‘Once Upon a Time’ recap: A menacing Merida and new hero in ‘The Bear and the Bow’

The spotlight is squarely on Queen Merida in “The Bear and the Bow” episode of “Once Upon a Time” -- and it’s about time!

Merida is such a fun character, and Amy Manson is another casting coup for the show. This episode also features more Merlin, and the characters in the current Storybrooke timeline are finally beginning to realize that something is up with Arthur.

In the past, which is understood to be Camelot, the newly freed-from-the-tree Merlin leads Hook, Charming, Belle and Snow to the dungeon to free Lancelot, who was telling the truth about Arthur. Merlin helps free both Lancelot and Merida with a magic spell that Belle found in a book. They’re all getting along well in Camelot, but back in Storybrooke, they have yet to speak with Merlin. Regina, though, has found a way through the magic of the toadstool and a potion, but they need one of Merlin’s chosen people to speak to him. Namely Arthur.

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Rumpelstiltskin is trying to figure out how to escape from Merida by looking at the chipped cup. It’s one of the symbols of his greatest joy, but he is still a bit of a coward. He decides to break the cup -- not because it’s a weakness, but because he uses it to cut his way out.

After being freed from the dungeons in Camelot, Merida takes out Belle, smacking her on the head and knocking her out. When Belle wakes, she’s on a small boat with Merida, rowing towards the shores of Dunbroch. Merida’s kidnapped her because she saw how resourceful Belle can be, and she needs help rescuing her brothers from the clans holding them hostage. Yes, Merida could’ve just asked, but why risk getting a “no”? And in the present, Emma has commanded Merida to kill Belle, knowing that somehow, Rumple will have to find the courage to save her.

So, Rumpbelle is together again. After coming out of his hiding place, Rumple mentions that while he was in a coma he heard Belle talking to him. He gives her a heartfelt thank you, but he knows that Belle is in danger. Belle and Rumple have a talk about his past. He’s done some heroic things, but he doesn’t seem to believe it. Belle names a few and mentions that she’s always been able to see the man behind the beast. Right on cue, an arrow crashes through the window, and in comes a menacing Merida. She stalks the cowering couple and is about to kill Belle, but a timely sweep of her legs gives them the opportunity to escape.

Merida and Belle are a bit more friendly to each other in the past. Belle whips up a spell to let them see what danger Merida’s brothers are in. The other clans mean to kill them to teach Queen Merida a lesson about being an unfit ruler. She can’t let that happen, but to help them, she will have to change her fate. She implores Belle to whip up a spell that will turn her into a huge bear, so that she can kill her enemies.

In Storybrooke, Zelena and the Dark Swan have a chat. Emma breaks Zelena out of her prison and takes her back to her home to talk. To entice the pregnant wicked witch, Emma gives her onion rings, which she’d been craving. She wishes that was all it took. Emma tries to strike up a deal with Zelena, but Z is out of her league in wicked. She mentions that she heard about how Emma took a little girl’s heart in order to break Henry’s, calling it “next-level darkness.” But, she still says no to Emma’s offer of a team-up. She did eat the rings, though.

Belle has made the bear potion, but she doesn’t think Merida needs it. Meredith hits the bull’s-eye of a target with her arrow, then splits the arrow, then splits that one, and another. Soooo good. Belle says that she doesn’t need the potion. Anyway, Belle and Merida take on the clans. They won’t release Merida’s brothers, so she takes the bear potion from Belle and drinks it. Turns out, it was water. In Storybrooke, Belle gets out of the car with a fleeing Rumplestiltskin. Rumple was going to leave town to be out of the reach of Emma’s magic, but Belle doesn’t want to be cowardly. She’s going to take on Emma. Walking back, she meets Merida, who takes the real bear potion. Thought she was menacing before? As a bear, she roars after Belle.

Back to Camelot ... the clans are unimpressed with Merida drinking water, and the other three clan leaders shoot arrows at Merida’s brothers. Merida quickly takes aim and shoots all three arrows out of the air with one of hers. The clans marvel at the shot, and bow down to her. One clansman pulls out his sword, but Merida does the same. He yields, and Merida’s three brothers are freed.

Belle, though, is not free in Storybrooke and is about to be mauled, when Rumple comes in to distract Meridabear. She swipes at him, throwing him a few feet away. She’s about to maul him when he throws a bag of magic potions into her mouth, turning her from bear to Merida. And no, he didn’t know that would happen.

A quick summary of the Merlin storyline: Arthur did not contact Merlin and tried to destroy the magic toadstool mushroom that Regina had given him. Though he was supposed to toss it in a cauldron to contact Merlin, he threw it in the fire, seemingly destroying it. He didn’t know magic mushrooms aren’t destroyed so easily. Now Arthur is no longer trusted. But Merlin can be contacted by another: the author. Henry is brought in and completes the spell. Instead of Merlin, though, they get “Merlin’s voicemail,” as Regina called it. It’s a dire message saying that they need someone named Nimue to defeat the latest Dark One. Then contact is broken, with Merlin seemingly sealed away.

In the past, Merlin flashes back, with Emma, to their meeting in the movie theater when Emma was a child. Back then he told her never to remove Excalibur from the stone. He never really said why, except that there was darkness inside of Emma. In the present, Rumple, Belle and Merida return to Dark Emma, and Rumple is able to pull Excalibur from the stone (now that he’s a full-fledged hero and all). He throws it at Emma’s feet after she gives Merida her heart back. She may have what she wants, but now she’s rejuvenated Rumple, and he’s going to come after her with all of the other heroes.

Who knows what Emma is really planing with Excalibur, but it seems a full-on assault is coming.

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In a twist, we add insight to the straight-laced recap by publishing occasional questions, concerns and comments submitted by Layla Andre, 8, a fervent fan of “Once Upon a Time” and the daughter of a Los Angeles Times staff member. They come about while watching the latest episode, and they’re probably some of the same that many viewers have.

-- If your heart gets ripped out of you, then you should die! That’s what happens in real life. That way the Dark One wouldn’t be able to control Merida and Violet.

-- If this were the real world, then Merida would call 9-1-1 and the princes of the clans would be arrested.

-- All you need to control Zelena is onion rings!

-- I don’t know why Belle doesn’t want Merida to use magic. Why did she help Merida create the bear potion if she was just going to switch it with water? And when Merida was saving her brothers, why did Belle just stand there?

-- If Belle really thought that Rumple had it in him to save her, then why did she tell him to run?

-- Is this the last episode that Merida is going to be in???

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