1000 years before King Arthur: Merlin gets immortality and magic after drinking from a chalice.
Many years ago: Merlin meets Nimue and wants to get rid of his immortality to be with her
Camelot (Past 6 weeks): Zelena devises a plan for Mary Margaret, David, Hook, and Regina to break into the castle while Merlin takes Emma to face the 1st Dark One to reunite Excalibur.
Storybrooke (Present Day): Emma reunites Excalibur
1000 years before the Age of Arthur
Merlin and an unnamed character (credited as "Young Man" in credits) are running in a desert and see a chalice on a stone. The "young man" touches the chalice and turns into smoke. Merlin looks up to the sky, asks permission, and then picks up the chalice. He is able to pick it up. Merlin drinks from the chalice and realizes it gave him magic.
Many years ago:
500 years after getting magic, Merlin is helping people in a small vilage by seeing their future with his young apprentice. There is a woman who Merlin says he can't see her future. She introduces herself as Nimue. She says someone named Vortigan destroyed her village and she brought flower seeds. Merlin makes the flowers bloom immediately. After they fall in love, Merlin tells Nimue that he got magic and immortality from the Holy Grail. He says he wants turns the chalice into a sword to get rid of his immortality to stay with Nimue because he doesn't want to watch Nimue grow old and him continue on. Merlin and Nimue go past her burned village to get to the original fire. Merlin realizes Vortigan is looking for the Holy Grail. Merlin turns the Grail into Excalibur but then Nimue is held captive by Vortigan. VNimue tries to get free but Vortigan stabs her with the sword. Then when Merlin is facing Vortigan, Nimue appears with Vortigan's heart in her hand. Nimue reveals that she drank from the Grail. Merlin tells her that if she crshes the heart, she will go down a dark path. She crushes it and her skin becomes (scaly?). She breaks Excalibur so that no one can get rid off her immortality. Merlin puts the sword in the stone and creates the Dark One Dagger by using a tethering spell on the broken half of the sword. His apprentice asked him if he knew how Nimue was going to end up, would he have not talked to her. Merlin says that all life is made up of moments and he had some of the best moments of his life with her.
Camelot:
This is going to be styled differently. I'll do the beginning of the Camelot plot where everyone isin the diner and right before Emma and Merlin leave, then I'll do Emma and Merlin's plot, then the other plot
Intro:
Merlin is telling Snow, David, Regina, and Robin thhat to get the darknes out of Emma, they need to reunite Excalibur. Merlin says he will take Emma to get what they need to reunite them while the others get the sword from Arthur. Hook is getting annoyed that Merlin isnt saying anything straight. Merlin goes to Emma and tells her that the need to get the spark from mankind's original fire. Merlin tells Emma that she will have to face the 1st Dark One who has the spark. Hook comes to tell her to be careful. He gives her a ring that he believes is why he's alive.
Emma and Merlin:
Emma tells Merlin that she hurt her son with her magic. When they get to the place they need to get the spark and Merlin gives Emma the dagger. Emma calls up the first Dark One. Emma asks if Merlin can see him too. Merlin says yes, but it's not a him. The Dark One dagger shows the name "Nimue" and she takes off her mask.
Nimue tries to persuade Emma to kill Merlin. Emma is able to mentally beat Nimue and get the spark from her. Nimue reminds Emma that she's not dead, she will be in Emma's head if she needs her.
Merlin and Emma are walking back from the encounter with Nimue Emma asks Merlin what happened after Nimue became the Dark One. Later Emma is telling Merlin about how fast Henry's growing up when he just vanishes
Zelena, David, Hook, Mary Margaret/Snow, Regina, Robin, and Arthur.
David, Hook, Snow, Regina, and Robin are talking about how they can break into Arthur's castle to get Excalibur. Daid says they shoul take them by suprise and go in the front gate. Hook says they should create a diversion. Regina says she can just poof into Arthur's bedroom. Regina gives Zelena her voice back. She says going in the fromt is suicide, with a diversion Arthur hides the sword, and Regina could poof right in front of a blade. Zelena says they have to sneak in so quietly they won't even know you're there. She says that when she was a mute handmaiden, she was plotting an escape and found a way out. If she knows a way out, then she knows a way in.
They make it to a guarded gate. Regina says she will get Zelena's magic cuff off once they get the sword and is safe. Regina assigns Snow to guard Zelena while the rest go get the sword.
In the castle, Arthur is making something in a cauldron. Arthur brinngs some guards in nd asks one of them to give him his helmet. He pours some of the liquid on the helmet and it melts completely. Arthr tells the guards to pour it on any stranger they see.
Regina, Hook, Robin, and David sneak in and see the guards carrying the cauldron. Regina wonders if it's for them. Robin says they probably don't want to find out. Regina mentions that Zelena hasn't screwed them over..yet.
Outside the castle, Zelena is having a fake tantrum which Snow fals for. Zelena knocks Snow out and ties her up.
Back inside the castle, the rest of the group go into the room where Arthur is. Regina freezes him, then Zelena comes up with a tied up Snow and unfreezes Arthur. Zelena uses a tethering spell to make Arthur's half of Excalibur able to control Merlin. Arthur summons Merlin. Arthur is mad that the phropecy Merlin said would happen didn't. Merlin responds that it hasn't happened yet. Arthur commands Merlin to make Regina, David, Hook, and Robin dissapear
Storybrooke:
These were the first and last scenes of the episode:
Opening scene:
Emma is looking at the two halves of the full sword now on the stone. "Spirit" Rumple pops up to tell her that Excalibur's promiise was made eons ago
Final scene:
Emma and Spirit Rumple looking at the sword. Spirit Rumple says that we have been waiting for this moment. Nimue shows up with all the Dark Ones of the past. Emma tells Nimue that she tried to stop her from merging Excalibur in Camelot. Nimue says back then she might have used it to take the darkness but now she can use it to snuff the light instead. Emma takes the ember and reunites the sword. She's about to touch it but remembers Merlin's warning when she was a kid. The other Dark Ones convince her to take it.
Favorite Moments From Each Starring Character:
Snow: Saying she'd give pregnancy tips to Zelena
Emma: (Camelot) Her goodbye scene with Hook and her confrontation with Nimue
(Storybrooke) her remembering Merlin's warning and reuniting Excalibur
Regina: Remarking how Zelena hadn't screwed them up yet and her reaction when Zelena came in with a tied up Snow
David: His sarcastic choices about how to get in the castle
Belle: (Wasn't in Episode)
Hook: His goodbye with Emma
Henry: (Wasn't in Episode)
Zelena: Liked all her scenes
Robin: (Can't think of a moment)
Spirit Rumple(Storybrooke only): Liked both of his very short appearances.
Final Thoughts:
Good episode, but issues with the timeline hurt it hust like Episode 4. Emma mentioning Henry after dealing with Nimue seemed ot of nowhere. On the one hand, I liked that they mentioned him, but it didn't have anything to do with that part of the episode.
One thing I forgot to put in the review was before Emma's encounter with Nimue, she asked Merlin if there could ever be someone that could use the Dark One power for good. The first person that came to mind for that was Henry. He would make the most sense to be the person that could hold that power and use it for good. Thiss episode gets a 8/10 from me
Upcoming posts:
Preparation for the 2 hr event
5x08 "Birth" Review
5x09 "The Bear King" Review
