So far this season, our heroes and villains have been to Camelot and back. Emma is no longer the Dark One, the title having been reclaimed by Rumple. But Killian is lost to the terrors of the Underworld, and our favorite fairy tale gang is out to save him.

Spoilers ahead, dearies.

“Devil’s Due”

In the Enchanted Forest, Rumple and his wife Milah seek a cure for Baelfire, who was bitten by a snake. The only healer they can find demands gold in payment for the cure; when Rumple can’t pay, the healer makes a deal forcing the frantic father to promise that he will give up his second child. When Rumple tells Milah the price for saving Baelfire, she is horrified that he would make that decision without telling her. Later, after Rumple is the Dark One, he kills the healer to invalidate the promise.

In the Underworld, Hook refuses to follow Hades’ orders to choose which of his friends must remain in hell to replace Henry Mills Sr., Hercules, and Megara. Frustrated, Hades dangles Hook over the River of Lost Souls as punishment. Meanwhile, Mr. Gold has found a loophole that will lead Emma to Hook, but it requires the aid of a permanent resident of the Underworld. He seeks out Milah, telling her that the mission at hand is to save Hook. She agrees, which makes the situation with Emma a teensy bit awkward. (After all, Emma has slept with both Milah’s son and lover.) Emma shrugs it off, however, and tells Milah that Neal/Baelfire is in a better place.

While Emma is rescuing Hook from his precarious position above the River of Lost Souls, Hades appears to Mr. Gold and offers him a chance to leave scot-free in exchange for the others in his party. Since Milah saw Hades, Mr. Gold shoves her into the river where she becomes a lost soul. He tells Emma and Hook that Hades made him do it. They make it back to the fake Storybrooke, where Regina attempts to conduct the spell of splitting Emma’s heart in two so that Hook can have one half and return to the land of the living. But there is a protection spell on Emma that prevents her heart from being taken, and the gang quickly realizes that Hades has chosen Emma, Regina, and Snow to replace the souls they set free.

Mr. Gold goes to Hades and demands that their deal go through and he be returned to Storybrooke. But Hades, ever the self-serving one, has other plans in mind. The God of the Underworld reveals he is aware that Belle is pregnant with Rumple’s second child, which was the price of his debt to the healer. Hades has bought the contract from the healer, which means that Mr. Gold now owes him. He offers Mr. Gold a deal; Hades won’t collect on the payment as long as the pawnbroker/Dark One works for him exclusively.

“The Brothers Jones”

(Refresher Course in the History of Killian Jones: Before Captain Hook was a pirate, he was a member of the King’s Navy. And before that, he and his brother Liam had been sold into slavery by their father. They grew up in hard servitude to Captain Silver, but are saving up what coins they can to buy their freedom.) Liam promises Killian that they will escape their life and become members of the Navy, but things seem bleak when Captain Silver leads the crew into a hurricane on a mission meant to procure the Eye of the Storm, a famous jewel. The expedition is dangerous, and Liam and Killian start a mutiny to lead the crew back to safety. But Hades appears to Liam, and offers him a deal: in exchange for the safety of the Brothers Jones, the crew must be led into the storm where they will die. Liam gives in, and Hades gives him the Eye of the Storm. In the aftermath, Liam and Killian are given Navy comissions in reward for finding the jewel.

In the Underworld, Hook and Liam are reunited. Liam warns Emma that she isn’t any good for Killian. Killian also seems doubtful, but not of Emma. He believes that he may deserve to have ended up in the Underworld, and should perhaps move on instead of returning to Storybrooke. He agrees to help the gang get rid of Hades, however, and joins in the hunt to find the Underworld version of Henry’s fairy tale book. They are hoping to find the pages that tell the story of Hades, in order to learn how to defeat him (Henry is also looking for the Author’s quill to send Cruella back to their world). Liam is told by Hades to remove the pages that contain his story, and Liam agrees so that Hades won’t tell Killian about what really happened all those years ago.

Emma is still pretty good at knowing when someone is lying, and catches on to Liam’s actions quickly. Hook learns the truth, and his image of his heroic older brother is shattered. Liam seeks redemption by sacrificing himself to save Hook’s life, and his actions allow him and the ship’s crew to move on to their version of heaven (a ship upon a calm sea). Hook chooses not to go with them, deciding to stay with Emma and finish their mission in the Underworld.

Meanwhile, it seems as though the now-missing pages of Hades’ story had something to do with him and…Zelena???

Until next time, dearies.

-The Collected Mutineer