The Jolly Roger

For Captain Hook's ship, see Jolly Roger.

"The Jolly Roger" is the 61st episode of Once Upon a Time.

Summary
Ariel returns to Storybrooke and pleads with Hook to help her find Prince Eric, who never returned to the town when the new curse was invoked. Emma agrees to let Regina teach her how to use magic so that she can help defeat Zelena, and Mary Margaret and David try to prove that they can be just as much fun as Hook is with Henry, who thinks they are boring. Meanwhile, during the past year, an angry Ariel confronts Hook over her missing lover, who she presumes was kidnapped and possibly killed by the swarthy pirate. But when Hook confesses that the Jolly Roger has been stolen and Eric is most likely the thief's prisoner, Ariel unknowingly provides him with a clue as to who the culprit is, and they go off in search of his ship.

Teaser
It's nighttime in the Enchanted Forest, during the missing year, a wealthy carriage is seen riding down a road, being pulled by four horses, each ridden by a knight. They soon come to a stop when they see a man in armor and a helmet, carrying a shield, standing in the middle of the road; he draws his sword. The lead guard asks this man who he is, and the armored mystery says he's the man who's going to relieve them of all the gold they're transporting. The other knight laughs, and the first goes on to question, "You and what army?" "Well, I'm glad you asked," replies the man in the road, before raising his sword as a signal. With this, flaming arrows begin to light from within the woods, meaning the carriage is in fact surrounded by archers. He tells the knights that it's their choice, for they can either save their lives or the gold, and the lead guard orders a retreat. The horses turn around, heading the opposite way down the road, thus leaving the carriage where it is, and the thief places his sword back into the sheath of his shield.

Once he does so, he removes his helmet to reveal the face of Captain Hook, who then calls out for Mr. Smee, his right-hand man. Smee approaches, wondering what's the matter, and his captain replies that the arrows took a lot longer to light than discussed. A close shot then reveals the flaming arrows are being held by prop men, made up of sacks and sticks, and Smee tells Hook that it was difficult to light them all themselves, adding that it would be easier if they had an actual army. Two other pirates have now come out of hiding and the four of them look to the horses, which are still riding away, and walk up to the carriage of gold they left behind. As Smee unlocks it, he comments how nice it is to be at Hook's side again - not as a rat - and the captain says it's a nice side effect of the curse breaking. Smee admits to enjoying the mobility, but being a human is good too, and as he talks, the two other men remove a treasure chest from the carriage, placing it down on the floor and breaking its lock. It's opened to reveal mounds of gold and treasure, and Hook recalls, "What did I tell you, mates? You don't need a ship to be a pirate!"

Hook and his small pirate crew are then seen at a tavern, gambling. When the captain wins a game involving coins, he raises his tankard of beer and makes a toast: "To the most dastardly band of pirates ever to set sail-" he and Smee laugh "-stride on the open roads!" Smee then raises a toast of his own, to Captain Hook, and everyone in the bar raises their glass and cheers, before drinking. Hook's right-hand man then approaches him and reveals that he and the boys chipped in and got a little something for their captain, gesturing to the wench standing by the bar, clearly a prostitute. She approaches with a smile on her face and takes Hook by the hand, leading him gracefully out of the tavern whilst his men wish for him to enjoy. "To Captain Hook!" Smee cries again as he leaves with the wench, and everyone inside cheers once more.

Outside, Hook smiles at the wench but simply hands her a bagful of coins, something which she doesn't understand, having already been paid for by his men. He says that, tomorrow, she is to tell them she had a grand time, before bidding her goodnight. She walks away, and Hook sighs with sadness, proceeding to simply walk lonesomely down the alley. As he does so, however, he's suddenly hit around the head with a blunt object and falls to the ground. The woman responsible then gets atop him and places a knife to his neck, threatening to slit his throat should he move; his blurred vision stops us from seeing her face. He tells her that that wouldn't be a good plan for her, assuming she doesn't know who he is, but she reveals she knows exactly who he is, referring to him as Captain Hook. He smiles, pointing out that he's at a disadvantage, and just as her familiar face comes into view, she introduces herself as Ariel, going on to say that he's going to pay for what he's done. ONCE UPON A TIME

Act I
Nine Months Later Within Mary Margaret's loft, David is looking at instructions as to how one assembles a crib, commenting that he's seen enemy battle plans that were easier to decode than this. Emma tells him to hand it to her, and he does so, allowing us to see all the components of the crib they're trying to build in a heap on the floor. "Alright, it says take screws E with washers D through bar C, using wrench F, which is... not provided," she reads, angered. Mary Margaret asks why they don't just call Marco, who's really good at this sort of thing, but they don't allow it, assuring her that they're fine. She asks if they should even be doing this, pointing out that, ever since the showdown between the Wicked Witch and Regina, they haven't seen Zelena or Gold at all, wondering if they shouldn't be focusing on their next move. Emma says that they are, but that they can't stop living, and David adds that this crib is a statement, assuring his wife that they're not going to lose another baby. "And, thanks to me, you won't," states Regina as she walks in, placing magical ingredients down on the table and telling them that she's finished.

Charming stands up, asking the Mayor if she was able to successfully put up a new protection spell, and she answers positively, saying that this one can't be undone by blood magic, which means Zelena won't be able to get her hands on Snow's baby. Mary Margaret smiles, but asks if her stepmother has any idea as to why Zelena would want to steal her baby, and Regina informs the pregnant princess that the number of spells involving baby parts would surprise her, commenting that "that greenie" is clearly one twisted witch, but as long as they stay inside, they should stay safe. Emma says that that's useless, thinking they should stop playing defense and start bringing the fight to her, and Regina asks the blonde if she didn't see how she barely outwitted her half-sister the previous day, reminding her that Zelena has magic; powerful magic. "I have magic, you've seen me use it," Emma points out, "I just can't always control it. But if we team up, if you taught me..." The Mayor sarcastically asks why this sounds so familiar, having tried to teach magic to Emma once before (see "Ariel"), but the blonde says she's ready this time. Regina agrees, but adds that, if they do this, they're going to do it her way, for this isn't drinking stale coffee at a stakeout or whatever Emma did as a bail bondsperson. She then puts her hand on the chest containing her magical ingredients and states that this is a way of life, and one has to fully commit to it.

"Not a problem," Emma assures her, and Regina tells her new student to meet her in her vault in one hour, before taking her things and leaving with them. Once she does so, Emma tells her parents not to complain, arguing that learning magic is the only way to defeat the Wicked Witch, assuring them that she will be careful. Mary Margaret says that they know and David tells her not to worry, offering to watch Henry when he gets back from the store. However, Emma tells them that that might not be the best idea, and they wonder why, leading her to make up the excuse that they're tired and need to rest. Mary Margaret points out that she's pregnant, not sick with the flu, and Emma says she knows; "It's just... um... well, it's... cradle cap! Last time you guys had him, you overwhelmed him with baby tips. He's twelve, he doesn't want to talk about pregnancies, it's not fun." Mary Margaret argues that they are fun, but Emma tells them that Henry disagrees, shocking them. Their daughter assures them that he'll get there, reminding her parents that Henry doesn't know who they are, and David asks, "Well, if we're not fun, who is?" Emma looks guilty. We then cut to Hook, who's standing at the docks looking out at the open sea, and Mr. Smee soon approaches, being told by his captain that it's about time, for he should knows how much he abhors waiting. He then asks his right-hand man what it is that's so urgent, and Smee explains that he and the men were talking about how they haven't seen much of their captain since they all ended up back in Storybrooke, leading Hook to smile and ask if there's a point to that rather odd observation. Smee asks what's keeping them from crewing up again, hitting the high seas and getting back to pirating, but Hook points out that there's no safe passage out of this town, reminding his inferior that those who try to leave are attacked and turned into flying monkeys; "You've already been a rodent, Mr. Smee, does life as a simeon interest you as well?" Smee argues that they could outrun the monkeys, but Hook doubts it, what with that torso of his red-hatted friend, and Smee goes on to say that they could if they had a fast enough ship, the Jolly Roger for instance, as Hook still hasn't said whether he found it or not during the time that none of them can remember. Hook says that what happened during that time isn't important, but Smee tells him that that's because he remembers, whereas none of the rest of them do. He asks if their ship's okay, wanting to know what happened to it, but Hook states that it's his ship and all Smee needs to know is that it's not in Storybrooke, so there will be no outrunning of anything.

Smee looks out at the docks, spotting all the ships, and says they could take any one of them, but Hook tells his right-hand man that he's tried letting him down easy and so now he'll try being more direct: he has no intention of leaving this town. Smee agrees that Storybrooke has its bright spots, adding that he hasn't tried anything quite like frozen yogurt before, but the Wicked Witch is there and, with that sort of danger, what possible reason could his master have to stay? Emma and Henry begin approaching, and Hook tells his inferior that his reasons are his own and they are to be questioned at his peril. Smee understands and walks away whilst Emma tells her son to wait where he is, approaching Hook by herself. She sees Smee leaving and asks if he used to be a rat, which the pirate confirms, adding that, in many ways, he still is. He then asks to what he owes the pleasure of her company and she wonders if he would be okay with watching Henry again. He jokingly says that she just has to ask if she wants to get close to him and doesn't have to use the lad as an excuse, and she asks why she isn't surprised he's making this about him, explaining that she needs his help because Regina needs to train her in magic, for she thinks, together, they might be able to defeat Zelena.

Hook tells her that that's the first reasonable plan he's heard since this whole thing began, assuring Emma that magic is a part of her and reminding her that he was there when Cora tried to take her heart (see "Queen of Hearts"), thus he saw the power inside of her; it's about time she embraced it, for that's what makes her the savior. She argues that she's not embracing anything, explaining that she needs to learn magic to defeat Zelena and make sure everyone in town is safe, but after that, she's done. "Done with what, exactly?" the pirate wonders, and Emma looks towards Henry, who's playing on his handheld games console. She says that he doesn't belong in Storybrooke, not anymore; he belongs in the real world, in New York, in a life that he remembers. It was good, and it didn't involve vile villains. Hook then asks about the life she remembers, saying that she can't just pretend like this never happened because he's spent the last year trying to do just that - go back to the person that he used to be - but it doesn't work. She wonders why, wanting to know what happened over the last year that he's not telling her, but he says it matters not, just wanting her to take from him, just this once, that no matter how much she wants to go back to her old life, she can't. They are left standing there. David and Mary Margaret are strolling along the beach of Storybrooke together, protected by the former's umbrella as he says that they can't just sit back and do nothing. Snow tells him he's right, saying that they can be as much fun as any pirate captain, and David agrees, adding that Henry obviously did a lot of growing up over the past year but they just have to adjust accordingly. Mary Margaret then notices a large crowd gathered around something on the beach and wonders what going on, hearing one man say that someone just washed up on shore. "Who did? Who's here?" she wants to know, and when they finally get through the crowd, they see Ariel sitting at the center of it. She's in her mermaid outfit, but with a warm coat wrapped around her, and Snow utters her friend's name. Ariel simply smiles back, awkwardly.

Trivia

 * The title card of this episode features David's jeep, being driven recklessly by Henry.
 * Although credited, Michael Raymond-James (Neal Cassidy/Baelfire) and Robert Carlyle (Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin) are absent from this episode.

Production

 * The title of this episode was revealed by executive producer/co-creator Adam Horowitz, via his Twitter account, on January 27, 2014.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.