Jolly Roger (Ship)

The Jolly Roger, formerly known as the Jewel of the Realm, is a ship featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It first appears in the fourth episode of the second season. The Jolly Roger is portrayed by the Lady Washington.

History
A ship known by the name Jewel of the Realm is headed by Captain Liam Jones. On orders of the king, he and his crewmen are to travel to a distant island and procure a medical plant, Dreamshade, which is rumored to heal all wounds. With the duty, he is given a sextant for celestial navigation as well as star charts for path to the island and back and a large sail made of Pegasus feathers. For the journey, Liam brings his brother, Lieutenant Killian Jones, along with him. As the Jewel of the Realm begins a steady passage at sea, the crew's lives are endangered when they come under attack by two ships from behind. To make a hasty escape, Liam orders for the Pegasus sail to be unveiled. Once it is fully uncovered, the ship, powered by the Pegasus feathers, lifts up off from the ocean's waters and into the skies.
 * -|Before the Curse=

Safely landing on the island, Liam and Killian are warned by a refuge inhabitant, Peter Pan, of Dreamshade's deadly poison. While Killian begins to doubt the authenticity of the king, Liam presses on with the mission. Once obtaining a branch of Dreamshade, Liam puts his brother's worries to rest by deliberately cutting himself with the plant. At first, nothing happens, but to Killian's horror, the plant's toxins have an instantaneous effect on Liam, who promptly passes out. Reappearing, Peter Pan gives Killian access to an antidote, but cautions there is a price to pay for magic once the both of them leave the island. Liam is restored to health, but Peter Pan disappears before Killian can give him the payment.

On the sail back home, Liam proposes they must expose their king's wrongful ways, which Killian heartily agrees with. Once they are out of the island's range, Killian learns what Peter Pan meant by magic's price when his brother meets a quick and fatal death. Later, Liam's body is wrapped up and thrown overboard. Despondent at his brother's death, Killian rallies the crew to renounce the king, who deliberately sent them to die by procuring Dreamshade. Henceforth, he proclaims they will live as pirates of honor and renames the Jewel of the Realm to the Jolly Roger.

Adventuring as a pirate captain, Killian and his crew stop in a town pub where he meets a bored housewife named Milah. She begins drinking and gambling in their company and grows fascinated with Killian's traveling tales. The two fall in love, but one night, Milah's husband, Rumplestiltskin, comes to plead for her to come home. The next day, Milah decides to run away to be with Killian so they can voyage on the Jolly Roger together. Rumplestiltskin hears rumors his wife has been kidnapped and goes aboard the ship to beg for her back. Killian intends for them to fight for Milah, but Rumplestiltskin is too cowardly to pick up the sword, and asks Killian, "Please sir, what am I going to tell my boy?" To which Killian replies, "Try the truth; his father's a coward".

Years later, Rumplestiltskin, having become the Dark One, happens upon Killian. They duel, to which Rumplestiltskin has the upper hand and prepares to destroy his nemesis, but Milah rushes over to stop him. She promises to give him the magic bean he so desires if her and Killian's lives are spared.

Later, on board the Jolly Roger, Milah shows Rumplestiltskin the magic, and throws it to Killian. During a confrontation between the former husband and wife, she admits she was the coward, and that she let her misery cloud her judgment. He asks why she was so miserable and she states, “I never loved you!" Angered, he rips out her heart and ends Milah's life by crushing it to dust. Killian furiously states Rumplestiltskin may be more powerful, but is still a coward. Rumplestiltskin requests what he came for--the magic bean--yet, Killian refuses to give it to him. Rumplestiltskin, therefore, cuts off Killian's hand. In agony, Killian grabs a hook and stabs Rumplestiltskin with it, but it does not kill him. He swears to find a way to kill the Dark One, to which Rumplestiltskin smirks, and says, "Well good luck living long enough."

William Smee, who was previously taken prisoner to get the magic bean, is released and Killian gives him his life in return for keeping the bean. Smee sees this as a downgrade to "eternal life", but Killian reassures him, throwing the bean into the water, and saying that they are all going somewhere where none of them will ever grow old. Smee asks what is such a land, and Killian replies, "Neverland!"

With the use of a magic bean combined with the waters of Lake Nostos in the Enchanted Forest, a portal to Storybrooke is opened, and they sail into the town dock via the sea.
 * -|After the Curse=

At the harbor, Hook is on his ship getting his first look at Storybrooke. When he gets off his ship with Cora, Hook says that this is where they should go their separate ways and that he needs to skin his "crocodile". As he walks away, Cora transports from behind him to in front of him. She says that going into Storybrooke alone is a bad idea. Hook says that they had a deal and to for Cora to get out of his way. Cora states that she is doing him a favor. She asks him how she could transport from one place to another and Hook realizes that there is magic in Storybrooke. Cora says that magic in Storybrooke would make matters a bit more complicated. If Hook chose to go to Mr. Gold, that would empower him. Hook knows what would happen and listens to Cora. They meet a fisherman who asks them if they need anything, but Hook says they are fine. The fisher states that they have a nice vessel. Cora asks him what vessel is he talking about. Then, she magically makes the ship invisible. The fisherman comments what a cool trick that was, and asks if Cora is some sort of magician. Cora gets rid of him by turning the man into a fish.

Then, Cora informs Hook her daughter has now lost everything, and she must look for Regina first. Hook asks Cora when he will be able to get revenge on Rumplestiltskin. Cora explains she has already begun on it and brings him down into his ship, where a "gift" is waiting. The "gift" is actually Archie, who is tied and gagged. She tells Hook that he knows many secrets of Storybrooke and that, "This cricket will chirp."

Hook is interrogating the true Dr. Hopper. Hook asks him about the dagger, but Archie claims he knows nothing of it, and Hook believes him. He asks him of Mr. Gold's weakness, but Archie will not tell him, so Hook threatens him with physical violence. Fearing for his life, Archie tells Hook what he may be able to do to get his revenge against Mr. Gold.

William Smee steals Baelfire's shawl from Mr. Gold's shop. Mr. Gold begs Belle to stay out of harm's way by locking herself in the library, and gives her a gun to protect herself should she need it. While there, Belle reads a nautical book and realizes that Hook came to Storybrooke by ship. On the street, Mr. Gold corners and uses his magic on Smee to pin him to the wall and demands his shawl back. Terrified, Smee admits he gave it to Hook. Mr. Gold sneers about how Smee is just like rat, and as punishment, he transforms him into one. As a mouse, Smee squeaks and scurries away.

Belle reaches the dock and notices a seagull perched on something invisible. She throws sand over a suspected invisible solid area, and it shows the outline of Hook's ship. She walks up the steps of the ship and walks through Cora's spell onto the deck. While underneath the ship, she hears cries for help. She discovers Archie and uses a sword to cut him free. Archie leaves to hurry back into town to find Mr. Gold.

Belle places down the gun she is carrying, and searches through the various items in a room for Baelfire's shawl. Hook appears in the doorway holding the garment. Though they both lunge for the gun on the table, Hook is faster and grabs the gun to aim it at her forehead.

Belle tells Hook that she is not afraid of him, and she is not leaving without the shawl. Hook claims keeping Mr. Gold from his son would be doing the boy a favor. He elaborates more on the details of his relationship with Mr. Gold and Milah. He tells her Milah has come willingly to him, and Rumplestiltskin killed her by ripping her heart out in front of him. He bitterly remarks about wanting to burn the shawl, but did not because Milah made it. He asks her why she is fighting for a man like Mr. Gold, and she reasons there is good in Mr. Gold's heart, and tells Hook his heart is rotten. She jabs him in the face with a metal pole hanging from the ceiling, grabs the shawl and runs out of the cabin.

Belle runs across the deck and is close to escaping, but Hook has beaten her there as he knows his own ship very well. He asks for the shawl back when Mr. Gold appears and begins to attack Hook with his cane.

Amidst pleads from Belle to stop, Mr. Gold continues to assault the ship's captain with his cane. Belle continues to implore Mr. Gold to stop while Hook taunts him about Milah, which make Mr. Gold even more rageful. To calm Belle, Mr. Gold does not kill him, and warns Hook he never wants to see him again. Together, Mr. Gold and Belle leave the ship.

Mary Margaret, Leroy and David take Hook out of the hospital after his injuries heal, and are led aboard his ship. Though he doesn't know anything about Cora's plans, Hook agrees to show them what she brought from the Enchanted Forest. He tells them to ask the "bloody giant" she had shrunk and brought to Storybrooke. Mary Margaret opens the giant's cage and assures him it will be alright. He tells her his name is Anton and asks her if the witch is gone. Soon he realizes that Cora has shrunk him in size. When he sees David, he knocks him down; seemingly recognizing David as someone he once knew. Leroy tries to help, but is soon knocked down, too. Mary Margaret shoots an arrow near Anton to stop his rampage and he leaves, but Anton promises David that he will pay for his evil.

After knocking David out at the sheriff's office to obtain his hook back, Hook uses a map to sail his ship to New York. The ship is invisible to outsiders, so it does not draw attention when it docks in a harbor. Upon arrival, he stabs Mr. Gold with his hook, but Emma stops him from hurting him further by hitting Hook over the head with a trash can. Mr. Gold is severely injured and Neal, Emma and Henry must get him back to Storybrooke as soon as possible to save his life. Neal tells Emma that this land was not the first stop on his trip to our world, and he can sail the ship.

Neal lives up to what he told Emma by sailing this ship alongside Henry. Mr. Gold waits below the ship's deck resting in a bunk bed due to his injuries. Emma comes down to see how he is doing, but the poison from the hook is spreading fast. She asks if Cora and Regina could make him kill them all with the dagger, and he affirms it. He tells her she probably wants him to die not, but she replies he is Henry's grandfather, so they are family now. Later, the ship reaches Storybrooke and Mr. Gold is helped to David's car by Neal, Henry and Ruby.

To bring about the end of magic in Storybrooke, outsiders Greg and Tamara procure a trigger from Regina and set it off to destroy the town as well as the inhabitants. Though previously an ally to the duo, Hook is not willing to die in order to get his long awaited revenge on Mr. Gold, and betrays them to aid David in stealing back one of the remaining magic beans. Even so, selfishly hoping to save his own life, Hook tricks Emma into thinking he gave her the bean, and makes plans to leave Storybrooke.

Meanwhile, Greg and Tamara put their actual true plan into motion after Emma and Regina deactivate the trigger from detonating by kidnapping Henry and taking him to another world via a magic bean. Horrified, David, Emma, Mary Margaret and Regina are at loss of what to do when they chance upon Mr. Gold and Belle at the harbor. Just when all hope is gone, Belle points out the Jolly Roger's sails at a nearby port; indicating Hook hasn't left yet. Once there, Emma confronts Hook for his actions, to which he shows a change of heart in a willingness to help them find Henry. They begin by boarding the ship, and Mr. Gold accepts he must go as well. Despite Belle's eagerness to tag along, Mr. Gold insists she has to protect Storybrooke, and hands her a cloaking spell to keep any other outsiders from entering town. The two say their final farewells, though there is no guarantee of seeing each other again. On the Jolly Roger, Mr. Gold uses the magic globe to track Henry's whereabouts; pinpointing the area to be in Neverland. Ready to leave, Hook throws the magic bean into the sea to open a portal for the ship.

Journeying through the portal, the ship lands safely into the waters of Neverland and sails steadily towards an island. However, trouble brews on the horizon, and they are attacked by a horde of mermaids. After catching one on a fishing line, the creature causes more mayhem by summoning a storm, which only worsens when Regina decides to turn her into a wooden statue. Suddenly, personal animosities churn to a boiling point and physical altercations break out between Mary Margaret and Regina as well as David and Hook.

Suddenly, Emma notices the coincidental timing various bolts of lightning strike the ship during all the fighting, and realizes the storm's cause wasn't the mermaid's doing, but their own. She screams the real reason for the storm aloud to snap sense into the brawling foursome, but again her words fall on deaf ears. Abandoning the ship steering helm, Emma makes way to stand over the rail while hanging onto one of the rigging ropes in another attempt to draw attention and goes ignored, so she jumps overboard; forcing everyone to stop their scuffling. In the process, a rigging rope pulley block snaps from the sail and falls into the water; knocking Emma unconscious. Panicked, Mary Margaret requests Regina to bring her up, but she is unable to without knowing Emma's exact location underwater. David volunteers to retrieve Emma, which quickly helps assemble a group effort to tie a rope around his waist so they can pull him in later. Beneath the waters, David grabs hold of Emma and surfaces; signaling Hook, Mary Margaret and Regina to haul them back onto the ship. The hard work pays off, and both are out of harm's way. On the soaked deck, Emma's parents cradle her until she finally comes to just as the ocean begins to calm and the moon peeks from behind the dark sky. The Jolly Roger, having been greatly damaged by the storm, forces the ship party to use a rowboat, which they paddle to the island shoreline and begin their search for Henry.

Trivia

 * The ship is named for the infamous pirate flag.
 * The ship used to portray the Jolly Roger is the Lady Washington, who was also used to portray the HMS Interceptor in Pirates of the Caribbean. 
 * According to Captain Hook, the Jolly Roger is made from enchanted wood.
 * A cannon can be seen on deck during the scene in which Hook recruits William Smee to his crew. This is the first gunpowder-based weapon seen in the Enchanted Forest.
 * Some of the scenes in "And Straight On 'Til Morning" on the Jolly Roger were shot on a ship afloat in the water while others were filmed on another ship in a green screen room based in Steveston Village.