The Price

"Did you really think it would be that simple, dearie? If you want that sword, you're gonna have to pay the price."

- The Darkness, under Rumplestiltskin's appearance, to Emma Swan

"The Price" is the second episode of Season Five of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Andrew Chambliss & Dana Horgan, and directed by Romeo Tirone. It is the ninetieth episode of the series overall, and premiered on October 4, 2015.

Synopsis
In an effort to protect Emma, Regina steps up in a surprising way that will test her mettle as a force for good. King Arthur and Queen Guinevere throw a royal ball to welcome the heroes to Camelot, but when the celebration takes a deadly turn, David and Robin must leap into action or lose a crucial asset in the fight to save Emma. Back in Storybrooke, Hook deploys a tried-and-true technique in hopes of bringing Emma back to the light while the heroes discover that some unexpected baggage has followed them home from Camelot.

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 as Zelena
 * Sean Maguire as Robin Hood
 * Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold

Guest Starring

 * Lee Arenberg as Leroy
 * Beverley Elliott as Granny
 * Liam Garrigan as King Arthur
 * Andrew Jenkins as Percival
 * Joana Metrass as Guinevere

Co-Starring

 * Donald Adams as Footman
 * Raphael Alejandro as Roland
 * Michael Coleman as Happy
 * Faustino Di Bauda as Walter
 * Olivia Steele Falconer as Violet
 * David-Paul Grove as Doc
 * Jeffrey Kaiser as Dopey
 * Gabe Khouth as Mr. Clark
 * Mig Macario as Bashful

Uncredited

 * Unknown baby as Prince Neal

Trivia
Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The title card features Merlin's tree.
 * Donald Adams, who plays the Footman, was previously listed as playing a vendor in the press release for "Hat Trick". However, his character was cut from the episode.


 * -|Episode Connections=

Event Chronology

 * The Storybrooke events take place after "The Dark Swan" and before "Siege Perilous".
 * The Camelot events take place after "The Dark Swan" and before "Siege Perilous".

Episode Connections

 * Granny's Diner returned to Storybrooke in "The Dark Swan".
 * This is the second time that one of the Dwarves was forced to cross the border to discover what happens when they leave Storybrooke. The first one happened in "We Are Both".
 * At the town line, Happy says "I don't want to turn into a flying monkey", a reference to the events of "Witch Hunt".
 * Leroy mentions facing Peter Pan (between "The New Neverland" and "Going Home"), the Snow Queen (between "White Out" and "Shattered Sight") and the Trio of Terror (between "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "Mother") in Storybrooke.
 * Who cast the new curse, is revealed in "Broken Heart".
 * How Merlin was trapped inside the tree, is revealed in "Dreamcatcher". Merlin is freed from the tree in the same episode.
 * Henry's question about what happened in Camelot, is answered in "Birth" and "Broken Heart".
 * The reason why Emma took away everyone's memories, is revealed in "Broken Heart".
 * Regina removes Zelena's voice, just like she did with Ariel in "Ariel".
 * Hook and Belle's friendship was first shown in "Darkness on the Edge of Town".
 * Belle and Hook discuss Belle and Rumplestiltskin's failed true love's kiss from "Skin Deep".
 * Regina mentions losing her first love, an event which occurred in "The Stable Boy".
 * Emma finally gets her "own place" in this episode. It was first mentioned in "The Apprentice".
 * What Emma is hiding from Hook, is revealed in "Birth" and "Broken Heart".
 * Hook tells Emma, "Swan, you look..." and Emma says "I know.", just like they told each other in "The Apprentice".
 * The reason why Henry is fond of the song "Only You", is explained in "Dreamcatcher".
 * Regina tells Mr. Gold, "You made me like this. You made me the Evil Queen", which began in "We Are Both".
 * Mother Superior gave Belle the Magical Rose in "The Dark Swan".
 * Emma looks at her family yearningly outside the Granny's Diner, just like Hook did in "The Jolly Roger".
 * Leroy gives Belle advice about love just as she gave him in "Dreamy" and "The Outsider".
 * The reason why Excalibur is inside the stone again, is revealed in "Broken Heart".
 * Excalibur is pulled from the stone in "The Bear and the Bow".
 * Emma succeeds in making Excalibur whole again in "Nimue".
 * The real reason why Emma wants to make Excalibur whole, is revealed in "Birth".
 * -|Cultural References=

Disney

 * The petals of the rose in a jar, given to Belle by Mother Superior, fall and float around in the same manner as the iconic object from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
 * The moment where Regina, Mary Margaret, David, King Arthur and Leroy take each other's hands, making a human chain against the Fury is a reference to one of the final scenes of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode features King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, and Percival from the Arthurian Legend, Robin Hood from the Robin Hood ballad, the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz story, and Rumplestiltskin from the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale.
 * Merlin being trapped inside a tree is a reference to Arthurian legend, where the Lady of the Lake trapped Merlin inside an oak tree.
 * Also featured are the Furies from Greek Mythology. The Ferryman in the boat is based on Charon, the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the river that divides the world of the living from the world of the dead.

Lost

 * Dopey is wearing a Geronimo Jackson t-shirt. This was a fictional band on Lost.

Popular Culture

 * The part where Hook says to Emma, "Swan, you look...", and Emma answers, "I know", is a reference to the scene in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where Princess Leia tells Han Solo that she loves him, and he answers, "I know".
 * The music played by Henry on his iPod and on the diner's jukebox is "Only You" by Yazoo.
 * -|Other Notes=

Filming Locations

 * The opening scene at the Storybrooke town line was filmed in Burnaby Lake Regional Park.
 * The Camelot scene by the Merlin tree, the Storybrooke camp scene and the Storybrooke Heritage Park scene were all filmed in Burnaby's Central Park.
 * During filming, a tree trunk prop was used for the Merlin tree. It was CGIed into a green leafy tree in post-production.