Board Thread:Spoilers!/@comment-4962906-20151028032508/@comment-24674051-20151029053232

Don't judge until you know the full story. I think it's equally telling as to who is NOT in the scene, ie Snow, Regina, Emma, Henry. They may be up to something else. Also, Merlin was just freed, he may want to stretch out a bit before tackling the bigger problem which is Arthur and Excalibur.

Besides, the sneak peek seems to make sure that we see him in a positive light as being quite powerful.