With the opportunity to be selfless, will Hook make the easy one or the hard one.

Previously on Once Upon a Time there was a tumultuous battle between the likes of the Wicked Witch of the West and the Evil Queen, otherwise known as Zelena and Regina. Had it not been for Regina’s wit their was a good chance that she would be dead at the hands of her half sister. Fortunately for her, she removed her own heart, and hid it in the forest of Storybrooke at the protection of her true love, Robin Hood. How the story unfolds in tonight’s episode will clearly demonstrate the depth of love, and just how hard some will go to fight for it. Click ahead for our recap and review of this week’s “Once…”

As usual in this arc of the season, there is actions taking place not only in the now, but 9 months in the past in the Enchanted Forest. As usual the past dictates the present in so many ways, so we will dive in to what took place with Captain Hook, his crew, and the lovely Princess Ariel. With Hook and his crew coming off the success of pillaging how will Hook respond to the likes of Ariel?

Ariel’s plight to find Eric is aided when Hook recognizes this cloak that she originally used to wear when she was looking for him.

Upon a victorious pillage, Hook is blind sided by Ariel, who compels him to find the Jolly Roger so that she may be reunited with her Prince Eric. Eventually it’s revealed that the vengeful Captain Blackbeard was the one that took Hook’s ship, the Jolly Roger, and with not only Hook’s ego on the line, and Ariel’s aching heart, they go on a quest to find the Jolly Roger.

As Ariel, Hook, Smee, and their crew slowly walked aboard the Jolly Roger, soon their was a swash buckling battle between the bitter foes Hook and Blackbeard. Fortunately for Ariel, Hook was able to make Blackbeard walk the plank. Yet it was only to reclaim the vessel that he was able to make his foe commit such a heinous act, thereby prolonging Ariel’s quest of finding Eric.

Hungry for some swashbuckling good times, Smee voices the opinions of Hook’s crew.

Although he had the opportunity to do the right thing, in the end he saw having the Jolly Roger as an opportunity to reclaim his manhood, and to fill the void of not having Emma Swan in his life. Ariel was devastated, and as a response to not knowing where her true love, Eric, was she dove into the ocean to seek him out.

Back in today’s reality, Emma was dealing with the prospect of battling the Wicked Witch in order to protect Storybrooke from her reign. There were three subplots taking place which included: Regina mentoring Emma to embrace her inner magic, Henry spending time with Snow and  Charming, and lastly Hook’s quest to seek redemption for failing Ariel.

Initially Emma was pragmatically facing the possibility of losing her son to the wrath of the Wicked Witch of the West. So she agreed to learning magic under Regina’s tutelage. From the get go Regina was trying to be easy; however, it was only when Regina put her out on the middle of a bridge that was set to self destruct that she found her inner strength and inner desire to prevail. As the bridge became decimated, she began to fall when Emma tapped into her inner power, and constructed her own floating piece of the bridge. This was the first time that Emma was forced to create something, and what a glorious achievement it was.

As far as Henry was concerned, Emma was giving Henry to Captain Hook, although Emma’s parents, Snow and Charming, were hoping to spend time with him. Eventually though Henry left Hook as he went to help Ariel find Eric. In order to be the cool Grandpa, Charming had Henry drive his car around. Although it was a nice thought to show Henry how cool his Grandpa was, in fact he ended up inflicting thousands of dollars in damages on the city. Yet with that behind him, Henry and Charming grew closer because of it. Yet as one set of individuals grew closer, another set slowly grew apart.

In search of her prince, Ariel will stop at nothing to find her prince.

At the top of the episode, Ariel washed up onto land, and soon notified that the intent of her visit was to find Prince Eric. After seeing Charming and Snow, Ariel was told to go to Mr. Gold’s shop to see if any of Eric’s things got left behind. Upon arriving they found Eric’s cloak, the same cloak Ariel had been wearing 9 months ago, they placed a locator spell on it with the help of Belle. Soon the cloak went out to the docks and landed on the ocean, this left Arielle devastated, as it signified what he believed to be the death of her prince. As she thanks him for his efforts, Hook apologizes for the past. Had he stepped up and given the Jolly Roger to Blackbeard, he believed they would have found what island Blackbeard had put Prince Eric on. As a result of his apology, the truth about Ariel came to light.

Just as things seemed to be taking a positive turn for Hook, the young ingenue Ariel, is revealed to in fact be the Wicked Witch of the West. Hook demands answers as to why he was misled into thinking that she was Ariel. To Zelena it was simple, she knew where the guilt in Hook’s eyes had been since they returned, so that by putting him in a position where he could come clean about what happened in the lost year, that he would have a slip of the tongue.

Just as Zelena had ordered, Hook says that his true love is Emma Swan, and with that Zelena casts a spell against him, which has some definitive consequences. Hook can either kiss Emma and remove her powers, thereby removing Emma as a threat to her quest, or he doesn’t have to kiss her, but she’ll reek havoc on Storybrooke. As Hook sees Emma later that night although he receives praise and adulation for doing the right thing, he can’t make a move because he’s trying to protect her from Zelena.

Will Zelena ever find her true happiness that she seeks by going back in time? Will Captain Hook regain the respect of his crew without the Jolly Roger at his side? Can Captain Hook both voice his love for Emma to her, and protect the citizens of Storybrooke? Or will Zelena’s scheme begin to reveal itself? Can Cora’s spirit from beyond the grave help Regina and company to defeat her sister, Zelena? Or will the seance bring unexpected spirits to our realm?

Tune in next week to find out these questions and much much more.