Captain Riterra Smith

I don't understand. Really I don't. One day, Emma has Dark One Classic breathing down her neck, yet she is able to shut that witch down, "I WAS NEVER NOTHING!" and today without a single misgiving she is claiming more power than any Dark One ever knew, with the aforementioned Dark Ones giving her an "atta girl" as she does so. When did such a radical flip actually take place???

MiniAnneBoleynx8

Yeah, I’m wondering that, too Honestly, all I have to say though is that the writers are definitely really hyping this up to have been a BIG thing that made Emma flip...and I’m hoping it lives up to that hype(but also nervous about what it will be).

Kelaine

I've concluded that a lot of writers have dyscalculia, the inability to do math. J.K. Rowling is famous for all the things that (literally) don't add up in Harry Potter. Science fiction novels have people colonizing planets despite birth rates way below replacement levels. And lets not even talk about how many parsecs in the Kessel Run.

Just know that one plus one equals two is probably a phrase the writers are familiar with but they've never actually looked up what it means.

fox24

I think the writers should just do Many years ago lol in time stamps there a bit lazy and made mistakes

Magic Mirror

It's "1000 years before the Age of Arthur".

The Age of Arthur must precede present day Enchanted Forest by thousands of years; i.e., thousands of years before Regina was born and cast the curse.

When did the "Age of Arthur" begin? And why would it begin thousands of years before Arthur himself was even born?

Yeah, the timeline is all messed up.

There can't be hundreds of Dark Ones between Nimue and Rumple if only 200 years separated Nimue's becoming the Dark One and the present day Enchanted Forest.

DR76

Not once have I heard anyone use the words "good" and "evil" in this episode. Not once. Now, more than ever, Kitsis and Horowitz are resorting to using color phrases to describe morality. It's sickening.

Also, yes it is quite possible to commit good deeds, while being "the Dark One". Rumpelstiltskin did it back in mid-Season 3. Have Horowitz and Kitsis forgotten already?


If Merlin supposed to be the only one powerful enough to destroy the entity, why is he vulnerable to Nimue or Emma? Why is he vulnerable to a sword enchanted by Zelena? What the hell is going on with this show?

Magic Mirror

The sword is made from the Holy Grail, which is the source of his power and immortality, remember? Of course it could control him when he was "tethered" to it by Zelena. The Dark One dagger, also part of the sword/Holy Grail, does the same to the Dark One. Nimue and Merlin both drank from it, which granted them their powers. The Holy Grail/Excalibur is an extraordinarily powerful object, given its ability to grant nearly unlimited power and eternal life. Controlling other people's will seem small in comparison.

Merlin by himself can't defeat the darkness. He would need the wholly forged Excalibur to do that, which was the reason for their quest for the "ember" in the episode. That ember is a key ingredient to reforging Excalibur whole.

The only question here is why is Merlin vulnerable when he never gave up his immortality? Nimue broke Excalibur before that could happen. The show hasn't been clear whether the Dark One's or Merlin's immortality is the weak or strong variety. Given that the Dark Ones can be "killed" by the Dagger it seems to be of the weak version. That is, "immortal" being "ageless" but still with the potential to be killed.

DR76

How on earth is Zelena powerful enough to do that?


You know what? This whole "Dark Swan" story arc is just going down the tubes for me. It seems as if the writers' ability to maintain continuity and logic has slipped even further. It's bad enough that Emma is constantly either wearing that damn black leather jacket in Storybrooke or the grey ghost gown in Camelot. It's bad enough that they cannot maintain continuity regarding the timeline of the "Dark One" history. They can't even make up their minds with Merlin.

Even worse, I'm not looking forward to the story arc for Season 5B.

CityGal

Obviously this is the tragedy underlying the episode. Something so terribly threatening must have happened to her love ones for Emma to feel the need to finally succumb.

It's maddening to wait for an answer...ughhh.

scififan2009

Damn, that was pretty epic. Origins of the dark one explained. More Camelot mythology with Merlin's backstory. Emma fighting the temptation.

And Merlin seems a pretty legit good guy who only wants to save everyone. Which means he's probably not long for this world. It was nice knowing him.

Randysgirl

^ Don't let them take Merlin away.

Loved the episode and all of the foreshadowing. I really enjoyed Merlin's backstory and the twist of Excalibur being the Holy Grail.

fox24

I loved it too. I loved merlins backstory

sourburst

Loved merlin so much last night

killianfan

Loved the episode so much. Tension is ramping up and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Definitely the best season so far. Am loving Dark Swan.

DR76

How is Zelena powerful enough to tether Merlin to Excalibur?