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This article focuses on the stone of the sword.
For the sword, see Excalibur.


He gave me a prophecy. Told me I would pull a sword from a stone and become King of Camelot.

Arthur to Guinevere src

The Excalibur Stone is an item featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It first appears in the first episode of the fifth season.

The Excalibur stone is based on the item of the same from the Arthurian legend and the Disney film The Sword in the Stone.


History

Before First Curse

In order to keep Nimue's darkness from threatening the realms, the sorcerer Merlin fashions the broken tip of Excalibur into a dagger, binding the Dark One to its control. As for the other part of the blade, Merlin embeds it in a rock, which can only to be pulled out by the kingdom's true ruler. ("Lost Girl," "Nimue")

Merlin, now trapped inside a tree, speaks to a young King Arthur, prophesying that he will one day pull a sword from a stone, and become King Arthur of Camelot. After sharing the news with Guinevere, the two of them see a sword stuck in a stone, fearfully realizing it belongs to Kay. Kay promptly shows up to disparage Arthur and his claims that he will be king, much to Guinevere's dismay. He sneers at Arthur's dreams, stating that Camelot is the Broken Kingdom because they have no king and never will, adding that no one would ever kneel to the orphaned boy who cleans the stables. Arthur wonders if Kay is right, but Guinevere assures him that Kay isn't and Arthur will find the sword as long as he follows his heart. ("The Broken Kingdom")

In search of the sword, which will prove the true ruler of Camelot, Arthur, along with Lancelot and Percival, go on a quest to find Excalibur. They succeed in finding it, but not before Sir Kay does as well. He attempts to pull the sword from the stone to become king, but Exacalibur promptly turns his body into ash. Arthur succeeds with pulling out the sword, which makes him the ruler of Camelot, but he discovers the sword's blade tip is missing. ("The Dark Swan")

After pulling the sword from the stone, Arthur brings the stone to his castle, where he places it in the middle of the Round Table as a memento. ("The Price" et al.)

Before Third Curse
In order to save his life, Emma turns Hook into a Dark One like herself, by tethering his life to Excalibur. Hook fully embraces the darkness and as assurance no one can control him with Excalibur, the pirate sends it back to its stone. Meanwhile, in his castle, King Arthur is shocked to see Excalibur has mysteriously returned to the stone, but doesn't ponder on it too long as the dark cloud engulfs the whole of Camelot. ("Birth," "Broken Heart")

After Third Curse

The Storybrooke residents, along with some of the Camelot folk, are transported back to Storybrooke, with their memories of the past six weeks in Camelot wiped out. Unbeknownst to everyone, Emma has the sword in the stone in the basement of her new house. She wishes to make the weapon whole again, as she is the only Dark One who has the opportunity to do it, in order to destroy the darkness within herself and Hook. However, when she tries to pull it out of the stone, she is blasted away by Excalibur's power. The darkness, in the form of Rumplestiltskin, tells her that if she wants the sword, then she has to pay the price. ("The Price," "Birth")

After stealing Happy's ax, Emma attempts to cut through the stone to free Excalibur, but instead, it breaks the ax. Rumplestiltskin tells her that only a hero can pull out the sword, and it wouldn't be her. Later, she kidnaps Mr. Gold and awakens him from his coma, with intentions of molding him into the hero she needs to unearth Excalibur. ("Siege Perilous")

Regina, Robin Hood, Belle and Hook break into Emma's house and wander into the basement. The foursome find Excalibur in the stone, noting that the sword's markings are the same as the Dark One Dagger. Hook moves to pull it out, but Regina stops him, warning about the sword possibly being booby trapped. ("Dreamcatcher")

After being pushed to his limit so he can fulfill Emma's plan, Mr. Gold agrees to pull Excalibur from the stone, in exchange for Merida's heart and her brothers' whereabouts. After freeing Excalibur from its stone, he warns Emma about her mistake in making him a hero. ("The Bear and the Bow")

Trivia

On-Screen Notes

Production Notes

  • According to concept art for "The Dark Swan", King Arthur and his knights were going to walk down a walkway hidden behind a waterfall and find Excalibur embedded in its stone inside a grotto.[1] This idea was eventually abandoned in favor of scene where they find the legendary source in a wooded area next to a lake.

Appearances

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.

References

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