Once Upon a Time (TV Series) The Jolly Roger (2014) User Reviews

One of the best episodes this season.

[KatL3 · 9/10 · 12 August 2014]

Needless to say, a very Hook-centered episode, but one that I very much enjoyed.

1) The Missing Year

We finally get to see what has Hook been doing during the missing year. Seemingly, he went back to his old ways, devolved into a pirate again, stealing and shaming with his newly reunited crew, including Mr. Smee. All is good until a certain mermaid shows up looking for her missing prince, Eric, and he joins her on a quest to find her prince, but more importantly, the Jolly Roger, which was under captain BlackBeard's command.

Now Hook is more than persistent on finding his ship, hoping that he would find fulfillment and life purpose once he gets it back. Being a pirate is no longer enough for him, which he knows, but tries to fight, and also prove to everyone else he hadn't gone soft, till the point of trading Ariel's prince for his ship. As selfish as that was, one can't help but feel for the poor Captain, who was simply suffering from a terrible heartbreak.

2) Present Day

Our beloved Captain is at the docks, with Mr Smee, who is insisting that they leave Storybrooke now that the Wicked Witch is there and planning something, well, wicked; to which he answers that he has no intention of leaving town, ever. That's when Emma appears asking him to look after Henry while Regina teaches her magic.

Strangely enough, Ariel appears once more in Hook's life. She has no memories of the lost year, and is still in search for Eric. Since Hook's the only one who does remember, Charming&Snow persuade him to help the mermaid out. He is feeling extremely guilty, but says nothing during the whole day. With some help they uncover Eric's cloak, which, after some enchantment, leads them to conclusion that Eric is probably no more.

However, Ariel is very grateful that Hook tried to help her, which is when he decided to confess everything. At this point he was feeling far too guilty to realize that something is not right. In order to forgive him, Ariel asks of him to swear on the name of the women he loves. Once he did, Zelena reveals herself, and curses his lips - so that when he next kisses Emma, all of her magic will vanish, and if he does not, Zelena will go after Emma's family.

Even more unfortunately for Hook, that is the day Emma decides to finally take a leap in his direction. She tells him that she wants to forget the past and move forward, and invites him to a family dinner - an offer which he refuses. Probably the saddest scene of the episode is when he watches her through his spyglass outside of the restaurant, longing to be there with her. He is left with nothing, and he knows that there is no happiness in life for him but one, a woman he as of now can't even kiss.

All in all, pretty impressive acting by Colin O'Donoghue. So far my favorite episode since the winter finale. :-)

With an update on Ariel, and a new curse casted, "The Jolly Roger" gives us a nice dose of Hook's missing year.

[Amari-Sali · 8/10 · 13 April 2014]

With Ariel's return, or at least some closure on her story, I have slight hopes that perhaps we could, eventually, get the same for the other Disney princesses. Until then though, at least one can be marked off the list. But, while we learn of Ariel's happy ending, it seems Hook's is sealed with a kiss.

Topic 1: Search for the Jolly Roger - Hook

In the past, after the curse, Hook has turned into being a land pirate in order to find fulfillment in his life. He even has Mr. Schmee and some of his old crew helping him. This venture, though profitable, seemingly doesn't hold the same weight as the high seas though. Luckily for Hook, Ariel pops up and says that he kidnapped Eric and with this nonsense we learn that while Eric may have been kidnapped and put on the Jolly Roger, in truth it was Blackbeard who took him.

But, what is truly interesting about Hook's lost year is how the events in Neverland have seemingly changed his persona. Many believe he has turned over a new leaf, has become a good guy, and due to being a good guy getting him nowhere with Emma, he rebels against this. Hence him trying to devolve back into a simple pirate, with hopes getting the Jolly Roger back will fill the space he made for Emma. This comes at a costs though. After fighting Blackbeard and besting him, Blackbeard presents an ultimatum: Either I get the ship and you learn where Eric is, or I die with the information and you get your ship back. This leads to a moment of thinking of which Hook thinks whether it is better to be good and continue to suffer, or bad and attempt to alleviate his suffering. And being that he ventures toward being a villain once more, he decides to sacrifice Eric for his ship. Something which leads to a brisk slap from Ariel who calls him some low key insults before searching once more for Eric.

Topic 2: I Have So Much to Teach You – Regina and Emma

With Regina barely able to outsmart her more powerful sister, Emma decides it is time for her to step up and learn to control her magic. Something which Regina appreciates, but doesn't think Emma is willing to take serious. So, at first she tries to train her in a kind way but, realizing Emma may truly not be invested, she decides to put a spin on their lesson and teach Emma the way Rumple taught her: by putting her in a life or death situation. This, oddly enough, works. But, with us seeing Emma's vast potential, it leads us to understand why Zelena was watching her.

Topic 3: Ariel's Search for Eric (Present) - Hook

In what seems rather strange, Ariel washes up on shore in Storybrooke with her memories lost. Something I found odd since during the last curse she seemed to know very well who she was, and you'd think she could out swim the ominous cloud. But, being that maybe she was on land at the time, we'll just set that oddness of the situation to the side. Anyway, as before, she still is looking for Eric and with Henry wanting to spend time with Hook over his grandparents, Charming and Snow decide to use Ariel to force Hook to help her as they try to regain their former relationship with their grandson. All that leads to though is Henry driving and this causing Regina to have a fit.

Back to Hook and Ariel though, their first stop is Gold's shop in which they discover Eric's cloak, enchant it, and then go off looking for him. Unfortunately though, the cloak dives into the ocean, possibly signaling Eric is dead. All the while though, Hook keeps his mouth shut on knowing what happened in the past, well at least until that night when all is reveals.

Hook confesses what happened and seemingly Ariel is willing to accept his apology if he swears on Emma's name. Which he does, and this leads Zelena to revealing herself. She informs us that Ariel has long found Eri, and that her ruse was so that the next kiss Hook and Emma share, all her powers would be erased allowing no one to contest Zelena at all. And, to add a bit of punch to her scheme, she says she will go after everyone but Emma until that kiss is sealed.

Making it so while Zelena may not have Peter Pan's charisma, you cannot say she doesn't have the type of viciousness that we saw glimpses of when we first met Regina, and Gold to a point, in season 1. But still, even knowing he committed a selfish act, it is quite hard to not feel sorry for Hook. The one thing which could bring his life fulfillment seemingly can no longer be him being a pirate, nor his glorious ship, but now just one woman who he can't share something as simple as a kiss with. Poor fellow.

Jolly greatness

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 16 April 2018]

When 'Once Upon a Time' first started it was highly addictive and made the most of a truly great and creative premise. Really loved the idea of turning familiar fairy tales on their heads and putting own interpretations on them and the show early on clearly had clearly had a ball. Watched it without fail every time it came on and it was often a highlight of the week. Which was why it was sad when it ran out of ideas and lost its magic in the later seasons.

"The Jolly Roger" is one of the best episodes of a solid Season 3, the best perhaps since "Going Home", where the lesser episodes up to this point have not been less than decent and the best episodes have been wonderful ("Going Home" especially was something of a special episode). Am not sure what my stance is on the ending, it is a surprise certainly but part of me was also confounded a little by it.

Hook is one of 'Once Upon a Time's' best and most interesting characters, his reinvention and how he has transformed and progressed throughout the show is one of its most successful and compelling. Was with him every step of the way, with a lot of empathy felt for him, and loved his witty and charming chemistry with Ariel.

Ariel again steals every scene she's in, being even more interesting than when she was first introduced. She is very likeable and a breath of fresh air. Her story could have easily fallen into soap-opera, cliché and sugar lands but avoided them thanks to its charm and Joanna Garcia Swisher's sparkling performance.

Emma and Regina's story is not quite as interesting, but it doesn't feel repetitive or passive and appreciated that the show is trying to move from the standard good versus evil formula. The flashbacks are among the most illuminating and character advancing of any flashback of the show up to this point.

Love the character relationships, especially Hook and Ariel. Have no qualms with the acting. The standout being Colin O'Donoghue bringing the perfect amount of swagger and conflicted emotion.

Furthermore, "The Jolly Roger" is a very handsomely mounted episode visually, the settings and costumes are both colourful and atmospheric, not too dark or garish and never cookie-cutter. It is photographed beautifully too. The music is haunting, ethereal and cleverly used with a memorable main theme.

Writing has the right balance of humour, pathos, mystery and intrigue.

Overall, one of the season's best. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I swear on Emma Swan

[sini-200 · 10/10 · 31 March 2023]

'The Jolly Roger' is absolutely wonderful episode! All Killian Jones centered episodes are. It was great to see more of him, how Killian tried his best to go back to his old pirate ways. But no matter what, there is his goodness and heroism, and his heart truly not being able to let go of Emma. Killian is such amazing character. His development is one of a kind. He is truly tragic hero. He got his heart broken, but he can't go back to his old ways for rhe sake of Emma. He truly changed himself and his ways for her, seeing there is a better way for living than just for revenge. And Colin gives brilliant performance as Captain Killian Jones.