Captain Hook

"A man unwilling to fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets."

Killian Jones, better known as Captain Hook or simply Hook, is one of the main characters of Once Upon a Time. He is a determined pirate captain who was unfortunate enough to humiliate and anger the feared Rumplestiltskin, who ripped the heart out of his beloved Milah and cut off his hand. This led Jones to seek revenge against the Dark One, including being granted the right to stay young by traveling to Neverland, and teaming up with the fearsome and powerful Cora to make his way to Storybrooke, where Rumple currently lives. However, Killian ultimately forms an alliance of sorts with Emma Swan, and this develops into a romantic relationship, the pursuit of which allows the ferocious pirate to become a true hero.

Before the Curse
"Even demons can be killed... I will find a way!"

A young Killian Jones is brought aboard a ship by his father, but during the night he fears the storm brewing outside. With his brother, Liam, asleep, he has no other choice but to call for his father. Brennan assures his son that everything will be alright, and he goes on about how everyone is braver than they think, so Killian needs to work on molding himself into the man he wishes to be. When asked what that is, Killian reveals that he wants to be just like his father; Brennan is pleased, and re-tucks his son into bed. Killian wakes up again later on though, but this time his father is no where to be found. A captain enters, revealing that Brennan fled an hour prior, something Killian does not understand, and so the captain further explains that the boy's father is a fugitive of the law and that when he heard there would be soldiers at the next port he traded both his sons into the captain's service in order to obtain a rowboat to get away in. This devastates Killian.

Years later and Killian remains a slave alongside his brother, working as a sailor aboard the ship of Captain Silver, who agrees to let he and Liam go should they give him the money from their royal navy commissions. However, Killian gambles all his money away, meaning Liam has to give up on his dream of joining the King's navy in order to stay and take care of his brother. When the ship is heading towards a hurricane and Silver shows no sign on veering away, after a jewel called the Eye of the Storm so that he can claim the reward, his crew ends up staging a mutiny against him, making Liam their new captain. While Killian tries taking control of the ship, Liam tries plotting a course and has some difficulty, then having an encounter with a God named Hades who offers him the Eye of the Storm in exchange for him crashing the ship in purpose - though both he and Killian would be able to live. Liam accepts this deal and never tells Killian, telling him to continue on into the hurricane and even giving him his lucky ring, showing him how sure he is of his own survival. While the rest of the crew die, Liam and Killian remain safe as promised, and when they wash ashore they give the Eye of a Storm to a naval captain who grants them both jobs aboard his ship - the Jewel of the Realm. Killian thanks his brother for being a hero and promises not to squander the second chance he's been given in life.

Killian and his brother, Captain Liam, are given orders by the king to sail to a faraway land for an unknown mission. On their way there, they are attacked by three ships, so Liam orders the use of "Pegasus". A feathered sail is released and then the ship begins to fly in the air, much to Killian's surprise. As they sail in the air, Killian uses a sextant to to sail to the second star on the right and straight on 'til morning. They eventually arrive at a beautiful island and here, Liam reveals that they're in search of a plant that will cure any sickness. However, Peter Pan appears before them and warns them that it's poison named Dreamshade. A stubborn Liam chooses to ignore the boy and continues his quest, but Killian is slightly reluctant. They eventually find the Dreamshade plant, but Killian tries to persuade his brother that their king may be a liar. To prove his brother wrong, Liam cuts himself with the Dreamshade, however, he ends up collapsing. Killian is distraught and then Pan reappears with a way to save Liam, however it'll come with a price. He tells Killian that the waters of Neverland cure any illness, so Killian uses it on his brother and he's cured. On their way back to their home, Liam dies from his injuries, as the water only works in Neverland. Once Killian and his crew bury Liam at sea, they vow to become pirates and to not serve their cowardly king. When traveling through the Leviathan Shoals, Killian is met by Liam, who claims to have never died to begin with, but after having signs pointed out by his crew members that it isn't really his brother, but the Leviathan itself, Killian abandons him in order to escape the Shoals, despite never receiving true confirmation about Liam's identity.

When Baelfire, the child of Rumplestiltskin and Milah, is bitten by a venomous snake, he has but a day left to live. The healer, Fendrake, tries to extort money from the boy's parents in exchange for the antidote, but they can't afford; instead, Milah orders her husband to kill the healer and steal the antidote. He is wearisome, refusing to pick up the dagger in the tavern they frequent after she buys it, and when he leaves Milah is approached by a drunken lout. He tries hitting on her and so Killian, whose crew is in port in the village, punches the man in the face and knocks him out, wanting to defend the lady's honor. He introduces himself as a captain and, when he says he's not part of the navy, she is shocked to learn that he's a pirate. He tells her stories about some of the places he's been and she is absolutely fascinated; as such, he offers to take her with him, which she says she would enjoy a great deal. However, she can't because she has responsibilities. Her ailing child and her husband need her, and Killian tells her that should her situation ever change then she should come and find him, for he is in port often. She insists that this won't happen, but it does. When Bae is cured, Milah begins visiting the tavern frequently.

Milah continues to enjoy the company of Killian and his crew whenever they make port. She enjoys them so much that she decides to abandon her family and leave with them. When Rumple comes looking for her, he is too cowardly to fight Killian for her. Many years later, Rumplestiltskin has now become the Dark One. He's in a tavern when he’s approached by William Smee, a man who promises he can give him a magic bean to another land. After this conversation, Rumple sees Killian and the rest of his crew. He waits for them outside and pretends to be a weak old man. Killian torments him but stops once he learns his true identity. With new courage and power, Rumple offers Killian to a duel. After a long fight, Rumple prepares to rip out Killian's heart, but he's stopped by Milah, who offers him the magic bean in exchange for their lives. Whilst making the deal, Rumple decides to kill Milah for abandoning her son, Baelfire and admitting she never loved him (Rumple). As she dies in Killian's arms, she confesses her love for him. Rumple cuts off Killian's hand, as he was holding the bean. He attempts to kill Rumple with a hook, but finds out it’ll take more than that to kill him. It is later revealed that Killian still has the bean as he conned Rumple. After burying Milah at sea, he attaches the hook he used on Rumple to his arm. He throws the magic bean into the sea and a portal appears, he then announces to his crew that they're leaving for Neverland. As a pirate, Hook collects his murder victims' rings as trophies, including a man named Barnaby, who called him "One Hand Jones" and was killed in front of his wife, and a sailor named Edgar, who drank the captain's wine and was drowned for it.

Baelfire is seen being carried across the ocean by the shadow of Neverland at night time as they approach an island covered by fog: Neverland. He hears the cries of the children missing their parents and refuses to be taken, struggling under the shadow's grip and begging not to be taken there. He quickly retrieves the box of matches that he had earlier placed in his dressing gown pocket and lights one, holding it up to the shadow which flinches, backing off. It soon drops Bae and the young boy falls many feet into the ocean as the shadow flies down for him. Bae lands with a splash as the shadow whizzes down and begins hovering over the sea, scanning for Baelfire. Unable to find him, it soon gives up in anger and flies to the island. An unconscious Bae floats to the surface as a light is seen dawning on him from above. A rope drops on him and Bae is next seen being lifted onto the contents of a pirate ship. He comes to and looks up after coughing up sea water and the captain tells him that he's a good lad, and to get the sea out of his lungs. "Who are you?" Bae wonders and we then see Killian Jones standing beside is right-hand man, William Smee, who's bearing a lantern. "The name's Hook," the pirate says, "Captain Hook. Welcome aboard the Jolly Roger, my boy."

Baelfire is taken under the decks where he retains a certain hostility towards pirates as voiced when Hook comes down to talk to him. Bae says that a pirate killed his mother, but Hook reminds him that one also saved his life. He wonders the boy's name, and Baelfire gives it, causing Hook to realize that he's the son of Milah - his true love - and Rumplestiltskin - his sworn enemy. Hook knows that the Lost Boys are looking for Bae but refuses to hand him over. When they search his ship, Baelfire hides up in the ceiling and remains unfound, happy to learn that Hook cares for someone else other than himself. As Bae spends more time on the waters, Hook teaches him how to sail and they bond over the bad relationships they share with their fathers. It is not long before Bae discovers a picture of Milah on Hook's desk, and pulls a sword on the pirate for believing him to be the one to have killed his mother. Hook explains that he was in fact in love with the Milah and that he and her had planned to take Bae out to sea with them when he was old enough, and he sees Bae washing up on the ship as fate telling him to make good on those deals. After Bae rejects Hook, he asks to be dropped off on land, however, Hook reveals that Bae has reminded him what he's all about: killing Rumplestiltskin. Baelfire is then kidnapped by the Lost Boys who Hook sold him out to and taken to the main island.

Hook and his crew make one of their to-and-fro trips from Neverland to the Enchanted Forest when they're led toward some rocks by the song of a mermaid; however, she is unable to go through with killing them, and they're able to continue with a safe journey home. Hook later meets this mermaid singing in a tavern and learns that her name is Ursula, having stolen a magic bracelet from her father that allows her to walk on land because she only wants to make people happy with her voice, the last remnant she has of her dead mother, while her father wants to use it to harm the kind of humans that caused her death. He agrees to take her aboard his ship so that she can live out her true dream, but he's soon approached by her father, King Poseidon, who offers the pirate squid ink capable of ensnaring the Dark One in exchange for him using an enchanted shell which will rob Ursula of her singing voice and give her no reason to continue being away from home. Hook takes the deal, but he betrays Poseidon by telling Ursula everything. They plan to fool the deity together, but he quickly figures it out and revokes the squid ink, leading Hook to angrily steal Ursula's voice out of spite. She finally realizes how awful humans are, and she tells him to keep it, because if everyone is this horrible then no one deserves to hear it. Poseidon demands the voice, but Hook refuses to give it to him, not wanting him to have the satisfaction of returning it to her.

Captain Hook is one day trekking through the jungle with his right-hand man, Smee, when the latter is knocked out by Tinker Bell. She soon emerges, putting a knife to Hook's throat, and asks if he's not too old to be a Lost Boy. Hook assures her that he's not part of Pan's brigade, and is anything but a boy, leading her to question who he is. He explains that he's the captain of the Jolly Roger and is currently searching for some magic that will help him off the island, something which Tink says she is fresh out of. Hook doesn't buy this, recognizing Tink as a fairy, and she in turn recognizes him as a pirate, wondering why she shouldn't slit his throat. He points out that that wouldn't be very fairy-like, but she explains that she's not a fairy anymore, having lost her wings a long time ago. The pirate then takes out a bottle of rum and hands it to Tink, who drinks, and she goes on to ask why he's so interested in escaping. He tells her that he intends to leave the island and kill his sworn enemy, Rumplestiltskin, who tragically took Hook's true love away from him. Tink points out that killing him looks like the pirate's happy ending, and Hook, stating that the only two things he'd risk his life for are love and revenge, says that if he dies for his vengeance, that's satisfaction enough for him, having already lost the love of his life.

Hook eventually escapes Neverland, and when getting a lead on how to kill Rumplestiltskin, he heads for the Dark Palace where he fights off the many guards in charge of watching the dungeons. He finally makes his way to Belle's room where he finds her imprisoned, and he puts on act, pretending to have been sent by her father, claiming that Rumple has endangered her family. Belle isn't able to believe this though, seeing the Dark One as a different man, and she states that she wouldn't know how to kill Rumple anyway. Deeming the brunette useless, Hook knocks her out, ready to kill her, but Regina soon arrives, going against the Pirate's plans, for Belle is a "valuable chess piece". She has other ideas though, sharing a drink with the Pirate, and reveals her intentions of casting the Dark Curse so that everyone from the Enchanted Forest is taken to the Land Without Magic... a land where the Dark One is powerless. However, Regina doesn't want a certain someone coming to the new land with her, and so she instructs Hook to kill this certain someone: her mother.

Hook doesn't leave to kill Cora just yet though, for Regina wishes to test him first. The Evil Queen needs to make sure the Pirate has what it takes; she must make sure he is fearless, has no weaknesses, which is what her mother preys off of. The two make their way to a tavern where Hook believes he is meant to go against an overweight drunk, who is against there being pirates in the bar, but with a swift of her hand Regina is able to snap his neck, and points to the barkeep instead, who is none other than Hook's father: Brennan Jones. The Pirate realizes that Regina wants him to kill his father. With Regina leaving Hook to do just that, the Pirate reunites with his father, who shares his tale of how he cheated death. Brennan reveals that he was put under a sleeping curse, but was awoken by the nurse who tended to him. They began a life together until she died of an illness several years prior. Instead of killing Brennan like he was ordered to, Hook agrees to let him live if he flees the kingdom, which the Pirate can make preparations for. Hook soon learns that Brennan had another son with his new wife, which was named after his deceased brother. Hook is outraged that his father could just replace Liam the way he did, and realizing that Brennan has not changed, Hook kills him, deeming his desire for revenge to be too important to cop out on the Queen's test.

With Hook having proved himself fit to take care of her mother, Regina enchants his hook to be able to rip out a heart, and then reveals Jefferson's hat as the Pirate's way of transportation. He questions what land it'll be that Regina sends him to, which the Evil Queen reveals to be Wonderland. Hook sets off, but he is unable to rip out Cora's heart, for she does not keep hers where everyone else does. Cora overpowers him and demands to be told the truth, and once she is told that he was sent there by Regina, she offers him her assistance as well, for Regina tricked him: those who are caught by her curse are destined to lose their memories, so he wouldn't be able to get revenge. Hook brings Cora to Regina, so that she can kill her daughter, but when Regina mourns her mother's death, Cora has a change of heart. She later casts a spell on portion of the fairytale land that protects it from the curse. Hook is inside the shielded area. Cora explains that everyone in the area will be frozen in time until the Dark Curse is lifted. Cora agrees to let Hook keep her company, so that he may one day quench his thirst for vengeance.

Season 2
"Excellent... you'll be able to see your daughter. And I can skin myself a crocodile."

Killian is standing on a seashore near the small island hamlet where the survivors of the Dark Curse reside. He watches the refuge through his telescope, but stops when Cora approaches him from behind. When she stands beside him, she shows him the ash remains of the Enchanted Wardrobe. He mocks them at first but then asks if they can get them to the other world. Cora replies by saying it's a start, but they will need other things first. He asks for the name of their destination, so Cora tells him it's Storybrooke. Killian comments that this is a curious name and then ask if that's where "he" and "she" are. Cora confirms. Happy, Killian tells Cora she will be able to see her daughter, and he'll be able to skin himself a "crocodile".

After Cora massacres everyone at the safe haven by ripping their hearts out, Hook hides under some of the bodies, waiting for Emma, Snow, Mulan and Aurora to find him. When they arrive at the haven, they're horrified to find everyone dead, but relieved to see that someone survived, Hook. A short while later he explains to the women that he is a blacksmith from the haven. Emma tells Mulan that she believes he is lying because Cora leaving survivors is "messy". After being given some water, Hook tells the women that he managed to survive Cora's wrath by hiding under the bodies of those who were already dead. Emma still doesn't believe his story and tells him that she's good at telling when someone is lying to her, but he stays insistent that he's telling the truth. When he offers to guide the women to a portal back to Storybrooke, Emma holds a knife to his neck, asking who he really is. He is later tied up to a tree and Emma attracts the attention of ogre's, stating if he doesn't confess to who he really is, they'll leave him for dead. After much hesitation, Hook finally reveals himself to be Killian Jones, also known as Captain Hook. He tells the women of Cora's plans, but states a magic compass is needed to go to Storybrooke. With no choice but to trust him, they then follow Hook to a giant beanstalk leading to a giant in the sky.

At the base of the beanstalk, Killian tells the girls that it's the last beanstalk in all the lands and the Giant at the top is the last of his kind because of a man named Jack. He reveals that Cora provided him with a counterspell allowing two people to climb the stalk. After a short argument, Emma decides to climb up with him. Whilst on the climb Killian begins to talk about Emma's past, something she isn't keen on. He points out that he can tell she has a child and that she's an orphan, stating he can tell from his time spent with the Lost Boys in Neverland. He then asks Emma if she has ever been in love, she tells him she hasn't. Once they reach the top of the beanstalk, Emma points out that the place seems very run down, so Killian explains that it's the place where the final battle took place. Emma notices Killian's tattoo saying "Milah", so asks whom she was. He explains she is a lost love, so Emma realizes Rumplestiltskin killed her, so he wants revenge. Killian then alerts the giant by hitting a large metal shield. When the Giant arrives to investigate, Killian distracts it while Emma knocks it out with the dust she got from Mulan. They head inside the Giant's lair and begin the search for the magical compass. During their search Killian takes a few gold coins for himself. The Giant soon wakes up and hunts down Emma and Killian. As the Giant charges through he lair, some rocks from the ceiling fall down on top of Killian, trapping him. Whilst trapped, Emma befriends the Giant and receives the compass. She also makes a deal with him to watch over Killian, who she chained to a wall, saying he can be released after she gets a head start with the compass as she doesn't trust him fully. Killian is infuriated by this.

After finally being freed by the Giant, Hook makes his way down the beanstalk and when he reaches the bottom, he is met by Cora. She asks him for the compass, but he claims he doesn’t have it because Emma Swan deceived him. Cora is not amused by Hook’s betrayal, so he tauntingly asks if she’s going to kill him. She tells him she won’t, but instead she’ll make her way to Storybrooke, leaving Hook in the fairytale land with his thirst for revenge unquenched. Angered by this, Hook tries to stab Cora, but she dissipates into a cloud of smoke. Hook later finds Aurora as Cora’s prisoner so decides to see her free. He explains that Cora has no idea what he’s doing, confusing Aurora. He reveals Cora has denied him passage to Storybrooke and revenge, so he’s doing the same to her. Aurora thanks him, so he says she can thank him by telling Emma their deal still stands; if she allows him to go to Storybrooke, he will help find the magical dust. Cora later discovers that Hook set Aurora free, so pins him against the wall, revealing she has to kill him. He tells her she should thank him as he’s brought a gift. Cora looks at the “gift” and is very pleased. The gift is an enchanted heart and Cora uses it to control Aurora.

After Aurora, under Cora's thrall, manages to lock the heroines inside Rumplestiltskin's old cell, the powerful witch is able to get her hands on the compass she sought, and Hook teases Emma about the withered magic bean he took from the giant. Cora and Hook make it to the dry area that once contained Lake Nostos, the lake whose waters are said to possess the power to bring things back that once were lost. Cora therefore plans to use the lake's waters to make the magic of the wardrobe dust work again, and with a few swirls of her fingers, she cracks through the ground with magic and a fountain of water springs from under it. Snow White is able to use Rumple's squid ink to break through the cell's spikes, and they make it to the site of Lake Nostos, just in the nick of time to stop the two villains from jumping through the portal. A battle ensues, during which Mulan is able to retrieve Aurora's heart and get it back to her. Emma overpowers Hook, knocking him out, but Cora still stands in their way. Emma and Snow eventually make it through the portal and arrive safely in Storybrooke - after Regina lifts a deadly spell from the well, which was meant to keep Cora out - and all's well that ends well for the noble protagonists... but trouble resurfaces, when a vintage ship is seen on the horizon, about to reach their town, bringing with it Hook and Cora, who came through with the aid of the magic bean.

Upon arriving in Storybrooke, Cora instantly realizes that there is magic in the town, and thus stops Hook from going up against an empowered Rumplestiltskin. When a fisherman notices their vessel and starts inquiring them, Cora conceals the ship through magic and turns the fisherman into a fish. The pair of villains then decide to skim through the town in order to properly execute their plans. When Cora finally spots her daughter Regina, she realizes that the former Mayor isn't as "broken" yet as her mother had hoped. Therefore, Cora resorts to her usual trickery to get what she wants: she disguises herself as Regina and heads into the office of Dr. Archie Hopper, her daughter's therapist. There, she freezes Pongo the Dalmatian and strangles Archie. The following morning, Ruby and Emma find Archie's lifeless body, and all of the evidence of the murder seems to point to Regina. The Charming family and the Blue Fairy corner Regina, trying to capture her, but it's to no avail and she disappears, giving up. Cora reveals to her ally, Hook, that Archie is very much alive, and hidden in their invisible boat: the Queen of Hearts killed a random person and disguised its body as Archie. She then reveals her plan to use the town's shrink to provide them with intel on the residents of Storybrooke, including Rumplestiltskin.

Hook threatens to harm Archie if he doesn't reveal information on Rumplestiltskin's dagger, however, when the captive insists he doesn't know anything about that, Hook asks if he has any other weaknesses. He is eventually told about Belle. Hook waits in the library for Belle to arrive and when she does, he chases her, but she manages to lock herself in an elevator. As Mr. Gold comes to save her, Hook escapes and manages to steal Baelfire's cloak from Rumple's safe with help from William Smee. With Hook in possession of Baelfire's cloak, Rumple cannot leave Storybrooke. Belle sneaks on to Hook's ship as Rumple tries to find the pirate, but she is found by him. He reveals to Belle that Rumplestiltskin has lied to her and explains that he killed his ex-wife, Milah. Belle refuses to believe this and then attacks Hook, managing to escape with the cloak. As she reaches the deck, Hook stops her, but he's attacked by Rumplestiltskin. Rumple beats up Hook, who demands to be killed so he can be with Milah, but Belle eventually stops him, stating she knows he has good inside of him. Hook is then warned by Rumple to leave Storybrooke. Later on, as Rumple crosses the line, he says farewell to Belle. However, this goodbye is cut short when Hook shoots Belle, causing her to fall across the line and lose her memory. As Rumple is about to kill Hook in revenge, a car comes crashing into town and runs the pirate over.

Shortly after the accident, Hook is left lying on the middle of the road, suffering from his injuries he sustained from the car crash. When Emma, Snow and Charming arrive at the scene, the former checks on him and discovers that he has broken ribs. After tormenting Rumplestiltskin, Hook is attacked by his nemesis, but stops when Charming asks him to think what Belle would say about his actions. After being taken to the hospital, Hook is handcuffed to his bed as he rests. Emma visits the pirate and asks where Cora is, but twice he diverts away from the question. Emma grows impatient when he tries to flirt with her, so she threatens to hurt him. After scaring him slightly, he confesses to having no idea where Cora is or what she's doing. He then adds that he wants his hook back, which has been removed, revealing his stump. Emma points out that Hook seems too happy for a man who failed to kill his enemy and then got hit by a car, but he claims to have done plenty of damage by causing Belle to lose her memories. He states this hurt Rumplestiltskin's heart and then claims Rumple killed his love, so he knows the feeling. Emma warns Hook about how much danger he is in of Rumplestiltskin and then she leaves him, handcuffed to the bed.

Captain Hook is made to take Mary Margaret, David and Leroy to the docks to reveal the location of his hidden ship. He does so and the three of them are taken aboard, wanting to know of Cora's plans. Leroy asks Hook if, since he sailed into town from their world, he could sail them all back. Hook replies that one would need a magic bean to accomplish that. He soon uncovers a cage to reveal a sleeping, shrunken giant, Anton, inside. David attacks Hook to force him to hand over the key and the pirate does so. Mary Margaret then unlocks the cage and wakes Anton up with a polite tap on the shoulder. Upon seeing David, the giant becomes awfully hostile and attacks the prince, forcing Mary Margaret to pull out her bow and arrow and aim for Anton, causing him to flee. Hook later meets up with Regina who asks him where he's been, he explains that he's been tied up in bed, and not in the good way, and tells her that he lost the giant. This surprises her and he goes on to mention that upon seeing the prince, Anton became rather murderous. Regina then states that a murderous giant with a vendetta against the prince is exactly the distraction they need before planning how to use this to her advantage.

Hook overhears Cora's conversation with Regina to learn that Rumplestiltskin has left town. He takes this to mean that he's able to find Rumple and kill him, because if he's out of Storybrooke then he's powerless. Cora denies this idea, much to Hook's dismay, before Regina explains that if any of them leave town then they too lose their magic. Cora then suggests that with the Dark One gone, that they search for the one item that can actually kill him within the town - his dagger. Regina retrieves some information from Belle, indicating the placement of a book in the library, and her, Hook and Cora next search there. When they find the place that the dagger should be, they instead find a map. Hook explains that, as a pirate, he's quite adept at finding buried treasure, and states that he shall be able to read the map. He soon pinpoints the dagger's exact location but also discovers Cora's plan to betray him. At this, he attempts to attack her, but the evil witch quickly knocks him out with magic. She and Regina then leave the library with the intentions of using the dagger for themselves.

With Hook now desperately wanting his iconic hook back, he hides in the sheriff's station until David arrives. Hook ambushes the sheriff, knocking him out, and then he steals the keys from him. He then retrieves his hook from a filing cabinet and then places it back into his arm, ready to get his revenge on Rumplestiltskin. He takes his ship, which is hidden with Cora's cloaking spell, and he sails it to New York to hunt down his crocodile. He finally tracks him down to Neal's apartment and then he ambushes him after knocking Emma Swan away from him. He stabs a terrified Rumplestiltskin in the stomach with a poisoned hook, stating that he took Milah and his happiness from him, and now he will take Rumple's life. Before he can do any more damage, Emma knocks him out. After hearing the noise of fighting, Neal returns to find his wounded father...and he seems to recognize Hook. The group then lock Hook in a closet to prevent him from harming anyone else and then they take Rumple to safety so they can attend to his wounds, however, they're horrified to see he is poisoned, and the only cure is in Storybrooke. They then decide to take Hook's cloaked ship back to the town so they can get their quicker. When Tamara packs her things to go to Storybrooke, she tells Neal that she checked on Hook in the storage space but he wasn't there, meaning he must have escaped; Neal then passes this news on to Emma at Granny's Bed & Breakfast.

Greg and Tamara are in the former's hotel room where he's mapped out all the places around town where he's seen magic. He soon brings up "the package" and asks if it's secure. Tamara assures him that it is and says it's just outside town and that she can drive it in the following night. Later, Greg is seen waiting at the town border as Tamara pulls up with a large trailer being towed by her car. She steps out and the two of them walk to the back of the trailer to "unwrap the package". Greg asks her if she thinks "he" will co-operate, but Tamara tells him that he shouldn't have to worry as, according to what she's heard of "him", he won't take much convincing to help them. Greg asks her what makes her say that, and as Tamara begins to open up the trailer, she says that if there's one person you can count on to do your dirty work - it's a pirate. The trailer is then opened and Captain Hook is seen to be sitting inside, tied up and gagged.

Captain Hook is tied taken prisoner within the town clock tower by Greg and Tamara who ask him to do a job for them. He initially refuses, believing his life's purpose to be over as he killed Rumplestiltskin. However, when Tamara and Greg reveal the Dark One to be alive, they ask Hook again if he will help them, and he agrees to manipulate Regina. Hook goes to her and tells her upfront he's tricking her and she asks him to help her retrieve a trigger that, when activated, will totally destroy Storybrooke, including Mr. Gold. Hook agrees to help her and the two of them take the elevator in the library down the the caves beneath. As they walk through, Regina sees that Hook is wearing a cuff that belonged to her now deceased mother, and demands that he give it back. They continue, and Hook begins to wonder why it's a two-man job, and she reveals that he needs him to pose as a distraction, before pushing him down a cliff. Below, atoms begin to form together and the thought-to-be dead Maleficent reforms as a screeching zombie-creature that attacks Hook. He is rescued by Greg and Tamara and brought to the surface where the three of them head Regina off. She tries to defend herself with magic but the cuff given to her by Hook is revealed to be rigged with machinery that's blocking her magic. Hook stands witness as Greg and Tamara kidnap Regina, all as part of their "mission".

We see Regina strapped down to a surgical table at Storybrooke Cannery Co. where she tells Hook, who hovers his hook over her, that whatever Greg and Tamara are offering him, it's not worth it. Hook says that considering they're planning to help him kill Rumplestiltskin, he'd say it is. Regina asks the pirate if he actually trusts them, before smirking and stating that he doesn't even know who he's working for. Greg walks in, wheeling with him electrical equipment, and wishes Regina a good morning. She begrudgingly asks him if this is part of his "mission", but Greg answers negatively, stating that this is personal. He attaches something to her hand before placing an electrode on Regina's forehead, telling her that this is about his father. Regina rolls her eyes, reminding Greg that Kurt left town, but he finds it odd that he would never come to find his only son. He attaches another electrode to the other side of her head and asks Hook if he would mind lending a hand - preferably his good one. However, Hook refuses, telling Greg to find him when he's interested in killing Rumplestiltskin and not torturing the Queen, before leaving the cannery.

Hook accompanies Greg and Tamara down in the mines before they attempt to activate the trigger that will destroy all of Storybrooke. Hook attempts to learn who is in charge of the two, but they refuse to say, so Hook assumes they don't even know. When they activate the trigger, the duo state that they're willing to die for their cause and ask Hook if he is willing to do the same for his; killing Rumplestiltskin. He lies and tells them he is. He later finds the Charmings and Regina and tells them that he's on their side because he wants to live. He takes Charming to Greg and Tamara's location in an attempt to retrieve the magic beans. After a fight, Hook manages to take one off Greg. At Granny's Diner, a group of people discuss throwing the trigger through a portal, so Hook gives Emma a bean so they can, however, he secretly steals the bean and gives Emma an empty satchel. Hook attempts to leave Storybrooke on his boat and with the bean, but after the trigger is successfully terminated by Regina and Emma, Hook has a change of heart and returns, only to discover that Greg and Tamara have taken Henry to Neverland via a bean portal. Hook then takes Charming, Snow, Emma, Regina and Rumplestiltskin to Neverland on his boat via the magic bean that he had stolen.

Season 3
"When I win your heart, Emma... and I will win it... it will not be because of any trickery. It will be because you want me."

Hook arrives to Neverland with everyone else via the portal and as they sail towards the island he talks to Regina about their plans to save Henry. They then wonder if villains get happy endings, to which Hook says he hopes so. A short while later, when Rumplestiltskin announces that he's going to find Henry alone, and then he transports himself to the mainland. Hook goes to comfort Emma about Baelfire a short while later, and then he gives her Bae's sword in case of a fight. They then both have a drink of rum in Bae's honor. Shortly after, a swarm of mermaids attack the ship. Everyone tries to fight them off, but when it becomes clear that there's too many, Regina uses fireballs to scare them away. One mermaid however is taken captive, but Hook demands they get it off the ship. When the mermaid refuses to talk and uses a horn to signal for help, Regina threatens to torture it for information, but Hook tells her that mermaids are liars and can't be trusted. After the mermaid's death, a large storm summoned by it approaches. During it, Hook and Charming have a fight, which causes the storm to only worsen. Emma gets their attention by jumping into the water. Charming jumps into the water and rescues Emma, with help from everyone else. The storm calms and then the group make their way to the mainland. Once there, they decide to work together with their skills to save Henry.

As the group walk through the jungle to a ridge, Regina complains that she could’ve teleported them, but Hook explains there are dangers everywhere, so he should lead the way. On the way, Hook warns the group about the poison from some thorns. When they reach the ridge, Hook sees that Neverland has grown since his last visit, so finds it hard to navigate. Hook tells the group to gather their strength so they can move around the jungle. After Emma is given a map to find Henry by Pan, Regina suggests using magic to unlock it, but Hook insists they follow Pan’s rules or it could end badly. As Emma tries to discover who she really is, Hook tells her the solution is a bit more complicated than “Emma Swan”. When Regina casts a spell on the map, the group follow it to find Henry. As they make their way through the jungle, they come across one of the Lost Boy’s camps, but it’s empty. However, this is because it’s an ambush set up by Pan, who is unhappy that they cheated. Hook fights Felix, taunting him about someone named Rufio, until Pan calls it off, giving them a warning. When Emma finally gets the map working, she shows Hook, and he works out the best route for them to travel to Henry, but says it won’t be easy. Hook and Emma share rum together as he asks how she got the map working, but she refuses to tell him teasingly.

Hook and the gang trek through Neverland, following the map to Peter Pan’s camp. However, they notice they’re going the wrong way, so Regina accuses Emma of getting them lost, but Hook explains he moved the camp. A frustrated Regina tells them they should just use magic, but Hook tells her there will be defenses against it. Hook then tells the group they can use the help of Tinker Bell, who Pan trusts. As they continue to trek to Tink’s house, Hook gets himself alone with Charming, revealing he knows about the injury. Charming asks how long he has left, but Hook only roughly tells him days or weeks. He then urges the prince to tell Snow, but he refuses to do so. They eventually find Tink’s house, but discover it’s empty. However, they find Regina’s handkerchief, so they realize the fairy has taken Regina. Hook and the gang track down Tink and they demand to know where Regina is. Once the queen shows herself, she reveals that Tink is good, but Hook asks if she’s going to help them. Hook tries to charm Tink into helping, but Regina reveals that she doesn’t have magic. Tink eventually agrees to help the group when she is offered the chance to go home with them, but the fairy warns them that they’ll only have one chance to save Henry. They all then head back to camp to figure out their plan.

As the group go over Tinker Bell's plan on how they'll break into Pan's camp, Tink warns them of the poison on the Lost Boys' arrows, causing Hook and Charming to share a glance. When Tink realizes there is no escape plan, she explains that you can only leave Neverland if Pan allows it. A frustrated Tinker Bell leaves the group and heads home. Hook reveals that only one man has left Neverland without Pan's permission; Neal. He then leads the group to a hidden cave that Bae used to live in. Before he enters, he questions why Charming doesn't care about telling his family about his injury. The prince explains that he will tell them when all hope is lost and then asks Hook if he's keeping anything from him. However, Hook explains that he told the truth and he won't leave Neverland alive. When they enter, they discover old drawings on the wall that Bae made, hoping they can find a clue as to how he left. As they search the cave for the clues, they come across a home-made map that Bae created using a coconut. Hook points out that he's certain it's a map as when he and Bae spent time together on his ship, he taught the boy how to navigate using the stars, stating they're looking at the product of this. Regina asks if Hook can read it, but he explains that he cannot as he taught Bae to conceal his maps using a code. A saddened Emma points out that the only person who can read the map is dead.

After fearing that Henry may be losing hope on rescue, Hook tries to bond with Emma by saying he too knows what it's like to lose hope. Charming warns Hook to stay away from his daughter. Later, while Charming is lecturing Hook again, the prince finds part of Hook's brother's old satchel. Hook then tells the prince that they may be able to find a sextant atop of a mountain where his brother's satchel will be. After saying goodbye, the duo make their way to the top of the mountain. Hook climbs up first and is then met by Peter Pan, who offers Hook a way to leave Neverland if he kills Charming before the poison does. Little does Hook know, Charming overhears this as he climbs up. They continue their journey and eventually reach the same Dreamshade that killed Liam, Hook's brother. Hook reveals that there isn't actually a sextant, angering the prince. Hook is forced to knock Charming out and then he collects Neverland's magical waters. After waking the prince up, Hook explains that the water will save his life, but he won't be able to leave Neverland. Charming agrees and drinks the water, curing him. He then realizes Hook lied to him because he knew he wouldn't come just to save himself. When they return to the girls, they claim Pan got the satchel first. Charming then indirectly tells he girls that Hook saved his life, so they drink a toast to him. Emma thanks Hook for saving her father and then the two kiss, however, Emma states it's a one time thing. Later, Pan visits Hook in private and reveals that Baelfire is alive and has returned to Neverland. Hook is now left with a decision; to tell Emma her love is alive, or not and keep her to himself.

When Regina is attempting to teach Emma magic, Hook returns to camp and tells David and Mary Margaret that Pan said Neal's still alive. Mary Margaret wants to tell Emma, but David believes that this will only harm her as, if Pan's lying, then she'll have to lose Neal all over again. Not agreeing, Snow quickly tells her daughter the truth, but Regina, who refuses to take Pan's word on this, abandons the others as they want to go save Neal. They eventually make it to the Echo Caves and discover that Neal is locked in a wooden cage, which is resting on the other side of a deep gorge. Hook explains that the only way to get to him is to reveal your deepest, darkest secret, as that's how the Echo Caves work, and he starts by admitting that he's beginning to fall for Emma, and that the two of them kissed. Mary Margaret then reveals that she's actually very upset by the fact that Emma's an adult as it means her and David missed watching their daughter grow up; she admits that, when they get back home, she wants to have another baby. David tells his wife that that's never going to happen by admitting that he was poisoned by Dreamshade but was cured by magical water, with the catch that he can't leave Neverland without dying. The bridge to Neal then becomes fully formed, and to open the cage, Emma admits that she wished Neal were truly dead as that would mean never having to lose him again. The five of them then exit the cave, ready to continue their mission to save Henry, but Hook seems hurt that Emma still loves Neal. ("Ariel")

Neal reveals that there's a way for them to escape Neverland; capturing Pan's shadow and using it to fly off the island. Hook offers to come along and then he, Neal and Emma set off to capture it. Before they leave, Snow warns her daughter that both men have feelings for her and it could be dangerous. When they arrive at Neal's old cave during his time in Neverland as a child, Hook reveals to Neal that he kissed Emma. Despite this making things awkward, they manage to collect what they need; the coconut lamp, which will help them capture the shadow. They then make their way to Dark Hollow, the darkest place of Neverland where the shadows reside. As they make their way there, Emma notices how strange Neal is acting so Hook explains that he told him about their kiss, assuming she told him. Emma wonders why he'd assume that, so he says that he hoped it meant something to her. He then vows that when he wins Emma's heart, it'll be because she wants him. The trio eventually arrive at Dark Hollow, but as they have trouble lighting the candle for the coconut, the two men begin fighting. They're then attacked by shadows, but using magic, Emma is able to light the candle and capture Pan's shadow. As they leave, Emma scolds the two men for fighting and states that if she'd have to chose someone, it'd be Henry.

After meeting back up with the Charming's and Tink, Emma talks to Hook about taking Charming back to Storybrooke with them once this is over, but the pirate points out that if he leaves Neverland the connection between the island and the water will run out...and he'll die. The group eventually run into Rumple and Regina. Baelfire reveals that Rumple wants to kill Henry, so the whole group turns on him with their weapons. To prove he means well, he hands Pandora's Box to his son and promises to not use magic. The group travel to Pan's camp to rescue the young boy. On the way, Rumple reveals he can cure Charming and then he takes Hook's sword, not wanting to go into Pan's camp unarmed. Once they arrive, they manage to knock out the Lost Boy's, but there's no sight of Henry. They discover a young girl, Wendy Darling, locked away in a cage, and after slight hesitation, she reveals that he's been taken to Skull Rock by Pan. Snow and Charming go to collect more water, leaving Hook to wait behind with Tinker Bell, guarding the Lost Boys so they do not awaken whilst Regina, Emma, Bae and Rumple go to save Henry. When they fail and Pan succeeds, Hook and Tink feel the wave of magic emit through the land.

After Hook and Tinker Bell tie up all of the Lost Boys, ensuring none of them escape, Regina, Emma and Neal soon return with an unconscious Henry, who desperately needs his heart back. Regina attempts to torture Felix into giving his leader's location, but Emma resorts to a more peaceful way, offering them all a home. Felix still refuses to tell, so as Emma asks the other boys, Hook holds the angry Felix down. They eventually set off to find Pan, and after a slight inconvenience, they retrieve Henry's heart. Hook and everybody else make their way to the Jolly Roger so they can make their way home. As Henry recovers below decks, the group enact their plan to fly home. Neal puts the Shadow into a cannon, firing it into the air, and then Regina traps it with her magic before throwing it through one of the sails. The sail dissolves and then a new black sail takes its place. Hook uses this new sail to fly the Jolly Roger into the air and they fly back to Storybrooke. Unbeknownst to him, Pan was able to switch places with Henry before being trapped in Pandora's Box, so the evil leader, in the form of young Henry, continues his evil plans.

Hook returns to Storybrooke along with all the others aboard the Jolly Roger and is met with a warm welcome from all the joyous townspeople. The celebrations soon move to Granny's Diner, where the pirate tells Neal that he's decided to end his pursuit of Emma, freeing the path for his old friend; however, he makes it clear that, should Neal mess things up, Hook will be available to pick up the pieces. The next day, when Emma and Neal are supposed to be having a date, Hook tries to get over the blonde by getting drunk on rum and hitting on Tinker Bell, but the former fairy is disgusted by his so-called charms. Their talk is disrupted when a scream is heard across town, and the two of them, along with many other townspeople, arrive to see Peter Pan's shadow murder the Blue Fairy outside the local convent, by ripping out her shadow. This leads Emma to believe that Pan is somehow still active from within Pandora's Box, where he is kept prisoner, and so decides to free and execute him. This leads her to learn of the body switch that took place between Pan and Henry, meaning that the real Pan is now with Regina in her vault. Hook and some others arrive on the scene, and when they make it into the Queen's vault, they find her unconscious on the ground. Once she's revived, it's realized that Pan stole the Dark Curse and plans on casting it all over again on Storybrooke's citizens.

In order to stop Pan's new curse, Regina - the original caster - must tear the curse scroll and undo what she started in the first place, sending everyone back to their home in the Enchanted Forest. To gain the scroll, they must put Henry and Pan back into their own bodies so the former can hand it over, and so Hook heads off with Tink, Neal and David to retrieve the Black Fairy's wand, which is in possession of the late Blue Fairy. When at her funeral, the shadow attacks, but Tinker Bell manages to kill it and regain her wings in the process, bringing Blue back to life also by returning her shadow to her. Grateful, Blue hands over the Black Fairy's wand and Rumple is able to perform the spell that returns Henry and Pan to their own bodies. But after Henry is reunited with everyone, Pan attacks and is ultimately killed by Rumple, who ends his own life in the process, leaving the scroll clear for Regina, who realizes the price she must pay for tearing it: she has to give up the thing she loves most, Henry, who is able to escape the curse because he wasn't born in their land. Emma is also capable of escaping the curse for she is the savior, and everyone heads to the town line to say their goodbyes. Hook assures the blonde that not a day will go by where he won't think of her, which so responds to positively. She is then told more bad news by Regina, who reveals that when Storybrooke is vanquished by the curse, Emma and Henry will retain no memory of it, so she gives them new memories in which she never gave him up for adoption. Once the blonde leaves town with her son, Regina is able to tear the scroll and stop Pan's curse, sending everyone back to the fairytale land that was.

Before the Second Curse
"You may have changed, but I haven't. I'm a pirate and I always will be."

Hook returns to the Enchanted Forest along with every other resident of Storybrooke and is told by the Evil Queen that all of their possessions should have returned with them. This inspires him to pack up a horse and go to find the Jolly Roger, only to be stopped by Prince Charming, who is surprised that Hook isn't coming with everyone else to Regina's palace. He explains where he's going, adding that if he can't find the Jolly Roger, he'll simply steal another ship. Snow expresses disappointment that he's simply becoming a pirate again due to Emma's absence, but he assures the fair princess that he never stopped being one, before riding off alone.

Hook reunites with Mr. Smee and some of his old pirate crew, but unfortunately, they're unable to find the Jolly Roger. Having just robbed a carriage, as is their new modus operandi, they celebrate at a tavern before Hook leaves sadly, still upset over the loss of his ship, and Emma Swan. Soon, however, he is knocked down and tackled by Ariel, who holds a knife to his throat and demands to know where Prince Eric is, thinking the pirate kidnapped him. They stand, and Hook realizes that she thinks this because Eric was taken prisoner on his ship, the Jolly Roger, and so he grabs the dagger and holds it to her own throat, demanding more information. She reveals that one of the prince's men was able to escape using a weapon from the armory - the dagger which is currently being held against her throat - and Hook recognizes the signature of notorious pirate Black Beard, and decides to go after him along with Ariel and Mr. Smee. On the way, Ariel reveals that she was surprised to hear Hook might have kidnapped Eric due to all the stories she's heard of him saving Henry in Neverland, but Hook denies all claims, making clear that he's a pirate and nothing more. The ship is soon located and Hook finds himself in a sword fight with Black Beard, which he soon wins, but Ariel stops him from killing his adversary because Eric's not on board and she needs to know where he is. Realizing that this whole thing was a rescue mission, Black Beard mocks Hook for having gone soft, but soon admits that Eric is stranded on an island. He only agrees to give them the location if he gets to keep the Jolly Roger in return, but Hook makes him walk the plank where he's eaten by sharks, much to Ariel's dismay. She berates the pirate for being a monster, before whipping out her tail and swimming off to find Eric, hoping to locate this island by herself. A dove later arrives on Hook's ship with a memory potion and a note from Neal Cassidy - though Hook does not know this - telling him to find Emma and restore her memories. Hook manages to outrun the Dark Curse heading his way and trades the Jolly Roger for a magic bean, which he then uses to get to New York City.

Season 3
"I swear on Emma Swan..."

One year has now past since Emma and Henry left Storybrooke forever and the two of them are enjoying a normal breakfast together in their New York apartment. This everyday undertaking is soon interrupted by an odd and frantic knock at the door, and Emma is surprised to be met by Captain Hook, not being able to recognize him due to the new memories given to her by Regina. He warns her that her family is in grave danger, but she has no idea what he's talking about, having been abandoned by her parents when she was a baby. He tries to restore her memory with a kiss of true love, but this only makes Emma scared, leading her to throw him out of the apartment. When Henry wonders who was at the door, the blonde figures it was just some crazy guy who someone mistakenly let into the building.

Emma is on a date with Walsh, her boyfriend of eight months, when Captain Hook turns up, with a fake hand in place of his namesake hook, and continues to try and convince her that her memories are fake; he aids the process by giving her an address to go to and telling her to meet him at Central Park. The next day, Emma heads to the address, which turns out to be Neal's apartment, and finds a camera that belongs to Henry, much to her shock. She goes to meet Hook and asks him to explain; he sticks to his story, realizing he sounds like a madman, but offers Emma a potion that will restore her memories. She refuses to drink it, frightened, and instead has Hook arrested for harassment by the cops she had stationed around the area in advance. Emma has the photos from the camera developed and sees pictures from a trip she doesn't remember going on, and so she bails Hook out of jail and he again offers her the potion. This time, Emma drinks it and her memories are restored, and so the next day she, Hook and Henry leave for Storybrooke, which has been cursed again. Hook reunites with his hook and is told to watch Henry, who still has fake memories, whilst Emma visits her parents. She is surprised to learn that Mary Margaret is pregnant and doesn't remember how it happened, with everyone in town having entirely forgotten the year they spent back home.

In Storybrooke, Hook heads to Granny's Bed & Breakfast with Emma and her parents where the new curse is discussed, as well as the fact that people from the town have begun to go missing, including three of the seven dwarfs. Hook is asked how he escaped the curse, and he explains that a dove was sent to him aboard his ship with a note telling him to retrieve Emma and a single vial of memory potion. They ask him who sent this dove, and he replies that he assumed it was from Snow White, who is famed for befriending birds. The next day, Hook heads to the town line with David and Emma when it's reported that Little John was snatched away by a flying creature. They soon manage to find him with a bad bite mark on his shoulder and take him to hospital, however, it is here that he transforms into a flying monkey and smashes through the window. This is told to Emma, Snow and Regina when Hook and Charming return, which leads them to realize that they're up against the Wicked Witch of the West.

Hook heads to Regina's office along with Emma and David to search for clues regarding the Wicked Witch. Charming soon finds berries that were tracked in when the Witch broke into the office, meaning she's spent time in the North-West corner of the town woods, but Emma and Hook head there without David because he's called away by Mary Margaret, who wants him to meet their new midwife, Zelena. The pirate soon locates the berries but takes a moment to ask Emma if she was considering Walsh's proposal. She reveals that she was in love, so of course she was considering it, but as usual he wasn't who he said we was and she got her heart broken. Hook is happy to hear this, pointing out that, if her heart can be broken, then it still works. The two of them soon find the Witch's farmhouse and contemplate going down her mysterious storm cellar, however, when Emma goes to phone Regina for magical backup, she sees a missed call from David telling her that he thinks he's found the Witch and is going after her. She, Hook and Regina soon find the prince in the woods, being attacked by a manifestation of himself created by night-root. He manages to vanquish it by stabbing it with the hilt of his sword, which then disappears, and Regina explains that his courage transferred into it when he faced his fears... and then the Wicked Witch stole it. The four of them then head down the storm cellar together, the lock of which is now busted, and find an empty cage with a spinning wheel in it, as well as straw that's been spun into gold. They deduce that Rumplestiltskin has returned.

Hook heads to Gold's shop with Emma and the Charmings where Belle is informed that Rumple is alive, being asked to to research. Emma requests that Hook stay there and help her, but Belle points out that the pirate has twice tried to kill her, leading the blonde to comment that he really knows how to leave an impression on a woman. Hook simply apologizes and proceeds to help Belle as she carries out her research, but their book rummaging is cut short when Neal busts into the shop. He is taken to hospital where Hook is soon asked to watch over him whilst the others look for Gold. When Neal stands up, wanting to leave, Hook hugs him, saying he forgets that he was once the young boy who took refuge under the pirate's wing. He apologizes to his old friend for all the dispute that took place between then regarding Emma and the two of them make amends with Hook giving Neal a ten minute head start to escape the hospital and aid the search for Rumple. Whilst Hook is again helping Belle, the Charmings enter and break the news that Neal is dead, having succumbed to something he did back in the Enchanted Forest during the missing year.

Hook attends Neal's funeral where he is one of the many townspeople to shovel dirt onto the coffin, before heading to the wake at Granny's Diner, where he offers to take Henry out and tell him what his father was like as a boy. Emma is touched that the pirate would do this for her son, and that night, he and Henry are seen at the docks together, where Hook tries to teach the young man to navigate using the stars. However, Henry has no interest in this and soon starts to notice holes in what people are telling him about his father, such as Hook being an adult when Neal was a boy when they appear to be about the same age in the present day. He asks to be told something real about his father; something that doesn't sound made up so he'll like the guy, and Hook considers this to be a fair request, revealing to the young man that the reason he taught Neal to sail is because he had just lost his own father. This allows Henry to finally relate to his dad, and Hook says, where Henry may not have known is father, he has more in common with him than he realizes. Later, Hook returns Henry to Emma at the B&B and she thanks him for what he did, however, he tells her that Henry needs to know the whole truth about his father and she can't just return to New York when all this is over and pretend that it never happened. She doesn't like hearing this and simply thanks him again, coldly, before slamming the door in his face.

Hook is at the docks when Mr. Smee talks to him about returning to the pirate life, but Hook refuses, wanting to stay in town. Emma then approaches, asking the pirate to watch Henry, and he agrees to do so, upset to hear that she still plans on returning to New York once Zelena is defeated. Hook takes Henry to Granny's Diner where he teaches him how to cheat at dice, but David and Mary Margaret stop by with Ariel in tow, wondering if Hook knows anything about the whereabouts of Prince Eric, who's missing. Hook lies and answers negatively, but the Charmings still think he'll be more useful to the search than them, so they agree to watch Henry whilst Hook accompanies the mermaid to Mr. Gold's shop, thinking they can find one of the prince's possessions there and use a locator spell to track him. Hook manages to uncover a cloak belonging to Eric, but when the locator spell is poured, they follow the cloak to the docks where it's sucked underwater, meaning the prince must have drowned. Ariel mourns his loss, devastated, but thanks Hook for the help her provided. She walks away but he chases after her and confesses that he lied, explaining all that happened during the missing year when she previously asked him to help track down Eric. She is disgusted and makes him swear he's sorry on the name of the woman he loves, and he swears on Emma Swan. However, this allows her to curse his lips before revealing herself to be Zelena in disguise. She explains that Ariel actually found her prince and is living happily with him, before explaining further that she cursed his kiss so that Emma's magic will be drained the next time their lips touch. He is unable to tell her due to the threat Zelena placed on her family, and so he simply watches her from afar with his telescope as she dines with her family at Granny's Diner, yearning.

After having her heart stolen by the Wicked Witch, Regina summons Hook, Emma, Mary Margaret and David to her house in order to cast a spell that will allow them to talk to her dead mother and learn more about Zelena's past; she explains that such a spell requires the murder weapon and the murderer. The candle that was used to kill Cora is then lit and everyone joins hands around a table, focusing their thoughts on the deceased Queen of Hearts. A portal soon opens, but nothing comes through, leading those involved to believe that Cora has no interest in discussing her past with them. Hook and the others then leave, minus Mary Margaret, and he heads to Granny's Diner with Emma, who practices some new magic tricks she's learned. Hook gets annoyed when she makes his hook disappear and she asks him why he's been so humorless lately, having noticed this earlier as well. He refuses to offer an explanation - his kiss still being cursed - and Belle soon bursts in, having stumbled across what Zelena's ultimate endgame is in her books. She explains that Zelena wants to go back in time and claim what she thinks she deserves, and so they head back to Regina's where they witness the Queen sending the ghost of her mother, who's just possessed Mary Margaret, back through the portal to the afterlife. Again, Belle explains Zelena's plan, and Snow, having retained some of Cora's memories from when she was possessed, reveals that her mother, Queen Eva, was the reason Cora gave up her first born, meaning the reason Zelena wants to go back in time is to kill her and thus make it so Snow, Emma, Henry and Regina were never born.

Hook arranges to meet Emma, Snow, Charming and Regina at Granny's Bed & Breakfast, but they are confused when he doesn't show up, which is because he's been kidnapped by Mr. Gold, per Zelena's directive. She asks the pirate why he hasn't kissed Emma and drained her magic yet, but he refuses to give a sensible answer. She demands that he remove the savior's magic, or else she'll have to start killing people, starting with Henry. Later, after Hook is let go, he finds Henry trying to break into his mother's car in an attempt the drive back to New York, but the pirate tells the young man that he has a better way of doing so. He takes him down to the docks with Mr. Smee, thinking that he can set the boy off on a boat and keep him safe from Zelena, but a swarm of flying monkeys quickly begins to attack. Hook kills a few with his musket, which soon runs out of bullets, but Emma and the others soon step in and kill the rest, giving Henry his old storybook and returning his memories, having decided that this is the only way to defeat the Wicked Witch. Just as Emma is about to kiss his forehead and break the curse, Zelena arrives and threatens Henry's life, commenting that this is the price of Hook's failure. She is soon driven away by Emma's light magic, however, and the curse is then broken by a kiss of true love given to Henry by Regina. The memories of the missing year return, and Emma asks Hook what Zelena meant when she said he failed her. He explains all about his cursed lips and the price he would be paying for not using them, but this maddens the blonde, who thinks it should have been her choice whether or not to endanger the life of her child. Snow and Charming agree that the pirate isn't to be trusted, for he said that the note he received telling him to restore Emma's memories came from them, but they don't remember sending any such thing.

With Mary Margaret now in labor with her son, multiple townspeople gather at the hospital in order to secure the premises against the Wicked Witch. Hook shows up in order to apologize to Emma, but she hears none of it, having decided to bring the fight to Zelena and end this now. David makes his daughter bring Hook with her, having decided to trust him, and the two of them discuss Emma's plans to return to New York when all this is over on their way to Zelena's farmhouse. She and Rumple soon ambush them, however, and Rumple drowns Hook in a tub of water. When the two dark magicians leave, Emma manages to free the pirate, but is forced to give him mouth-to-mouth; the moment their lips touch, her magic is drained. Meanwhile, Snow's son has been stolen, and Emma, Hook, Regina, David and Robin Hood head to Zelena's barn, where she's already enacted her time travel spell, in order to take the baby back. Ultimately, Regina is able to defeat the witch with her own light magic, and the spell ceases when Zelena's pendant is taken from her. Snow is reunited with her child, and Hook is glad to see how happy Emma is in this moment, going on to ask if her magic returned when Zelena was defeated - since all the flying monkeys are human again - but Emma answers negatively, saying that it doesn't matter because she won't be needing them in New York. With the Dark One now a free man, he ambushes Zelena in her prison cell and stabs her with his dagger, killing her. The magic from her pendant then leaks across town and activates her time travel spell, opening a portal to the past.

A coronation is held at Granny's Diner to announce the name of Snow and Charming's baby, but Emma is provoked into leaving when Hook lets slip her plans to move back to New York. He goes after her, Henry's book of fairytales in tow, and learns that the reason she wants to leave is because she doesn't feel like Storybrooke is their home. Their conversation is interrupted when they notice that Zelena's time portal has opened, and they are sucked through it when they attempt to investigate, ending up in the Enchanted Forest of the past. They witness characters such as the Evil Queen and accidentally make it so Snow White and Prince Charming never met. They seek out Rumplestiltskin to help them and he offers to provide them with a portal to the future once they get things back on track. The two of them find the Captain Hook of the past and Emma begins flirting with him whilst the present day Captain Hook makes a deal with Snow White, offering her safe passage on his ship if she steals Prince James' wedding ring for her (as is what she would have done if the moment weren't interrupted). She agrees, but when Hook sees his past self kissing Emma, he punches him in the face, knocking him out. That night, Rumple provides them with an invitation to King Midas' ball and puts them under a glamor spell so no one in the future will recognize them. They adopt the aliases Prince Charles and Princess Leia, but Snow White is sighted upstairs before she's able to steal the ring, which Emma finds. However, she is arrested by the Evil Queen and taken away for aiding Snow's escape.

With "Princess Leia" locked up, Hook employs Snow and Charming to help him rescue her, but she escapes with Marian just as her saviors arrive. Hook is angry that Marian, another prisoner, is walking free, because she was executed in the original timeline, but Emma refuses to condemn an innocent woman. When they go to meet back up with Snow, they witness her get burned alive by the Queen, however, it's revealed that she used the dark fairy dust at her disposal to escape. Hook and Emma are forced to knock Marian out and take her back to the future with them to avoid distorting the timeline, and Charming rides off when he realizes Snow still has his ring, hoping to head her off at the Troll Bridge. Emma and Hook ride after them, knowing that they no longer have the dust to defend themselves against the trolls, but Snow manages to use sand to bluff her way out of the situation. Emma witnesses her parents fall in love, before returning to Rumplestiltskin with Hook and the unconscious Marian. Not having a way to get them home, he simply locks them up in his vault of dark magic, taking the glamour spell off of them in the process. When Emma finally accepts that Storybrooke is her home, her magic returns and she's able to use a fairy wand to open a portal to the future. The three of them go through it, and Marian wakes up on the other side. The royal baby is announced to be named Prince Neal, and outside, Emma learns that Hook traded his ship for a magic bean so that he could get to her. Touched, she kisses him, and it's later revealed that Marian is Robin Hood's wife who he thought deceased - meaning Regina's new relationship with him is ruined - and that Emma and Hook accidentally brought the Ice Queen back with them when they returned; she walks free.

Season 4
"How many times do I have to tell you, love? I'm a survivor."

After a confrontation involving Regina and Marian - Robin Hood's dead wife who is no longer dead - the Queen storms off and Emma tries to follow, but Hook holds her back and warns her that no good has ever come from pushing that woman. The next day, the Charmings are taking a family stroll when Hook approaches to tell them that he searched the mausoleum and Regina isn't hiding out there; when Emma seems uninterested, he asks if she's avoiding him, but before they can have a proper conversation about their relationship with one another, a crisis arises in the form of something capable of performing ice magic, as is described by Grumpy. Emma and Hook begin following a trail of ice, hoping to catch the assailant, but she whips up a giant snow monster before they can do so. This is then chased into the woods and killed by Regina, who leaves soon after. Hook approaches Emma afterward and, although it's evident that someone with ice magic is loose in Storybrooke, he suggests that they live their life together during the quiet moments, such as this one. However, she cannot, because she needs to go and speak with Regina; she kisses him before she leaves and tells him to be patient, and he comments to himself that he's the most patient man in the world... unless another monster appears and kills him.

Elsa, the Ice Queen, decides that nobody is leaving Storybrooke until she finds her sister, Anna, and so she erects a large ice wall around the town's perimeter to stop anyone from being able to escape. Emma and Hook drive down to investigate and Hook reveals himself to be there too, approaching the blonde and pointing out that this is their second date, if one would count their battle with the giant snow monster as the first. She disagrees, despite the fact that they have the "biggest ice bucket in the world", and goes about her duty, proceeding to find Elsa and talk to her. However, David and Hook find her too and they startle her, causing her to accidentally trap herself and Emma in a cave of ice. As the savior slowly freezes to death, David and Hook rush around town in order to find a solution. After seeing the necklace Elsa stole from Mr. Gold's shop, Charming realizes that he knows Anna and next visits Bo Peep in order to steal her magical crook. By convincing her that he and Anna were friends, David successfully goads Elsa into melting a small section of ice so that she and Emma can go free. At home, they use the crook to confirm the fact that Anna is indeed alive, and Emma later drives Elsa back to the ice wall to melt it all down; the Ice Queen tries and fails, meaning that someone else with the same powers as her is keeping it up.

Hook goes with Emma and Elsa to confront Gold as to how the Ice Queen ended up in the urn in his vault, but he claims not to know and gets Belle to use the dagger on him to prove that he's telling the truth. Meanwhile, at Mary Margaret's first fireside chat as Mayor, Marian collapses due to an icy curse and everyone is quick to blame Elsa, who Emma tells to stay in the Sheriff's Station with Hook whilst she and David go to investigate matters further. However, Hook refuses to stay put and pays another visit to Rumplestiltskin along with Elsa. The pirate blackmails the Dark One, saying he knows that the dagger Belle wields is a fake because he would never let anyone have such power over him; even her. As such, Gold agrees to help and gives them a way of tracking the real culprit behind Marian's curse. Hook and Elsa thus discover the Snow Queen in the woods, but she quickly discovers the two of them in turn and uses her magic to nearly kill Hook. Emma shows up just in the nick of time to save the day, fending off this new villain, and she later berates the pirate for not staying put like she asked, explaining that the reason she's so protective of him is because everyone she's ever been with is dead. Hook assures the blonde that, if anything, he's good at surviving, and the two of them share a passionate kiss in the street.

After being asked out on a date by Emma, Hook visits Gold and continues blackmailing him by threatening to tell Belle the truth about the dagger and requests that his hand be reattached. The Dark One obliges but warns the pirate that he lost the hand when he was his old self, and that personality may begin to shine through now that it's back. Hook doesn't buy it and accepts his hand anyway, proceeding to his date with Emma, but he soon begins to realize that Rumple was right (because he threatens and later punches Will Scarlet) and asks him to take the hand away. Rumple refuses and Hook tries blackmailing him, but the Dark One insists that he switched the daggers back, which Hook has no way of knowing. As such, he is forced to make a deal and, the next day, the pirate meets Rumple at the town docks. Gold enchants a broom to lead them to the house of the sorcerer's apprentice who guarded the hat and uses said hat to absorb him, wanting to collect enough magic to be able to break free of the dagger's thrall on him. Hook acts as Gold's muscle whilst all this takes place, and Gold takes the pirate's hand out of gratitude, revealing that it actually wasn't affecting Hook's personality - that was just him. Hook, having seen Rumple use his dagger to activate the hat, contemplates telling Belle everything, but Rumple magically alters the security tape from the house to make it look as though Hook acted alone. He later goes to the Sheriff's Station where Will is locked up, but he is too scared of Hook to tell Emma that he attacked him.

Emma and Elsa are going through town records in hopes that it will help them find Anna, and Hook shows up with another box full. He kisses Emma after telling her that he's going to take Henry sailing, and Will sarcastically commends his play of befriending the son to get in with the mom. Hook menacingly tells him to mind his own business before leaving, and later returns to the Sheriff's Station at night to find Emma rummaging through a box of her childhood things. He asks if he may have the honor, and she grants him, and so he looks at some of her old possessions, eager to learn more about her beginnings. Emma then finds a video camera she once stole and decides to watch what's been recorded on it. Hook sees a recording of a young Emma smiling and laughing with her old friend, Lily, but when the recording ends, a new one begins which Emma has absolutely no memory of - it's of her trying to get her camera back from some kids in her foster home, only to have it given back to her by the Snow Queen, who used to be Emma's foster mother. She and Hook are shocked.

Emma shows everyone the tape she and Hook found of the Snow Queen as her foster mother and, per Henry's directive, she and the others decide to storm the ice witch's ice cream truck, which the Merry Men locate in the woods. Once there, Emma busts into the locked freezer and recovers a bunch of items taken from her childhood, proving that the Snow Queen has been stalking her for quite some time. Among these items is a scroll written in glyphs, which the savior recognizes as being not of this world. Later, back at the sheriff's station, Elsa shows Emma a book she found at the library which bears her family tree; it reveals both that the Snow Queen is her aunt and that her name is Ingrid, as well as the fact that she had another sister besides Elsa and Anna's mother, named Helga, who, as Hook points out, looks exactly like Emma. The blondes deduce that Ingrid plans to recreate her family, which becomes more apparent when Elsa decodes the scroll Emma earlier found, which is actually a prophecy predicting that the savior's name is Emma and Emma will be Ingrid's sister, at which Belle rushes in and admits that she's the reason Anna is missing, because she allowed her to be taken by the Snow Queen along time ago. She goes on to explain that she earlier stormed Ingrid's lair and discovered a mirror imbued with much dark magic, and Rumple told her that, which this mirror, the Snow Queen plans to cast a spell of shattered sight, which will cause every resident of Storybrooke to turn on each other. Hook realizes that the town will destroy itself, and Emma adds that there'll be no one left... except she and Elsa: Ingrid's perfect family.

After Emma successfully captures the Snow Queen in the clock tower, Hook, David and Elsa decide to investigate the ice witch's mirror, warned by Belle not to look in it because it will make you see the worst in yourself. Hook points out that he's been looking in it for a while now and he still seems just as, if not more, devilishly handsome and charming as ever. Looking in it herself, Belle realizes that it's actually a fake mirror, which means that Ingrid wanted to be caught on purpose. This leads them to the conclusion that Emma, who's alone with the Snow Queen in the sheriff's station, is in danger, and so they rush over to Mr. Gold's shop to see if he will help. He agrees to, but only when Belle asks, and Hook wonders what game the Dark One is playing, pointing out that the last two villains who visited town wanted to kill him but this one he seems strangely familiar with. Rumple refuses to delve into his past for the pirate, and the group simply heads over to the station, where Emma - who's magic have been sent out of control by the ice witch - has blown a hole in the wall and accidentally drops a lamppost on her own father. Her parents look at her with fear in their eyes and so she drives off, scorned, and cannot be found, even hours later, which Hook concludes means that she doesn't want to be.

Hook and the others continue searching for Emma all night to no avail, except for Henry, who returns home injured by his mother's erratic magic. The savior soon phones her mother, however, and reveals that she's found a way to get rid of her powers permanently, and that she plans on going through with it. Hook realizes that she must have gone to Mr. Gold with this problem, which means he'll likely be sucking her and her magic into the sorcerer's hat, and so the pirate urgently leaves some voicemails on the blonde's cell in hopes of stopping her, but the messages come through too late. When he sees the abandoned manor on the outskirts of town circled on Gold's map, Hook makes his way there but ends up being tied up by the Dark One, who's stolen Emma's phone to make sure she never hears his messages. However, Emma doesn't go through with the procedure and embraces her magic instead, leaving the hat as empty as it was, and Hook begins to gloat. It is at that point that Gold reveals there's something else he needs in order to cast the spell to cleave himself from the dagger, and that's the heart of someone who knew him before he was the Dark One. He proceeds to rip out Hook's hard and intends to control him into collecting all the magic needed for the hat, before killing him. Hook reunites with Emma, whilst under Rumple's control, and she notices that he's acting strange but doesn't press it. When she leaves, he sneaks into the adjacent room and stuffs the hatbox beneath his jacket.

The Snow Queen succeeds in casting the spell of Shattered Sight, which will be complete by sundown and cause everyone in Storybrooke to start tearing each other apart, while Hook remains under the control of the Dark One thanks to Rumple's possession of his heart. He orders Hook to take the magic hat and use it to absorb all the fairies, who are working to counteract the spell. Hook is disgusted that Rumple wishes to doom this town, but Rumple doesn't care, telling Hook to stand by in Granny's Diner - where the fairies will be - but wait until he is able to get Belle out of the way, with whom he plans on leaving town along with Henry. Hook waits in the back room until Belle and Rumple are gone, and he uses the hat to vacuum up every last fairy, ending with Mother Superior. He feels deep remorse for this act and remains sitting behind the counter and crying when Emma and the others barge in to discover the wreckage. As everyone begins sealing themselves in various places for their and other's protection, Hook heads to the sheriff's station in order to give Emma a goodbye kiss before heading to the docks. There, he stands in wait as the spell becomes complete and causes everyone in town - besides Emma, Elsa and the recently found Anna - to only see the very worst in one another.

Hook walks into Gold's shop and wonders why he was spared the Snow Queen's curse, at which the Dark One explains that Hook's heart wasn't in his chest at the time, and so he is still under his control. Gold then uses this control to order the pirate to collect Henry from wherever it is his mothers have hidden him away, but Hook points out that Henry won't want anything to do with him when he leaves all of Storybrooke to die. However, Gold explains that he plans to take Henry and Belle to New York where they will have no memory of what happened the previous day; he shall tell them that Storybrooke was destroyed and that the two of them are the only people he was able to save - thus, he shall be a hero. Hook then heads to Regina's office and breaks the containment spell around it using a potion Gold gave him. He enters, wanting to collect Henry, but Henry has placed marbles on the floor in order to trip anyone who enters, and so he escapes. Hook tries to give chase but is confronted by Will Scarlet, who tries punching him, but Hook easily subdues the thief and returns to Gold once the spell is broken by Ingrid, who sacrifices herself. Gold cares not that the Snow Queen failed and still plans to cast a spell using the hat and Hook's heart which shall allow him to leave Storybrooke and retain his magic; he promises that Emma and the others have nothing to fear from him, but is unable to make the same promise for the rest of the world.

Following Ingrid's death, the ice wall can finally be taken down by Elsa, but a curse remains on the town line making it so that anyone who leaves cannot return, and Hook reports this information to Gold, who still has his heart. The two of them later head over to the lakeside mansion where Emma almost lost her powers and locate a portal back to Arendelle through which Kristoff, Elsa and Anna can go home, for the latter knows of Rumple's plan. Hook tells Emma and the others about the portal, but the savior notices him acting strange. Gold, who's controlling Hook's words through his heart, assures her that everything's fine, despite Hook's will attempting to reach out for her and warn her of impending danger. Elsa and Kristoff leave, but just before Anna goes through she reveals that she and Rumplestiltskin have met, despite his earlier insistence that he knows nothing about Elsa's sister. It becomes clear that the Dark One has been lying to them for quite some time, and Emma and Mary Margaret arrive at the clock tower just as Gold is about to crush Hook's heart to service his spell to cleave himself of the dagger. He freezes the savior and her mother, but cannot crush the heart because Belle is controlling him with the real dagger, which she found with a magical object of his. Seeing the man he truly is, she commands him to leave town, meaning he may never return, while Hook's heart is returned by Emma. The two of them share a kiss, and he reminds the blonde of what he said about being a survivor.

Six weeks have passed, and everyone starts getting use to everything being normal in Storybrooke. At the town's library, Hook and Belle have spent their time doing countless research on how to release the fairies Rumple had imprisoned in the Sorcerer's hat. The pirate starts to grow frustrated since it's been taking so long, Belle assures her new friend that they have to do a spell to release the fairies, as well as the apprentice, but first she must consult with outsiders, via email, to translate it. The two then discuss their regrets about letting the Dark One trick them both, using Belle's love for him, and Hook's love for Emma, as a weapon. Despite all of this, however, Hook states that Rumple did in-fact love her. As her eyes start filling with tears, Belle remarks that she hopes he found what he was looking for. She later receives an email from what she thinks is an Oxford professor, but is actually Rumple, who gives her the spell translation, and she immediately gives it to Emma and Regina; the latter then uses the dagger to perform the spell on the hat, thus freeing all the fairies, but what they don't all notice, however, is that the Chernabog is released as well. A celebration is then held at Granny's Diner to celebrate the fairies' return, which Hook attends, and then the Chernabog makes itself known to the townspeople. Once it's stunned by Emma and Regina, Hook heads off to help run damage control, and eventually, with knowledge from Ursula and Cruella De Vil, the creature is led across the town line where it fades out of existence, and the two new town residents also allow Rumple passage back in, unbeknownst to everyone else.

Hook and Emma head to Granny's Diner for lunch and the latter is surprised when it appears that Ursula has a past with her boyfriend; she doesn't have time to press it, however, for David calls her to duty. Later, as Emma reviews some security footage, Hook visits her with some lunch in tow, and it is now that she asks him about Ursula. It is clear that he isn't telling her the whole truth, and she advises him to leave, then seeing on the security tape of Gold's shop that Ursula and Cruella stole something. She takes this footage to her parents, who are off on a hike (in fact off to prevent Maleficent from being resurrected), and she feels as though they're acting strange, doubting where they're actually going. She later summons Hook to the sheriff's station and explains to him how it doesn't matter what his past with Ursula is, as long as he doesn't lie to her. Her parents unintentionally eavesdrop on this, and hear how they have inspired Emma to start seeing the best in people, as opposed to the worst. They are touched, and decide not to admit their secret to her (that they made it so that Maleficent lost her child). Instead, all they tell her is that Ursula and Cruella have risen Maleficent, and they want to destroy their happy ending. Emma wonders why these witches have waged war against them, and Mary Margaret says that it's because they're villains and not heroes like them.

With Regina having gone undercover with the Queens of Darkness, Hook helps Emma search for the former Evil Queen around town, to no avail. He later goes with Emma and her parents to a covert meet-up in the library with Regina, where she reveals that the trio of villainesses plan to shift the entire balance of happy endings by finding the Author, making it so that villains win and heroes lose. Meanwhile, Rumplestiltskin disguises himself as Hook using his magic. He interrupts her date with Will Scarlet under the pretense that she needs to give the dagger to him so that he can hide it, being a pirate and therefore being able to hide treasure very well. She later meets with him in order to do so but is unsure about letting go of the dagger, seeing it as her only protection against Rumple should he return. "Hook" tells her to use it to make the Dark One face her and, if he's in town, he'll have no choice but to do so. She does exactly this, but since the disguised Rumple is already with her and thusly facing her, it makes no difference. Her mind at ease, she hands the dagger over, and Rumple, still in his guise, later enters his shop and asks Belle a few questions about her budding new relationship. She reveals that she'll never be over Rumple, but for now it's nice to have someone who makes her smile; Rumple is comforted by this, and heads back to the cabin he's staying in where Maleficent, Ursula and Cruella reintroduce Regina to him.

Hook and the others are out searching for August and Regina when the latter sends them a magical smoke signal which reveals both that August has been transformed back into a man and Rumplestiltskin is back in town. They go to warn Belle, who was already tricked into giving him the dagger, and Hook decides to find out what the Dark One is planning by striking a deal with Ursula. He promises to return her voice to her if she gives him the information he needs. First, she has to open an underwater portal to retrieve the Jolly Roger from the Enchanted Forest; however, it's trapped inside a bottle, and so the two of them visit Will Scarlet so that he can give them some essence of Wonderland's mushrooms in order to regrow it. This works, and the shell containing Ursula's singing voice is retrieved... but her magic is unable to release what's inside, and her anger leads to her throwing Hook overboard where he's saved by Ariel, who was swept up in the same magic that trapped the Jolly Roger in a bottle. She thanks Hook for freeing her, but at the same time points out the flaws in his plan to give Ursula her happy ending. He next shows up at Rumple's cabin, where August is rescued by the heroes, with King Poseidon, Ursula's father, in tow, as it turns out that only the person who enchanted the shell can release its contents. Poseidon returns Ursula's voice, and she decides to leave town with him in order to pursue true happiness. Hook, meanwhile, points out to Emma that he was a villain, which makes him fear that she, his happy ending, is in danger. Before Ursula leaves, she reveals to Hook that Rumple plans to fill Emma's heart with darkness in order to eradicate her savior properties so that the Author can change people's fates in this world.

Following his revelation that the Author is trapped inside the book, August takes a turn for the worse and passes out and so Emma, Regina and Henry rush him to the local nunnery where Mother Superior diagnosis that all of his magical transformations have taken their toll, and he will take time to recover. When Emma arrives back at the apartment, she is told by Hook that Rumple plans to fill her heart with darkness so that the Author is able to change things, and her parents act worried, leaving in a hurry. Hook wonders if he needs to be jealous of August, but Emma assures him that he doesn't, for August is only her friend - something that was a rarity for her to make after Lily. Suddenly, Maleficent's spell puts the whole town to sleep, except those who have been under sleeping curses before. David wants to burn the page in order to protect his and Mary Margaret's secret, but she has a last-minute moral epiphany and decides not to, wanting to tell Emma the truth instead. Emma, with Hook sitting beside her, is told of how her parents stole Maleficent's baby and had it banished to our world by accident, and she is disgusted by how they've lied to her. She leaves angrily and is later approached by Hook, who informs her that August is awake. She visits him with the page and a key that Henry found to the door, and she wants to set the Author free because she has a lot of questions for him. August explains to her that the Author isn't a person but a job, and the one trapped in the page is just the most recent. The reason for his imprisonment is that he began to manipulate rather than just record, and when Emma sets him free, he causes a distraction and runs away. She tries chasing him out into the streets but to no avail.

Following the Author's escape, Emma, David and Mary Margaret chase him through the woods, with the latter using her skills as a tracker to help find him. The Charmings admit to having known him back in the Enchanted Forest, for he put them on the path they took to stealing Maleficent's child, but Emma cares not how her parents were manipulated, briefly berating them over what they did before continuing in the search. Hook and Henry are called in the help, and the group of five is seen scouring the forest while Gold finds the Author first, teleporting away after convincing him to join in on his plans. Hook, Emma, Mary Margaret, David and Henry walk past right after Gold and the Author have fled the scene, their search now futile.

With the search for the Author having proved futile, Hook heads back to the apartment along with Emma and her parents, where the savior berates the Charmings for the secret they kept from her. Regina soon shows up and says that she plans on going to New York to rescue Robin Hood, because he's oblivious to the fact that Zelena is alive and has been posing as Marian this entire time. Hook asks how she plans to do this covertly, since it's a part of Gold's plan that Regina not go, and she assures him that she has a way to handle Rumplestiltskin - by taking Belle's heart and threatening it. When Henry is kidnapped by Cruella De Vil, Hook, Emma and Regina search for him in the woods, and the pirate and the Mayor try in vain to convince Emma to forgive her parents. Eventually, they are split up by Gold's behind-the-scenes trickery, and Emma ends up murdering Cruella in order to protect her son, just as Rumple wanted. Having killed, she is now in severe danger of turning dark.

Cruella is buried and, after witnessing the event, Emma heads to the diner where Hook is sitting with David, Regina, Mary Margaret and Henry. The state of the savior's soul is worried about after what happened, but she assures them all that what she's feeling right now doesn't acquaint to darkness; it's regret. Maleficent then approaches the group and reveals that she's done with Gold, for he's proven how little he cares for anyone other than himself, and so now she wants to hinder his plans by having Emma travel out into the land without magic and finding her daughter - Lily. Emma is shocked because she knows this girl, because they're tied together by fate, and she and Regina decide to venture out together so that the latter can save Robin Hood from Zelena in the process. Before they leave, Hook bids Emma goodbye with a kiss. ("Lily")

Hook happily heads into Granny's Diner where Mr. Gold is sat with the Author, discussing their plans. The pirate sits down with them, met by threats, and points out that the Dark One can't hurt him because to do so in his current condition could prove fatal. He proceeds to gloat about the fact that Emma is returning along with Maleficent's daughter and didn't turn dark after all, which means Rumple's plans failed. He takes ultimate satisfaction in the fact that he's about to get his happy ending while his nemesis never can, before leaving and greeting Emma with a hug upon her return. This is after she hugs Henry, but before she refuses to hug Mary Margaret, proceeding to reunite Maleficent with Lily. Later, Hook takes his girlfriend to the docks and talks about her relationship with her parents. He eventually manages to convince her to forgive them, explaining how they merely wanted to make her proud, and Emma ends up reconciling with the Charmings under the precipice that shutting them out has done nothing but make everyone miserable. The Dark One, meanwhile, gains everything he needs to start rewriting everyone's story.

With the Author now having the enchanted ink he needs to be able to rewrite everyone's story, Hook and the others head to the Sorcerer's mansion in order to see if any of the blank books in the secret room are being filled out. None are, and, as they deduce this, August arrives to help, saying that that should talk to the man who made Isaac the Author to begin with - the Apprentice. He shows them a picture and Hook recognizes this man after having helped Rumple trap him in the hat. The group implores Mother Superior to free him, and she's able to do so using the magic broom. The Apprentice tells everyone that Isaac needs to be re-trapped in the page that formerly served as his prison, and Hook and the Charmings head to the apartment so that Henry can retrieve it. Hook takes out the original storybook but is suddenly transported by Isaac's magic to the new book, where everyone has become their polar opposite.

In the new world, Hook is a pansy pirate who is subservient to the Jolly Roger's captain, Black Beard, until Henry arrives and knocks the latter out. He wants Hook to help him find his mother, Emma, who has been locked up in an impenetrable tower by the Evil Queen Snow White. Henry explains all about the alternate reality they're trapped in, and knows Hook to be a lot braver in real life. They're only able to make it to the prison due to Henry's sailing skills, for Hook is quite poor at it, and the young man pretends to be the pirate's prisoner so that they can get past the Black Knight. They are successful in rescuing Emma, but then the Black Knight - Lily - wakes up and takes the form of a dragon. She is knocked out by one of the ship's cannons and Hook decides to celebrate with his flask... of goat's milk; he's deathly allergic to rum. At the docks, Henry is scrounging for food while Emma is teaching Hook how to properly handle a sword. She talks of the close nature of their relationship, and he begins to grow jealous of the real him. The Snow White and Charming arrive on the scene and the latter murders Killian after a brief sword fight. Emma is devastated, but she and Henry are eventually able to set things straight, and Hook is alive and well once they make it back to Storybrooke. Emma is unable to confess her true feelings for him until the darkness escapes from Rumple's heart. As she's about to sacrifice herself to it, she tells Hook she loves him, proceeding to become the new Dark One.

Season 5
"Listen to your words. It's not you speaking, Emma. We can find another way together. Look at us... heroes and villains together for you, because of you. And if we can overcome it... if we can overcome our demons... then so can you."

After Emma vanishes, Hook attempts to summon her with the dagger, but he fails for she is in another realm. The Apprentice reveals that she's in the Enchanted Forest and to go get there, someone with both light and dark essence must use his wand. After Regina fails to work it, Hook suggest Zelena. After Zelena provides them with useful information on the wand, Regina decides not to let her sister wield it. Hook teams up with Henry to break Zelena out, but she ends up escaping with the wand, forcing him to reveal to Regina what he did. The Wicked Witch takes Robin hostage, so Regina hands over the wand to her sister. Zelena creates a cyclone intended to go to Oz, but she becomes magically weak and Regina manages to put an enchanted bracelet back on her. Hook and the others take shelter in the Granny's Diner, where Regina redirects the cyclone to the Enchanted Forest. Once there, Hook is able to persuade Emma not to crush Merida's heart, making sure it's her choice not to give into the darkness. King Arthur and his knights soon approach the group and escorts them all to Camelot.

Before the Third Curse
"I'm not as strong as you are... or Merlin. I'm weak. The things I've done... I've done. I've succumbed to darkness before in my life. And it took centuries to push it away. I don't know if I can do it again."

After entering the castle, King Arthur introduces Hook and the other newcomers to his queen, Guinevere, and announces that a ball will be held in their honor that night. Growing impatient and worrying he'll lose Emma to the Darkness, Hook asks where Merlin is. Arthur takes them to a tree in the courtyard and explains that the wizard is trapped inside it. When he asks whom the savior is, Regina uses the dagger to stop Emma stepping forward, and claims to be the savior instead. That night, at the ball, Hook and Emma dance together, and all is going well until Percival tries to attack Regina and ends up injuring Robin instead. Emma prepares to stop Percival with her dark powers, but Hook prevents her from doing so. Charming eventually puts an end to the fighting and kills Percival. Regina is unable to heal Robin, so begs Emma to try. Despite Hook's warnings, Emma uses her magic to save Robin. Her powers overwhelm her afterwards, causing her to suddenly kiss Hook, whom senses something is wrong with her. She then excuses herself to go downstairs and rest. Hook is later present when Arthur pardon's Regina of her past evil deeds because he believes she's the savior since Robin was saved.

Mary Margaret and the others are searching for a way to free Merlin from the tree he's trapped in when the former suggests finding a way to communicate with him, leading Regina to turn to a page in one of the Sorcerer's books about the Crimson Crown - it's a magical toadstool with the power to let them do as Snow said. Feeling out of use, David offers to quest for it, but Arthur insists on going too, helping the prince against the Phantom Knights of the bog and ultimately rescuing him. Unfortunately, the Crimson Crown is lost, but the valor shown by David during the quest is enough to earn him a knighthood from the King - he is officially made on of the Knights of the Round Table. Hook watches with Emma and the others as David's ceremony takes place, clapping like the rest of the prince's friends and family, and it's soon revealed that Arthur intends for the prince to sit upon the siege perilous, which is a seat at the Round Table reserved for the knight with the purest heart. David is naturally honored and Hook and the others continue to clap for him as he takes his seat.

As Hook roams the castle of Camelot, he suddenly dodges a magical blast from Emma, who is in a frantic state. He hugs her in comfort, but Emma can only tell him that there's someone inside her head that she can't get away from. A short while later, Emma lies down in a catatonic state, leaving Hook and her family unsure how to help. Regina suggests that she have some privacy to recover and Henry claims to know a place. He leads Hook and Emma to Violet's stables, and once alone with Emma, Hook learns of the apparitions of Rumplestiltskin that she's been seeing. To take her mind off of this, Hook takes her riding. He tells her to introduce herself to the horse, but it becomes frightened when it senses the darkness within her. He then tells her to get on the horse with him, explaining that they still have a future together once the darkness is removed. After they go for a ride, they stop in an empty meadow, where hook gives her a middlemist flower. Emma looks around with amazement and relief that she can no longer see Rumplestiltskin. The couple then share a kiss.

Using one of Henry's tears, a tear of lost love, Emma and Regina get to the tree that is Merlin, and once holding off Arthur, the darkened savior is able to use her magic to revert the Sorcerer back to his true form. They send Arthur and his men on their way, proceeding to take Merlin back to the others at Granny's Diner in the woods. Hook is present as Merlin undoes the enchanted sand's effects on Mary Margaret and David, caused by the villainous Arthur and Guinevere. When asked if he can remove Emma's darkness, which Hook is still present for, Merlin reveals that he can, but the darkness may have grown a root inside of her where no one can see it, and for him to be able to remove it, her heart must be ready to be free of it once and for all. The Dark One appears hesitant when asked if she is truly ready.

The door to Arthur's dungeon in Camelot bursts open, and Hook and Charming come on through, easily besting the guards on the other side who have already been weakened by Merlin's magic. The Sorcerer himself is there too, followed by Belle, and easily knocks out more guards on the way, commenting that wielding magic is just like riding a bike. Charming wonders how he knows what a bike is, and Merlin asks the prince if he thought all of his prophecies came true due to luck, then beckoning each of his new allies to hide while a group of guards goes past. Hook realizes that the Sorcerer really can see the future, and the small group go on to find Lancelot's cell. At first, the former Knight of the Round Table is worried by the prince, but he assures him that he and Snow are now free of Arthur's control. Lancelot wonders how they got free, at which Merlin reveals himself; Lancelot is humbled, and Merlin proceeds to have trouble getting the bars off his cell - as well as Merida's, which is opposite. Belle shows him a passage from her book that she believes might be helpful, and it is; the Sorcerer cites her as clever before successfully freeing the prisoners.

When pressed, Merlin says that he will be able to remove the darkness from Emma using a reformed Excalibur. He will need a certain magical flame in order to repair it, but even that would be useless unless he gets the sword itself, and so he tasks Hook and the others with stealing it from Arthur while he and Emma quest for the aforementioned flame. Before Emma leaves though, Hook gives her his lucky ring which he cites as the reason he's still alive; they exchange vows of love before she heads off to vanquish the darkness. It is discussed how to best go about breaking into Arthur's castle, and Zelena makes her feelings known, pointing out that any of their suggestions would either end in their death, imprisonment or just general failure. She reveals that while she was skulking around the castle, pretending to be Regina's mute handmaiden, she was actually plotting an escape; she offers to show them a secret way into the castle that she discovered in exchange for her anti-magic cuff being removed, and Hook and the others allow her to lead them there. They refuse to remove the cuff until they return victorious, and Regina asks Mary Margaret to keep watch on the Wicked Witch. However, Snow falls victim to Zelena's scheme and is knocked out and tied up by the witch, who walks her into Arthur's throne room after the others have successfully intruded it. She reveals that she's allied herself with Arthur, who's removed her cuff, and uses her magic to make the broken Excalibur able to control Merlin. The Sorcerer is summoned and Arthur uses his new power over him to force him to get rid of Hook and the others with his magic. ("Nimue")

Emma returns to Granny's Diner, concerned by the fact that the others should have been back hours ago, and Merlin approaches her and reveals that Arthur has Emma's family and friends hostage out in the woods and will kill them if she doesn't hand over the dagger and the Promethean spark. Henry tries motivating her by revealing that he and Hook were looking at available houses in Storybrooke to move her into when they got home, and she comes to realize that the vision of Rumplestiltskin was right: she doesn't want to let go of the darkness because she needs to use it one last time. She confronts Arthur, trapping his teammate Zelena and convincing Merlin to resist the pull of Excalibur. Hook is able to escape, knocking the sword from Arthur's hand but sustaining a cut on his neck in the process. Once Arthur and Zelena poof away, Emma heals the cut and retires to the outside of Granny's, where Regina attempts using the dagger to force her to admit the real reason why she doesn't want to let go of the darkness. She later tells Hook that it's because she's afraid to start a future with him, even though that really is what she wants, and a few comforting words later she's able to light the spark. Just as she prepares to reunite Excalibur though, Hook collapses because the cut in his neck reopens, due to Excalibur's properties which stop it from being able to really heal. He is dying and Emma teleports him to the middlemist field, using the Promethean flame to un-tether Merlin from Excalibur and bind his powers to Hook instead, thereby turning herself fully dark and making Hook into a new Dark One.

After rising from the Vault of the Dark One, Hook is approached by the vision of Rumplestiltskin who convinces him to enact a Dark Curse so that he may return to Storybrooke and finally claim his revenge over Gold. Emma soon locates the pirate and pulls him back into the light by reminding him of their future together, hoping to keep him that way until Merlin can remove the darkness from both of them, but he stops trusting her when he finds out that she's been hiding his tether Excalibur from him. When she summons him in the field of middlemist flowers to hand the sword over, he accepts it and pretends to make up with her, when in fact he still plans on enacting a curse. At the diner, he locks himself and Merlin inside, ripping the former Sorcerer's heart out and explaining that because Nimue lives on inside of him then crushing the heart will technically count as the thing he loves most. Emma arrives and realizes that she's been played but she's too late to stop Hook from crushing the heart, killing Merlin, and sprinkling the dust into a cauldron, casting a new curse. He also teleports Excalibur back to its stone to prevent himself from being controlled. The Dark Swan knocks Hook out and uses one of her dreamcatchers to wipe his memories of the last six weeks spent in Camelot, then teleporting everyone else into the diner and wiping their memories too, wanting Hook to wake up as the man he was: the man she loves and who loves her back, not knowing of the darkness inside of him. She holds her love as the curse consumes the kingdom, planning to isolate herself as she sorts out this whole mess.

Season 5
"I suppose it's not the Dark One anymore, is it? More like the Dark Ones."

- Zelena

After spending a total of six weeks away in Camelot, Hook and the others sent to said realm in Granny's Diner are abruptly returned to Storybrooke. The dwarf, Sneezy, who has been working as town sheriff (even wearing Emma's signature red leather jacket), and Sleepy overhear the diner's crash, and go to check out what has happened. They're shocked to discover everyone has returned, but Hook and the others have zero memory of anything that has happened since entering into Camelot. The two dwarfs reveal they've all been gone a total of six weeks, and Emma soon makes herself known, appearing to be responsible for their return, as well as everyone's loss of memories. She is now dressed in the attire of which a Dark One would, and reveals to Hook and the others that they've failed to remove the darkness from her, and now they must all pay. After Hook questions why she's doing this, Emma simply states that it's because she is the Dark One.

Hook visits the pawnshop and asks Belle why true love's kiss didn't work for her and Rumplestiltskin. She explains that it did the first time, but because he was scared of a life without magic he pulled away, allowing the darkness to regain its grip on him. Hook immediately begins to leave so he can try true love's kiss on Emma, but Belle warns him to be careful since it's easier to hate a Dark One than it is to love one. Later, he stands beside Emma's car and quietly claims that he doesn't want to summon her, but saying so summons her. She teleports him to the front of her new house and invites him inside, explaining they can still be together. Spotting a locked door to the basement, he attempts to walk towards it, but Emma stops him to give alcohol. Hook proceeds to kiss her, but ends up devastated to find out true love's kiss didn't work on her. She tells him it failed because she doesn't need fixing because this is who she is now. Hook asks what happened in Camelot, but she doesn't provide a straight answer and tries to seduce him into staying, but he decides to leave anyway. That night, he visits the diner to drink when Belle drops by. He reveals the kiss didn't work and claims he won't stop fighting to bring Emma back. Later, he and Belle share a drink together.

Hook enters the diner to find Robin sitting at the counter looking at a phone, so he offers to teach him how to use it. Robin shows a sonogram of Zelena's baby and explains how messed up he feels about the situation because a part of him wants the child. Hook brings up the locked door in Emma's house and as he explains his plan to get inside Granny drops a take-out bag with a note from Emma asking him to meet her on the ship. When he arrives, Emma apologize for her previous behavior and asks him to have lunch like old times. She magically sets up their meal and changes into the dress and hair from their first date. As the ship sails, Hook tries to find out what's behind the door, but when she doesn't answer, he comments that she's not the same Emma. Emma explains that she's a better version of herself because she's no longer close-minded and then she uses Rumple as an example of how a Dark One can find love. She recalls that Rumple grovelled at Hook, but Hook claims it's him who changed for the better since that day because Rumple was a good man trying to protect his family, and becoming the Dark One made him evil and manipulative. Emma picks up the sword Hook used against Rumple and tries reminding him of how she taught him to fight in the alternate reality. Tired of her games, Hook realizes she wants something from him. Emma then asks if he loves her, promising to leave if he doesn't. He tells her he loved her, so she leaves, taking the sword with her. Returning to the diner, Hook asks Robin to help him break into Emma's house. Emma proceeds to awaken Rumple using Hook's sword.

After Grif's disappearance is discovered by the group, Guinevere worried about how the news will affect the people of Camelot, so Henry suggests throwing a dance. David jokes that it's just an excuse to ask his girlfriend on a date and Hook offers to give dating advice, although Regina refuses. Later, Belle informs the group that Rumple has gone missing. While Henry distracts Emma with an Operation Cobra mission, Hook, Belle, Regina and Robin break into Emma's house and they discover Excalibur in its stone in the basement. Hook moves to remove the sword, but Regina warns him that it could kill him. When they receive a text saying Emma is returning, they prepare to leave the house, but Hook finds a dreamcatcher. Regina realizes that Emma used them to remove their memories from Camelot. That night, during the carnival, Hook tells Arthur, Guinevere, Snow and David about Excalibur being found in the basement. He probes the king about the sword and dagger's connections, so Arthur admits to knowing the dagger is Excalibur's missing half, and when combined, it can extinguish the darkness, but in Emma's hands, she could use it to snuff out the light.

Regina reveals that Emma was successful in freeing Merlin in Camelot, to the surprise of Hook and the others. The question is raised of why he didn't remove the darkness from her, and Regina proposes that they find out by communicating with him, having figured out a spell that will allow them to do so using the Crimson Crown. Belle is upset that everyone seems less concerned with rescuing the captive Mr. Gold and storms out, proceeding to be chased by Merida and her arrows in the Dark Swan's attempt to make her predecessor brave. Meanwhile, a cauldron is prepared down in Regina's vault, and all that's needed to reach the Sorcerer is for one of his "chosen" to drop the Crimson Crown into it; they summon Arthur, who suggests that he do it alone since no one else has ever been around when he received Merlin's prophecies in the past. Not wanting to take any risks, Hook and the others give him his privacy... only for him to throw the magical toadstool onto the fire beneath the cauldron, clearly not wanting the heroes to contact Merlin. This is deduced when the Crimson Crown is found merely charred - for magical toadstools don't burn - and Regina realizes that there's one other person in town who was chosen by Merlin: the Author. As such, they have Henry drop the toadstool into the cauldron and a message from Merlin appears, suggesting that Emma did something awful to him during the missing six weeks; they are told that their best hope lies with Nimue.

When Arthur attacks Hook in the woods, Emma fights back using the complete Excalibur, allowing the King to learn of what she's accomplished before she knocks him out. Hook demands to know why she's doing all that she's doing and she admits that she's doing it for him, next appearing when Hook jumps off the roof of the library simply to force her to come out and save him. After that, they talk, and he assures her that he's ready to learn the truth about what happened in Camelot no matter how awful it is. She takes him back to her house and knocks him out, deeming him unable to hear the truth yet. She then kidnaps a no-longer-pregnant Zelena and chains her up in the basement opposite Hook, explaining to them both that her plan isn't to get rid of light magic, but the darkness. She wants to remove it from herself and place it into a vessel - Zelena - and then she'll be able to strike it down using Excalibur and it will be gone forever. Zelena realizes that the reason her pregnancy was sped up was because Emma didn't want an innocent baby getting hurt in the process, and the darkened savior admits that she has her limits. Hook denies this, not wanting her to kill, but she doesn't listen, and while she goes outside to freeze Regina, David and Mary Margaret in their tracks, Hook and Zelena escape via the former removing the Wicked Witch's cuff with his empowered hook. Hook uses squid ink to ensnare his girlfriend upstairs while Zelena fetches his dreamcatcher from the garage, revealing to him that he became a Dark One in Camelot. Destroyed by this, Hook plans to deal with his former lover before learning the rest.

Zelena places her cuff on Emma's wrist while Hook wipes her mind of what he plans to do, then approaching Gold in his shop and arranging to duel him at noon, hoping to finally claim his revenge over the former Dark One. He later finds Emma at Regina's house being guarded by Merida and knocks the latter out so that he may talk to his ex-lover. He torments her by calling her an orphan and saying that he wants to hurt her like she hurt him, before leaving. He waits on the deck of the Jolly Roger for Gold to show up and eventually he does, and Hook uses his magic to heal the pawnbroker's limp so as to make it a fair fight. The swashbuckling then begins, and Hook gets Gold into such a position that he's able to use Excalibur to cut his throat. However, Gold uses a temporary distraction to his advantage and manages to turn things around, knocking Hook down and causing him to drop the legendary sword. Gold now aims Excalibur at Hook's throat, but allows him to live because he likes the idea of him forever knowing that he was bested by a coward. Hook poofs away while Emma and the others locate the dreamcatchers he stole, regaining their memories of the missing six weeks spent in Camelot. Emma is able to recall Hook's plan too, and it's bad. Right now, he is at a pond in Storybrooke, which the vision of Rumplestiltskin tells him contains a portal to the Underworld. All they need to open it is the blood of a man who's been to hell and back, and so Hook dips his hook, which is doused in Gold's blood from the duel, into the water and every former Dark One emerges from the proceeding mist on a boat led by the Charon. Nimue makes her way onto land, and plans to snuff the light out of town.

Hook rubs in Gold's face the fact that he's finally going to get his revenge over him, having unleashed the resurrected Dark Ones on Storybrooke; they need to mark living souls in order to determine who shall take their places in the Underworld, and they decide upon Regina, Robin, Snow, Charming, the dwarfs, Henry and Rumple. Regina begs Hook to stop what he's doing because she knows it's not the kind of man he wants to be, reminding him of what they agreed never to speak of again, but this just makes him angry and he chokes her, assuring that the darkness is actually allowing him to be who he always wanted; he wants no more reminders of the day he killed his father. Emma plans to save everyone by absorbing all the darkness into herself and then having someone use Excalibur to strike her down, thereby destroying it forever and sending all the Dark Ones back to Hell. However, before she's able to see her pan through, Hook ambushes her in her home and steals the sword, then heading to the Underworld portal when all the marked victims arrive. The Charon comes to take them all to purgatory, and Regina tries one more time to convince Hook to stop. Again, she fails, and so Emma steps in, unable to allow her family and friends to be taken. Nimue begins to strangle her, and seeing his true love in peril reawakens something in Hook. He makes the first Dark One stop and then absorbs she and all the others into Excalibur. He tells Emma to strike him down with it, and with a heavy heart, she finally does. This destroys the darkness in her as well, making the Dark Swan no more. Hook's neck wound returns as he dies, and Emma is distraught as she watches paramedics take his dead body away. She soon learns that Gold made it so that the darkness wasn't destroyed, but instead redirected into him, and so Emma blackmails him into opening the portal to the Underworld so that she can save Killian. As she, her parents, her son, Regina, Robin and the new/old Dark One head to the Charon's boat, she vows that she will find Hook; she will always find him.

Season 5
"Hook, I will find you... I will always find you."

- Emma Swan

Upon arriving in the Underworld, which looks like a demented version of Storybrooke, Emma and the others split up in order to search for Hook. However, they have very little luck, unable to locate the pirate anywhere and eventually making it so that an exasperated Gold gives up doing things their way and heads to his shop to retrieve something that might help. He returns with the Ale of Sinead which, when poured over someone's grave, will summon that person's spirit and allow for contact to be made. If they pour it over Hook's, he will be able to tell them where he is and they can leave within the hour. The others are surprised by the prospect of Hook having a grave down there, but Gold soon reveals that everyone does, and they quickly embark upon a graveyard that's acres upon acres big. Finally, they locate the grave of Killian Jones and Emma empties some of the ale over it. Nothing happens at first, but then a vision flickers to life, and Hook is seen... although he can't see them. They are shocked to see that he is all bruised and bloody and burnt, clearly undergoing some pretty intense torture, and Emma is distraught when the spell is unable to hold and he vanishes. It seems hopeless that they could find him now, with him not even knowing they're there, but in true hero fashion they power on and decide that they could help some other lost souls find a way out of this place as well on their way.

Hook wakes up in Hades' prison, still all banged up from torture, and notices a way out. He think that it might be trick and his cellmate Megara confirms it, saying how Hades wants to make it look like you can escape so that it will be even more devastating when you remain trapped. He needs to do it though, because, as it turns out, he did get Emma's message after all; he knows she's in the Underworld somewhere, and he has to make her job easier. Meg wonders how he knows she's there, and when he explains about the message she got to him she argues that it was probably just another of Hades' tricks. Hook refuses to accept this, proclaiming that when you love someone you just know, and tries to run away with Meg. However, Cerberus, the three-headed beast that guards the prison, comes after them; Hook makes sure Meg is safe and tells her to get a message to Emma saying he's there, then facing the beast himself. He is brought before Hades, wanting to kill him eventually, and the god of the Underworld is unhappy with the pirate's insubordination. He takes his bloodied hook and shows it to Emma as a "message", wanting to frighten her, and it works. Later, he hands Hook a chisel. This is after the heroes help Hercules and Meg ascend Mount Olympus, and Hades decides that for every soul they help to move on then one of them has to stay. He provides Hook with three unmarked graves and tells him to use the chisel to carve out the names of the three of his friends he wants to remain in the Underworld forever.

When Hook refuses to decide which three of his rescuers will have to remain in the Underworld, Hades grows enraged and threatens to throw the deceased pirate into the River of Lost Souls, meaning his soul will be condemned forever and he'll never be able to return. Still he refuses and so Hades rigs him up with chains, lowering him gradually into the river. Eventually, however, Emma comes to her lover's rescue. She crosses a beam and manages to unrig him, meaning he's free from being Hades' prisoner. During their escape, they come across Gold, who's just thrown Hook's former lover Milah into the River of Lost Souls. He blames it on Hades, who's offered him a way home in exchange for this horrific act, and Hook vows that the Underworld's leader has much to answer for. Back in the Underworld version of Emma's house, the pirate and the Dark One reach an understanding; Hook knows that his sacrifice was made worthless by Rumple's tampering, but he also respects that he helped rescue him from an even worse fate, and so for now he thinks they should just call it even. Emma then explains that she plans on splitting her heart and giving him half in order to resurrect him, which Hook is hesitant about. When Regina attempts to remove the savior's heart, it doesn't budge, and they soon learn that it's because her name as been etched onto one of the Underworld headstones. Emma, Regina and Snow are now trapped down there; it seems that when Hook refused to decide which one of them would have to stay, Hades did the deciding himself.

Emma heals Hook's wounds but the two of them soon get into an argument about whether or not he deserves her forgiveness, with Emma believing that he does. It's cut short by the arrival of his brother Liam, who ends up mentioning that people who have gone up against Hades in the past have always spoken of a book. Emma thinks that maybe the key to defeating him is the Underworld version of Henry's storybook, and they decide to search for it at Mary Margaret's apartment; however, during the search, Emma is approached by Liam in private and told that he doesn't think she's good enough for Killian because she stopped him from dying a hero and now is preventing him from dying a noble death. Henry reveals that the book is in the Sorcerer's mansion... but Liam gets to it before anyone else and tears out the pages containing Hades' story. This is due to a long-standing deal he has with Hades, which unravels when Emma catches him ditching the pages. Hook refuses to believe that his brother is a villain until after Emma storms off, at which point the brothers Jones are kidnapped by their old crew. Killian comes to terms with what his brother did years ago and is able to forgive him, while Liam and the rest of the crew end up moving on together. This acceptance allows Hook to realize that maybe he is worth saving after all, and he and Emma share a kiss as he reveals that he definitely plans on coming home to Storybrooke with her once this is all over. Hades' story is still gone though, but Henry soon reveals that he has the Author's magic quill, and he wants to use it to help uncover the God's history.

Henry wakes up having written new pages that he doesn't remember writing, but all they depict is Snow and David as they eat breakfast over at Granny's Diner. Emma and Regina try humoring him over this useless contribution to the cause, saying how it's very well-written and that the illustrations are lovely, and then they gently suggest that he tries focusing harder next time so that they can learn something about Hades. Unfortunately, this sends Henry into a strop, and he ends up storming off to his bedroom; Emma comments that they officially have a teenager on their hands. Zelena proceeds to return, and while Regina and Robin head out to help her find her baby - who is with Belle, who fell down a portal along with the Wicked Witch - Snow and David come back to the apartment and reveal that they attempted to "haunt" baby Neal via one of the Underworld's haunting booths. They don't know if it worked. Later, however, Henry descends the stairs having written about something else... his uncle. He doesn't remember writing this either. The page about Neal says how he fell asleep as soundly as if he was in his parents' arms as he heard them sing a lullaby. Snow and David are relieved that he heard them and the former declares that she's now ready to defeat Hades and get home to her family. Hook is present as all of this goes on.

Hook appears in Emma's dream where she's removing the names from the graves when a storm hits and a creature emerges from it, killing Snow. This terrifies her when she awakes, but she remembers the spell to remove the names, and so when she and the others fail to break into Hades' lair she decides to test it out. Snow and Hook want to go with her, just like in the dream, and Emma grows reluctant. When she tries removing the names for real, a cyclone hits - the dream is coming true. Right on cue, a creature emerges, but Emma refuses to let Snow face it on the grounds of what she saw in what was apparently a vision of the future. As such, she orders them to run, and the three of them end up hiding out in Regina's vault. While down there, Emma admits to her mother that she died in her nightmare, hence her being so scared, and this is relayed to Regina when she discovers them all down there hiding like cowards. Eventually, Emma confesses that the reason this terrifies her so much is because she regrets bringing everyone with her to the Underworld, for now she's constantly afraid that a loved one is going to die. Snow assures her that she forced none of them to come and that some things are worth risking one's life for, such as love, and they decide to face this creature together like they always do. They hunt it down in the woods and manage to stun it, only for Snow to realize that it's actually Red Riding Hood in her wolf form. She drapes her friend's cloak over her body and deduces that Emma's vision was actually just warning her to help Red.

Ruby is brought back to the apartment to recuperate and eventually wakes up to reveal that she came to the Underworld in search of the Wicked Witch, who put her friend Dorothy under a sleeping curse. While Snow goes to help her friend, David decides to take Hook and go and haunt his son, who hasn't heard his parents' voices in days. When they arrive at the haunting booth though, the phone is being ripped out on order of Hades. David reports this to his wife who begins to fret that Hades might be planning an attack on Storybrooke and doesn't want them interfering, and it's because of this level of worry that Emma decides to tell her parents to go home, insisting that they've done enough and that now they should just get back to their infant child. However, Snow can't leave because her name is etched on a grave, so David has to be the one to don the silver slippers brought by Zelena and return to Storybrooke. He laments this to Hook back at the apartment, thinking Snow should be the one to get to be with their son, and at the same time the pirate thanks him for risking so much just to resurrect him. He ends up using his hook to scratch Snow's name off the grave and etch David's in its place. This means he is stuck down there instead, and, after some tearful goodbyes, Snow is able to go to Oz with Ruby and help wake Dorothy. Later, Henry writes about how Ruby woke Dorothy with true love's kiss... and how his grandmother returned home to her son, to David's joy.

When Zelena and Hades' romance blooms, Regina realizes that she's going to need the help of her mother Cora if she's going to break it up. Hook helps free Cora from the prison she's in, hiding his Hook in the windmill where she works and allowing her to use it to remove her anti-magic cuff. He then aids her in her escape, with the two of them greeting each other as old friends, before proceeding to help with other matters. Prince James is masquerading as David; Emma seems to be falling for the act as she and her "father" head out into the woods to give Robin the supplies, but then suddenly James slaps an anti-magic cuff on his niece's wrist, with Cruella having told him not to face the savior without one of them. Cruella herself then shows up, giving Emma a punch in the face for being the one who killed her, and she and James take Robin and the savior hostage, bringing them to the docks and threatening to throw them into the River of Lost Souls. It's all part of a plan to use Baby Hood as leverage against Hades. However, David and Hook soon show up and save the day, the former pointing out that it was stupid of James to lock him up in his own jail because he knows how to escape. The two princes then face off, and a lengthy fight ends with James being thrown into the river by his brother. Cruella flees the scene while David laments that there must have been another way, but Emma comforts him by saying that there was not; some people just can't let go of the past.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the character.