Changes: The Dark Swan

Revision as of 03:28, 22 December 2015

"The Dark Swan"

Season Five
Season 05, Episode 01

Episode Information

Character backstory

Emma Swan

Premiere date

September 27, 2015

Viewers

5.93 million^[1]

Written by

Edward Kitsis &
Adam Horowitz

Directed by

Ron Underwood

Episode Chronology
Previous Episode	Next Episode
"Operation Mongoose Part 2"	"The Price"

Related Pages

The fight to control my darkness has just begun.

—Emma Swan

"The Dark Swan" is the first episode of Season Five of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz and directed by Ron Underwood. It is the eighty-ninth episode of the series overall, and premiered on September 27, 2015. This episode is the fifth season premiere.

Synopsis

Immediately after becoming the Dark One, Emma disappears and the heroes must band together to save her, but first they have to find her, which will require the help of an unlikely ally. Meanwhile, in the Enchanted Forest, Emma struggles to resist her dark urges as she searches for Merlin in the hope that he can stop her transformation. Along the way to Camelot, she gets help from the plucky and brave warrior princess Merida, as well as King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.^[2]

Recap

Cast^[2]

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

Co-Starring

Raphael Alejandro as Roland
Michael Coleman as Happy
Faustino Di Bauda as Walter
David-Paul Grove as Doc
Mckenna Grace as Young Emma
Gabe Khouth as Mr. Clark
Lee Majdoub as Sir Kay
Brent Stait as Peddler
Ingrid Torrance as Severe Nurse
Mig Macario (Press release only)
Jeffrey Kaiser (Press release only)

Uncredited

Unknown actor as Floyd
Unknown actor as Mop Patient
Unknown baby as Prince Neal

Trivia

Production Notes

The title card features Granny's Diner in the woods.
Merlin was originally not set to appear in the season premiere.^[3]
According to Amy Manson, Merida's storyline on Once Upon a Time takes place ten years after Brave's movie events.^[4]
Henry mentions that Regina uses his birthday for all of her passwords, including the one for the entrance to the psychiatric ward. In "A Tale of Two Sisters", Regina types 815 as password for the psychiatric ward, meaning that Henry's birthday is August 15.
Emma's flower wrist tattoo can be seen when she touches Mary Margaret's face in the final scene.^[5]

Event Chronology

The Land Without Magic flashbacks take place in 1989, a few years after the events of "The Stranger", and a few years before "Snow Drifts". (For more details, see the Land Without Magic timeline)
The Storybrooke events take place after "Operation Mongoose Part 2" and before "The Price".
The Enchanted Forest events take place after "Fall" and before "The Broken Kingdom". (For more details, see the Enchanted Forest timeline)
The Camelot flashbacks take place immediately before the scene where King Arthur shows Excalibur to his subjects in "The Broken Kingdom", and before Lancelot's banishment in the same episode. (For more details, see the Camelot timeline)
The present Camelot events take place years after Lancelot's banishment, and before "The Price".

Episode Connections

Emma became the Dark One in "Operation Mongoose Part 2".
Regina refers to Hook as "guyliner", which she also did in "Family Business".
The Apprentice dies from the injuries he received in "Operation Mongoose Part 2".
Gorgon the Invincible takes the form of a bandersnatch, a creature that previously appeared in the series spin-off Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
Zelena was locked away in the psychiatric ward in "Mother".
Henry broke the Magic Quill in "Operation Mongoose Part 2".
The Darkness suggests that Emma gets a hobby to the pass the time, which she does in "The Broken Kingdom".
Hook makes a reference to Henry's "Wookie prisoner gag" from "Operation Mongoose Part 2".
Hook tells Zelena about how her sister sent him to rip out Cora's heart, an event which took place in "Queen of Hearts".
Zelena cast a protection spell on her heart, just like Regina did with Henry's heart in "Save Henry".
Zelena talks about when she was glamoured as Marian, a storyline which began in "There's No Place Like Home", and concluded in "Heart of Gold".
Zelena says that Robin Hood smells of forest. Regina said the same thing in "Witch Hunt".
Zelena tells Regina, "Hello sis, I see you've fixed the clock", a reference to their fight, which happened in "It's Not Easy Being Green".
Emma uses her powers to pull Merida to her, just like the previous Dark One, Mr. Gold, did with Roland in "Bleeding Through".
When Henry first meets Emma as the Dark One, he tells her, "Mom? What happened to you?" His father, Baelfire, asked his own father the same thing, when the latter had just became the Dark One in "Desperate Souls".
The reason why Emma embraced the role as the Dark One is revealed in "Birth".
How everyone returned to Storybrooke, and the reason why their memories are gone, is explained in "Broken Heart". The missing memories are returned in the same episode.

Biblical

A cross pattée can be seen on Excalibur's blade.^[6]

Disney

Young Emma watches The Sword in the Stone at the movie theater.
This episode introduces Merida from Brave. Also featured are the Will-o'-the-wisps and the Hill of Stones from the same movie.
Mother Superior gives Belle a rose in a jar, an iconic object from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
- This episode contains a number of other references to Disney works. See the list of Disney references for more.

Fairytales and Folklore

This episode features King Arthur, Lancelot, Percival, and Sir Kay from the Arthurian Legend, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, Robin Hood from the ballad and Rumplestiltskin from the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale.
One of the previous Dark Ones is called Gorgon the Invincible. The Gorgons were female creatures from Greek Mythology, who had hair made of living, venomous snakes, and anyone who gazed into their eyes would be turned to stone immediately. Medusa was one of the Gorgons.
King Arthur's coat of arms^[7] is a sea-wyvern, a legendary creature with a dragon's head and wings; a reptilian body; two legs; and a fish tail. It is the sea-dwelling variant of the creature known as a wyvern.

Lost

Young Emma steals an Apollo bar from the movie goer's pocket.^[8]

Popular Culture

Once Upon a Time co-creator Edward Kitsis is a noted fan of the band Grateful Dead.^[9] Percival's coat of arms (a lightning bolt against a red and blue background)^[10] is from the cover of the band's double live album Steal Your Face (1976).
Hook mentions Henry's "Wookie prisoner gag" from "Operation Mongoose Part 2"; a reference to the scene from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, where Han Solo and Luke Skywalker pretend Chewbacca is their prisoner in order to enter the Death Star's detention area.
The Nurse Ratched's name is revealed to be "Nurse Ratched", from the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The Janitor looks like Chief Bromden from the 1975 movie of the same name.
When "Regina" enters Mary Margaret's apartment, Robin is holding a copy of the children's picture book Goodnight Moon.^[11]
Zelena refers to Oz as the land "over the rainbow". This is the feature song by Judy Garland from the 1939 The Wizard of Oz film.

Props Notes

In the Arthurian Legend, each Knight of the Round Table is often accompanied by a heraldic description of a coat of arms. Lancelot's coat of arms is traditionally depicted as an argent (silver) shield with three bends (a band running from the bearer's right side corner of the shield to the bearer's left side) gules (red).^[12] On the show, however, Lancelot's coat of arms^[13] is almost identical to that of Sir Bors, who is Lancelot's cousin in the legend. In Arthurian heraldry, Sir Bors' coat of arms is similar to Lancelot's, but is emblazoned with ermines^[12] (a pattern of black shapes representing the winter coat of a stoat).
Regina's necklace^[14] is a Small Capped Crescent Pendant from Alexis Bittar.^[15] Its is the same brand^[16] as the necklace Cora is wearing^[17] in Season Two.
When everyone returns to Storybrooke, Emma is wearing a hair ornament reminiscent of the wings of a swan.^[18]

Filming Locations

The interior scenes at the movie theater where young Emma meets the usher, were filmed at the Dunbar Theatre in Vancouver.^[19]
The Hill of Stones scenes were filmed in Robert Burnaby Park in East Burnaby.^[20]
The diner scene in the Enchanted Forest,^[21] and the Camelot scene where Emma and her friends enter King Arthur's castle,^[22] were filmed in Burnaby's Central Park.

International Titles

International Titles
Language	Title	Translation
French	"Le Côté Obscur"	"The Dark Side"

Videos

5x01 - The Dark Swan - Promo

5x01 - The Dark Swan - Promo 2

5x01 - The Dark Swan - Sneak Peek 1

5x01 - The Dark Swan - Sneak Peek 2

5x01 - The Dark Swan - Sneak Peek 3

5x01 - The Dark Swan - Sneak Peek 4

References

[1] ttp://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-100-sunday-cable-originals-network-update-9-27-2015.html

[title-2] 2.0 ^2.1 http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20150911abc06/

[3] ttp://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/08/once-upon-time-hot-seat-season-5-spoilers

[4] ttp://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Amy-Manson-Interview-Once-Upon-Time-39336165

[5] File:501Gasps.png

[6] File:501Surprise.png

[7] File:501ItsOtherHalf.png
File:501IntoTheCastle.png

[8] File:501What.png

[9] ttp://cabletv.com/blog/adam-horowitz-edward-kitsis-talk-new-seasons-of-ouat-and-ouatiw/

[10] File:501WatchingKay.png

[11] File:501IWasJustWorried.png

[Heraldry-12] 12.0 ^12.1 http://landoflegendslv.com/01library/05research/01con/03KA/KingArthur/kingarthur.html

[13] File:501TellThePeople.png

[14] File:501ReginaReconsiders.png

[15] ttps://www.alexisbittar.com/SMALL-CAPPED-CRESENT-PENDANT-BLACK-19854.html?siteID=J84DHJLQkR4-77Cl4dUaVtJUZ.ekMwOh.g&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=linkshare

[16] ttp://www.polyvore.com/silver_grey_gardens_petal_necklace/thing?id=57474318

[17] File:202Uncertain.png

[18] File:501SneezyIntoStone.png

[19] ttps://twitter.com/Madelxine/status/632680433541447680

[20] ttp://yvrshoots.com/2015/07/shoot-once-upon-a-times-princess-merida-from-brave-amy-manson-at-stonehenge-set-in-robert-burnaby-park.html#.VhEcC3rtmkr

[21] ttp://yvrshoots.com/2015/09/set-once-upon-a-times-grannys-diner-in-camelot-forest-set-in-burnabys-central-park.html#.VhEZzXrtmkp

[22] ttps://www.flickr.com/photos/110865913@N05/sets/72157655515908499/page2

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@@ Line 96: / Line 96: @@
 *Zelena talks about when she was [[Shapeshifting|glamoured]] as [[Maid Marian|Marian]], a storyline which began in "[[There's No Place Like Home]]", and concluded in "[[Heart of Gold]]".
 *Zelena says that [[Robin Hood]] smells of forest. Regina said the same thing in "[[Witch Hunt]]".
-*Zelena tells [[Regina]], "Hello sis, I see you've fixed the [[Storybrooke Free Public Library|clock]]", a reference to their fight, which happened in "[[It's Not Easy Being Green]]".
+*Zelena tells [[Regina Mills|Regina]], "Hello sis, I see you've fixed the [[Storybrooke Free Public Library|clock]]", a reference to their fight, which happened in "[[It's Not Easy Being Green]]".
 *Emma uses her powers to pull [[Merida]] to her, just like the previous Dark One, [[Mr. Gold]], did with [[Roland]] in "[[Bleeding Through]]".
 *When Henry first meets Emma as the Dark One, he tells her, "Mom? What happened to you?" His father, [[Baelfire]], asked his own [[Rumplestiltskin|father]] the same thing, when the latter had just became the Dark One in "[[Desperate Souls]]".