‘Once Upon A Time’ Showrunner Says ‘We’re Going To Dive Into Dark One Mythology’

Once Upon a Time is giving fans plenty to look forward to with its upcoming fifth season and much of the teasers coming from series showrunners Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis focus on Dark Emma and how the other characters will process their heroine’s change from good to evil. In fact, the Once Upon a Time showrunners told Yahoo TV that one character, Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle), would become an essential guide to Emma, as she tries to get a grasp on her new powers.

“The context of how they’re together won’t really reveal itself to the fans until they see the premiere,” Horowitz says. “If we’re going to have Emma be the Dark One, we’re going to dive into Dark One mythology.”

“You are going to see flashbacks on being the Dark One, that is what I will say,” Kitsis added.

It seems that partly as a consequence of Emma’s change, Once Upon a Time fans will see Henry (Jared Gilmore) go through changes of his own, changes that are essential if he is to step up and save Emma from the Dark One’s curse.

“We’re going to see Henry is going from being a little kid to a young man. We’re going to see him take on more responsibilities,” Kitsis said. “As well, we’re going to see Henry have his very first crush. You can’t go to Camelot and not fall in love!”

It seems Henry won’t be alone in his struggle to save Emma from the curse. As Once Upon a Time fans might have expected, Hook will be joining the fight, according to Design & Trend.

“[Hook] is hell-bent on saving Emma, so he is going to be quite active over the first 10 episodes,” Kitsis revealed.

“Emma facing the darkness as the new Dark One forces Hook to confront the darkness in himself that he’s spent hundreds of years coming to terms with. It gives him unique insight into Emma’s predicament and pushes their relationship to what we think are exciting but also potentially dangerous places,” Once Upon a Time‘s Horowitz added. “It’s never been easy for these two, and things are only going to get dicier.”

As Sean Maguire and Rebecca Mader were promoted to Once Upon a Time series regulars, the characters of Robin and Zelena will be shown in more prominent subplots connected to Regina (Lana Parrilla).

“Robin is really just picking up from last year; he is with Regina, we know Zelena is carrying his baby, and Zelena is the ‘wild card,’ so to speak. She’s like the Hannibal Lecter,” said Once Upon a Time E.P. Kitsis. “We can never really trust her and we never really quite know what her motives are, but we absolutely know we should be frightened of her. In the premiere, people will see why.”

The Once Upon a Time season premiere will air on Sunday, September 27 on ABC.

[Featured image courtesy of ABC/Once Upon a Time]