Swan Song

"Swan Song" is the 99th episode of Once Upon a Time.

Summary
The dark siege of Storybrooke is underway as all of the resurrected Dark Ones target a living soul for sacrifice so that they can return to the realm of the living. With doom imminent, Gold advises Mary Margaret, David and the rest of the heroes to spend their last fleeting moments enjoying the company of their loved ones; Emma, however, refuses to give up, knowing that it's her responsibility to right all the poor choices she made as the Dark Swan. There's only one problem: Dark Hook. When they face off, with the fate of the town at stake, Hook's actions will devastate Emma in a way no one sees coming. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, the Evil Queen tests Hook's mettle by forcing him to confront a demon from his past before contracting him to dispatch one from hers.

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

Hook lay dying in the field of middlemist flowers, with his throat having been cut by Excalibur. Regina expresses surprise and annoyance that Emma turned Hook into a Dark One. Emma argues that it was the only way to save him. In Camelot, Hook exclaims to Emma that he spent centuries quelling his blood lust and then she threw him right back into that darkness. He sarcastically congratulates her on a job well done. Nimue arrives in Storybrooke from the Charon's boat, telling Hook, who summoned she and the other past Dark Ones from the Underworld, that it's time to get to work. He welcomes her to town excitedly.

Teaser
A ship makes its way across a dark and stormy ocean in the fairytale land that was, having to deal with large bumps and lightning strikes, all of which contributes to the fear of a certain little boy struggling to sleep inside of it. He stares outward, afraid, at the lantern which provides his and his brother's cabin with light; however, the wind from the storm makes it so that the ever-dwindling flame is finally blown out, and the boy's fear escalates as he begins calling out for his father. It isn't long before Brennan Jones enters through the door, assuring his son that everything's alright, and he swiftly relights the lantern, returning light to the cabin as he says that it's nothing to be afraid of. "Now, remember," Brennan adds as he sits at his son's bedside, "Whenever you feel scared, all you have to do is look inside. We're all braver than we think if we just look deep enough. Before you know it, you're gonna be a man, so I'm just trying to prepare you, 'cause then you're gonna have to answer life's big question: what kind of man are you going to be?" Thinking hard, the little boy finally replies that he wants to be just like his father, which Brennan smiles at, telling his son that that's a nice answer before tucking him in and advising him to find that brave part deep inside himself. "And you don't have to worry about a thing. Your father will watch the light for you. Just go to sleep, Killian... Go to sleep." And, with that, the boy who will one day come to be known as Captain Hook closes his eyes, and drifts off. When they open again, it's still the middle of the night but his father is gone, as is the fire in the lantern, meaning the cabin has been plunged into near darkness. Killian sees the empty candle swinging there unmanned before finally getting up out of bed and approaching his sleeping brother Liam, who refuses to wake up despite his sibling's claim that their father is gone. The young future pirate then tries opening the door to the cabin, only for the old ship captain to walk on through and ask him, in an intimidating manner, if he's looking for his father, then telling him to look "out there" because Brennan rode away an hour ago. Killian doesn't understand, wondering why his father would do such a thing, and the captain pushes the young boy back down onto his bed as he himself sits there, explaining to him that his father isn't who he thinks: he's a thief, a fugitive from the law, and heard that there'd be soldiers at the next port, so he bought an old rowboat and left. Killian wonders why he would leave his two sons, to which the captain asks how the boy thinks his father paid for the boat. "He traded you, and your brother, into my service." He stands back up, and Killian follows suit in protest, unable to accept what his father has done. Before leaving, the captain comments that now Killian knows the kind of man his father really is, and Killian is left devastated. In the present, Captain Hook turns his head stoically as Mr. Gold approaches out in the woods of Storybrooke, Excalibur in tow. "It would appear I've won," the new Dark One announces, but the former Dark One puts this into question, reminding him that the sword in his hand ended up at his neck the last time they fought. Hook points out that Gold won a battle, not the war, telling him that he took the dagger from him and now he has nothing, and he never will. "Watch it, pirate," says Rumplestiltskin before he attempts to cut Hook down with Excalibur, but Hook uses the dark magic he's acquired to poof himself out of the way, reappearing behind the middle-aged pawnbroker when he turns around. He excitedly exclaims that there's the Rumplestiltskin they know and love, asking if that's not why Belle left him: she knows just what kind of man he really is. "And what kind is that?" asks Gold, and Hook replies that he's the kind who loves his power more than anything - more than Belle, and more than his dead son - which is why it's so "bloody satisfying" for Hook to take it away from him, telling him to remember how good it felt. Gold assures that power is only as good as the one who wields it, and Hook's done nothing but parlor tricks. The darkened pirate smiles. "Oh is that right?" he asks, "Well I think you're really gonna like what comes next. The trick where I finally get my revenge." Rumple appears cautious. The Dark Swan leads her family and friends through Main Street, with David telling her to slow down because they need to talk about this; they need a plan. Emma informs her father that the plan is to find Hook before he resurrects all of the Dark Ones, asking if he thinks dealing with just one is bad. It's at this point that the dwarfs join the brigade, and Leroy seems both confused and horrified by the idea that there's more than one Dark One. David says that it's a long story but Leroy says in turn that it doesn't matter because there are seven of the dwarfs, at which Happy points out that there are only six because Dopey's still a tree (see "The Price"). "We may be down a dwarf, but we're ready to fight," Grumpy makes clear, but Emma tells him that they won't have to because she's going to take care of this. David asks if she thinks she can talk Hook out of what he's doing but Regina tells the prince that there'll be no talking because they have to hit the pirate with everything they've got. Mary Margaret argues that it's not Hook's fault he's doing this because he didn't want to become a Dark One, and Emma says that he did because of her, but none of that matters anymore. She turns around to face the group and tells them all that Regina's right: they need to hit Hook with everything. Her mother seems wary, for this is a man that Emma loved, but the Dark Swan states that that man died back in Camelot and now only the Dark One remains. "So, no matter how hard this might be," she concludes, "We need to split up, find him and stop him... no matter what it takes." ONCE UPON A TIME

Act I
Regina and Robin are bypassing Main Street, with the latter telling his love that the alleyway they're currently entering into is the fastest way to the harbor. The Mayor asks if they're just supposed to expect to find Hook sipping rum by the sea, pointing out that he's no exactly a pirate anymore, but Robin is certain that "once a pirate, always a pirate", telling her to take it from a former thief that old habits die hard. Suddenly, a flurry of green smoke rises before them, and Zelena, whose emergence this green smoke marks, agrees that they certainly do. Robin immediately aims an arrow at his newborn child's mother, warning her to be careful of who she sneaks up on, while Regina simply tells her sister to get out of the way because they don't have time for whatever it is she's doing. The Wicked Witch says that she'd like for them to have a little chat about her daughter, at which Robin makes clear that it's their daughter. "'Bout that. I've worked up a teeny alteration to our custody arrangement: I've decided to grant myself sole custody. See, I'd like to raise her by myself without you two getting in the way. I'm going to teach her how to be wicked!" Again, Robin aims his bow, threatening the fire if Zelena tries to take his daughter from him, but she just cackles. She tells him that there's no point in them fighting over their darling baby girl because soon enough they'll both be dead, and then she can just take her. Regina wonders what she means when she says they'll be dead, and the Wicked Witch tells her to "ask them". The former outlaw and Queen then turn to see a pair of resurrected Dark Ones approaching, with Robin telling Regina to get back. The two of them appear awfully frightened as the cloaked figures draw nearer.

David believes that he and Mary Margaret will be able to cover more ground in the truck, running towards his jeep and opening the driver's side door as his wife lags behind a little. As soon as he does this, though, he spots another pair of resurrected Dark Ones tailing her in the side-mirror, quickly warning her of the looming threat. The Charmings huddle together in shock as the Dark Ones approach. The six dwarfs, meanwhile, are searching the town for Hook like the rest of the heroes... but Dark Ones soon approach them too. Six Dark Ones, to be exact, form a circle around Snow White's allies and prepare to move in.

Emma walks into the back room of Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer and announces to whoever's with her that there's no sign of Hook, and that their next stop is the Jolly Roger. "Mom! Help me!" Henry is then heard exclaiming from outside, and she dashes out to save him. But it's too late. Nimue is approaching the boy, and before Emma can so much as wield magic against the first Dark One, she walks straight through him, disappearing on the other side of the street. Emma runs to her son's aid, making sure he's okay, and he thinks he is. The others then regroup and demand to know what just happened to them, at which point Mr. Gold appears and says that he might just have the answer to that. He tells them all to check their wrists, and all those who were attacked by Dark Ones see that they've now been emblazoned by glowing symbols, which Gold explains is the Mark of Charon. Henry knows Charon to have been the ferryman in the old myths who navigated a boat to the Underworld, and Rumple commends his grandson, then informing the others that the Dark Ones that have been brought over only have a temporary pass into this world like a Tourist Visa; the only way for them to stay is the trade places with living souls.

"Meaning us..." David realizes, and Gold tells him, "Exactly. And when the moon reaches its peak, the ferry from the Underworld will arrive and drag us down there." David makes a comment that that doesn't sound good, and Gold now talks as a man who's died and been there when he assures that it's not. Regina wants to know how they stop it, but Gold says they can't. He adds that the Underworld is worse than they can possibly imagine and is going to make them wish that the old stories of fire and brimstone were true; it's going to make them wish for death, and then the realization will hit that death has already come, and this fresh torture is all that's left. Emma tells Gold that he's scaring Henry, but he sees this as good, for they should all be scared. This is death itself. A fight they cannot win. "No!" the Dark Swan protests, "I'm not marked, I'm not going to give up. There has to be something we can do." "You're right, there is something," he says, "Use this time wisely. Use it to say goodbye." He then heads into his shop while the others are left fearing what's to come.

Trivia

 * The title card of this episode features a group of the resurrected Dark Ones approaching menacingly.
 * The phrase "swansong" refers to "the final performance or activity of a person's career"; by separating the words, the writers have made the title of this episode a reference to the series' leading protagonist, Emma Swan. It is most likely in association with this being the final episode to feature Emma as a Dark One, or rather "the Dark Swan". It could be serving simultaneous reference, however, to the acts performed by Captain Hook before he dies, since "swansong" is known to be the legendary song sung by a swan only before its death.
 * The CGI opening shot of this episode is the exact same one used in the opening to "A Tale of Two Sisters", of a ship struggling against a stormy sea.
 * Due to the continuous nature of the flashback story featured in "Queen of Hearts", it is almost impossible to place the flashbacks of this episode which feature adult Hook and the Evil Queen. This most likely constitutes a continuity error by the writers.
 * Reference is once again made, this time by Regina, to Oz being "over the rainbow", a reference to the song of the same name sung by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Production

 * The title of this episode was officially confirmed by executive producer/co-creator Adam Horowitz, via his Twitter account, on October 17, 2015.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.