Most of our long-time heroes and heroines took a backseat on Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episode 4, as the characters from Camelot were thrust into the spotlight.
We learned during the hour that King Arthur grew so obsessed in his quest for the Dark One’s dagger (aka Excalibur) that it drove him and Guinevere apart.
The latter even decided to seek out the sword one day with Lancelot by her side.
However, after butting heads with Rumplestiltskin, all these two received for their trouble was a vial of the Sands, something that can supposedly “fix” anything.
Upon returning home, Arthur seized the Sands and used it to cast a spell on Guinevere, turning her into the perfect, robotic wife. He then used the rest of it to make his kingdom “whole.”
In the current Camelot timeline, meanwhile, Regina and the Charmings gathered around Emma during a moment of weakness, with the latter couple debating the merits of Arthur.
Afterward, David told Arthur that they’ve been lying about daughter Emma, and that he’s ready to reunite the dagger with Excalibur… except the box ended up bring empty. How so?
Because Snow grabbed the dagger and, with Lancelot, planned to hide it beyond the door at the bottom of the Dark One’s vault.
Enter Arthur, who showed up to steal the weapon – yet when he used it to to summon Emma, he realized it was a fake.
Turns out, the Charmings pulled a fast one on Arthur, overcoming their differences to keep Emma safe.
However, no sooner had they detained the King inside Granny’s than hypnotized Guinevere appeared to rescue her man, using more of the Sands on the Charmings. (How much of that stuff was there?!?)
The spellbound Charmings proceeded to lie to Regina about Arthur being good and Lancelot being bad and said they needed to marry the dagger with Excalibur.
Meanwhile, imprisoned LanceloIt met his spunky cellmate – Merida! – who was all too excited to take on Arthur.
Over to Emma: she kept seeing visions of Rumple, which prompted Hook to suggest a horseback ride through the country. This led to a passionate kiss between the couple in a meadow overflowing with flowers.
Finally, we returned to present-day Storybrooke, where Dark Emma had Rumple strapped to a gate and broke out her “secret weapon” against the man she deemed to be a “dull knife.”
It was Merida, who had been tied to the Bug’s front fender! Dark Emma gave the sassy Scot her mission: go ahead and make a coward “brave.”
So there you have it. Catch up when you watch Once Upon a Time online and sound off on the latest installment below.