Disney Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Disney Wiki

"Firebird" is the twentieth episode of the fifth season of ABC's Once Upon a Time, and the one hundred and eighth episode of the series overall. It premiered on May 1, 2016.

Hades offers Emma a chance to return to Storybrooke, but time is running out for Emma to save Hook, and for Gold to help Pan find a heart, while the others try to stop Cruella and the Blind Witch, who are preventing them from leaving. In Emma's past, she befriends a bounty hunter in her quest to find her parents.

Plot[]

Opening Sequence[]

Emma's yellow bug drives through the red-tinted forest.

In The Characters' Past[]

In 2009 Maine, at Chantley's Lobster House, an adult Emma has begun a quest to find her birth family, and joined by a bounty hunter named Cleo Fox, who has been tracking her down since Emma robbed a few convenience stores. Over time, both Cleo and Emma bond, and helps Emma gain access to records that may help her, but come up empty handed. When they arrived in Phoenix, Emma attempts to escape as she is wanted for robberies there only to have Cleo talk out of it. When they stop at a government record office, Emma breaks in to get information, but Cleo helps her escape by breaking a window and she cuts herself. As Emma helps a injured Cleo, she tells Emma the only family member she has left is her daughter that she gave up a long time ago.

A year later (2010 Boston) and after Cleo has passed, Emma finds Cleo's daughter Tasha Morris (Max Chadburn); who now works at a department store. Emma collected information about Cleo so that she could know more about Tasha's birth mother, and is sad, but appreciative. Before she leaves, Emma purchases the red leather jacket that would become part of her trademark wardrobe.

In the Underworld[]

In the moments, after Regina encouraged Zelena to pursue a relationship with Hades, the move has the outsiders, and especially Hook, not happy with this new development. But before tensions start to reach a boiling point, Hades appears and informs them that Zelena had been kidnapped by Gold and Peter Pan. A note Hades produces makes clear Gold and Pan are using Zelena as leverage in a trade deal for the contract on Gold's unborn child. Hades asks Emma for help by arranging a deal in which she will help him get Zelena back in exchange for Hades erasing the outsiders' names from their gravestones so they can leave the Underworld. At the diner, Hades closes up the place so he can meet with Gold and Pan. Zelena, who has been cuffed and prevented from using magic, is with them. Hades agrees to Gold's demands and rips up the contract, only to have Pan demand that he take Zelena's heart as part of his plan to return to the living. Emma breaks in through the back door, stopping Pan. Gold and Pan leave separately during the confrontation and without complete satisfaction. As Hades and Zelena are reunited, Hades frees Zelena by removing the cuff, and the two share a kiss. Suddenly, Hades' heart begins to beat once again, resulting in a new level of fulfilment in Hades' vision for a 'normal' life and leaving the Underworld with Zelena. As part of the arranged deal with Emma along with Hades' new freedom, a portal to Storybrooke can open which will close at sunset. As promised, Hades wipes the outsiders' names off the gravestones. Before the Portal opens, Emma attempts to give half her heart to Hook so he can live again and travel through the portal safely, but the process doesn't work. Hades explains that Hook's soul might not be able to return to a decaying body because he has been in the Underworld too long. Emma's insistence on a way to bring Hook back leads to Hades telling of a rumour of the only time when someone was able to bring the dead back to life from the Underworld: the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. According to what worked in that tale, Hook must acquire ambrosia, the food of the Gods, to restore his body and be reunited safely with his body, but in order to get to the ambrosia, Emma has to go deep into the Underworld and face a test to determine True Love based on her heart. Before Emma and Hook go on their quest, Hades removes Emma's heart so that she can bring it with her for the test she and Hook will face. The others promise her that they will remain waiting for their return, but must leave by sunset in case Emma and Hook do not succeed.

Around the same time, Pan demands that Gold help him get a heart before he leaves, and Pan offers his son Pandora's Box, which will keep Belle safe. And as the others wait for Emma and Hook, Henry and Regina decide that they should help continue the unfinished business of the trapped residents. Regina even convinces Robin to give his baby over to Zelena so she and Hades can take care of her, but after he steps aside for a breath of fresh air, Gold shows up and takes his heart. Meanwhile, Henry, in his role as the Author, successfully help the resident complete their "unfinished business" by allowing them to leave, only to have Cruella and the Blind Witch lock the outsiders in the jail in their plot to takeover the Underworld in Hades' absence and keep them away from the portal. Regina suspects the Blind Witch had help from Hades since she's not capable of having magic. As Emma and Hook continue the search for ambrosia, Emma physically weighs her heart to see if she is worthy as she places it on a scale, but the weight is increasing her pain, and even Hook tries to grab it, but the heart starts to catch fire. This has left Emma with two choices, saving her heart or Hook, and when she chooses the latter, a door opens as she is deemed worthy, only to discover the plants are dead, and the two suspect Hades is preventing them from return to Storybrooke.

As the portal starts to close, Hades convinces a reluctant Zelena to go through it as the rumbling starts to make the ceiling fall above them. Knowing that there is no other way to bring him back to the living, Hook wants Emma to go on without her and decides that it's time to say goodbye and vows not to let her be his unfinished business, and she agrees not put her emotional armor back up once they are separated. When Emma returns, she's on to Hades' and the Blind Witch's scheme to leave the outsider in the Underworld, as she and Regina use their magic to free everyone while Henry leaves behind the "Once Upon a Time" storybook with the details on the "unfinished business" of all the remaining Underworld residents. Finally, Gold places Robin's heart into Pan's chest, only for Pan to discover that Gold had tricked him: Gold had returned Robin's heart to him while Pan was distracted and replaced it with a wineskin filled with water from the River of Lost Souls, and used Pandora's Box to contain Belle safely. Pan is suddenly destroyed as everyone, including Hades and a heartbroken Emma, finally make it to the portal for their return to Storybrooke.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Gallery[]

Wiki
The Disney Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Firebird.

Trivia[]

  • Colin O'Donoghue revealed that he and Jenifer Morrison found Emma and Hook's goodbye scene very hard to film and that Hook kissing Emma's hand wasn't scripted, but improvised.[1]

References[]

  1. C-odonoghue. com (June 21, 2016). "Q&A at Fairytales IV - Were the hand kiss and cheek kiss improvised?". YouTube. Retrieved on September 27, 2020.

External links[]


v - e - d
Once Upon A Time Logo
Media
Shows: Once Upon a TimeOnce Upon a Time in Wonderland

Books: Once Upon a Time: Out of the PastOnce Upon a Time: Red's Untold Tale

Characters
Once Upon a Time:
Season One: Emma SwanSnow White/Mary Margaret BlanchardPrince Charming/David NolanRumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold/WeaverEvil Queen/Regina Mills/RoniBelle/Lacey FrenchHenry MillsHappySneezy/Tom ClarkBashfulDocDopeySleepy/WalterJiminy Cricket/Archie HopperStealthyVictor Frankenstein/Dr. WhaleBlue FairyWidow Lucas/GrannyKing George/Albert SpencerGenie/Magic Mirror/Sidney GlassNurse RatchedMad Hatter/JeffersonPrince Henry/The ValetKnave of HeartsSheriff of Nottingham/KeithFairy GodmotherAbigail/Kathryn NolanRed Riding Hood/The Wolf/RubyHuntsman/Sheriff GrahamBaelfire/Neal CassidyPinocchio/August W. BoothFrederick/JimSevere NurseMayor TomkinsHansel and Gretel/Nicholas and Ava ZimmerThe Woodcutter/Michael TillmanMartinMyrnaStephenDonnaPrince JamesBlind WitchPeterSirenPongoGastonThe King/Mitchell HermanKing LeopoldKing MidasZosoPrince Thomas/Sean HermanGraceDaniel ColterNovaBriar RoseGeppetto/MarcoGus/BillyRuthDark One

Season Two: Killian Jones/Hook/RogersAuroraPrince PhillipMulanMilahMaid MarianQuinnAlphonse FrankensteinAnita LucasJackKing XavierAntonWilliam SmeeGreg MendellTamaraThe DragonQueen EvaSeerLancelotRobin HoodWendy DarlingNanaMary DarlingGeorge DarlingJohn DarlingMichael DarlingThe ShadowLost Boys
Season Three: Peter Pan/Malcolm/Pied PiperArielZelena/The Wicked Witch of the WestGlinda/The Good Witch of the SouthWalsh/Wizard of OzElsa the Snow QueenTinker BellBlackbeardLumiereUrsula the Sea GoddessJonathanDorothy GaleThe Witch of the EastRapunzelRapunzel's MotherRapunzel's FatherThe Sheriff of HamelinMedusaPrince EricLiam JonesRoland
Season Four: AnnaKristoffHansGrand PabbieSvenUrsula the Sea WitchMarshmallowLittle Bo PeepThe ApprenticeIngridLily PageColetteOakenKing of ArendelleQueen GerdaCruella De VilPoseidonDuke of WeseltonHans' BrothersChernabogKing StefanIsaac/The AuthorMadelineMerlin/The Sorcerer
Season Five: MeridaQueen EleanorKing FergusHarris, Hubert, and HamishThe WitchLord MacGuffinLord MacintoshLord DingwallKing ArthurSir KayGuinevereGorgon The InvincibleCharonBrennan JonesHadesMegaraHerculesCerberusThe ScarecrowTotoCleo FoxAuntie EmDr. JekyllMr. HydeEvil Queen
Season Six: AladdinGideonCount of Monte CristoAlexandraJasmineRed BirdCaptain NemoLady TremaineClorindaTisbeJacobOracleRoyal GuardsThe SultanBeowulfBlack FairyTiger LilyRobertPrince AchmedStanumCowardly LionLucy
Season Seven: Rapunzel Tremaine/Victoria BelfreyCinderella/Jacinda VidrioTiana/SabineAlice/TillyDrizella/Ivy BelfreyAnastasiaGothel/Eloise GardenerEudoraDr. Facilier/Mr. SamdiHansel/Jack/Nick BransonMarcus TremaineCeceliaCoven of the EightMadame LeotaNaveen/DrewBlind Witch/HildaGretelChadSeraphinaFloraIslaZorro

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: AliceCyrusAnastasia/Red QueenPercy/White RabbitEdwinJabberwockySilvermistThe Sultan/The Old PrisonerTweedle Dee and Tweedle DumMrs. RabbitElizabeth/LizardAmaraBandersnatchMillie
Both series: Will Scarlet/The Knave of HeartsCinderella/Ashley BoydRobin HoodLittle JohnFriar TuckGrumpy/LeroyCora/The Queen of HeartsCaterpillarMaleficentJafarDr. Lydgate

Episodes
Season One: "Pilot" • "The Thing You Love Most" • "Snow Falls" • "The Price of Gold" • "That Still Small Voice" • "The Shepherd" • "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" • "Desperate Souls" • "True North" • "7:15 A.M." • "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" • "Skin Deep" • "What Happened to Frederick" • "Dreamy" • "Red-Handed" • "Heart of Darkness" • "Hat Trick" • "The Stable Boy" • "The Return" • "The Stranger" • "An Apple Red as Blood" • "A Land Without Magic"

Season Two: "Broken" • "We Are Both" • "Lady of the Lake" • "The Crocodile" • "The Doctor" • "Tallahassee" • "Child of the Moon" • "Into the Deep" • "Queen of Hearts" • "The Cricket Game" • "The Outsider" • "In the Name of the Brother" • "Tiny" • "Manhattan" • "The Queen Is Dead" • "The Miller's Daughter" • "Welcome to Storybrooke" • "Selfless, Brave and True" • "Lacey" • "The Evil Queen" • "Second Star to the Right" • "And Straight On 'Til Morning"
Season Three: "The Heart of the Truest Believer" • "Lost Girl" • "Quite a Common Fairy" • "Nasty Habits" • "Good Form" • "Ariel" • "Dark Hollow" • "Think Lovely Thoughts" • "Save Henry" • "The New Neverland" • "Going Home" • "New York City Serenade" • "Witch Hunt" • "The Tower" • "Quiet Minds" • "It's Not Easy Being Green" • "The Jolly Roger" • "Bleeding Through" • "A Curious Thing" • "Kansas" • "Snow Drifts" • "There's No Place Like Home"
Season Four: "A Tale of Two Sisters" • "White Out" • "Rocky Road" • "The Apprentice" • "Breaking Glass" • "Family Business" • "The Snow Queen" • "Smash the Mirror" • "Fall" • "Shattered Sight" • "Heroes and Villains" • "Darkness on the Edge of Town" • "Unforgiven" • "Enter the Dragon" • "Poor Unfortunate Soul" • "Best Laid Plans" • "Heart of Gold" • "Sympathy for the De Vil" • "Lily" • "Mother" • "Operation Mongoose"
Season Five: "The Dark Swan" • "The Price" • "Siege Perilous" • "The Broken Kingdom" • "Dreamcatcher" • "The Bear and the Bow" • "Nimue" • "Birth" • "The Bear King" • "Broken Heart" • "Swan Song" • "Souls of the Departed" • "Labor of Love" • "Devil's Due" • "The Brothers Jones" • "Our Decay" • "Her Handsome Hero" • "Ruby Slippers" • "Sisters" • "Firebird" • "Last Rites" • "Only You" • "An Untold Story"
Season Six: "The Savior" • "A Bitter Draught" • "The Other Shoe" • "Strange Case" • "Street Rats" • "Dark Waters" • "Heartless" • "I'll Be Your Mirror" • "Changelings" • "Wish You Were Here" • "Tougher Than the Rest" • "Murder Most Foul • "Ill-Boding Patterns" • "Page 23" • "A Wondrous Place" • "Mother's Little Helper" • "Awake" • "Where Bluebirds Fly" • "The Black Fairy" • "The Song in Your Heart" • "The Final Battle"
Season Seven: "Hyperion Heights" • "A Pirate's Life"• "The Garden of Forking Paths" • "Beauty" • "Greenbacks" • "Wake Up Call" • "Eloise Gardener" • "Pretty in Blue" • "One Little Tear" • "The Eighth Witch" • "Secret Garden" • "A Taste of the Heights" • "Knightfall" • "The Girl in the Tower" • "Sisterhood" • "Breadcrumbs" • "Chosen" • "The Guardian" • "Flower Child" • "Is This Henry Mills?" • "Homecoming" • "Leaving Storybrooke"

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: "Down the Rabbit Hole" • "Trust Me" • "Forget Me Not" • "The Serpent" • "Heart of Stone" • "Who's Alice?" • "Bad Blood" • "Home" • "Nothing to Fear" • "Dirty Little Secrets" • "Heart of the Matter" • "To Catch a Thief" • "And They Lived..."

Locations
Once Upon a Time: Royal CastleBostonDark PalaceMaurice's CastleDark Castle/Rumplestiltskin's CastleLibraryKing's CastleTremaine estateMaurice's CastleDwarves' CottageDwarf MinesGeppetto's HomeNew York CityKing Stefan's CastleThe BeanstalkGiant's LairChinese VillageEnglandLondonDarling NurseryNeverlandBig BenSkull RockHamelinMaritime CastleRapunzel's TowerVault of the Dark OneLand of OzYellow Brick RoadEmerald CityArendelleValley of the Living RockArendelle CastleElsa's Ice PalaceWandering Oaken's Trading Post and SaunaBald MountainRing of StonesDunBrochWitch's CottageCastle DunBrochUnderworldMount OlympusPoppy FieldsAuntie's Chicken & WafflesCave of WondersPleasure IslandMagical ForestSeattleHyperion HeightsBelle & Gold's HouseFacilier's LairGothel's GardenTiana's PalaceSan FranciscoMemento MoriMaldoniaFlynn's BarcadeUnited RealmsSnow White's Farm

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: Wonderland CastleThe Mad Hatter's HouseWhite Rabbit's HouseUnderlandTulgey Wood
Both series: StorybrookeMaineEnchanted ForestForbidden FortressWonderlandWonderland MazeAgrabahSherwood ForestThe Sultan's Palace

Objects
Once Upon a Time: Once Upon a Time (Book)Snow White's Glass CoffinRed Riding HoodMaleficent's StaffMagic WandGlass SlipperPoisoned AppleSpinning WheelMagic LampDark One's DaggerChipped CupJefferson's HatMagic BeansCaptain Hook's HooksEnchanted CandlePixie DustDreamshadeSalad ForkPandora's BoxSilver SlippersSorcerer HatEnchanted BroomTridentEnchanted ShellHeroes and Villains (Book)Merida's BowMagical RoseExcaliburOlympian CrystalCinderella's DressGolden Scarab BeetleRapunzel's Frying PanMagical Golden FlowerShrinking PotionFloating LanternsTarot CardsMaui's Fish Hook

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: Vorpal Blade
Both series: Jafar's Snake StaffEnchanted HeartsJafar's Lamp

Songs Featured
"Give a Little Whistle" • "Heigh-Ho" • "With a Smile and a Song" • "Beauty and the Beast" • "Part of Your World" • "Fathoms Below" • "Cruella De Vil • "Some Day My Prince Will Come" • "The Unbirthday Song"

Original Songs: "Powerful Magic" • The Queen SingsLove Doesn't Stand a ChanceRevenge Is Gonna Be MineWicked Always WinsCharmings vs. Evil QueenEmma's ThemeA Happy Beginning

Vehicles
The Jolly RogerMagic CarpetRoyal ShipCruella's carNautilusCinderella's Coach
Species
FairiesUnicornsDragonsBridge TrollsWraithOgresMermaidsKrakenFlying MonkeysRock TrollsWill O' the WispsFuriesMunchkinsTree Nymphs
Advertisement