Season 6, Episode 13:
Ill-Boding Patterns
Gold attempts to help Gideon avoid the taint of dark magic by sharing the story of how he fell into darkness himself when crossing paths with the legendary Beowulf. Meanwhile, Emma learns that Hook is keeping a secret from her, while Zelena and Robin make a dangerous duo.
Tropes
- Adaptational Villainy: Rather like Arthur, the lure of becoming a hero causes the Beowulf of the Enchanted Forest to commit more and more acts of villainy to achieve his goal; the original character, while in many ways an Anti-Hero who operated under different morals than today's and who was certainly arrogant enough at times to believe himself entitled to be called a hero, was still a genuine protector and slayer of monsters, and went to a heroic (if needless) death.
- Apologetic Attacker: Gold, when taking the blood (and magic) from Blue to recreate the magic sword; because he's being made to by the dagger, and because he's trying to protect Gideon in doing so, he genuinely means it. The fact this can be the case, after him hating Blue (and fairies) for so long, is rather significant.
- Arc Words: The series-long phrase associated with magic appears here altered for the first time, and rather significantly: "Dark magic comes with a price."
- Bait-and-Switch:
- Regina appears in the woods and Wish Robin thinks she's there because she knows he stole her potions, but she just went where the original Robin used to go to think.
- Wish Robin also claims he just isn't fitting in in Storybrooke and needs more time to adjust, to throw Regina off the scent... but this turns out to later be his genuine motive in wanting to leave town, although the reason behind that (wanting to find new places to go, new people to rob) is not what he says or she thinks.
- Grendel appears, wreaking havoc on the village, and when Rumple and Baelfire find the magic sword among the dead villagers, they assume Beowulf was killed as well. Turns out there is no Grendel, and he's just been playing the role to lure Rumple there.
- Gideon hugs Rumple after being given the memory potion, as if in gratitude for having his horrible experiences about to be wiped away... only to use the embrace to take the dagger and, after revealing he's immune to the potion, using it to command Gold to not stop him from what he wants to do.
- Belle finds Gold standing over the comatose Blue, thinks Gideon did it, and starts accusing Gold of lying when he said he would stop Gideon. Gold then explains to her that he did it, and it was to stop Gideon as well as save him. Not only does Belle believe him, she takes this as a sign both that Gold can redeem himself and so can their son (because he was taking on darkness not for power but to protect Gideon from it). Also, it appears Blue is dead but Gold explains she is only drained and can be restored once her magic is given back.
- Blood Magic: Inverted from the usual example — in this case it is the blood and magic of a good being (the Blue Fairy) that was needed to create a weapon of pure light magic. Then played straight as the process of taking it to re-forge the sword would kill Blue or at least render her comatose.
- Call-Back: This whole episode serves as one to Her Handsome Hero, specifically to Rumple's belief that while Darkness cannot be turned into light, Darkness can be used for light. Throughout the episode, both past and present, we see Rumple trying to use the darkness to do good, such as ending the Ogres' War in the past, or draining the Blue Fairy's magic and darkening his heart in the present so Gideon wouldn't have to.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- In flashback, Rumple uses a potion to make Baelfire forget how he forced his father to kill Beowulf. In modern times, Rumple tries to use it to make Gideon forget his dark childhood but it doesn't work.
- The horn of one of the ogres he faced in battle ended up claimed by Beowulf and used to create the sounds of "Grendel", luring villagers to the cave.
- Continuity Nod:
- The flashbacks take place in the period right after Rumplestiltskin took on the power of the Dark One but before he began his true fall into darkness.
- Gideon shows he still has the copy of Her Handsome Hero that Belle gave him as a child.
- The barrier at the town line still can't be brought down by Regina or Zelena, despite the Evil Queen being who made it.
- Mr. Gold tells Gideon about how he became the Dark One to protect Baelfire.
- Cosmic Retcon: Averted; Once Upon a Time in Wonderland had a creature called the Grendel who was a human cursed into being a deformed cannibal, so when it seemed Beowulf's Grendel was going to appear here, the question was whether it would be a different actor/appearance and thus suggest there were two separate and distinct Grendels. But then Grendel turns out to be a trick created by Beowulf, so the question of whether the one in Wonderland is the "real" Grendel or not remains unresolved. note
- Couch Gag: The title card features an ogre.
- Dispel Magic: The Evil Queen is still in her cage, which Zelena intends to take with her out of town. She returns her to Regina, who intends to take her persona back. Instead, the Queen escapes and takes a bite out of Robin to absorb his anti-magic venom and transform into human.
- Do Wrong, Right: Even if he's being made to by the dagger, Gold's choice to help Gideon recreate the sword is still doing a bad thing for the right reason — because him taking Blue's magic instead of Gideon means the latter won't be further darkened, because he totally agrees with Gideon's goal of destroying the Black Fairy (just not his methods), and because by doing so he's hoping to keep anyone else from being hurt and eventually saving both Emma and Gideon. He's rewarded with trust and a reconciliation with Belle.
- Dramatic Irony: All over the place.
- Beowulf, rather than facing Grendel (or dying against him, as Rumple and Bae first think), is posing as Grendel — and in trying to rid the land of Rumple's darkness becomes as much a villain as he was a hero before.
- Originally Rumple really did try to do good, and resist the power of the dagger, but was forced into using magic by Beowulf... and in the end it was Baelfire who made him kill Beowulf as punishment for what he tried to do to them and for killing the villagers, so that he was the one who set Rumple farther on his dark path.
- Following from the above, the memory potion Rumple uses on Bae so he won't remember what he did causes him to blame his father entirely for Beowulf's death, thus setting the stage for him trying to get the magic bean so they can escape the village and get him to give up the dagger, and also pushing Rumple farther onto a path of dark addiction to the power. And even with the memory gone, there's no guarantee the darkening of his heart was actually wiped out (thus explaining his later actions as Neal), in which case this was mostly All for Nothing.
- In order to save Gideon from the darkness, Rumple is the one who ends up draining the Blue Fairy's magic, even though it's the last thing he wanted to do.
- Fallen Hero: Beowulf. Having Rumple win the war with his dark powers causes the warrior to snap, turning into a murderer and intending to frame Rumple so he can be a hero stopping him.
- Great Offscreen War: Averted; apparently the budget this season is much higher than in Season Two, since the Ogre War is depicted with lots of extras with armor and weapons, flaming catapults and arrows, and much more impressive effects for the ogres than the one Emma, Mulan, and Snow fought.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Of a sort not involving death — Gold being the one to drain Blue and reforge the sword, so that only he will be corrupted further by darkness, not Gideon. Ironically, then, darkening his heart and committing an evil act proves to Belle that Gold really can do the right thing and redeem himself... and so can their son.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Rather literally in the case of Beowulf, who is first depicted facing down and slaying rampaging ogres with a sword imbued with light magic, but whose fear of what the price of darkness will be (because Rumple as the Dark One was what ended the war, not their own courage and valor) drives him to kill innocent men and frame Rumple for the crimes if he can't kill him himself. The fact he plays the role of a monster to do this (the very one who was his slaughtering enemy in the original story) only underscores this.
- Ironically, it happens to Baelfire too; in describing Beowulf as a "monster", he then becomes one himself when he commands his father to kill him to protect themselves from the wrath of the town. Afterwards, he comes to agree with his father's belief that they need the darkness to protect themselves. However, Rumple wipes his memory of the incident to protect him from the darkness.
- Rumple will do whatever it takes to protect Gideon from this fate in his effort to defeat the Black Fairy.
- History Repeats: Gold tries to sway Gideon from his quest as he knows exactly what happens when someone embraces power for what they think is a noble goal. Also, Gideon believes he is a coward just like his father due to an event during his incarceration by the Black Fairy, and this is part of what drives him to reclaim the sword. And finally, Gold is trying to prevent this from happening, since he already lost one son to darkness (Zelena, but also to the temptation of the dagger) and doesn't want to lose another.
- I Did What I Had to Do:
- Rumple says it word for word to Bae — from his son's perspective, trying to justify his killing of Beowulf, but the audience knows Rumple actually meant giving Bae the memory potion to keep him innocent, so he wouldn't know he ordered him to kill him.
- Gideon describes taking Blue's magic this way, since she was his Fairy Godmother; when Gold intervenes to do it instead, he makes it clear he is doing what he has to do (and later explains it to Belle the same way), ensuring any corruption by darkness falls on him, not Gideon. Amazingly, Belle agrees.
- I Gave My Word: Rumple swears to Baelfire that he won't use magic any more, and is determined to keep this promise no matter what—to the point of trusting his son with the Dark One's dagger to keep him from using it. Ironically, Bae ends up forcing him to break his word later to stop Beowulf.
- Internal Reveal: Beowulf exposes to everyone for the first time in flashback how Rumple became the Dark One for power.
- It's All My Fault: Zelena apologizes to Regina for going behind her back and trying to escape Storybrooke with Robin, but Regina quickly takes the blame instead since she's the one who brought a man to town who didn't really want to be there, just because she couldn't let go of the man she loved and believed she could turn him into him. Regina then cops to being never able to escape what the Evil Queen—what she — did.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Wish Robin points out to Regina that he just can't keep living in a town where he's constantly reminded of a man who he isn't and can never be.
- Keeping Secrets Sucks: What Killian discovers. Thanks to still not being able to confess to Emma, he's about to find out it sucks even more when they're no longer kept.
- Loophole Abuse: Gold is forced to swear via the dagger that he will not try to stop Gideon. So when he shows up at the lake... it's to help him, by draining (but not killing) Blue for him, so that he won't be further corrupted.
- Meaningful Name: The episode title is a Shout-Out to Beowulf, naturally: "...a rare and ancient sword named Hrunting. The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns had been tempered in blood." Very fitting, since not only does its original bearer, the great hero Beowulf, fall to darkness in order to win glory from the Dark One, but it's this sword that can both kill the Evil Queen and the Savior and so its magic literally can cut two ways. In general its appearance in the visions of the Final Battle bodes ill indeed.
- Motive Misidentification:
- Zelena assumes Robin is there for their daughter but he wants her to break the spell around Storybrooke so he can leave.
- Thanks to finding the engagement ring, Emma thinks Hook is there to propose to her, rather than to confess his Dark Secret.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Rumple in the past when he realizes how his own dark magic has touched Bae and forced the boy to order his father to kill.
- Mythology Gag:
- Beowulf creates "Grendel" to kill the villagers and intends to frame Rumple as the "monster" so Beowulf can kill him and be a hero.
- When reciting "This Little Piggy" to baby Robin, Zelena substitutes "Munchkin" for "piggy."
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In flashbacks, we see the young Bae telling Rumple he needs to keep his power to protect them...and that leads to the path to become the Dark One.
- Only Mostly Dead: According to Gold, Blue can be restored with her magic once Gideon uses the sword against the Black Fairy.
- Power Crutch: The young Bae openly compares the Dagger to the crutch his father used to use...and sadly is right.
- Power at a Price: The theme of the episode. Rumple is shown using his power of the Dark One to first defeat the Ogres but unable to give it up, even at Baelfire's insistence.
- The Reveal: The sword of pure light magic which is the only thing known at this point that can hurt the Black Fairy (or Emma, or the Evil Queen but not Regina), turns out to be Beowulf's legendary sword, Hrunting. Fitting, considering some of the details of the original epic.
- Secret Test of Character:
- Gideon relates how the Black Fairy used one of these after discovering him reading Her Handsome Hero — leaving his cell door open while she went to whip and torture another stolen child. His inability to overcome his fear so as to run out and intervene in his mind proved him a failure, a coward who wouldn't have what it took to be a hero. This is why he believes he needs the sword.
- Regina also believes this was what finding Robin in the Wish Dimension was, a test to see if she could overcome the loss and choose to move on without him... and she failed it.
- Villain Team-Up:
- While not precisely a villain, Wish Robin is certainly a murdering and thieving scoundrel who cares next to nothing for Regina, nothing at all for anyone in Storybrooke, and would do just about anything to escape it (and the reminders of the good man he thinks he can't be). He teams up with Zelena to do so.
- Then, after the plan to break through the protection spell fails, and the Evil Queen uses the lingering anti-magic venom on him to change back to herself, she offers to team up with him to show him what Storybrooke can really do for him.
- Wilhelm Scream: Heard during the opening battle sequence.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: After hearing Hook confess to having done something awful in his past, being afraid to confess it to Emma because he thinks she'll hate him, but very much wanting to anyway, Archie gives him this speech — that this very fact proves he has changed, is the man Emma loves and wants to marry, and that only by telling her can he prove it to both of them. But in the end Killian chickens out thanks to her finding the engagement ring.
- You Monster!:
- Baelfire says this to Beowulf after not only finding out there was no Grendel, he was the one killing villagers, and he had lured Rumple there to kill him, but that Beowulf intended to expose them to the village so that no one would believe them and they'd be forced to move. It prompts him to order his papa to kill him...
- ...but then after having his memory wiped and thus thinking Rumple did this on his own, it makes Bae say it again, to his father.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: Or Your Queen is Not in Her Cage — when Zelena uncovers the cage holding the Cobra Evil Queen, it's empty because she escaped.
