Honestly, if you ask three different fans about once upon a time tv series season 5, you’re going to get three wildly different stories. One person will rave about the dark, moody aesthetic of Camelot. Another will tell you they checked out the moment they saw the CGI "Fury" that looked like a leftover asset from a 1998 video game. The third? They're probably still crying over Captain Swan in the Underworld.
It was a weird year. It was the year the show decided to stop playing it safe with "villain of the week" tropes and instead dove headfirst into the heavy stuff: Greek mythology, the cycle of trauma, and the literal personification of Darkness. It didn't always land. In fact, some of it was a total disaster. But man, was it ambitious.
The Swan Song: Turning the Savior Dark
The biggest hook of once upon a time tv series season 5 was the "Dark Swan" arc. We spent four years watching Emma Swan fight her destiny, find her parents, and finally open her heart, only for the writers to flip the script. By the end of the Season 4 finale, she sacrificed herself to save Regina, taking on the burden of the Dark One’s dagger.
People expected Emma to go full-blown Evil Queen. We wanted to see her burning down villages or turning people into mirrors. Instead, the show gave us something more internal. Jennifer Morrison played Dark Emma with this specific, stifled breathiness—like she was constantly vibrating with power she didn't want to use. She had the white hair, the leather jackets, and a literal hallucination of Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) acting as the devil on her shoulder.
It was a bold move. It shifted the stakes from "defeating a monster" to "saving our friend from herself." But then came the Camelot twist. We spent half the season in flashbacks, trying to figure out what happened during those missing six weeks in King Arthur’s court. This "memory wipe" mechanic was a staple of the show, but by Season 5, it started to feel a bit like a crutch. We knew something bad happened. We just didn't know it involved a giant stone theater and a very disgruntled King Arthur.
Why the Camelot Arc Felt... Off
Liam Garrigan’s King Arthur was actually a great villain because he was so petty. Usually, the villains in Once Upon a Time have these grand, tragic backstories involving lost children or murdered lovers. Arthur? He was just an obsessed fanboy of a prophecy that didn't love him back. He was a gaslighter. He was insecure. He was remarkably human in his shittiness.
But the pacing was a nightmare.
You had Merida from Brave running around—who was perfectly cast, by the way—and the quest for the Holy Grail, but the show struggled to balance the huge ensemble cast. Lancelot was back. Guinevere was there. Merlin was finally out of the tree. Yet, for some reason, the plot felt like it was spinning its wheels until the mid-season reveal.
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And what a reveal it was. Hook was a Dark One too? That changed everything. Suddenly, the "Dark Swan" wasn't a solo act; it was a suicide pact. Colin O’Donoghue went from the charming, reformed pirate to a vengeful, ancient entity in about five seconds flat. It gave the show a much-needed jolt of energy right before the winter hiatus.
Going South: The Underworld and the Hades Problem
If the first half of once upon a time tv series season 5 was about the burden of power, the second half was about the finality of death. Or, well, the lack of finality.
The heroes literally hopped on a boat to Hell—er, the "Underworld"—to bring Hook back. This is where the show’s budget really started to show its seams. The Underworld was basically a sepia-toned version of Storybrooke with a CGI clock tower that breathed fire. It was a clever way to save money on sets, sure, but it felt a little claustrophobic after a while.
Then there was Hades.
Greg Germann played Hades like a bored corporate executive who occasionally set his hair on fire. It was a choice. Some fans loved the campiness; others felt it undercut the danger. But the real meat of the Underworld arc wasn't the blue flames. It was the "unfinished business."
This allowed the show to bring back every dead character we’d missed.
- Cora (Barbara Hershey) finally getting a redemption arc that actually felt earned.
- Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) being just as slimy and terrifying as ever.
- Cruella de Vil (Victoria Smurfit) basically running the Underworld bar like she owned the place.
- James, David’s evil twin, providing some much-needed sibling rivalry.
It was a victory lap for the series. It acknowledged that the show’s greatest strength wasn't its convoluted plot, but its characters. Seeing Regina face her mother one last time or Emma saying goodbye to Neal (Michael Raymond-James) in a dream-car sequence? That was the stuff that kept people watching.
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The Zelena Factor
We have to talk about Zelena. Rebecca Mader is arguably the MVP of the later seasons. In Season 5, she went from a cackling villain to a mother struggling with her own capacity for love. Her romance with Hades was bizarre, toxic, and strangely compelling. When she eventually had to choose between the man she loved and the sister she’d spent her life hating, it felt like real growth.
This season solidified the "Sisterhood" dynamic between Regina and Zelena. It moved the show away from the Emma-centric "Savior" narrative and turned it into an ensemble piece about broken families trying to glue themselves back together.
The Technical Reality of 2015-2016 Television
Looking back at once upon a time tv series season 5 through a 2026 lens is fascinating. We're used to prestige streaming shows now with $20 million-per-episode budgets. Once was a network show doing 22 episodes a year on a fraction of that.
Sometimes the green screen was glaringly obvious. Sometimes the dialogue was a bit too "on the nose" about hope and heroes. But there’s a soul in this season that’s missing from a lot of modern fantasy. It wasn't afraid to be earnest. It wasn't trying to be Game of Thrones. It was a show about the fact that even if you're the "Dark One," you can still choose to be good.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Finale
The finale of Season 5, "Only You" and "An Untold Story," is often overlooked because it feels like a prologue for Season 6. It introduced Jekyll and Hyde and the Land of Untold Stories.
But the real heart of that finale was Regina’s choice to split herself.
For years, Regina Mills struggled with her identity. Was she the Mayor? Was she the Evil Queen? By using Dr. Jekyll’s serum to literally separate her dark half, she thought she was solving her problems. It was a profound metaphor for how we try to excise the parts of ourselves we don't like instead of integrating them. Of course, it backfired—because you can't just kill your demons without dealing with the fallout—but it set the stage for the most psychological arc the show ever attempted.
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The Lasting Legacy of Season 5
Is once upon a time tv series season 5 the best season? No. Season 1 holds that crown for its tight writing and mystery. Season 3 is probably the peak of the show’s popularity.
But Season 5 is the most "Once" the show ever was. It was messy, it was magical, it was heartbreaking, and it was deeply obsessed with the idea that no one is ever truly lost. It gave us the "Captain Swan" true love's kiss in the Underworld. It gave us Regina's final step toward heroism. It gave us a version of King Arthur that made us want to punch a TV screen.
If you’re planning a rewatch, pay attention to the small moments. Watch the way the costumes change as Emma descends into darkness. Look at the chemistry between Lana Parrilla and Rebecca Mader. Ignore the shaky CGI hydra and focus on the character beats.
How to Navigate a Season 5 Rewatch
- Focus on the "Dark Swan" psychological shift: Notice how Emma’s wardrobe and body language change from the premiere to the mid-season finale. It’s a masterclass in subtle acting.
- Track the "Unfinished Business": The Underworld arc is much more rewarding if you remember the specific grievances the returning characters had in Seasons 1-3.
- Watch the Zelena/Regina dynamic: This is the emotional backbone of the season. Their transition from enemies to uneasy allies to actual sisters is the most consistent writing in the year.
- Don't get hung up on the "Missing Memories": The show uses this trope heavily in Camelot. Just roll with it; the payoff in the episode "Birth" makes the confusion worth it.
Ultimately, this season was about the cost of being a hero. It asked if the "Savior" is allowed to be happy, or if they are doomed to sacrifice themselves forever. By the time the credits rolled on the finale, the answer was clear: the only way to win is to stop trying to be perfect and start being human.
Next Steps for the OUAT Superfan
To truly appreciate the depth of this season, you should look up the behind-the-scenes interviews regarding the costume design for the Dark Swan; the designers specifically chose materials that looked like shedding snake skin to symbolize Emma's transition. Additionally, re-watching the Season 5 premiere immediately after the Season 4 finale highlights just how much the tone shifted overnight. You might also find it useful to map out the family tree once more, as the addition of Hades and the reveal of Zeus's family ties makes the Storybrooke genealogy even more chaotic than usual.