The Crocodile (Once Upon a Time)

"The Crocodile (Once Upon a Time)"

"The Crocodile" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American ABC fantasy/drama television series Once Upon a Time, and the show's 26th episode overall, which aired on October 21, 2012.

It was co-written by David H. Goodman and Robert Hull, while being directed by David Solomon.

Plot

In the Enchanted Forest

As Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) returns home, he discovers Baelfire is all alone. Realizing that his wife Milah (Rachel Shelley) has gone down to a village pub, Rumplestiltskin and Baelfire decide to confront her there, only to discover that Milah has been drinking with a group of pirates. It turns out that Milah is not happy being married to Rumplestiltskin because she sees him as a coward, but Baelfire does manage to convince her to return home. Unfortunately, the next day, Rumplestiltskin learns that Milah never came home and had been taken by the pirates. He arrives at their ship and meets Killian Jones (Colin O'Donoghue), the captain of the vessel, asking that he turn Milah over to him. Killian then offers Rumplestiltskin a chance to fight him, only to let Rumplestiltskin's cowardice get the best of him. Several years later, the now Dark One-possessed Rumplestiltskin sits at a tavern, where he is approached by a black market trader about a magic bean that can transport between worlds. But before that transaction can take place, Jones shows up and as expected Rumplestiltskin is ready, telling Jones that they will finally have that long-awaited duel.

At the area near the docks, Jones tells Rumplestiltskin that Milah died years ago, so the two decide on a swordfight to the finish with Rumplestiltskin gaining the upper hand and finally defeating Jones. But just as he was about to use his power to rip Jones' heart out, a Milah appears. It turned out that Milah was never dead and was living among them as Jones' lover. She ask that their lives be spared in exchange for the bean. Milah explains that she wanted a life of adventure to Rumplestiltskin, who was upset that she would leave both him and their son behind, only to reveal that she hated Rumpelstiltskin too much to stay with him. Milah then throws the bean to Killian so Rumplestiltskin would keep his promise, but a furious Rumplestiltskin decides make them pay by ripping her heart out and killing her instantly, followed by slicing off Jones' left hand, believing that he had the bean in his fist. Killian then stabs Rumplestiltskin but to no effect, as the Dark One takes Killian's left hand and disappears in a puff of smoke. As it turns out, Rumplestiltskin was once again tricked by Jones, who kept the bean in the other hand, then brings out the kidnapped black market trader to make sure the bean worked and after throwing it into the ocean, a portal opens up. Revealing his name to be William Smee, the trader agrees to join Killian's crew as they prepare to enter the portal for a place called Neverland.

In Storybrooke

At Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold's mansion, Belle (Emilie de Ravin), who after having a nightmare in which Rumplestiltskin gives her a necklace only to see him later choke Grumpy/Leroy (Lee Arenberg), is upset with dealing how she is being treated by him after she sees him spinning gold and mixing potions in the basement. The following morning, Belle demands Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold to come clean as to why he was doing this. When he refuses to explain why, Belle leaves him, prompting an upset Rumple to turn to Prince Charming/David (Josh Dallas) for help. As they search the town for Belle, the residents refuse to help and even after visiting Belle's father Sir Maurice/Moe French (Eric Keenleyside) at his home, they come away empty handed not forgetting what happened during Maurice's previous encounter with Rumplestiltskin. Unaware to both Charming and Rumple, Belle was actually hiding out at Granny's, where she made fast friends with Ruby/Red Riding Hood (Meghan Ory), who then suggested that given Belle's love for books, she should take the job as the librarian at the Storybrooke Library. Unfortunately, after leaving the diner en route to the library, she is kidnapped by William Smee (Chris Gauthier), who had been hired by Sir Maurice/Moe to take Belle to the mines and to have her memory erased once they arrived to the city limits. But thanks to Red's ability to trace Belle's scent, Charming, Rumple and Red reach Belle in time and stop Sir Maurice/Moe from going through with his plan, with the help of Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold's magic. Belle, however, is mad at both her father and Rumplestiltskin and tells the two that she never wants to speak to either men again.

Later on that day, Ruby/Red gives Belle a gift, the keys to the library. As she opens up the place, Belle sees Rumple (who gave her the keys) inside despite the warning she gave him back at the mine. He tells Belle that he came to apologize to her and to explain the real reason why he created the curse in the first place, which was to find Baelfire and to hopefully overcome his life as being a cowardly person through magic. Rumplestiltskin had hope that once the curse was broken that he would be able to find his son beyond Storybrooke, but now that no one can leave the town, he was hoping to find a way to break that curse as well. As Belle and Rumple made up now that she has forgiven him and promises to have a hamburger together, it turns out that hours later Rumplestiltskin had already kept one detail from Belle, a kidnapped William Smee locked up in his basement. Smee readily answers Rumplestiltskin's questions, but is unable to provide him with Captain Hook/Killian Jones' location in Storybrooke, since it appears that he hadn't been trapped in Storybrooke.

In The Fairy Tale World

On an isolated beach, Captain Hook/Jones, surveys the survivors' island refuge. After a moment, he is met by Cora (Barbara Hershey), who has brought the ashes of the wardrobe. They discuss their plan to try and make it to Storybrooke to go after Regina and Rumplestiltskin.

Opening sequence

Captain Hook's ship is featured in the forest.

Production

"The Crocodile" was co-written by producer Robert Hull and co-executive producer David H. Goodman, while Nikita veteran David Solomon served as director.

Cultural references

In the Disney version of Peter Pan, Captain Hook lost his hand to a crocodile. In this episode, Hook refers to Rumpelstiltskin as a crocodile because of his appearance (he also sports an alligator skin vest). Rather than having swallowed a clock, Rumplestiltskin uses the phrase "tick tock" repeatedly in his encounter with Captain Jones.

Reception

Ratings

This outing provided a boost in the ratings for the series, earning a 3.3/8 among 18-49s with 9.71 million viewers tuning in, making this the second most watched episode in the show's second season behind "Broken.

Reviews

Entertainment Weekly's Hilary Busis had high remarks for this outing, especially about the performance of Colin O'Donoghue, who was just added to the cast even though he was a guest star in this installment: "Admit it: You let out a little squeal of glee when that pirate ship came lurching out of the shadows during tonight's title card. A guyliner-festooned Captain Hook just has that effect on people. What else can explain how the pirate garnered a die-hard fan base of "hookers" weeks before he officially appeared on Once? (Word to the wise: Do not Google "once upon a time hookers" unless you're prepared to deal with the consequences)."

The AV Club gave the episode a B, noting that "this episode does for Rumpelstiltskin what “We Are Both” did for Regina, putting him on the path to redemption when his relationship with Belle falls apart."

The Inquister noted that this episode "...continued to show why this is one of the most popular dramas on TV. Tonight was full of the action and romance fans come back every week for—and we even got to meet another new character (who happens to be totally hot, just saying)."