Devil's Due

"At any time, I can cash in the debt, and take your baby. All magic comes with a price. And now, Dark One, the price is you work for me."

- Hades to Mr. Gold

"Devil's Due" is the fourteenth episode of Season Five of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Jane Espenson, and directed by Alrick Riley. It is the one-hundredth and second episode of the series overall, and premiered on March 20, 2016.

Synopsis
Hook's captivity takes a dark turn when Hades threatens to condemn him to the River of Lost Souls after Hook refuses to choose which three of his friends will have to remain in the Underworld. Meanwhile, Gold is suddenly eager to help Emma, Snow, David, Regina, Robin and Henry find Hook so he can return home to Belle; but in order to do so, he must find his ex-wife Milah in the Underworld and ask for her help. In Fairy Tale Land flashbacks, Rumple and Milah face a life-or-death crisis concerning their son, Baelfire, that forces Rumple to make a deal that will haunt him.

Starring

 * Ginnifer Goodwin as Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
 * Lana Parrilla as Regina Mills
 * Josh Dallas as David Nolan
 * Emilie de Ravin as Belle French
 * Colin O'Donoghue as Hook
 * Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills
 * Rebecca Mader (Credit only)
 * Sean Maguire as Robin Hood
 * Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold

Guest Starring

 * Lee Arenberg as Leroy
 * Aaron Douglas as Fendrake the Healer
 * Beverley Elliott as Granny
 * Greg Germann as Hades
 * Robbie A. Kay as Peter Pan (Voice)
 * Rachel Shelley as Milah
 * Victoria Smurfit as Cruella De Vil

Co-Starring

 * Gavin Cooke as Drunken Lout
 * Dean Petriw as Young Baelfire

Trivia
Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The title card features Hook hanging from the chain.
 * Jane Espenson's favorite scene of the episode is the one between Mr. Gold and Milah on the boat.
 * -|Episode Connections=

Event Chronology

 * The Underworld events take place after "Labor of Love".
 * The Enchanted Forest events from take place after "Manhattan" and "Good Form", and before "The Crocodile".
 * The final scene with Rumplestiltskin and Fendrake takes place during the events of "The Miller's Daughter", after Rumplestiltskin began his relationship with Cora.
 * The Storybrooke events take place after "Swan Song".

Episode Connections

 * -|Cultural References=

Disney

 * Cruella mentions Bambi's mother from the film Bambi when talking about her fur coat.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episodes features Rumplestiltskin from the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, Robin Hood from the ballad, Cruella De Vil from The Hundred and One Dalmatians story, and Hades from Greek Mythology.
 * Also featured is the Underworld from Greek mythology.
 * Peter Pan from the Peter Pan story's voice can be heard from the letter.
 * According to the engravings above the archways, two of the rivers in Hades' lair are Styx and Cocytus, two of the five rivers from Greek Mythology. The River of Lost Souls, which that Hades tries to lower Hook into, is a reference to Lethe, the river of unmindfulness.
 * The snake that bites Baelfire, is an Atlantean rat snake. "Atlantean" refers to Atlantis, the fictional island mentioned in Plato's works Timaeus and Critias''.

Popular Culture

 * The inscription on the gates, which reads "Abandon all hope, ye who enter", is a reference to "Inferno", the first part of Dante Alighieri's epic poem "The Divine Comedy".
 * Hades is reading Goethe's Faust in his lair. It is a reworking of a classic German legend, about a man who calls on the Devil for further knowledge and magic powers. The Devil's representative grants Faust magic powers for a set number of years, but at the end of the term, the Devil will claim his soul, and Faust will be eternally damned.
 * The story, which Hades happens to be reading as he is about to inform Mr. Gold that he will take his unborn child unless Mr. Gold agrees to work for him, parallels the deal Rumplestiltskin made with Fendrake, which is signed over to Hades.
 * -|Props Notes=

Props Notes

 * Fendrake's contract, which he signed over to Hades, reads:

ᚲᛟᚾᛏᚱᚨᚲᛏ [ Elder Futhark runes, which translate as "contract" ] Acceptance of this contract dictates the unconditional agreement to this offer. This being "created contract". Here-in being written by Rumplestiltskin before Acceptance, [sic] any offer can be withdrawn, but once accepted this contract is binding on both sides. Any conditions that may have been effected as per a counter offer must be accepted by both parties.

Representing the undersigned agent is hereby appointed by Rumplestiltskin to act on behalf of no other person than the undersigned (known as the principal). The amount of authority to deal that the agent has is subject to agreement between the principal and the stated agent. However, otherwise, third parties can assume the [sic] Mr. Gold has full powers to negotiate this contract.

[obscured]third party to settle any future disputes without going to court. Any third party acting as arbitrator [image ends] [obscured]presented in advance [image ends]
 * -|Other Notes=

Filming Locations

 * The exterior scenes in the Enchanted Forest, were filmed in Burnaby's Central Park, and Vancouver's Pacific Spirit Regional Park.