‘Once Upon A Time’ Spoilers About Hook’s Bad Hand, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, And The Snow Queen

Once Upon a Time fans who can’t get enough of Captain Swan are in for a real treat this week, and it’s not the kind of heart-freezing frosty treat that the Snow Queen serves up to unsuspecting customers.

The next episode of Once Upon a Time is titled “The Apprentice,” and it will feature plenty of Emma and Hook. According to Spoiler TV, the princess and the pirate will actually go on their first proper date. Emma has been trying to brush Hook off all season, but set photos show that she’s taking their night out together very seriously — she’s actually traded her jeggings and leather jacket for a feminine and flirty dress.

Hook also decides to change his look for their date, ditching his 50-pound leather jacket for a much shorter one. The pirate even manages to get Mr. Gold to reattach the hand that he cut off all those years ago (apparently the crazy crocodile kept it), but Once Upon a Time viewers know that magic always comes with a price — according to Entertainment Outlook, “the hand soon turns into a curse, rather than a blessing.”

Maybe Mr. Gold is up to his old tricks again, putting a curse on Hook’s hand that makes the pirate unable to control it. The Dark One has been slowly slipping back into his old ways, and he does have a long-standing grudge with Hook. Captain Swan fans better hope that the hand doesn’t ruin Hook’s first date with Emma.

Judging from the casting of a “spaghetti woman” and a “spaghetti man,” it looks like Captain Swan’s date will be at a swanky Italian food restaurant, so don’t be surprised to see a Lady and the Tramp moment. You also shouldn’t be shocked if Emma and Hook’s nice night out gets interrupted — a lot will be happening in Storybrooke during “The Apprentice.”

Will Scarlet, a.k.a. “The Knave,” is the most likely resident to ruin Captain Swan’s date night. Entertainment Outlook reports that The Knave will get punched by Hook, and he’s going to attempt to break into the library to steal a special book. Perhaps he’s trying to find a way to get back to Wonderland. Meanwhile, Mary Margaret and Henry will try to comfort a frustrated Regina as she struggles to find a cure for Marian.

The flashbacks in this episode will explore one of the biggest mysteries of this season of Once Upon a Time: what happened to Anna? She’ll encounter the Dark One, and he might try to use her to obtain a special box guarded by the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Rumplestiltskin recently discovered this mysterious box in present-day Storybrooke, and he used it to conjure up the star-spangled wizard’s hat from the movie Fantasia. But what does he plan to do with it?

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice will be a new character, according to Spoiler TV. He’ll be played by Cedar’s Cove actor Timothy Webber. Zoso will also appear in this Rumple-centric episode, so perhaps Timothy Webber’s character works for the former Dark One.

As far as Elizabeth Mitchell’s Snow Queen is concerned, fans can expect another encounter with Emma. The Snow Queen will make Emma crash her yellow bug by icing the road, and Emma will respond by hunting her down and confronting her with a gun. Obviously the Snow Queen knows Emma, and her feelings toward the Savior didn’t seem antagonistic when she first recognized her. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Elizabeth Mitchell talked about the Snow Queen’s connection to Emma.

“I know that everyone thinks it might be negative, so Emma must think that. I can say it’s surprising, but I can’t really [say much] because it’s so much a part of the whole thing. It’s one of those ones where it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on, and it does mean a lot to both of them—which is fun because I like spending time with Jennifer. She’s awesome. It’s important, and it’s big, and it has a lot to do with the mythology of things, which I love.”

The next chapter of Once Upon a Time airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

[Image credits: ABC via Spoiler TV]