a counter spell from Cora that was originally intended to allow him and Cora to climb the beanstalk, and he can only take one of them up the beanstalk with him to get the compass. Emma volunteers, and he slaps a black cuff on her wrist that glows gold briefly, before allowing her to climb the beanstalk. On the beanstalk, Hook asks Emma about her past, but Emma is reluctant to reply. Hook knows that she has a son, but also guesses that Emma herself was an orphan and that she does not want to leave Henry in that situation. Emma asks how he could possibly know that, and Hook states that while in Neverland, he spent time in the company of a group of orphans known as the Lost Boys, so he can easily recognize another orphan. He then asks if Emma has ever been in love and she replies that she never has. At the top of the beanstalk, Emma and Hook arrive in the realm of the Giants. Emma asks why the place is so run down and Hook asks her what she knows of giants. When Hook sees Emma's hand cut from the stalk, Emma tells him it's fine, she'll deal with it. He said "No, it's not." She says "You're going to be a gentleman?" Hook shrugs it off telling her the giant can smell her blood and states that he is already a gentleman. He starts working up a plan, as he cleans her wound from the stalk, to get the compass from the Giant. When Emma shuts it down saying it is not worth it, she suggests they could use the powder Mulan gave them. While Hook passes her the powder, Emma spies a tattoo on his arm for Milah and Hook mentions that it is in memory of someone he knew long ago. Emma realizes that he loved Milah, and Hook states that for a woman claiming not to have ever fallen in love, she is perceptive about the subject. Emma acknowledges that she may have been in love once.

Hook takes a human bone and uses it to pound on a massive metal shield to summon the giant from his lair. The giant comes storming out and sees Hook. Hook then begins taunting him to lead him toward Emma.. The giant follows and Emma throws the potion into the giant's face, knocking him unconscious. At first, Emma believes Hook to have been crushed, but Hook is alive and congratulates her on knocking the giant out cold before proceeding inside. They wander through the giant's lair, with Emma looking for the magical compass, while Hook seems to have more of an eye on the treasure. Emma tells Hook to pay attention and that she needs the compass. Hook tucks the golden coin in his belt. Emma and Hook stumble across the skeleton of Jack the Giant Killer. All that remains are his bones, a few tattered bits of cloth and a large sword with Jack's name inscribed on it. As Hook prepares to search further, Emma grabs hold of him, saving him from walking into a tripwire. Hook takes this as a sign of affection from Emma, which she denies immediately.

Hook is certain he sees the compass on top of a golden bird cage. He asks Emma to give him a boost, to which Emma retorts she should be the one being boosted. He requests Emma to trust him. They then hear the sound of the awakened giant, pounding up and down, behind them. Roaring in fury, he storms towards them and his movements loosen stones from the ceiling which fall and appear to crush Hook beneath them. After fighting and trapping the giant, Emma releases him in exchange for the compass and a promise to delay Hook from immediately following her down the beanstalk. Anton is relieved she isn't like other humans who slaughtered his whole family. She goes to Hook and pulls him out from under the rocks and shows him the magical compass. Hook reaches for it but Emma tucks it back into her coat pocket. Then she clamps a manacle on Hook, stating that she cannot fully trust him. She turns and leaves as Hook roars for her to come back and free him. When Emma jumps to the ground with the compass in her hand, Aurora asks about Hook, to which Emma responds that he is fine, but that he is a tied up. Later, Hook is shown climbing down the beanstalk, and lands at the bottom to find Cora behind him. The two talk, and Hook tells her that he was planning to bring her the compass, once he had gotten it from the giant, but that Emma had taken it. Cora believes that he betrayed her. Hook asks if she is going to kill him and challenges her to try, but she tells him that she is going to leave him alone in the Enchanted Forest with his vengeance unfulfilled. He attacks her, but she disappears, leaving him face down in the dirt.

Hook earns back Cora's trust by sneaking into the cell of her prisoner, Aurora, and ripping out her heart. When Aurora awakens and is startled to see him, he graciously frees her, though she has no idea her heart has been taken. She asks why he is letting her go, and he states he wants to see Cora suffer. He asks Aurora to deliver the message that his deal with Emma still stands, and that he still wants to help her back to the land without magic if he can come with her. Later, in Aurora's empty cell, Cora comes in to find Hook. She binds him to the wall, and says that she will have to kill him, but he replies she should be thanking her and that he brought her a gift. He tells her that it is in the satchel which Cora takes and looks into. Cora is delighted he procured Aurora's heart for her. Using it, he and Cora listen to Aurora and her companions speak and learn that they are going to Rumplestiltskin's cell to find the magic ink which will trap Cora. Cora congratulates him on taking out a heart. Hook proposes that they continue to Storybrooke together, and once Cora agrees, he leaves, presumably to get the compass from Emma. With Aurora's heart in hand, he and Cora trap Aurora, Mulan, Emma and Mary Margaret in Rumplestiltskin's old cell having used Aurora to lower the cell gate against her will. When the three women attempt to confront Aurora over her "betrayal", Cora unveils Aurora's heart from beneath her cloak. They believed it was Cora who took it, but Hook reveals otherwise, as Cora gently squeezes the heart causing Aurora great pain. Hook confronts Emma about leaving him atop the beanstalk. She tries to make him reconsider, and he shows her a "souvenir" from his encounter with the giant. It is the magic bean that formerly hung around the giant's neck, and he taunts her that much like Emma herself, the bean is something that was once magical and full of hope, but is now '"dried up, dead, and useless." He leaves with Cora, but not before stating to Emma that he is done with her.

To restore enough magic to the wardrobe ashes, Hook and Cora go to Lake Nostos, whose water Cora restores in order to create the portal. Hook throws the ashes into the water to create the portal, but as he and Cora prepare to enter it, Mary Margaret, Emma, and Mulan arrive. Mulan fires an arrow, shooting the compass out of her hand. He and Emma fight for the compass, while Mulan battles Cora, and Mary Margaret fires arrows at them. Cora disappears within a cloud of smoke leaving behind the satchel that holds Aurora's heart. Mulan manages only momentarily to catch it on the tip of her sword, but Hook, mid-fight and using Emma as a counter weight, literally bends over backwards over the portal and catches Aurora's heart, before tossing it to Mulan (so he both stole Aurora's heart and saved it). He explains that he may be a pirate, but he still bristles at the thought of a woman losing her heart, unless over him. With Aurora's heart in Mulan's care and being rushed back to Aurora, Hook and Emma continue their sword-fight. Emma retrieves the compass and knocks Hook out cold.

After the portal closes upon Emma and Mary Margaret's return to Storybrooke leaving only the waters of Lake Nostos, Cora looks at the waters in disappointment that they have failed. However, Hook once again reminds her of his 'souvenir' and that the waters will restore magic to the bean, which can then transport them to Storybrooke. While the newly reunited Charming family enter Granny's diner in celebration in Storybrooke, Hook's ship emerges through the fog gliding across the sea surrounding Storybrooke with Hook and Cora on board. Hook stands on the dock, as Cora disembarks his ship. They discuss his desire for vengeance against Rumplestiltskin and that matters are a bit more complicated now that magic is in Storybrooke. A man appears and admires Hook's ship, before Cora uses her magic to conceal it from prying eyes and turns the man into a fish. Hook kicks the fish into the water.

Sometime later, he and Cora observe Regina leaving Granny's Diner alone after her talk with Emma. Hook asks if her daughter is broken, and Cora says not yet.

Later, aboard his ship, Cora tells Hook that she has brought him a gift that will make it easier for him to gain information about Storybrooke and Rumplestiltskin. Cora takes Hook into the ship's hold and shows him that she has not in fact killed Archie Hopper, but has taken him hostage. When Hook asks who she actually killed, Cora responds by saying she does not know, as she has only been in town for a day. Cora smiles wickedly at Archie and says that there are ways to make this cricket chirp. In the hold of his ship, Hook demands Archie tell him all that he knows about the dagger. Archie pleads that he knows nothing of it, and Hook sees that he is telling the truth. He knows, however, that Rumplestiltskin must have a weakness, and threatens to "dissect a cricket" if Archie does not talk, which he finally and fearfully agrees to do.

Later, when Belle enters the library, she finds Hook casually reading a book near the back. When she tells him the library is not open yet, he tells her that he is not there for the books. She recognizes him from her cell in Regina's castle, and runs. Hook follows and blocks her escape through the front door. He admits that while he still wants to kill Rumplestiltskin, she will "do for now". Belle pushes the book cart, which falls upon Hook and knocks him down, giving her time to run into the elevator. As Hook bangs on the door, Belle calls Mr. Gold for help, but when he arrives, Hook is mysteriously gone. It is later revealed that Hook threatened Belle to get Mr. Gold away from his shop, so Smee could procure Baelfire's shawl for him.

When Belle discovers Hook's ship, she releases Archie, and begins to search for the shawl. Hook finds her and mockingly holds up the shawl. He grabs her gun before she can reach it and after a bit of observation, he seems to understand its workings and points it at her head. When Belle declares that she is not afraid of him and questions whether he has hurt Rumplestiltskin enough, he chuckles and begins to reveal the truth about Milah and how she died, although Belle is resistant to his words. She knocks him into the hold and runs up to the deck, but Hook gets there ahead of her, saying that he knows his ship, "like the back of his... well, you know". Suddenly, Mr. Gold arrives (having received word from Archie) and begins beating Hook with his cane, while Hook mocks his cowardice. Now that Mr. Gold has the shawl, Belle begs him not to kill Hook, and he reluctantly concedes.

After Mr. Gold has successfully crossed the town line with the enchanted shawl, he bids Belle, who is standing just on the other side of the line, good-bye. Suddenly, Hook shoots at her, causing her to fall across the town line and into Mr. Gold's arms. Magic passes over her, and she loses her her Enchanted Forest memories. Then a car speeds past the town line, hits Hook, and swerves to the side of the road. Shortly thereafter, Emma arrives at the scene of the crash. Mr. Gold is enraged at what has unfolded and hurts Hook further by crushing his already broken ribs. Emma notices his condition and takes him to the Storybrooke General Hospital, along with the stranger who crashed into Storybrooke.

When Hook later awakes in his hospital room, he is interrogated by Emma. She asks him about the location of Cora, Hook comments and deflects her questions with by flirting with her. Emma gets frustrated and psychs him out moving forward quickly making Hook regret it with the pain of his ribs. He then admits that he has no idea where Cora is and she has her own agenda. He inquires after his hook and flirts with Emma about certain attachments when Emma notes that he's a chipper especially after his accident and failure on revenge. Hook notes that he's done damage towards Rumplestiltskin by hurting Belle. He said it's worth it because Rumplestiltskin killed Milah first. Emma then gives him a threat about how Rumplestiltskin is still very powerful and Hook himself could be dead within the year because of what he did. Hook is taken out of the hospital by Mary Margaret, David and Leroy who question him about Cora's plans. He agrees to take them on his ship, and the group pass the invisibility spell to find a giant who was kidnapped, shrunk down in size, and trapped in a cage by Cora. Hook continues to deny knowing anything about Cora's plans and tells them to ask the giant. Mary Margaret opens the giant's cage and assures him it will be alright. When he sees David, Anton the giant, recognizes him, and he knocks him down. Mary Margaret starts firing arrows and Hook escapes in the confusion.

Hook places a Queen of Hearts card on the cement in hopes of contacting Cora. Instead, Regina appears to him. Regina blames him for not killing her mother but soon tells him that they have made amends. She asks Hook if they have found his ship and Hook says Cora should ask him for herself. She asks Hook if Cora's things are still on his ship and Hook tells her that the giant has escaped. Regina devises a plan after Hook tells her the giant was angry with David. Hook barges in on Regina and Cora, asking if Rumplestiltskin is truly no longer in Storybrooke. Regina and Cora confirm this, and Hook is eager to leave Storybrooke and seek him out to kill him, as Mr. Gold has no magic outside Storybrooke. Cora responds that he will have his vengeance, but to do so, Hook must team up with her and Regina to find the one thing that can control Mr. Gold, his dagger.

After Regina retrieves the call number for a book in the library from Belle's purse, Cora and Hook meet her there and search for the book indicated on the yellow index card. They do not find a book, but Cora pulls out a treasure map. Hook states that they are lucky that he knows how to handle a treasure map, and he proceeds to outline the area where the dagger is located. As the trio makes to leave, Cora uses her magic to fling Hook against the back wall of books, knocking him unconscious. Hook has woken up and goes to the Storybrooke jail, where he attacks David as he enters the jail to begin his day at work. He steals David's car keys and states that David has something of his. He then goes to a drawer in David's office and uses the key to open it, taking out his hook and attaching it to his hand. He then leaves and sails the Jolly Roger to New York, where he goes into the city and finds Mr. Gold waiting with Emma on the stairwell. He knocks Emma out of the way and stabs Mr. Gold, stating that he took Milah and his happiness from him, and now he will take Rumplestiltskin's life. The hook he uses to stab Mr. Gold is poisoned. Emma rallies and knocks Hook out before he can hurt Mr. Gold any further. Neal runs down the stairs and sees the scene, recognizing Hook. Emma locks Hook in a storage closet to make sure he cannot hurt anybody else for the moment as they make plans to take his ship back to Storybrooke. Later, Neal tells Emma that Tamara went to get her bags from the storage closet, but Hook was not there. In truth, though Neal and Emma are under the impression Hook somehow escaped, he was actually taken hostage by Tamara and Greg. They sneak him into Storybrooke via hiding him in the back of a truck, and want to use him for their own means. Tamara and Greg tie Hook to a chair on the top level of the clock tower. He guesses they are going to interrogate and torture information out of him, and laughs at the situation. Hook doesn't care about following their rules as he believes he has already accomplished his life's goal of killing the Dark One. Tamara and Greg show him the truth by easing his chair close to the clock tower's face and handing him a telescope. Hook uses it to peer down onto the ground level of the town, and becomes enraged seeing Mr. Gold alive and well walking beside Belle. Greg makes him see he cannot win against the Dark One unless he has help, and if they help him, he must also do as they want. Greg wants Hook to get close to Regina under the pretense of becoming her ally, which he agrees to do.

Hook comes to Regina in her office and pretends to spill Tamara and Greg's secret plan of wanting him to become aligned with and betray her later on. He gives his condolences upon hearing of Cora's death, and pulls at Regina's heart by talking about the one thing Cora wanted for her daughter was to see her win. Regina lets Hook in on her escape plan from Storybrooke by using magic beans to go back to the Enchanted Forest. Before she leaves with Henry, Regina wants to activate a "fail-safe" that will eradicate the whole town and its inhabitants. Hook asks if the "crocodile" will also perish, which Regina confirms.

Hook and Regina travel down to the basement level of the clock tower where inside a cave hides the "fail-safe". Hook grimly talks about how revenge is all he is living for, and once his vengeance is fulfilled, he'll have nothing to live for. But, Regina believes otherwise; that after vengeance is a fresh start. She notices Hook is wearing her mother's armband, and demands it back. Inside the cave, Regina explains the "fail-safe" is guarded by Maleficent, and the magic in the cave prevents her from dying so she can continue to keep the "fail-safe" from intruders. Hook becomes Maleficent's bait and distraction after Regina pushes him into her pit. Despite stabbing Maleficent, she regenerates and reforms into a bigger version of her current self. Using unknown means, Tamara and Greg save Hook from her.

Hook is waiting in the library by the time Regina makes her way back up from the cave to the ground floor of the clock tower. She is astounded he survived, but he states that's the thing he's best at. Hook reveals he felt a genuine connection when she spoke of starting over with a new life after vengeance, and it almost made him put a stop to his "plan". Upon further inquiry, he unveils it as Tamara and Greg's plan, and they walk into the room to face off with Regina. Despite Regina's attempts in using magic against them, it does not work as the armband is designated by science to cancel out magic. Hook lets Greg take the lead in speaking to Regina, and watches as Tamara, on Greg's orders, puts a bag over Regina's head and take her to an unknown location. Greg has Regina tied up with the intentions of torturing her until she admits where his father is. He asks Hook to give him a hand, "preferably his good one". Hook refuses, telling Greg that he will only help them when they're interested in killing Rumplestiltskin, before walking off.

Trivia

 * Hook's casting call described him as "A handsome, fearsome and confident pirate ship captain, Hook relishes every challenge and never backs down from a fight, whether the reward is power, riches or women. He possesses the meticulous style and old-school manners of a proper gentleman, but beneath that veneer lies a vindictive enemy who will not rest until all his enemies have been defeated… and humiliated."
 * Hook is one of very few Enchanted Forest characters to have a known surname.
 * Has a tattoo with Milah's name on his right wrist.