Dreamcatcher

"Dreamcatcher" is the 93rd episode of Once Upon a Time.

Summary
In Camelot, with Mary Margaret and David attempting to retrieve the Dark One's dagger, Emma uses a dreamcatcher to look into the past to see how Merlin was transformed into a tree. Together with Regina, she figures out the critical ingredient they must acquire to free him, but it's a race against Arthur, who doesn't want the Sorcerer released. Tangential to this, with a little encouragement from his moms, Henry finally musters up the courage to ask Violet out on a date while, back in Storybrooke, the heroes break into the Dark Swan's house hoping to locate Gold; what they find instead, however, will give them a glimpse of her ultimate endgame plan. At the same time, far from prying eyes, Merida sets about the mission she's been tasked with and begins molding a well-known coward into the kind of hero that's needed to draw Excalibur.

Plot
"Previously on Once Upon a Time..."

Merlin tells a young Emma to leave "the sword" alone. Grif tells King Arthur he'd do anything for Camelot, so Arthur asks him to drink some poison. Snow warns Charming that they cannot trust King Arthur. Later, Guinevere brainwashes them with Sands of Avalon. Even later, the brainwashes couple assure Regina that Arthur can be trusted. A captive Rumple asks Emma to set him free, but she tells him he's the only one who can pull Excalibur for her; he tells her he can't.

Teaser
Camelot Many Years Ago

On a dark and misty night, Merlin walks through the woods as a mysterious figure follows him around. He calls out for the Dark One numerous times before entering an opening in the woods, where he finally grows impatient and pulls out the Dark One's dagger, commanding the beast to stop. The Dark One, who is dressed in black robes and wearing a golden mask, suddenly halts right in front of him, standing perfectly still. "You destroyed her..." Merlin angrily tells the Dark One, pointing the dagger at it, "The only woman I ever loved" continues, starting to tear up. He grabs the dagger with both hands and holds it above his head, stating he'll now destroy the Dark One. However, as he stares at the masked face of the person before him, he finds himself unable to kill it, "I can't" he says, dropping to the floor, letting go of the dagger with him. The Dark One instantly picks up the dagger and grabs Merlin by his head, holding the dagger at him. "I miss her" the sorcerer grieves. He lets out a tear and the Dark One catches it with the dagger, causing it to glow purple. It proceeds to step away from Merlin and points the dagger at him. Suddenly vines begin to wrap around the young sorcerer, and in a matter of seconds, he turns into a huge tree. The Dark One is left watching the tree.

We suddenly see Emma Swan, during the missing six weeks in Camelot, watching this event in history through a magically enchanted dream catcher which glows bright yellow. She darkly stares at the dream catcher for a moment after watching this memory before taking her attention to the tree where Merlin is still trapped.

ONCE UPON A TIME

Act I
As Regina, Snow and Charming walk through the woods of Camelot (the latter two still under Arthur's control), the former asks if they really think giving Arthur the dagger is the best idea. Snow assures her they trust him and David adds "Implicitly". Regina sarcastically asks if he learnt that word at "shepherd's school" before asking how they know they can trust him. Charming explains that they're good judges of character and they'd never act against Emma's best interest. As they stop at a hollow tree trunk, Snow eagerly asks if the dagger is inside. Regina pulls out the wrapped up dagger, but becomes hesitant before she hands it over to the couple, asking if they're sure handing the one thing that can control their daughter over to Arthur is the right thing to do. A frustrated Snow asks Regina if she's lost the power of comprehension, "Hand over the da-" she yells before being cut off, frozen by magic. A confused Regina looks over to see Emma as the source of magic before angrily asking when she became so liberal with dark magic.

Emma tells her she had no choice because Arthur has them under a spell because he wants them to bring him the dagger so he can reunite it with Excalibur. "Unite it?" Regina asks, leading Emma to explain it was once one blade but broken in half a long time ago. The brunette asks what happens when they're together, so the blonde answers that he wants to kill Merlin with it, pointing out that'd be bad for them all. Regina asks how she knows this, questioning how she knows this isn't just the darkness inside her rearing it's head. Emma insists its true before saying they don't have a lot of time as Arthur is expecting them soon. Regina stops her, pointing out that Arthur is the king, "So you wanna take on all of Camelot?" she asks. Emma states that she wants to free Merlin first so she can help her parents and stop Arthur. Regina comments that it's a great plan, but they have no idea how to get him out of the tree, "You already said it. Dark magic" Emma suggests, but Regina refuses, telling her she cannot keep using it. Emma tells the brunette it's a risk she's willing to take, but Regina warns her that she's been on "that slippery slope", pointing out she knows where it got her, "All due respect, I'm not you" Emma replies.

"So he just vanished?" Hook asks the group with him in the sheriff's station, talking about the missing Grif. Robin questions if the squire had magic, but Arthur claims he never saw that he did. David points out that there's no signs of tampering, so Arthur claims that he must've lied about having the bean and used it to leave for Camelot. Guinevere asks how he could be so selfish, for they could all be home by now, "Desperate time" the king comments. Guinevere goes on to say that their people really want to go home so they must do something to raise their spirits because the despair of "all this" caused this trouble so more could follow. Snow agrees and offers to provide it, for they're their hosts. As David watches Henry texting Violet, Regina asks Snow what she has in mind. Henry suggests a dance, so David asks if that's just an excuse to ask his "girlfriend" on a date. A confused Regina begins asking who this girlfriend is while Snow agrees a dance sounds like a great idea. Hook offers to give dating advice to Henry, but Regina refuses. Snow then ushers the blind-sighted Regina away so they can start planning.

A while later, as the group walk down the streets of Storybrooke, Regina asks Snow what she knows about "this girlfriend", but Belle comes rushing up to them before anyone can answer. Snow asks her what's wrong, so Belle informs that group that it's about Rumple, "He's missing".

Meanwhile, underneath the Swan House, Rumple is tied to a metal wall as Emma tells him he'll need his strength if he's going to remove the sword. With the wave of her hand, the ropes holding Rumple are loosened, leading him to tell the Dark One he won't be able to do what she wants, "You should really just let me go...please? I need to see Belle" he tells her, terrified. Emma leans on Excalibur and tells him he's not going anywhere until he gets her the sword. Confused, he points out that she has so much power, "Why do you need Excalibur?" he wonders, leading her to question if he advertised his plans when he was the Dark One. He admits that his plans were always hidden, but his reasons weren't, explaining that every time he used magic he told himself it was all for his son and to protect him. "How noble" Emma comments, leading Rumple to point that despite his best intentions, he still lost him.

Emma tells her prisoner she's stronger than he was, so he steps forward, almost falling due to his limp, "That really doesn't matter. The more you justify what you're doing, the more you push them away" he tells her, warning her you always lose the ones you love the most. Emma stares at Rumple for a moment before calling out "Merida". The redhead comes out from behind her and Emma instructs her to take him out to the woods and "begin". Merida angrily asks how long she thinks she can hold her heart and threaten her, so Emma tells her she'll do it as long as it takes her to get what she wants. "Maybe, but I'm thinking I can break your spell" she says before charging at the Dark One. Emma turns around, with Merida's heart in her hand and she squeezes it tightly. Merida stops in her tracks as Emma tells her to take Rumple to the woods and make him into a hero. Obliging to her master's request, Merida walks towards the coward and grabs his arm. Emma sends them away with her magic, leaving her alone.

A few moments later, after returning to the upstairs of her house, Emma exits out the back door and heads down some white stairs which lead to her garden. She walks across the grass and pavement towards a large wooden shed which is locked by a metal lock. She uses her magic to effortlessly open it and then she makes her way inside. Inside the shed are dozens of dream catchers hanging from the roof and a small desk in the centre of the shed with a lamp and dream catcher materials on it. Emma has been making them since becoming the Dark One and not being able to sleep. She takes one of the dream catchers from the roof and then looks at it sadly before hugging it tightly against her chest. As she hugs the dream catcher she becomes emotional and begins crying.

Back in Camelot during the missing six weeks, in Merlin's tower, Emma places a book onto a surface as she explains to Regina they need to find out how the potion they've been working on will react to her dark magic before asking her to bring a vial. Regina states she's not doing a thing until she tells her how she knew David and Snow were under a spell. "We don't have time for this" Emma mutters, but Regina demands she make time. Emma picks up a dream catcher and reveals she saw from it, leading Regina to point out it is dark magic, "I know" Emma says. Regina adds that they also catch more than dreams, "I know" Emma repeats, leading Regina to explain you have to wave it over someone to capture a memory, "I don't" Emma reveals, explaining that the dark magic is strong and more unpredictable than any she's ever used, "The image just appeared. It showed me what Arthur did to them" she tells the brunette before assuring her it'll be okay because it also showed her a memory that's going to help them. She tells Regina she saw Merlin's memory, and in it, he wept for the loss of the only woman he ever loved moments before the Dark One trapped him in the tree using one of the tears. Regina suddenly gets an idea and tells the blonde that spells are sometimes like snake bites, "You can make the anti venom with the venom". She theorises that if a tear of lost love was able to trap Merlin, then another one might be able to get him out, "So what do you say? Let's go get ourselves a tear".

Act II
Violet and Henry are in the former's stables brushing a horse when the latter asks how long she's had Nicodemus. She explains her mother gave him for her seventh birthday, explaining she was a champion rider. She suddenly becomes quiet and sadly reveals her mother passed away soon after. Henry confides in her that his dad died before he got to know him, saying there's so much he wishes he could tell him. An upset Violet agrees and tells him she's never met anyone she could talk to about this before. The two kids share a comforting smile before Violet leaves to put away the horse's saddle away. Once alone, Henry heads over to a sword rested on a nearby table and picks it up and begins role-playing, asking a pretend Violet if he pulls Excalibur from the stone he'll forever be her hero. As he picks up the sword, it hits the ground as he struggles to hold the weight of it. He swings the sword around for a while and then when he lifts it over his head, it pulls him backwards into a wooden fence, smashing it. As Henry lays on the ground in pain, a man shouts out, asking what's going on. The man comes across the boy and asks if he's one of the visitors from the other land. He then effortlessly picks up the sword Henry dropped and suddenly realises he's the one who's been running around with his daughter. Henry nervously introduces himself and then asks if he's Violet's father. The man sternly tells the boy to call him Sir Morgan before asking how old he is. Henry answers that he's thirteen, shocking Morgan, for he has no skills with a sword or horse, "What sort of a squire are you?". Henry tells him he's not a squire, but a writer. Morgan becomes angry and asks Henry how he'd protect Violet with a pen when Ogre's attack the kingdom before stating she belongs with someone who will become a knight, "Now get out of here before you cause any more damage".

Back in Storybrooke, in the present, Henry approaches Violet, who is sitting at a bench, and asks if she got his text about the party. She tells him he did, but seems distracted by something, so Henry asks if everything's okay. She explains that she's not in the mood for parties because her horse ran off that morning. Henry wonders if she checked the stables, but Violet assures him that he's gone and her father is out trying to lure him in with pumpkin, his favorite treat. Henry comforts her by explaining the town isn't that big so he'll come back and then supposes tonight will help get her mind off of it. A worried Violet tells him she won't be able to go to a party or dance while he's still out there, so he assures her that he'll find her horse and he knows just the person that can help.

A short while later, there's a knock at the Swan House door. Emma answers to see Henry waiting on the porch, leaning against a pillar. As she approaches him, he asks if she remembers why he first brought her to Storybrooke. "Of course. Operation Cobra: Bring back all the happy endings" she confirms, leading her son to explain her mission isn't over. She puts her hand on his arm and explains things are different now, but he stands up and tells her they don't have to be, "Show me that the mom I know is still in there somewhere". Emma promises that she is, "This is me". He tells her to prove it by helping bring back his friend's happy ending. She lets out a warm smile for her son, seemingly agreeing.

Trivia

 * The title card of this episode features a pumpkin.
 * Although credited, Rebecca Mader (Zelena/Wicked Witch) is absent from this episode.
 * With this episode, Olivia Steele Falconer (Violet) is credited as a guest star, after previously having been credited as a co-star.

Production

 * The title of this episode was officially confirmed by executive producer/co-creator Adam Horowitz, via his Twitter account, on August 22, 2015.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.