Emma, with help from Rumplestiltskin, makes her last efforts at saving Killian.
The Underworld version of Storybrooke finally receives a name in “Devil’s Due” — Underbrooke. This is not the only revolutionary event that takes place, though. “Oncers,” the name for fans of the show, need to harness all of the hope they have in order for the characters of Once Upon A Time to escape the fires of Hell.
In "Devil’s Due,” we pick up right where we left off last week. Hades (Greg Germann) is trying to get Killian (Colin O'Donoghue) to choose who will remain in the Underworld. Being the brave pirate he is, Killian won’t choose which three to leave in the Underworld. Hades is really mad and threatens to throw Killian into the River of Lost Souls. Just as the name implies, if someone were to touch the river, their soul would be lost forever.
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The next person we see is Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) and he is going to see his father Peter Pan (Robbie Kay). Pan is not in the shop. Instead, there is a note that leaves the shop in Rumple’s possession. Rumple starts brewing a potion that includes the ingredient of an eye. When the potion is complete, he conjures a magical orb and says, “Show me who I seek.” It shows Belle (Emilie de Ravin) eating dinner in Storybrooke. For some reason, he seems upset by what he saw. Maybe he was hoping to see someone else.
In Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and David’s (Josh Dallas) Underbrooke apartment, the gang has come up with a plan to save Killian — they’re going to waltz right into Hades’ lair and take Killian. That should work, right? Wrong. Rumple shows up and points out that in order to get past the gates of Hell, they need to be dead. Rumple suggests that they need a dead person’s aura to get to Hades, and Rumple knows exactly who to ask.
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This episode’s flashbacks take the audience back to a time when Rumple was not a bad guy, but instead, a coward. It shows Rumple’s wife Milah (Rachel Shelley), Rumple and young Baelfire (Dean Petriw) traveling through the forest. While Milah and Rumple are bickering, Baelfire tries to catch a snake. The snake ends up biting Baelfire.
In Underbrooke, Rumple finds Milah. Rumple believes that Milah is the best person to help save Killian. He's probably right because Killian is Milah’s former lover. Rumple then takes Milah to meet Emma (Jennifer Morrison). This should go over really well. Rumple explains how Emma had a child with Baelfire and that Killian is now with Emma. With a shocked look on her face, Milah seeks confirmation of what she’s just heard: “You’ve been with my former lover and my son, is that right?” Well, I knew this wasn’t going to go well.
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In the meantime, Hades has hung Killian above the River of Lost Souls. Every so often, the chain will lower Killian closer to the river until Killian gives up and decides who should stay in Underbrooke.
While all of this drama is taking place, Regina (Lana Parrilla) goes to Cruella (Victoria Smurfit) to find out more about the graveyard because she wants to find someone. Regina also reveals that she has been having trouble with her magic. Cruella explains that there are three different “settings” to the stones. If it is tipped over, the person is in a better place. If nothing has happened to it, they’re still in the Underworld. If it has turned to granite, the person is in a worse place than the Underworld.
Milah, Emma and Rumple go to the basement of Emma’s house. It leads to one end of the River of Lost Souls. It can lead straight to Killian.
In the flashback in the forest, Rumple and Milah go to a healer in order to rid Baelfire of the poison from the snakebite. If they don’t find a cure, it will kill him in 24 hours. The only thing that can cure Baelfire is a magic potion, and the healer’s price is too steep. Milah wants Rumple to come back in the middle of the night and kill the man in order to get the magic.
In the Underworld, Rumple leads Milah and Emma to the basement of Emma’s home. This is one way to get to Hades’ lair. The passageway leads to the river and a boat is sitting there, ready to take them to Killian. Rumple fears that the boat will be stolen, so he decides to stay behind and watch it. Something fishy is going on. Milah senses that Rumple is up to something and decides to stay behind, too. This leaves Emma on her own to save Killian.
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In another flashback, Rumple and Milah sit in a tavern talking about what Rumple needs to do. When they’re done discussing, Rumple leaves and Milah stays in the bar. A guy in the bar hits on Milah and she wants him to leave. When the man doesn’t listen, Killian shows up and knocks the guy out. This is the first time Milah and Killian meet. Killian tells her what it’s like to travel the world, and it entices Milah. Killian says that she should come along, but she says she won’t leave her husband. Yeah, right.
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In Hades’ lair, Emma finds Killian. He's dangerously close to the river. The only way to reach Killian is by walking across a beam that is only the width of her shoe. With only one little misstep, Emma reaches Killian before the river can consume him. This seemed way too easy.
Back at the boat, Milah and Rumple are talking about her unfinished business. Milah reveals that Baelfire is the reason she’s down here because she didn’t show her love for him. Rumple, in a way that is out of character, reassures her that Baelfire will forgive her and that she’ll see him again, and that when she does see him, to tell Baelfire that his father loves him. Aww. Why can’t Rumple be like this all of the time? He's much more pleasant when he's being nice. On the other hand, though, the show would be drastically different if Rumple was purely good.
In the forest, Rumple's in the process of stealing the magic potion when the guy wakes up. Rumple is too afraid to kill the healer. The guy decides to give Rumple the cure for a deal. When Rumple arrives at home with the cure, Milah is ecstatic — until Rumple tells her what he traded for the cure. Rumple promised the healer their second-born child. Milah's furious and leaves for the “tavern.” Really, she's leaving to be with Killian. After a couple seasons, we finally know the reason why Milah left Rumple.
In the Underworld, Hades shows up to where Milah and Rumple are waiting. He freezes Milah in order to talk to Rumple. Hades wants to make a deal. Hades transports them to another part of his lair and thanks Rumple for “supplying him with dead people.” Hades wants Rumple to go home and knows that this is what Rumple wants, as well. In order to get back home to Belle, Rumple must destroy the boat, which is the gang’s only way of leaving the Underworld. The deal is Rumple will get to go home where he can kill more people — to Hades’ benefit — and everyone else will be stuck in Underbrooke.
Meanwhile, Regina and Snow go to the graveyard. Regina wants to see Daniel’s grave, because was the first person she fell in love with. The grave is tipped over, meaning he's in a better place. Regina says she just needed to know that he was OK. On their way back from the graveyard, Regina and Snow hear the whinnying of a horse. They find it extremely odd that there is a horse down here. The horse is injured, so Regina uses her magic to help the it. Regina’s magic is fully restored.
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After making a deal with the devil (pun intended), Rumple returns to Milah and sends her into the River of Lost Souls and destroys the boat. He had to get rid of Milah so she wouldn’t tell Emma who destroyed the boat. For a moment, it looks as if Rumple feels guilty for what he’s done. The moment's gone, and Emma arrives with Killian. Rumple plays it off as if Hades was the one who destroyed the boat and sent Milah into the river.
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Rumple, Emma and Killian meet up with the others. Because Regina has her magic back, she can perform the heart split that will save Killian and bring him back to life. She goes to remove Emma’s heart, but it doesn’t work. They all go to the graveyard. There are three new headstones that read: “Regina Mills,” “Snow White” and “Emma Swan.” This is great. They’re all stuck in Underbrooke. What are they going to do now? There's no way they are going to be able to get themselves out of this conundrum. I've lost all hope, but I doubt the characters of Once Upon A Time have.
In the final flash back, many years after Milah left Rumple, the Dark One version of Rumple goes back to the healer and kills him, thinking that it will make him feel better. The scene changes to Rumple approaching Hades. Hades isn’t going to send Rumple back to Storybrooke today. Hades unveils an orb, similar to the one Rumple had earlier. Hades guesses that the orb didn't show Rumple whom he wanted. Rumple wanted it to show him Baelfire, but, according to Hades, it showed him his next born child. Belle is pregnant! If you remember the deal Rumple made earlier in the episode, his second-born child belongs to the “dead” healer. When Rumple killed the healer, he was sent to the Underworld and the contract between them lived on. But while Rumple was with Emma and the gang, the healer signed the contract over to Hades. So, when Rumple’s baby is born, it will belong to Hades.
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Hades has managed to outwit the greatest Dark One in Once Upon A Time history. That makes Hades the most evil villain ever to come on the show. He knows everyone’s weaknesses. This episode is the climax of the second part of season five. We have reached the highest point of conflict: three heroes are trapped in Underbrooke and the most cunning Dark One is now indebted to the devil himself. The rest of season five will, most likely, revolve around these major plot twists.
Once Upon A Time airs every Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Rating: 5/5
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