Portrayed by: Colin O’Donoghue Show: ABC’s Once Upon A Time

There are very few characters who’ve had a redemption arc as engrossing and as sharp as Once Upon A Time’s Killian Jones—characters who stumble and fall in ways that are so realistic that we’re able to understand the human complexities remarkably through them. From the moment Killian Jones appeared on screen, it was clear he’d be one of the most compelling characters in the series. It was also evident that his journey would encompass considerable life lessons written to inflict hope.

Killian Jones, later known as Captain Hook, wasn’t always a villain, which is partly why his growth’s been so excellent. He’s gone from a Navy kid with much innocence to a broken man on a quest for vengeance, and through persistence, that fractured man found his way onto the hero’s column. In his journey to self-discovery, his mistakes and the temporary setback in his inability to forgive himself have showcased true bravery in the form of self-awareness. In every sense of the word, Killian is a man of honor—his choices to better himself out of the sheer desire to be worthy of the heroic title strengthened his character profoundly even while the writing faltered.

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2014's TV Hero & Noteworthy Actor

Heroes don’t always wear capes and prowl the streets in an attempt to bring justice into the world, sometimes, the most heroic thing one can do is strive towards becoming the best version of themselves all while remaining a selfless, good person who owns up to their flaws and learns from their mistakes.

Killian Jones (Once Upon A Time) 

Once Upon A Time 4x11 "Heroes vs Villains" Recap

Spoilers Ahead

Tonight’s episode was interestingly filled with a lot of fantastic things to process, and the Queens of Darkness made a killer introduction. 

Enchanted Forest Flashbacks: After Rumplestilskin returns from Camelot with the goblet which points out a person’s weakness, he and Belle “discuss” her intense desire to travel and his inability to choose anything over power. While doing laundry in the forest, Belle is taken by the Queens of Darkness and they’ll only release her if Rumple hands them the goblet. He eventually agrees when he realizes all of his students, Maleficent (Kristen Bauer), Ursula (Merrin Dungey), and Cruela de Vil (Victoria Smurfit) are present. 

Present Day Storybooke | Arendelle: While in possession of Killian’s heart, Rumple has him tell Emma about the portal that leads to Arendelle. Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff go back home, and it’s Anna’s curiosity that eventually leads Emma to the discovery that her instincts about Killian’s state of mind were indeed correct. After Belle realizes the truth, she makes a painful decision about her and Rumple’s future. And when Marian falls once more after her recovery, Regina realizes that she must go to a land without magic in order to be completely healthy. Robin, Marian, and Roland leave Storybrooke. We say goodbye to the Frozen cast. The Queens of Darkness are being recruited and after the six weeks of sanity, Storybrooke will become madness when we come back in Spring. 

This Week's Most Noteworthy Performance | Actor

This Week's Most Noteworthy Performance|Actor

May 11-17: Colin O'Donoghue (Once Upon A Time)

This Week's Most Noteworthy Performance/Actor

April 13-19: Colin O'Donoghue (Once Upon A Time)

Once Upon A Time 3x17 "The Jolly Roger" Recap

Spoilers Ahead

There's nothing quite as enjoyable as our favorite charismatic swashbuckler and darling little mermaid teaming up to find lost love, even if things weren't as they seem, the chemistry between Colin O'Donoghue and JoAnna Garcia-Swisher was outstanding. An episode gorgeously framed around the idea of love grounding the heart at home, they both authenticated the notion that it's physically, spiritually, and emotionally impossible to be happy when separated from those they care most for. It also makes it harder for people to be the best versions of themselves. 

Enchanted Forest Flashbacks: Mr. Smee and the rest of the crew find Hook a wench to pass time with, but he pays her to tell them she enjoyed it then ventures off on his own until he’s attacked by an enraged Ariel who’s searching for the missing Prince Eric. She reveals that she’s after him because she’s been told Eric is held captive in the Jolly Roger, and judging by the knife she’s brought with her, Hook sees that the one who’s Black Beard (Charles Mesure) is the one who's captained his ship. There’s nothing more thrillingly amusing to watch than a duel among pirates for who’s rightfully entitled to the ship. Moreover, Captain Hook’s love and familiarity with the ship allow him to strategically triumph the duel and send Black Beard off to walk to the plank. Black Beard then states that he must either choose to give up the Jolly Roger or Eric’s whereabouts die along with him, and Captain Hook unfortunately chooses his ship leaving Ariel to venture off on her own to find her missing love.

Modern Day Storybrooke: Prince Charming and Emma Swan could successfully battle a dragon but when it comes to assembling a baby crib, they’re even more clueless than a pirate who believes Jello has medicinal qualities. Regina’s conjured up a new protection spell that cannot even be undone if someone's blood related, but Emma asks her to help with her magic in order for their combined efforts to defeat the Wicked Witch. Since it’s revealed that Henry evidently enjoys Hook’s company, Emma asks him to take care of him while Grandma Snow and Grandpa Charming question why they aren’t as cool as they “pirate captain”. Emma’s training doesn’t go well at first, but Regina pushes her limits and forces her to rely on intuitions and Emma successfully rises above her expectations. Ariel’s back in Storybrooke, and the Charmings ask Hook to help her find Eric and when the enchanted cloak used to track him down is swallowed by sea, Hook’s guilt forces him to tell Ariel the truth about what he’s actually done a year ago. After swearing on Emma’s name as the woman he loves, Zelena reveals that she’d been Ariel all along and curses his lips to remove Emma’s power once they kiss again. He fights back telling her that he’d tell her the truth, but Zelena pushes forward and says that if he doesn’t do so, she’ll kill her loved ones.

Once Upon A Time 3x16 "It's Not Easy Being Green" Recap

Spoilers Ahead

Count on Once Upon A Time to not only give us a beautiful emotionally driven episode, but take us back to the Wild West with a good old duel to determine who should’ve been chosen to be Rumplestilskin’s most beloved trainee. 

Flashbacks: A childless family on their way to The Emerald City find abandoned, infant Zelena and decide to keep her. At that moment she’d  already been displaying magical abilities, and while the husband was hesitant to keep her, the wife insists she needs their help. It is later when she dies, and Zelena isn’t able to to control her magic that her “father” finally tells her the truth about where she’s from, and persistent to find her real family, Zelena sets off to visit the Great Wizard of Oz. The Wizard shows her that she was abandoned by her mother because she couldn’t have given her the life of royalty like Regina did, and Zelena chooses to use the slippers in order to visit the Enchanted Forest to meet Rumplestilskin. Though their training was successful, Zelena’s envy was far too deeply rooted for her to be able to control the way he wanted; thus, she literally began turning green. Filled with rage and resentment she visited the Wizard once more to ask him to change the past, but when he wasn’t able to grant it, he was turned into a flying monkey – howdy, Walsh! – and forced to abide by her commands. It’s then where she takes on the identity as the Wicked Witch of the West, and sets off on a journey to find ways to change the past.

Modern Day Storybrooke: The episode begins with Neal’s funeral, unfortunately the most important person to him, Rumple isn’t an attendee as he’s still controlled by the Wicked Witch. And as if the funeral wasn’t heartbreaking enough, his absence made it even worse. They each took turns to toss dirt onto the coffin, beginning with Hook and ending with Emma. Zelena then interrupts the wake at Grannie’s diner, drops the bomb about being Regina’s sister and proposes a duel with her on Main Street. 

Zelena has finally found the means to change the past as Charming’s courage, Rumple’s mind, and Regina’s heart are the necessary ingredients to fulfill her desire. She tries to steal Regina’s heart, but doesn’t know that Cora’s told her never to attend a witch fight with it in place, and knowing she's after it, Regina allows Robin to keep it safe. 

Rebecca Mader has been outstanding so far as Zelena, but she was even more exceptionally wicked and great this week. The momentary innocence and genuine heartbreak she brought to Zelena’s character prior to envy overpowering her was excellently portrayed. And even more so in the clock tower, the absolute rage she's able to illustrate with her eyes are terrifying on all grounds, and that’s truly noteworthy acting. Now if there’s one thing we can’t wait for, it’s to find out whether the green broach she’s constantly wearing holds anything. If she turned Walsh into a monkey, perhaps she somehow stole his abilities to see into the future? Who knows.

This Week's Most Noteworthy Performance/Actor

March 9 - 14: Colin O'Donoghue (Once Upon A Time)

Once Upon A Time 3x12 "New York City Serenade" Recap

Spoilers Ahead

If there’s one episode that’s been worth the awfully long three-month hiatus, New York City Serenade is definitely it. When we parted ways with our most favorite characters, everyone but Emma and Henry were sent back to the Enchanted Forest, and it was up to Captain Hook to jog Emma’s memories one year later.

There were quite a few noteworthy, tearjerker scenes in this episode that certainly set up the rest of the season gloriously.

For starters, even though it was temporary, it was incredibly refreshing to see Emma Swan live a normal life where she got to keep her son. Despite the fact that Emma’s an immensely strong and courageous female, deep down even with the fake memories, she’s still a lost girl seeking a home. In this case, it’s a home for Henry and the kind of life she didn’t grow up with, but certainly wants him to have. Prior to turning into a flying monkey, Walsh (Chris Gorham) symbolized possibilities for Emma, and although somewhere inside she’s still afraid of being abandoned again, she isn’t restraining herself from the potentials of a good life. As viewers, it was simply nice to see Emma utter the words “I love you” to someone because it validated this idea that she isn’t allowing the pain from her past to tarnish her future as much as she may have, had she not known what it was like to raise her son. A child’s rare and immaculate love has the ability to heal a woman of all the aches that have once governed her entire being and influenced the moments where she could’ve been happy. Henry is undeniably an extraordinary kid; therefore, what he’s able to do in the lives of his mothers is incredibly beautiful. What we’ve always adored most about Emma Swan is the fact that she’s genuinely selfless and loving even when she could cease her happiness and run away with it.

Once Upon A Time 3x09 "Save Henry" Recap

Spoilers ahead:

Just when you think the family tree cannot get any more complicated, it does.

Flashback: As the curse is about to strike, Regina visits Rumpelstiltskin one last time and he reveals that the happiness she seeks to attain with the curse will eventually leave a void in her heart. As we learned back in Season 2, Regina not only felt lonely, but she got tired of not living the same day over and over again. Back in Storybrooke after Greg Mendell disappears, she requests Mr. Gold’s assistance in finding a child to adopt, and he suggests an adoption agency with a child available right now as opposed to one two years later. It’s fairly certain that Rumpelstiltskin knew exactly what he was doing. Lana Parrilla continuously does an astonishing job of portraying all sides of Regina, and she’s undoubtedly outdone herself in this episode. Viewers are able to see every ounce of regret, pain, and love in her heart as she chooses to erase her memories in order to focus on being Henry’s mother. What Regina’s found in Henry is hope. The venal and cowardly choices she’s made in the Enchanted Forest are all put aside as she desperately and wholeheartedly tries to bring happiness into Henry’s world. It’s also revealed that John and Michael Darling were in the running to adopt Henry as well. Thankfully that didn’t happen. As great as it would’ve been for Wendy Darling to be saved, it’s a big no.

Modern Day: The episode picks up right where it left off with Rumpel trapped in the Pandora Box, Henry’s heart in Pan and Henry nearly dead on the floor. Regina casts a preservation spell on Henry to keep him steady until they could find a way to restore his heart.

What struck out boldly to us was this particular line. 

“You have no idea what I feel. You have your parents. You have this … person (Neal). A pirate who pines for you. You have everything and yet you claim to know how I feel. All I have is Henry.”  It’s absolutely beautiful how loud this line speaks not only for Regina, but also for the show’s broad theme. Once Upon A Time is about redemption – everyone deserves a happy ending, to be forgiven, and to be loved. Regina’s dark heart is healing because of Henry and it's a nice journey to witness.

Emma Swan has always been an undeniably selfless character throughout the series, and this was proven when she tells Regina to take the lead in order to save their son. She’s able to see the pain and remorse in Regina’s confession; therefore, she allows her to guide them because she understands that even though Regina may have been a villain, she’s done a great job with raising Henry. This isn’t about Emma or Neal and that’s alright. It doesn’t mean they love Henry any less, it simply means that in this moment, Regina can get the job done and they’re acknowledging that. It means that blood doesn’t matter because Henry doesn’t just have a biological mother and father but an adoptive mother who’s just as significant.

Once Upon A Time 3x03 "Quite A Common Fairy" Recap

Tinkerbell not only met all expectations we've had but without a doubt exceeded them. I remember crying during the cartoon when no one believed in her, and I'm not going to lie, I held back tears as Blue lost faith in her. What a scene. 

Pixie Dust never lies, does it? That being said, Robin Hood and Regina were meant to be soul mates. Surely though, that flashback wasn't the end of Hood Queen. What's to come in the future definitely looks promising of greatness. 

Speaking of Regina, it's always good to see her heart and not literally, as we saw that as well. She is slowly redeeming herself and giving Tink her heart to crush was an enormous form of sacrifice for Henry and the group. It's also pleasant to see the bond she and Emma are building. Regina wanting to use Emma's powers as well depicts that she can be selfless, and thus understand that someone else can be strong with magic as well. Let's be real? Who didn't tear up during the talk about "Operation Henry" and how he'd definitely come up with a more clever name?  

Neal, Mulan, Robin Hood, and Roland. If you aren't petrified of the fact that this isn't the end of the shadow then we aren't watching the same show. Yes, Neal successfully made it to Neverland without harming the boy and the group, but we all know nothing is ever that simple. Magic always comes with a price and we're terrified. Roland is a child. Despite almost being taken by the shadow, who's to say he won't be curious? Who's to say he won't be tempted to say "I believe" again?

Henry is warming up to Pan. We have a few theories on Pan and here's one of them: at the end of the day, he's a child as well; what if all he wants is truly, just like in the cartoons, to stay young and something other than him on that island is forcing him to grow up? And that's why he needs Henry's heart as he's the truest believer and if he believes in youth, it cannot be taken from them? What're your thoughts on Pan's motives? 

As we predicted in last weeks recap, Hook would notice Charming's wound first but who's going to heal it? It's not going to be pixie dust, but his one and only darling daughter. We believe Emma is going to heal him with her magic, and from that, we'll get the exceptionally heartfelt father/daughter scene we've been waiting for. 

Hook and Emma's closeness grows more and more with each episode, and in the most graceful way the two lost souls find home in one another. Though Neal is set to return rather quickly, there's no doubt that not only is forgiveness not going to be easy, but feelings between Captain Swan are going to be difficult to deny. The parallels between Snowing and Captain Swan are far too evident to ignore.

It seems a congratulations is in order for Philip and Aurora as they're expecting a child ,and Mulan has joined the Merry Men. Do you think it's possible for Mulan to get over Philip? Surely this keeps things open for Mufire to evolve. What're your thoughts on this triangle?

Next week: Tink's helping with "Operation Henry", Rumple and Neal are reunited, and the roller coaster continues.