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After making a certain deal with the Underworld lord Hades, Liam agrees to sink the ship he is on, killing everyone on board except himself and his brother Killian, in exchange for the Eye of the Storm. Upon reaching the shoreline, Liam presents the jewel to a captain, but instead of a reward in riches from the king, he asks for a naval commission. The captain promptly makes Liam captain of a ship, Jewel of the Realm, while Killian will become its lieutenant. («The Brothers Jones»)

On orders of the king, Liam prepares to sail the Jewel of the Realm to a distant island, to procure a medical plant, Dreamshade, which is rumored to heal all wounds. Along with this duty, he is given a sextant for celestial navigation, star charts for a path to the island and back, and a large sail made of Pegasus feathers. For the journey, Liam brings Killian along with him. During the trip at sea, the crew’s lives are endangered when they are attacked by two ships from behind. To make a hasty escape, Liam orders for the Pegasus sail to be unveiled. Once it is fully uncovered, the ship, powered by the Pegasus feathers, lifts up off from the ocean’s waters and into the skies. The two brothers arrive at the island of Neverland and take a rowboat to shore. They meet a boy named Peter Pan who warns them that Dreamshade is poisonous, but Liam doesn’t listen while Killian is beginning to have doubts. Liam purposely cuts himself with a branch of Dreamshade and he passes out from the spreading poison. Killian is allowed access to healing water by Pan but is urged against leaving the island if he and his brother can’t pay the price. Liam is healed and they begin sailing home with intentions of exposing their king’s cruel ways. Once out of Neverland’s waters, Liam dies a fatal death as the price of leaving, and Killian later buries him at sea. Fueled by anger and a sense of justice, he convinces the crew to renounce the king by telling them the truth, and they all take on the life of pirates while the Jewel of the Realm is renamed the Jolly Roger. («Good Form»)

During a journey to the Southern Isles, the Jolly Roger is caught in a vicious storm. Although the helmsman, Lewis, manages to steady the vessel, the ship begins to flood. Through spyglass, he and Killian spot calmer waters surrounded by green mist in the distance that they recognize as the Leviathan Shoals. Lewis warns the mist causes hallucinations, but Killian is unconcerned about the risk. Reaching safety, the crew begin fixing the damaged vessel when another ship, carrying an alive Liam, arrives. Below deck, Liam tells Killian how he survived and about the great sea creature, Leviathan, who refuses anyone to leave the shoals. Lewis suggests Liam is a hallucination made by the mist, but Killian continues to be blind to the truth. To escape the shoals, the Jolly Roger sails towards Leviathan as Liam, from his own ship, defeats the creature with dynamite blasts. This causes Liam’s ship to catch fire, so Killian presses him to jump into the water so they can haul him onto the Jolly Roger. Too afraid there are more monsters at sea, Liam refuses and asks Killian to put off sailing out of the shoals in order to save him. Killian, reminded by Lewis that the real Liam was courageous enough to brave any unknown waters, finally accepts the illusion is not his brother. They then sail away, leaving the fake to perish, as Killian later says a prayer to guide Liam’s spirit home. («Out of the Past»)

At some point, Killian and his crew stop in a town pub where he meets a bored housewife named Milah. She begins drinking and gambling in their company and grows fascinated with Killian’s tales of the faraway places he’s traveled to. The two fall in love, but one night, Milah’s husband, Rumplestiltskin, comes to plead for her to come home. The next day, Milah decides to run away to be with Killian so they can voyage on the Jolly Roger together. Hearing rumors of a pirate kidnapping Milah, Rumplestiltskin goes aboard the ship to beg for her release. Killian agrees to relent, only if the latter bests him in a duel, but Rumplestiltskin is too cowardly to pick up a sword. («The Crocodile»)

Years later, Rumplestiltskin, having become the Dark One, seeks a magic bean from Smee, who attempts to steal one from the Jolly Roger, only to be caught by Milah. Later, Rumplestiltskin beats Killian in a duel, but before he can tear out his heart, Milah stops him. Asking the Dark One to spare both their lives, Milah promises him a magic bean. Aboard the ship, Rumplestiltskin confronts her about abandoning Baelfire as she admits letting her misery cloud her judgment. However, when Milah spitefully claims she never loved Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One attempts to grab the bean, though she throws it to Killian. Enraged, Rumplestiltskin rips out her heart, and as Killian holds Milah, he crushes it to ash. When Killian refuses to hand over the bean, the Dark One cuts off his clenched left hand, although the pirate previously moved the bean to his right hand. In agony, Killian grabs a hook and stabs Rumplestiltskin, which has no effect, so he vows to find a way to kill him. The Dark One then teleports away with the pirate’s severed left hand. With the hook, Killian puts it in place of his lost hand, and after burying Milah at sea, he allows Smee to join his crew. Smee, disappointed that he won’t obtain the «eternal life» Rumplestiltskin promised him, is reassured by Killian, as he throws the bean into the ocean, that they’ll be going to a place where no one grows old. After the bean turns into a portal, the ship sets sail for Neverland. («The Crocodile»)

While in Neverland’s waters, Hook and his crew rescue a boy from the ocean. When Hook learns his name is Baelfire, he hides him under an air vent while the Lost Ones of Neverland, on orders of Pan, come onto the ship to look for a particular boy, but leave empty-handed. In private, Smee advises Hook against keeping the boy and incurring Pan’s wraith, but the pirate sees Baelfire as an opportunity to learn more about Rumplestiltskin and get revenge. Despite this scheme, he develops a true friendship with Baelfire by teaching him how to steer the ship, and they bond over being abandoned by their fathers. Baelfire discloses how his father feared his magic powers would all be gone if someone stabbed him with a special dagger. This tidbit gives Hook a way to kill Rumplestiltskin, which conflicts with his growing kinship with Baelfire. All this comes to an end when the boy finds a drawing of his mother Milah and demands answers from Hook. He tells Baelfire the true fate of his mother, who ran away to be with him because they were in love, but she died when Rumplestiltskin tore out her heart and crushed it. Hook tries to alleviate his previous lies by bringing up Milah’s past desire to go back to get her son so the three of them could be together. Since she is gone now, he believes they can live out her dream. Baelfire rejects him and opts to go to Neverland. The renunciation crushes Hook, who strays back into darkened emotions as revenge becomes his main and only focus. («Second Star to the Right», «And Straight On ‘Til Morning»)

Shortly after the Jolly Roger reaches Neverland’s shoreline, Hook steps off the ship with plans of acquiring magic, returning to the Enchanted Forest and finding the dagger to kill Rumplestiltskin. («Going Home»)

Employed by Peter Pan, Hook begins traveling on his ship to procure food supplies for him. On one such journey back to the island, he scolds Smee for secretly eating some of it. Soon, the entire crew falls under the spell of a mermaid’s song as the ship begins sailing toward a mass of sharp rocks obscured by thick fog. The mermaid, Ursula, although under orders from her father Poseidon to kill them, stops singing, which snaps the crew back into consciousness. As the fog parts, Hook quickly calls for the ship to be redirected out of harm’s way. After docking the ship, Hook and his crew stay at a pub, where Ursula is entertaining patrons with her alluring voice. When Hook recognizes her as the mermaid, she admits running away from her father, who wants her to use her gift to kill humans. Rather than that, Ursula desires to sing at Glowerhaven and bring happiness to people, to which Hook agrees to bring her there. Poseidon, not wishing to lose his daughter, kidnaps Hook onto the Jolly Roger, much to the captain’s disgust. The sea king offers him squid ink to immobilize Rumplestiltskin if he captures Ursula’s voice in an enchanted shell. The next day, Ursula turns up on the ship and sings as the crew work. Learning about her father’s scheme from Hook, she helps by stealing the ink from Poseidon’s vault for him. However, Poseidon later takes away the ink, inciting an angry Hook, who absorbs Ursula’s singing voice so he can never sink another ship. After a distressed Ursula flees the ship, Hook threatens Poseidon into doing the same. («Poor Unfortunate Soul»)

Under the influence of a singing spell, the now married Snow White and Prince Charming realize they can use the power of their song to defeat the Evil Queen. They seek out Hook and offer him money in exchange for passage on the Jolly Roger to the Queen’s castle. Hook eventually accepts the deal when the couple promise to give him his most hated enemy: Rumplestiltskin. Snow and Charming then ride the ship to the castle to battle the Queen, but after the singing spell ends, their memories are wiped and neither the couple or Hook remember the deal they made. («The Song in Your Heart»)

After making a certain deal with the Underworld lord Hades, Liam agrees to sink the ship he is on, killing everyone on board except himself and his brother Killian, in exchange for the Eye of the Storm. Upon reaching the shoreline, Liam presents the jewel to a captain, but instead of a reward in riches from the king, he asks for a naval commission. The captain promptly makes Liam captain of a ship, Jewel of the Realm, while Killian will become its lieutenant. («The Brothers Jones»)

On orders of the king, Liam prepares to sail the Jewel of the Realm to a distant island, to procure a medical plant, Dreamshade, which is rumored to heal all wounds. Along with this duty, he is given a sextant for celestial navigation, star charts for a path to the island and back, and a large sail made of Pegasus feathers. For the journey, Liam brings Killian along with him. During the trip at sea, the crew’s lives are endangered when they are attacked by two ships from behind. To make a hasty escape, Liam orders for the Pegasus sail to be unveiled. Once it is fully uncovered, the ship, powered by the Pegasus feathers, lifts up off from the ocean’s waters and into the skies. The two brothers arrive at the island of Neverland and take a rowboat to shore. They meet a boy named Peter Pan who warns them that Dreamshade is poisonous, but Liam doesn’t listen while Killian is beginning to have doubts. Liam purposely cuts himself with a branch of Dreamshade and he passes out from the spreading poison. Killian is allowed access to healing water by Pan but is urged against leaving the island if he and his brother can’t pay the price. Liam is healed and they begin sailing home with intentions of exposing their king’s cruel ways. Once out of Neverland’s waters, Liam dies a fatal death as the price of leaving, and Killian later buries him at sea. Fueled by anger and a sense of justice, he convinces the crew to renounce the king by telling them the truth, and they all take on the life of pirates while the Jewel of the Realm is renamed the Jolly Roger. («Good Form»)

During a journey to the Southern Isles, the Jolly Roger is caught in a vicious storm. Although the helmsman, Lewis, manages to steady the vessel, the ship begins to flood. Through spyglass, he and Killian spot calmer waters surrounded by green mist in the distance that they recognize as the Leviathan Shoals. Lewis warns the mist causes hallucinations, but Killian is unconcerned about the risk. Reaching safety, the crew begin fixing the damaged vessel when another ship, carrying an alive Liam, arrives. Below deck, Liam tells Killian how he survived and about the great sea creature, Leviathan, who refuses anyone to leave the shoals. Lewis suggests Liam is a hallucination made by the mist, but Killian continues to be blind to the truth. To escape the shoals, the Jolly Roger sails towards Leviathan as Liam, from his own ship, defeats the creature with dynamite blasts. This causes Liam’s ship to catch fire, so Killian presses him to jump into the water so they can haul him onto the Jolly Roger. Too afraid there are more monsters at sea, Liam refuses and asks Killian to put off sailing out of the shoals in order to save him. Killian, reminded by Lewis that the real Liam was courageous enough to brave any unknown waters, finally accepts the illusion is not his brother. They then sail away, leaving the fake to perish, as Killian later says a prayer to guide Liam’s spirit home. («Out of the Past»)

At some point, Killian and his crew stop in a town pub where he meets a bored housewife named Milah. She begins drinking and gambling in their company and grows fascinated with Killian’s tales of the faraway places he’s traveled to. The two fall in love, but one night, Milah’s husband, Rumplestiltskin, comes to plead for her to come home. The next day, Milah decides to run away to be with Killian so they can voyage on the Jolly Roger together. Hearing rumors of a pirate kidnapping Milah, Rumplestiltskin goes aboard the ship to beg for her release. Killian agrees to relent, only if the latter bests him in a duel, but Rumplestiltskin is too cowardly to pick up a sword. («The Crocodile»)

Years later, Rumplestiltskin, having become the Dark One, seeks a magic bean from Smee, who attempts to steal one from the Jolly Roger, only to be caught by Milah. Later, Rumplestiltskin beats Killian in a duel, but before he can tear out his heart, Milah stops him. Asking the Dark One to spare both their lives, Milah promises him a magic bean. Aboard the ship, Rumplestiltskin confronts her about abandoning Baelfire as she admits letting her misery cloud her judgment. However, when Milah spitefully claims she never loved Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One attempts to grab the bean, though she throws it to Killian. Enraged, Rumplestiltskin rips out her heart, and as Killian holds Milah, he crushes it to ash. When Killian refuses to hand over the bean, the Dark One cuts off his clenched left hand, although the pirate previously moved the bean to his right hand. In agony, Killian grabs a hook and stabs Rumplestiltskin, which has no effect, so he vows to find a way to kill him. The Dark One then teleports away with the pirate’s severed left hand. With the hook, Killian puts it in place of his lost hand, and after burying Milah at sea, he allows Smee to join his crew. Smee, disappointed that he won’t obtain the «eternal life» Rumplestiltskin promised him, is reassured by Killian, as he throws the bean into the ocean, that they’ll be going to a place where no one grows old. After the bean turns into a portal, the ship sets sail for Neverland. («The Crocodile»)

While in Neverland’s waters, Hook and his crew rescue a boy from the ocean. When Hook learns his name is Baelfire, he hides him under an air vent while the Lost Ones of Neverland, on orders of Pan, come onto the ship to look for a particular boy, but leave empty-handed. In private, Smee advises Hook against keeping the boy and incurring Pan’s wraith, but the pirate sees Baelfire as an opportunity to learn more about Rumplestiltskin and get revenge. Despite this scheme, he develops a true friendship with Baelfire by teaching him how to steer the ship, and they bond over being abandoned by their fathers. Baelfire discloses how his father feared his magic powers would all be gone if someone stabbed him with a special dagger. This tidbit gives Hook a way to kill Rumplestiltskin, which conflicts with his growing kinship with Baelfire. All this comes to an end when the boy finds a drawing of his mother Milah and demands answers from Hook. He tells Baelfire the true fate of his mother, who ran away to be with him because they were in love, but she died when Rumplestiltskin tore out her heart and crushed it. Hook tries to alleviate his previous lies by bringing up Milah’s past desire to go back to get her son so the three of them could be together. Since she is gone now, he believes they can live out her dream. Baelfire rejects him and opts to go to Neverland. The renunciation crushes Hook, who strays back into darkened emotions as revenge becomes his main and only focus. («Second Star to the Right», «And Straight On ‘Til Morning»)

Shortly after the Jolly Roger reaches Neverland’s shoreline, Hook steps off the ship with plans of acquiring magic, returning to the Enchanted Forest and finding the dagger to kill Rumplestiltskin. («Going Home»)

Employed by Peter Pan, Hook begins traveling on his ship to procure food supplies for him. On one such journey back to the island, he scolds Smee for secretly eating some of it. Soon, the entire crew falls under the spell of a mermaid’s song as the ship begins sailing toward a mass of sharp rocks obscured by thick fog. The mermaid, Ursula, although under orders from her father Poseidon to kill them, stops singing, which snaps the crew back into consciousness. As the fog parts, Hook quickly calls for the ship to be redirected out of harm’s way. After docking the ship, Hook and his crew stay at a pub, where Ursula is entertaining patrons with her alluring voice. When Hook recognizes her as the mermaid, she admits running away from her father, who wants her to use her gift to kill humans. Rather than that, Ursula desires to sing at Glowerhaven and bring happiness to people, to which Hook agrees to bring her there. Poseidon, not wishing to lose his daughter, kidnaps Hook onto the Jolly Roger, much to the captain’s disgust. The sea king offers him squid ink to immobilize Rumplestiltskin if he captures Ursula’s voice in an enchanted shell. The next day, Ursula turns up on the ship and sings as the crew work. Learning about her father’s scheme from Hook, she helps by stealing the ink from Poseidon’s vault for him. However, Poseidon later takes away the ink, inciting an angry Hook, who absorbs Ursula’s singing voice so he can never sink another ship. After a distressed Ursula flees the ship, Hook threatens Poseidon into doing the same. («Poor Unfortunate Soul»)

Under the influence of a singing spell, the now married Snow White and Prince Charming realize they can use the power of their song to defeat the Evil Queen. They seek out Hook and offer him money in exchange for passage on the Jolly Roger to the Queen’s castle. Hook eventually accepts the deal when the couple promise to give him his most hated enemy: Rumplestiltskin. Snow and Charming then ride the ship to the castle to battle the Queen, but after the singing spell ends, their memories are wiped and neither the couple or Hook remember the deal they made. («The Song in Your Heart»)

The Jolly Roger
Season 3, Episode 17
Airdate	April 13, 2014
Written by	David H. Goodman
Directed by	Ernest Dickerson
Episode Guide
Previous It’s Not Easy Being Green	Next Bleeding Through

The Jolly Roger is the seventeenth episode of the third season of the American fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time, and the show’s 61st episode overall, which aired on April 13, 2014.

In this episode, Ariel pleads with Hook to search for Eric, whom she believes disappeared upon his return to Storybrooke, as Emma Swan receives a lesson on how to defeat Zelena from Regina, meanwhile, Mary Margaret and David try to convince Henry that they are not as boring as Henry thinks. Meanwhile, back in the Enchanted Forest, Ariel believes that Hook kidnapped Eric, but when Hook’s ship disappears, the two start their search to find out what happened.

View the The Jolly Roger Gallery.

Plot

Opening Sequence

David’s pickup truck is featured driving in the forest.

In the Characters’ Past

In the Enchanted Forest, a knight stands in the road blocking two other knights from passing and demands that they leave the treasure. The knights do not take him seriously but all of a sudden, flaming arrows light up all around the 2 knights and they retreat. It turns out that the knight who orchestrated this ambush is Hook, with help from Smee and two of his crew members, and all the flaming arrows were held by dummies. As they arrive to a tavern to celebrate their latest steal, Hook’s men get him a bar girl, but outside he turns her down, then he gets knocked out by Ariel, who then orders Hook to his feet and he tells her she’s got the wrong pirate. Ariel tells Hook that Eric was taken aboard the Jolly Roger, and when Hook asks her who’s the captain of his ship now, Ariel shows Hook a knife with carved initials, which Hook recognizes as those belonging to Blackbeard. Hook laments that he hasn’t been the same since he got back to the Enchanted Forest because he hasn’t used his ship. However, Hook is left with no choice but to have Ariel come along with him and Smee. As they trek across the forest, Hook tells Ariel that she may not find Eric, but she tells him she’s heard stories of Hook helping Snow White reunite with her family in Neverland, and she says there’s nothing wrong with being good, but Hook says (reluctantly) he’s a pirate and that he always will be one.

As they reach the docks next to the Jolly Roger, Hook sees one of Blackbeard’s men and knocks him out, when all of a sudden his adversary Blackbeard shows up to give him a message: if Hook wants his ship, he’ll have to fight for it. Hook accepts and a sword fight battle commences, but just as Hook is about to kill Blackbeard, Ariel tells Hook they need to know where Eric is first, because he’s not on board. It turns out that Blackbeard has left Eric stranded on a deserted island, and offers Hook a deal in which he’ll tell him where Eric is if Hook gives up the Jolly Roger, or else Eric will die. Ariel tries to talk Hook into saving Eric and giving up the Jolly Roger, but he tells her love brings pain and that he’s doing her a favor. As Hook cuts Blackbeard loose and tosses him overboard, Ariel slaps Hook and tells him he’s selfish and heartless, and that’s what will bring him endless torment. Then, she jumps off the plank into the water to find Eric.

In Storybrooke

In David and Mary Margaret’s loft, Emma Swan helps David put a crib together, and Regina puts a protection spell over the loft to block out Zelena. Emma tells Regina she wants her to teach her magic so they can defeat Zelena. David then offers to watch Henry, but Emma says Henry doesn’t think they’re fun, as he thinks Hook is better to be around with. At the docks, a homesick Smee tells Hook he and the men miss him, but when he asks Hook what happened to the Jolly Roger, Hook tells him all he needs to know is the ship’s not here and has no intention of leaving Storybrooke. As Emma walks up with Henry, Hook flirts with Emma and tells her he thinks it’s good she’s going to be learning about magic, which she says will be enough to defeat Zelena, then she’s done, but Hook tells her she can’t pretend this never happened since she can’t go back to her old life, saying it didn’t work for him.

At the same time, Mary Margaret and David walk on the beach and notice a group gathered around a woman who just washed up on shore, which they discover is Ariel. When Mary Margaret and David ask Ariel what happened to her, she tells them that Eric is missing and she’s been looking for him, adding that she also has no memories of the missing year. David suggests that Hook might know what happened to Eric. Later on at Granny’s diner, Hook teaches Henry how to roll dice, when David comes in and «introduces» Ariel to him, but when she asks Hook if he saw Eric during the missing year, he lies to her, saying that he never heard of him, and as the others (David, Mary Margaret and Ariel) talk about finding him in Storybrooke, Hook refuses to help (believing that Eric is dead), but David wants Hook to help Ariel anyway while he and Mary Margaret watch over Henry.

At Regina’s vault, Regina warns Emma not to touch anything as they talk about Hook watching Henry and Hook flirting at Emma all the time. Regina then decides to teach her magic the tough way, using her magic to send Emma to a rope bridge across a deep chasm. Regina tells Emma that she’s going to push her instincts, and as the boards start flying off the bridge, Regina says Emma has to reach into her gut; she can either stop it or die. Emma falls off the bridge, when she suddenly levitates herself back up to the top of the gorge.

Meanwhile, Mary Margaret and David talk about how to be more fun and cool around Henry, and David later proceeds to teach Henry how to drive in his truck, as Henry almost causes an accident as he almost hits a car and hits a mailbox.

Ariel and Hook pay a visit to Gold’s shop and talk to Belle, where Hook finds his spyglass and notices an Ursula clasp that belonged to Eric. After a hopeful Ariel hugs Hook, Belle then pours a locator spell onto Eric’s cloak, which will help bring them closer to Eric. At the docks, the two follow Eric’s cloak as it floats through the air to the water, only to disappear under the surface, which disappoints Ariel, who starts to cry as she mourns her loss, and Hook tells her he’s sorry. Ariel thanks Hook for helping find Eric’s cloak, saying that she wishes she knew how it ended and that Hook has a true heart, adding that she will always be grateful to him. But as Hook runs up to Ariel he reveals to her they met in the missing year and explains what happened to Eric, saying that he was too ashamed to tell her before, he apologizes. Ariel calls Hook a coward and a monster because he traded a man’s life for his ship. Then, when Hook begs for redemption, Ariel makes Hook swear that he still believes in love, and that he still loves the woman who broke his heart. Unfortunately, after admitting to his confession by swearing on Emma Swan’s name, Ariel blows green powder onto Hook’s lips and then transforms into Zelena, who had used her disguise as Ariel, because she knew that Hook’s guilt from the day he chose the Jolly Roger over Eric would continue to haunt him. Zelena also cursed his kiss, meaning the next time he kisses Emma, her magic will disappear, leaving her powerless to stop Zelena. Since Hook realizes Zelena is unable to kill Emma, Zelena warns him that unless he kisses Emma to have her magic removed, she’ll continue to threaten Emma’s family and friends, by using Rumplestiltskin’s dagger to kill them. Later that evening, Hook visits the loft, where he lies and tells Emma and Regina that Ariel had left to find Eric. Using a «magic mirror» spell, Emma watches the real Ariel and Eric embracing on a beach, happy and safe. As David, Mary Margaret and Henry return to the loft, Henry tells the others that he had a lot of fun with the couple. As Hook leaves, Emma tells him that even if he won’t tell her what happened in the past year she’s tired of living in the past.

Hook is troubled that he couldn’t tell Emma the truth, because he is torn over Zelena’s threat to hurt Emma’s loved ones if he doesn’t, and the knowledge of what will happen if he kissed her, and he despondently watches Emma from afar.

Reception

Ratings

The episode posted a 2.0 among adults 18-49 with a total of 6.5 million viewers and won its timeslot. Overall, a majority of Sunday night programs were also down that evening besides this one.

Critical reception

The episode was met with positive reviews.

Hillary Busis of Entertainment Weekly gave it a great review: «»The Jolly Roger» was an appropriately exciting hour of television—complete with the sort of confounding, frustrating final twist that Once should consider having trademarked. All that, plus the return of JoAnna Garcia Swisher’s delightfully daffy Ariel?

Christine Orlado of TV Fanatic gave the episode 4.4 out of 5 stars.

Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave it an 8.5, saying that «This week’s Once focused on Hook, and things got awfully exciting — in a good way.»

Gwen Ihnat of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B, noting that «Hook has been one of the more delightful character reinventions on Once Upon A Time. Turning the classic permed villain into a swaggery anti-hero, now a tortured romantic, is one of the most successful character transformations this show has taken on. The episode title “The Jolly Roger” refers to Hook’s efforts to get his boat back, his true love, but really the vessel is just a stand-in for his actual true love, Emma, who—due to yet another unfortunate curse!—seems farther away from him than ever by the end of the episode.»

Trivia

• The character of Blackbeard is dressed similarly to the character of Captain Hook from the Disney version of Peter Pan. They have the same red coat, hat, and black curly wig.
• When Emma is looking into the mirror to see where Ariel is, the scene is very similar to the end of The Little Mermaid (1989) when Ariel walks out of the water and Prince Eric picks her up and spins her around.

Goofs

• When Hook is talking to the Charmings and Ariel inside Granny’s Diner, you can see the green screen outside the window behind Hook.

Quotes

The Jolly Roger
Season 3, Episode 17
Airdate	April 13, 2014
Written by	David H. Goodman
Directed by	Ernest Dickerson
Episode Guide
Previous It’s Not Easy Being Green	Next Bleeding Through

The Jolly Roger is the seventeenth episode of the third season of the American fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time, and the show’s 61st episode overall, which aired on April 13, 2014.

In this episode, Ariel pleads with Hook to search for Eric, whom she believes disappeared upon his return to Storybrooke, as Emma Swan receives a lesson on how to defeat Zelena from Regina, meanwhile, Mary Margaret and David try to convince Henry that they are not as boring as Henry thinks. Meanwhile, back in the Enchanted Forest, Ariel believes that Hook kidnapped Eric, but when Hook’s ship disappears, the two start their search to find out what happened.

View the The Jolly Roger Gallery.

Plot

Opening Sequence

David’s pickup truck is featured driving in the forest.

In the Characters’ Past

In the Enchanted Forest, a knight stands in the road blocking two other knights from passing and demands that they leave the treasure. The knights do not take him seriously but all of a sudden, flaming arrows light up all around the 2 knights and they retreat. It turns out that the knight who orchestrated this ambush is Hook, with help from Smee and two of his crew members, and all the flaming arrows were held by dummies. As they arrive to a tavern to celebrate their latest steal, Hook’s men get him a bar girl, but outside he turns her down, then he gets knocked out by Ariel, who then orders Hook to his feet and he tells her she’s got the wrong pirate. Ariel tells Hook that Eric was taken aboard the Jolly Roger, and when Hook asks her who’s the captain of his ship now, Ariel shows Hook a knife with carved initials, which Hook recognizes as those belonging to Blackbeard. Hook laments that he hasn’t been the same since he got back to the Enchanted Forest because he hasn’t used his ship. However, Hook is left with no choice but to have Ariel come along with him and Smee. As they trek across the forest, Hook tells Ariel that she may not find Eric, but she tells him she’s heard stories of Hook helping Snow White reunite with her family in Neverland, and she says there’s nothing wrong with being good, but Hook says (reluctantly) he’s a pirate and that he always will be one.

As they reach the docks next to the Jolly Roger, Hook sees one of Blackbeard’s men and knocks him out, when all of a sudden his adversary Blackbeard shows up to give him a message: if Hook wants his ship, he’ll have to fight for it. Hook accepts and a sword fight battle commences, but just as Hook is about to kill Blackbeard, Ariel tells Hook they need to know where Eric is first, because he’s not on board. It turns out that Blackbeard has left Eric stranded on a deserted island, and offers Hook a deal in which he’ll tell him where Eric is if Hook gives up the Jolly Roger, or else Eric will die. Ariel tries to talk Hook into saving Eric and giving up the Jolly Roger, but he tells her love brings pain and that he’s doing her a favor. As Hook cuts Blackbeard loose and tosses him overboard, Ariel slaps Hook and tells him he’s selfish and heartless, and that’s what will bring him endless torment. Then, she jumps off the plank into the water to find Eric.

In Storybrooke

In David and Mary Margaret’s loft, Emma Swan helps David put a crib together, and Regina puts a protection spell over the loft to block out Zelena. Emma tells Regina she wants her to teach her magic so they can defeat Zelena. David then offers to watch Henry, but Emma says Henry doesn’t think they’re fun, as he thinks Hook is better to be around with. At the docks, a homesick Smee tells Hook he and the men miss him, but when he asks Hook what happened to the Jolly Roger, Hook tells him all he needs to know is the ship’s not here and has no intention of leaving Storybrooke. As Emma walks up with Henry, Hook flirts with Emma and tells her he thinks it’s good she’s going to be learning about magic, which she says will be enough to defeat Zelena, then she’s done, but Hook tells her she can’t pretend this never happened since she can’t go back to her old life, saying it didn’t work for him.

At the same time, Mary Margaret and David walk on the beach and notice a group gathered around a woman who just washed up on shore, which they discover is Ariel. When Mary Margaret and David ask Ariel what happened to her, she tells them that Eric is missing and she’s been looking for him, adding that she also has no memories of the missing year. David suggests that Hook might know what happened to Eric. Later on at Granny’s diner, Hook teaches Henry how to roll dice, when David comes in and «introduces» Ariel to him, but when she asks Hook if he saw Eric during the missing year, he lies to her, saying that he never heard of him, and as the others (David, Mary Margaret and Ariel) talk about finding him in Storybrooke, Hook refuses to help (believing that Eric is dead), but David wants Hook to help Ariel anyway while he and Mary Margaret watch over Henry.

At Regina’s vault, Regina warns Emma not to touch anything as they talk about Hook watching Henry and Hook flirting at Emma all the time. Regina then decides to teach her magic the tough way, using her magic to send Emma to a rope bridge across a deep chasm. Regina tells Emma that she’s going to push her instincts, and as the boards start flying off the bridge, Regina says Emma has to reach into her gut; she can either stop it or die. Emma falls off the bridge, when she suddenly levitates herself back up to the top of the gorge.

Meanwhile, Mary Margaret and David talk about how to be more fun and cool around Henry, and David later proceeds to teach Henry how to drive in his truck, as Henry almost causes an accident as he almost hits a car and hits a mailbox.

Ariel and Hook pay a visit to Gold’s shop and talk to Belle, where Hook finds his spyglass and notices an Ursula clasp that belonged to Eric. After a hopeful Ariel hugs Hook, Belle then pours a locator spell onto Eric’s cloak, which will help bring them closer to Eric. At the docks, the two follow Eric’s cloak as it floats through the air to the water, only to disappear under the surface, which disappoints Ariel, who starts to cry as she mourns her loss, and Hook tells her he’s sorry. Ariel thanks Hook for helping find Eric’s cloak, saying that she wishes she knew how it ended and that Hook has a true heart, adding that she will always be grateful to him. But as Hook runs up to Ariel he reveals to her they met in the missing year and explains what happened to Eric, saying that he was too ashamed to tell her before, he apologizes. Ariel calls Hook a coward and a monster because he traded a man’s life for his ship. Then, when Hook begs for redemption, Ariel makes Hook swear that he still believes in love, and that he still loves the woman who broke his heart. Unfortunately, after admitting to his confession by swearing on Emma Swan’s name, Ariel blows green powder onto Hook’s lips and then transforms into Zelena, who had used her disguise as Ariel, because she knew that Hook’s guilt from the day he chose the Jolly Roger over Eric would continue to haunt him. Zelena also cursed his kiss, meaning the next time he kisses Emma, her magic will disappear, leaving her powerless to stop Zelena. Since Hook realizes Zelena is unable to kill Emma, Zelena warns him that unless he kisses Emma to have her magic removed, she’ll continue to threaten Emma’s family and friends, by using Rumplestiltskin’s dagger to kill them. Later that evening, Hook visits the loft, where he lies and tells Emma and Regina that Ariel had left to find Eric. Using a «magic mirror» spell, Emma watches the real Ariel and Eric embracing on a beach, happy and safe. As David, Mary Margaret and Henry return to the loft, Henry tells the others that he had a lot of fun with the couple. As Hook leaves, Emma tells him that even if he won’t tell her what happened in the past year she’s tired of living in the past.

Hook is troubled that he couldn’t tell Emma the truth, because he is torn over Zelena’s threat to hurt Emma’s loved ones if he doesn’t, and the knowledge of what will happen if he kissed her, and he despondently watches Emma from afar.

Reception

Ratings

The episode posted a 2.0 among adults 18-49 with a total of 6.5 million viewers and won its timeslot. Overall, a majority of Sunday night programs were also down that evening besides this one.

Critical reception

The episode was met with positive reviews.

Hillary Busis of Entertainment Weekly gave it a great review: «»The Jolly Roger» was an appropriately exciting hour of television—complete with the sort of confounding, frustrating final twist that Once should consider having trademarked. All that, plus the return of JoAnna Garcia Swisher’s delightfully daffy Ariel?

Christine Orlado of TV Fanatic gave the episode 4.4 out of 5 stars.

Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave it an 8.5, saying that «This week’s Once focused on Hook, and things got awfully exciting — in a good way.»

Gwen Ihnat of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B, noting that «Hook has been one of the more delightful character reinventions on Once Upon A Time. Turning the classic permed villain into a swaggery anti-hero, now a tortured romantic, is one of the most successful character transformations this show has taken on. The episode title “The Jolly Roger” refers to Hook’s efforts to get his boat back, his true love, but really the vessel is just a stand-in for his actual true love, Emma, who—due to yet another unfortunate curse!—seems farther away from him than ever by the end of the episode.»

Trivia

• The character of Blackbeard is dressed similarly to the character of Captain Hook from the Disney version of Peter Pan. They have the same red coat, hat, and black curly wig.
• When Emma is looking into the mirror to see where Ariel is, the scene is very similar to the end of The Little Mermaid (1989) when Ariel walks out of the water and Prince Eric picks her up and spins her around.

Goofs

• When Hook is talking to the Charmings and Ariel inside Granny’s Diner, you can see the green screen outside the window behind Hook.

Quotes