‘Once Upon a Time’ recap: Rescuing Captain Hook, and a baby on the way

Tricksters being tricked and the inevitable rescue of Captain Hook -- by Emma Swan, of course -- are the big talking points of this”Devil’s Due” episode of “Once Upon a Time.” That is, until the twist at the end.

Hades continues his torture of Hook in the Underworld. Hook still must choose three of his friends to stay in Underworld because of the three souls the heroes have freed in their time there. Killian is having a hard time and then just refuses to do it. Hades is disappointed, angry even, at Hook’s defiance. Hades to Killian: “You and your colleagues brought hope to the Underworld. Contraband.” Hades wants to hurt Hook in the worst ways possible, including by hurting all he holds dear, until that hope is gone. He suspends Hook over the River of Lost Souls to slowly contemplate his own true death and realize that all hope is lost.

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Peter Pan leaves Gold a father-son gift in the pawn shop. It seems to be a potion of some kind. Rumple makes a concoction to see Belle in the crystal ball he has with him. He sees her but sees something else too, breaking his concentration. He breaks the scrying glass when he drops it.

Emma needs Rumple’s help to get to one of the lower levels of Underworld to save Kilian. Rumple knows that to gain entrance they’ll need a willing, “helpful” dead person. Rumple thinks he knows exactly the right person: his ex-wife, mother of Baelfire, and former consort of Captain Hook herself, Milah.

An Enchanted Forest flashback shows Rumple and Milah arguing -- she’s pretty ruthless and a bit mean toward Rumple and others. Then little Bae is bitten by a snake (Atlantean rat snake?) of some kind. They need help, and a healer.

In the Underworld present, Gold finds Milah. She’s actually a teacher, perhaps a fitting punishment for a mother who left her child. Gold needs her to come with him to help herself and help save Killian. Milah: “I’m supposed to watch the kids.” Gold: “Well, they’re dead anyway.” Guess he’s right.

As they embark on the mission, Gold makes the very awkward introduction of Milah to Emma. Emma had a child with Milah’s son and currently has a relationship with Milah’s ex, Killian. So Milah, also Mr. Gold’s ex, meet Emma.

Regina meanwhile meets up with Cruella in the diner. Seems Cruella is now the new mayor since Cora left the position open. She sees that Regina’s magic has been going a little wonky lately and doesn’t fear her as much. “Let’s sit down and be civilized.”

Regina talks to Cruella, who is in possession of a map of the cemetery. The position and placement of the tombstones will help them figure out a person’s whereabouts in Underworld as well. If the tombstone is upright, the person is in Underworld -- or “Underbrooke” as Regina coined it and I’m stealing for the rest the recaps(!). If the headstone is flat, they’’re not in Underbrooke and have gone somewhere better. Anything else means the person is somewhere even worse.

Speaking of even worse, seems an entrance to a lower level of Hell just happens to be through the basement of Emma’s Underbrooke house. Holding hands, the three are able to cross through the barrier. That was easy. Emma tells Milah about seeing Neal before entering Underbrooke and about him being OK. Hearing that her son is OK affects her, and Milah decides to go with Emma on the River of Lost Souls to go find Killian. Rumple doesn’t know why she’d go. Milah: “You might be dark, but sometimes you’re still an idiot, Rumple.” She has her reasons for going -- wonder what they are.

Back in the Enchanted Forest, she was loyal to a fault. Milah and Gold need a magic potion to cure their boy from a poisoning by a snake that will last for 24 hours. A healer tells them he has the potion but will only part with it for 100 gold coins. Milah tells Gold to kill the man and steal the potion.

While Gold is off doing that, she meets Captain Killian Jones in the tavern, who knocks out a guy that is making advances. He thinks he’ll take Milah away, but she mentions that she has a husband. Oh, well.

Back in Underbrooke, The trio takes a boat on the River of Lost Souls to get to where Hook is. Once there, Gold wants to stay in the boat -- and so does Milah, as Emma goes to rescue Hook. Milah doesn’t trust Rumple to be alone in the boat.

While Emma finds Killian dangling above the River and about to be dropped in, Milah and Rumple talk back at the boat. She’s in Underworld because Milah’s unfinished business is Baelfire. She feels as if she failed him as a mother when she left him and Rumple. They have a moment. Rumple says that Baelfire would forgive her if they ever saw each other again.

Switching back to the Enchanted Forest, Gold can’t kill the man for the potion. “If I can save my son’s life, I would trade anything.” Rumple should’ve known better than that. He signs a contract with the healer. That contract granted the healer the rights to Rumple’s second-born child. He did it without consulting with Milah. “Thank you for deciding the rest of my life for me.” She’s off to the tavern, and basically into the arms of Captain Hook.

Rumple and Hades meet, and Hades freezes Milah in order to make a deal with Gold, uninterrupted. He even breaks out the pool cues and has a little Underworld eight-ball game. He is impressed by what Rumple has done in terms of supplying him with souls. “There are dark ones, and then there is you.” He wants Gold to destroy the boat and strand Emma and Hook. He knows that she’s rescued him but has other plans.

Wow! When she’s unfrozen, Milah knows that Hades was there and that they need to run. Gold destroys the boat, then throws Milah into the River of Lost Souls! He then fakes as if Hades was the one who did it when Emma and Killian emerge.

The heroes reunite in Underbrooke, having basically fulfilled the mission they set out to complete. With Regina having regained her mojo -- she reanimated a dead horse somehow though her powers had been on the fritz a bit -- they can do the spell that will take them all out of ... oh, wait. Something’s not working.

In the graveyard, tombstones have been erected for Regina, Emma and Snow -- so they are now trapped in the Underworld. Oh, well, says Rumple, and he’s out.

Rumple returns to Hades, who promised him that he would release him from Underbrooke if he did what he asked. Oh, Rumple, never trust a lord of the Underworld. Seems that Rumple found out that Belle, maybe unknown to her even, is pregnant. Though Rumple killed the man who held the contract for his second-born child, in the Underworld the man is still alive, thanks to Hades. And the contract is still valid. Hades, though, has taken over the contract and now has possession of the child between Rumple and Belle. Rumple will have to do his bidding if he ever wants to leave Underworld or see his child.

A few notes:

- It was cool that Snow found the tombstone of Daniel Colter, Regina’s onetime love. The headstone is down, so he’s moved on. “You were my first love and will always live in my heart.” That seemed to spark Regina’s power.

- Surely Cruella didn’t mention her talk with Henry to Regina. That pairing is interesting, so I hope it’s not left alone for too long.

Follow me on Twitter: @Storiz

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