Once Upon A Time Recap S3E17: Jolly Roger

A pair of men carrying the King’s gold are stopped by a knight. The horsemen decided that the gold is not worth the trouble of taking on the knight and his men, and they leave. The knight is Hook, and his men are scarecrows holding arrows. Hook, Smee and the others celebrate the treasures. Smee has gotten Hook a little gift, and he goes off with her, but he doesn’t take advantage. He pays the girl well and lets her go. Someone knocks Hook to the ground, straddling him, it’s Ariel, and she wants revenge on him.

David and Emma try to decipher crib instructions. Snow worries about Zelena and Gold, but David and Emma want to keep living life. Regina has cast a protection spell to protect the baby. Emma is tired of being on the defensive side, she wants Regina to teach her how to use magic, and not go half-assed liked before. Emma is ready. The Charmings don’t try to stop her, they even offer to watch Henry. Emma isn’t sure that’s the best, they aren’t the most fun people.

Mr. Smee pays Captain Hook a visit. They haven’t seen much of him since they’ve come back to Storybrook, and they want to join together and leave. Smee asks after the Jolly Roger, since he has his memories and the rest of them do not. Hook isn’t revealing the location of his ship, and has no intention of leaving the town, but Smee wants to get as far from the Wicked Witch as possible. Emma and Henry walk towards him, and he tells Smee not to question his motive. Emma wants Hook to watch Henry, not because she’s looking for reasons to get close to him, but so she can learn magic. She thinks once everyone is safe she can be done, can go back to New York. He tells her that she cannot pretend that this life never happened, that she cannot forget everything. No matter how much she wishes she can go back to her old life, she can’t.

David and Snow don’t want to sit on the side lines, they think they can be as much fun as Hook. There’s a crowd gathered on the beach, and they’re surrounding Ariel, she just washed up on the beach. Snow asks where she’s been, she’s been under the sea searching for Eric. She woke up after the whole year thing too, and she’s come back thinking that maybe she missed something. Snow tells her about Zelena, and how she’s cursed them. But Hook has his memories, so they head there.

Past. Ariel tells Hook that he kidnapped Prince Eric, but he doesn’t have him. One of Eric’s men said that the pirate was from the Jolly Roger, and that is of interest to Hook. He escaped with a dagger, with the initials BB on it. Hook runs off overjoyed to find Smee and his men. Hook knows who has the Jolly Roger, Black Beard. Hook plans to take his ship back, and make him walk the plank. The Jolly Roger isn’t just a ship to him, he hasn’t been the same since he’s been back because he doesn’t have her. With his ship in hand, he will be whole again. Ariel is coming along, and according to pirate code Hook cannot hurt her because she gave him valuable information.

Hook and Henry play a die game, but the boy has trouble cheating. The Charmings come with Ariel in tow asking about Prince Eric of the maritime kingdom. Hook feigns innocence, that he does not know of him.

Regina leads Emma down to the tombs. She tells her not to touch anything, planning to build the foundation from the ground up. Regina asks who Henry is with, and Emma tells her Hook. Hook is great with Henry, a man with a penchant for violence and a hook for a hand, of course Henry likes him. Regina points out that Hook has been all doe eyed about Emma, but Emma can’t think about him at the moment. Regina jumps in, but Emma can’t read Elvish, so she thinks of another course of action. Regina puts Emma high above on an unsteady bridge.

The Charmings get the idea that perhaps Gold’s shop has something they can use to track Eric. Hook pulls David aside, telling him that he thinks that Eric is dead. Charming tells him that there is always hope, especially where they’re from, that Eric may be alive yet. He offers to stay with Henry, and there really isn’t a reason that Hook can provide without spilling the truth of what happened in that year to him, and he’s not ready to do that yet.

Hook, his crew and Ariel trudge through the forest. Ariel was surprised to hear that Hook had Eric, that she heard the story of how he saved Snow and her family in Neverland. Hook doesn’t appreciate the rumor of his turning good, he’s a pirate and he always will be.

Hook and Ariel arrive at Gold’s shop. Belle hasn’t seen anything that is Eric’s, but that doesn’t mean that nothing is there. Hook spots the medallion off Eric’s cloak, and Ariel and Belle come in before he can hide it. Ariel’s hope is bolstered.

Emma asks if Regina is out of her mind. Emma has always shown her power in times of crisis, and now Regina plans to push her. Regina begins making the bridge collapse, telling her she either makes the bridge stop, or die. Emma falls, and she creates a whole new structure. Regina is upset over Emma’s wasted potential.

Belle pours a locator spell over the cloak. Ariel is thankful that Belle would stop her searching for a way to get Gold back to help her, the cloak takes flight, and Ariel and Hook chase after it.

Past. Hook looks at his ship longingly, he’s ready to get it back. Hook goes aboard his ship, and drops the gauntlet to get his ship back. Black beard rises to the occasion as Ariel, Smee and the others mix into the crowd. Hook and Black Beard tussle with a pair of swords. Black beard didn’t think that Hook would show, rumor had it he’d gone soft. But Hook isn’t willing to give up his ship without a fight. Black beard falls victim to one of the Jolly Roger’s loose board. Hook doesn’t deal the death blow with Eric not on board. Black beard gives him an ultimatum, hand over the ship, or kill him and the Prince’s location dies with him,

Ariel and Hook follow the cloak to the water’s edge. The cloak goes under the water. Ariel knows that if the spell worked properly, that must mean that Eric is gone. Hook consoles her.

Snow isn’t sure if it’s a good idea, but David wants to one up the pirate. David figures if Hook can teach Henry to steal a boat, he can teach Henry how to drive. Henry’s first outing doesn’t go well, and a mail box falls victim.

Ariel is greatful for Hook’s help. She saved Eric from the sea once, she never thought she’d lose him to the sea in the end. Hook may be a pirate, but he has a lot of heart, Ariel only wishes that she knew how he died.

Hook prepares Black beard to walk the plank. Ariel begs Hook to spare Black beard, that she needs him to believe in true love, but he throws the pirate from the ship anyways. Ariel calls him heartless, and she goes off in search of Eric.

Hook catches up to Ariel and makes a confession. He didn’t tell her that their paths had crossed before because he was ashamed. He tells her that he sacrificed her prince for his ship. She slaps him. He admits that he was trying to cover up his broken heart with the Jolly Roger. Ariel says that he doesn’t know true love, but he does, and he desperately wants to help her. She doesn’t believe him, and she makes him swear on the name of his true love. When he swears on Emma, she casts a spell upon his lips. It isn’t Ariel, but Zelena. Ariel found Eric, she was never in Storybrook. They were living happily ever after, outside the curse. She needed to corrupt his love, to use it. Zelena needed to curse him, his kiss more exact. Next time he kisses Emma it will take away her magic. He threatens to tell Emma, and she threatens to send Gold after her. He figures out that Zelena cannot hurt Emma directly, but she’ll hurt everyone around her if she has to. Hook won’t let her hurt Henry. She delivers one last threat, Kiss Emma and remove her powers or everyone around her dies.

Hook pays Emma a visit. He tells her that he was off helping Ariel try to find Eric. He tells her and Regina that they found a clue to where Eric is, and she headed off. Regina thinks that the she prpbably has made it together now. Regina urges Emma to use mirror magic and look to see if Ariel found Eric. They see that Ariel and Eric are really happy, and Emma is surprised by Hook’s good deed. Henry, David and Snow arrive and tell them of their day, and suggest that they should throw some money towards a new mail box. The group plans to go celebrate the good news, expect Hook. Emma tells him that she doesn’t care what happened in that year, she’s tired of living in the past. The Charmings, Regina, Emma and Henry have dinner together, and Hook watches from afar.