Once Upon a Time
Season 5 Episode 4: “The Broken Kingdom”
Directed by Alrick Riley
Written by David H. Goodman & Jerome Schwartz
Created by Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
Starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Emilie de Ravin, Colin O’Donoghue, Jared Gilmore, Robert Carlyle, Sean Maguire, Rebecca Mader
ABC
Air Date: Sunday, October 18th, 2015, 8:00pm

Last week on Once Upon A Time, we learned via flashback Lancelot (he’s alive! Sinqua Walls) that Arthur (Liam Garrigan) may not be what he seems. Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) will probably have to try to break up the budding bromance between David (Josh Dallas) and Arthur. The suspicions are confirmed twofold to the viewers, when we see Arthur holding the Crimson Crown, a magical object that could allow them to speak to tree-trapped Merlin. But David almost drowned via ghostly knights, and Arthur saved him. I really don’t want David’s heart to be broken. In present-day Storybrooke, Arthur makes his squire commit suicide for his mysterious evil cause. Meanwhile, Emma (Jennifer Morrison) tries to snuggle up to Hook (Colin O’Donoghue), who is not having it. But really needs a blank slate to pull Excaliber from the stone. Voila! Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle)!

Some spoilers below.

Once Upon A Time 5.4 “The Broken Kingdom” review: Camelot flashbacks through time reveal the King Arthur prophecy, first with Arthur as a hopeful child, then at the moment he pulls Excaliber, only to see it is broken. His whole kingdom is based on a lie. Guinevere tries to get it for him, but runs into the real Rumplestiltskin. He gives her magic fixing powder instead. Instead of fixing Excaliber, he fixes Guin so she is a Stepford wife, fixes his kingdom, and in the future, fixes Charming and Snow to be on his side. I need some magic fixing powder.

Before the powder, Charming and Snow are at odds over trust – trusting King Arthur or Lancelot. They do come together on their own for the good of their daughter, and Arthur is found to be the least trustworthy. I guess the fairy tale was just a myth?

So cute! Hook has a giant smile, when Henry admits he has a friend that’s a girl. Hook may as well have shouted, “That’s my boy!” So proud was he.

Emma is getting worse. The whispers from the dagger, the visions of Rumplestiltskin. But Hook is my hero, er… I mean her hero, taking her horseback riding to clear away the Rummplestiltskin visions. Since this is in the past in Camelot, we know that was not a long term fix.

Now that everyone is under Arthur’s control, Lancelot is thrown in a dungeon, and befriended by Merida (Amy Manson). In the present, Emma rips out Merida’s heart until she makes Mr. Gold “brave.”

Although the whole Stepford wife Guinevere thing does not sit well with me, I am dying to know the full account of the Storybrooke gang’s time in Camelot.

And some questions I have are:

– Where the heck is Belle (Emilie de Ravin)? She knows he’s better and missing, but she does not seem to be looking, and Storybrooke is pretty much 2 streets and a pirate ship.

– Why has Mr. Gold not asked about Belle at all?

– Is Merlin really in the tree? Because it seems he’s been in there always.

– Will there be any more Greek mythology in Storybrooke?

– Biggest question of all – What happens when Excaliber is whole?

Once Upon A Time airs Sunday nights at 8pm ET on ABC.

Videos

Snow & Charming’s Fight – Once Upon A Time

Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming (Josh Dallas) have very different opinions on how to handle a situation at hand. Watch a scene from Once Upon A Time – Season 5, Episode 4: “The Broken Kingdom.”

Once Upon a Time 5×04 Sneak Peek “The Broken Kingdom”

Once Upon a Time 5×04 “The Broken Kingdom” – After receiving a cryptic warning from Lancelot about Arthur’s intentions, Mary Margaret realizes Arthur may be the heroes’ biggest threat, but when she is unable to convince David of the danger, she takes matters into her own hands. Meanwhile, Hook’s unwavering love for Emma provides a glimmer of hope in her struggle against the unrelenting voice of Rumplestiltskin. In a Camelot flashback, Guinevere senses that Arthur is losing his way, consumed by his obsession with making Excalibur whole, so she sets out with Lancelot on her own quest into the heart of darkness. In Storybrooke, Dark Emma unleashes a secret weapon in the next phase of her plan to find the brave soul she needs to draw Excalibur from the stone, on “Once Upon a Time,” Sunday, October 18th on ABC.