The Price

"The Price" is the 91st episode of Once Upon a Time.

Summary
In an effort to protect Emma, Regina steps up in a surprising way that will test her mettle as a force for good. King Arthur and Queen Guinevere throw a royal ball to welcome the heroes to Camelot, but when the celebration takes a deadly turn, David and Robin must leap into action or lose a crucial asset in the fight to save Emma. Back in Storybrooke, Hook deploys a tried-and-true technique in hopes of bringing his Dark Swan back into the light while the heroes discover that some unexpected baggage has followed them home from Camelot.

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

After being sent to the Enchanted Forest, Emma meets The Darkness in the form of Rumplestiltskin who will act as her guide. Emma gives Regina the dagger because she's the only one who'll do what's necessary. King Arthur and his knights find the Storybrooke crew and reveal Merlin prophesied them coming a long time ago. Six weeks after entering Camelot, the group mysteriously end up back in Storybrooke without their memories. Hook asks Emma, who is now fully consumed by the darkness why she's "doing this". She tells him it's because she's the Dark One.

Teaser
The dwarfs are speedily driving in their van with the stone Sneezy tied to the roof as they head to the town line. Once they reach it and get out of the van, Grumpy states that someone has to test what the new curse does and asks if there are any volunteers. None of the dwarfs step forward, so he tells them someone is going to have to build up the courage to cross the line. The all instantly call "not it", leaving the mute Dopey holding a notepad which reads "NOT IT!". Grumpy tells him he'll take his silence as bravery and then ushers him to the line. Just as he's about to cross, a sheriff's car arrives with its siren blazing. Snow, Charming and Regina get out, yelling for them to stop. Grumpy states that they cannot stay in Storybrooke if Emma's the Dark One, "Snow Queen, Pan, Trio of Terror, we can handle villains like that" he says before explaining Emma was one of them and knew how to defeat bad guys, even defeating most of them herself. When he asks how they stand a chance against her Regina simply tells him to cross the line if he's dumb enough, "Who's gonna save us if we stay? You?" he snarls, hurting her. Grumpy then tells Dopey to cross again, so the mute dwarf bravely steps across the border and through the magical barrier. Once over, all seems fine, so he turns back in the direction of the group (who are now invisible to him) and he gives them a thumbs up. The dwarfs seem happy that crossing the line is safe, but as they're about to step forward, a cracking sound is heard. The ground beneath Dopey cracks and leaves begins to magically swirl around him, eventually turning him into a tree, "Well that's new" Regina comments as everyone looks on, shocked.

ONCE UPON A TIME

Act I
Camelot Six Weeks Ago

After entering the castle of Camelot, the Storybrooke residents are welcomed by King Arthur, who announces he'll introduce them to the "loveliest creature in all of Camelot", his queen, Guinevere. With that, a woman in a bright pink dress walks down the castle's steps, approaching the group. They all bow to her, but Guinevere tells them the pleasure is theirs as they've been awaiting their arrival since they heard Merlin's prophecy. Charming tells the couple he hopes they haven't been waiting too long, and when Arthur playfully says "only a decade or so", he smiles and apologises. The king says he's sure it was worth the wait, and as a bonus it's given them time to plan a ball in their honor for tonight. Upon hearing this, Grumpy tells Happy and Doc that he was right about coming, "look what we've been missing out on". Granny says she likes any party she doesn't have to cater, "So do we" Grumpy teases.

Meanwhile, Zelena asks Regina if the cuff is necessary, but the brunette tells her she's lucky she's not locked in Granny's freezer. Zelena threatens Regina that if she doesn't take if off she'll tell Arthur he welcomed the Dark One into his castle, however, before she can continue talking, Regina magically steals her voice, "What's that, sis? I can't hear you" she taunts her before explaining that nobody here knows who they are and it'll stay that way, "So you can either behave and pretend to be my mute handmaiden or go back to Granny's. You can rely on Doc for prenatal care". Meanwhile, an impatient Hook tells Emma that they don't have time to waste and he doesn't want to dance, but she assures him she won't go dark in one night. He tells her he's not willing to take that chance before stepping forward and asking Arthur when they'll start the quest to find Merlin. Arthur explains that they don't need to find him as they know exactly where he is.

Inside the courtyard of Camelot's castle, the group is stood beside a giant tree, “So the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms is stuck inside a bloody tree?” Hook asks in disbelief, leading King Arthur to reveal he said the same thing the first time he stood there. Emma asks the king if he thinks they can get him out, but he claims he knows because Merlin’s prophecies are never wrong before asking why they're so eager to free him. After a moments silence, Charming explains that their “home” is being threatened by the Dark One, so Arthur reveals they’re well aware of that “demon”. He tells Charming he hopes Merlin can help them, but states that they must first release him from his prison. “It is said one of you is the savior, so which of you is it?” the king asks, causing Emma to almost step forward before being stopped by Regina, who holds the dagger. The evil queen then steps forward in her place and claims that she is the savior; everyone remains silent. “I'm the one who's going to free Merlin from that tree and then we can take care of the Dark One” Regina says, pleasing Arthur, “And all go home” she finishes, looking towards Emma, who is still struggling to fight against the darkness.

Present Day

At Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer, Rumplestiltskin remains in a comatose state in the back room as Belle works out front. Hook enters, asking why true love's kiss didn't work for her and "the crocodile". She tells him it did work the first time as it woke the man behind the beast, but he got scared of a life without power and he chose power over love. "He pulled away from me, and in that moment the darkness forever regained its grip on him". She points out that a curse isn't a curse any more when you want it. Hook is adamant he won't have that problem with Emma and he hurries off to find her, but Belle stops him. "I know you think you can handle a Dark One" she says, being cut off by Hook who angrily states he's battled Rumple for centuries and survived. Belle points out that he was trying to kill him, "It's far easier to hate a Dark One than it is to love one. Be careful" she warns. Hook proceeds to exit the shop.

At the docks, Henry is stood looking out at the ocean as he calls his mother's name three times. The dark Emma suddenly appears beside him, happy to see him, and she reaches her hand to his, but he pulls away. Hurt by this, she assures him he doesn't have to be scared of her, but Henry sadly asks what happened and why she’s like this now. She tells him it’s complicated, so he apologises for whatever happened in Camelot and tells her he’s sorry they failed her. “I know what I said last night” she tells him, “but Henry, you didn't fail me. Everyone else did”. Suddenly Regina arrives, warning Emma to get away from her son. The Dark Swan asks the brunette if she’s afraid he'll find out what happened in Camelot. Regina questions why if the truth is so important to her, how come she erased their memories, “it's a curse, Regina”. Regina says she knows but she cannot figure out why, but Emma tells her if she wanted her to know she wouldn't have erased their memories. Regina warns that they won’t stop until they get their memories are back, but Emma promises it won’t happen because she built the curse without the one thing needed to break it; a savior. Looking at her son, Regina smiles that they'll find a way as they always have, but Emma claims that was with her, “Now you're on your own”. Henry assures Regina that she can be the savior, but Emma bluntly denies it will happen. “You don’t think I have it in me?” Regina asks her new foe, leading Emma to tell her she knows she doesn't. “Well you’re wrong. I can protect this town” she says before grabbing Henry and walking away. Emma tells them they’ll see about that because there’s a problem headed to Storybrooke that only a savior can solve, “It’s too bad there isn't one”. Regina stops and lets out an angry huff at Emma’s comments.

Act II
Grumpy and Happy are crossing the street discussing Dopey, with the latter saying they can't leave him or he'll starve. Happy questions what trees eat, so Grumpy suggests sunlight before Happy recalls he liked tacos, "How the hell are we gonna give a tree a taco?" Grumpy huffs before the sound of horses neighing comes from behind them. They turn to see three men in armour riding towards them on horses, one of which gets off and draws his sword. "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to mess with a dwarf and his pickaxe" he says before swinging at the knight, who deflects the blow and restrains him. Another knight disarms Happy and then they're both forced to their knees as the final knight, King Arthur, removes his helmet and asks if nobody ever taught them to kneel before a king, "Now tell me, where am I and how the hell did I get here?" he demands to know.

"A curse?" King Arthur asks, now in the mayor's office, having been filled in by Regina, Snow and David. Regina explains the curse brought him to their realm and wiped his memory of the last six weeks. He questions who would do that, so David admits that they weren't completely honest to him on their way to Camelot. Snow confesses that there daughter Emma is the Dark One and cast the curse. "You lied to me? You let me lead the darkest of souls into the heart of my kingdom?" a furious Arthur asks, leading Charming to say they thought Merlin would be able to destroy the darkness inside her. Arthur points out that it obviously didn't work and then demands to know where the Dark One is now. Snow tells him that Emma is here in Storybrooke, so Arthur says there's only one way to defeat her: the dagger. Snow explains that "defeat" isn't what they had in mind and Charming reminds the king that she's their daughter...before revealing she also has the dagger. Arthur is left speechless and Robin soon enters the room, informing the king that he and his knights aren't the only ones brought from Camelot because Little John ran into some of his subjects in the forest. Arthur asks if they're all right so the thief explains they're a little shaken up. He points out that more may still be out there so he'll round up the Merry Men to search the woods. Charming tells him to take the dwarfs and then tells Arthur to follow him to search. All the men leave, leaving Snow and Regina behind. Snow notices Regina looking odd, so asks what's wrong. "These toy soldiers...I could kill them all with the wave of my hand" she explains, shocking Snow, leading her to explain it doesn't mean she will. She adds that this cannot be what Emma warned her about, but Snow supposes she obviously brought them here for a reason. Regina tells the mother she was told a problem was coming that only a savior could handle, "I'm telling you. Something else is coming our way".

Back in Camelot, during the missing six weeks, Regina and Emma are searching Merlin's tower in the castle for information on how to get him out of the tree. Once inside, Emma angrily tells her ally to never do "that" to her again, "Oh, now you're talking to me" Regina mocks, frustrating Emma further, who asks if she's allowed to. Regina pulls out the dagger and reminds the blonde she gave it to her, "To protect me, not use against me" Emma points out. Regina explains that she saved her life, "By pretending to be me?" Emma asks. The brunette tells her to shut up and listen, but this accidentally causes her to force her to stop talking with the dagger, "Oh, I can get used to this" she jokes before explaining that if she claimed to be the savior then she'd have been asked to free Merlin, and then she'd have had to use dark magic, "Do you remember what happened last time you dabbled in that?" she asks, causing Emma to recall she lost control. The brunette explains that she was given the dagger to prevent that from happening again, "And I wasn't lying. I don't care what Merlin's prophecy said, I'm gonna figure out how I can get that wizard out so you won't ever have to use dark magic again" she promises, before telling Emma she should be thanking her, "Thank you" Emma instantly replies, accidentally under control of the dagger again. Regina puts the dagger away and then begins to walk away, but Emma stops her and sincerely thanks her. Regina nods gratefully and then leaves the room.

Back in Storybrooke, Robin, who's at a camp site set up for the newcomers, collects a large pack of water bottles and places them next to more. He explains to Regina that they think they've found everyone, but she walks straight past him, looking worried by something. He follows after her and asks what happened between her and Emma. She tells him she said nobody believes she can protect this town, but Robin assures her it's not true as everyone knows how far she's come. She points out that although nobody may see her as the Evil Queen any more, she has to prove to them that she can be more. She says that forgiving her is one thing, but they won't be ready to trust her. Robin hugs her to comfort her, but her face still shows worry in it.

Meanwhile, King Arthur is putting up a tent when a woman calls out his name from behind him. He turns around and is overjoyed to see his queen, Guinevere walking towards him. He rushes towards her and they embrace in a hug, "Thank God you're all right, I feared the worst" he tells her, stroking her head. Guinever looks down at her husbands armour and then notices Excalibur is missing, so she asks where it is. He explains that it was missing when he arrived here, causing Charming, who was walking past, to assure him not to worry because if his sword is here then they'll find it. "You know of Excalibur? How" Arthur asks, confused. Charming smiles and explains to him in this realm he's "kind of a legend". Arthur smiles and then embraces in a hug with his wife once more.

Act III
Do this tomorrow's tomorrow tea.

Act IV
Do this on the 9th.

Act V
Do this on the 10th.

Act VI
Do this on the 12th give yourself a break babe.

Trivia

 * The title card of this episode features the tree in which Merlin is trapped.

Production

 * The title of this episode was officially confirmed by executive producer/co-creator Adam Horowitz, via his Twitter account, on July 20, 2015.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.