*Spoiler Alert* Dark One Twist in 'Once Upon a Time' Season 5

We all know who "The Dark One" is on the show Once Upon a Time. The one person who is supposedly the most magical being in the realms, the one who is impossible to destroy and the one who no one wants to cross. It is also only ONE person.

What is going on?

In the episode 5.08 "Birth," we finally have pieced together many of the key things that have happened in Camelot, one of which is why Emma fully became the Dark One. Hook had been scratched by Excalibur, and once the sword has made its mark on you, you are going to die. To save him, Emma had to use her powers to string his life to the sword, tying it to him. Presumably, this means that he will become a second Dark One, since he has darkness in his past.

Jennifer Morrison, who plays Emma, is all for the idea.

“I thought it was a cool idea. There’s something really romantic about it. She doesn’t want him to die. She doesn’t want to lose this man. She’s lost all the people that she’s loved in different ways. She wants to put her foot down and say, ‘No, this is the guy, I don’t want to lose this one. Even if we have to make some crazy choices to fight to overcome the Darkness, I’m going to do whatever it takes.’ It’s a really romantic gesture.”

Hook, of course, was not pleased and before she rescued him even begged her not to do it and let herself be taken into the darkness. Other members of Storybrooke won't be too happy either. Eddy Kitsis says that

“They are not going to be pleased. The person who is going to be least pleased is Hook, because the thing he hates most in the world is the Dark One. Rumplestiltskin [Robert Carlyle] took away everything from him and now Emma turned him into the one thing that he hates. Worse than that for him, we’ve seen Emma really, really struggle with resisting the Darkness. Hook knows after centuries of being a pirate, he does not have her willpower. You can’t sneak an alcoholic alcohol and expect him not to drink. All of that is going to play out and it’s really going to test their relationship and their love.”

As for how Hook feels about it, well Colin O'Donoghue has his own words to say:

“There are a few things as the Dark One that are more complex. They all have slightly different things that they want out of the Darkness. A big part of who Hook is, and who he has been for hundreds of years, is that motivation for revenge, and you definitely see elements of that come up.”

The true curse?

While he does state that everyone has different things from what they want from the "darkness" that actually isn't true from what I have seen. To be honest, the curse does not seem so "dark power" driven but "desperation" driven. All of the Dark Ones that we have met became that way because they didn't want to be parted from the one they loved. Nimue was seeking revenge, yes, but she also wanted to spend an eternity with Merlin. Emma even tells Merlin that she can still feel Nimue's love for him when she sees her. Rumpelstiltskin wanted to protect his son from the Ogre Wars. Now Emma, in a moment of true despair and heartbreak not wanting to lose the love of her life finished her transformation to save Hook. It's when they accept the darkness fully that they truly become powerful, at least this was the case with Emma.

Hook, however, knows he has a dark side and believes there is no way that he can be saved from giving into the darkness. While all things point to him becoming dark, and even the promo says it, is there a glimmer of hope?

Maybe Hook isn't "dark."

Now do not get me wrong, this may just be a Hook fangirl talking, but Hook's name is on the lower half of the sword where Merlin's was. Merlin watched the woman he loved succumb to the darkness and fought incredibly hard to not become like that, though doing so would be easy.

When Emma first appeared and throughout most of her stay in Camelot, she appeared in white clothing, still in keeping with her light magic and persona. It was only when she gave into the darkness that she became the Dark One.

Maybe him being dressed in black and assuming he is dark immediately actually is just a pretense to the truth that is he is actually good. The light to Emma's darkness.

Elliot Knight, who plays Merlin, told Buzzfeed in an interview that

“There’s definitely is a link between Hook and Merlin that will be explored a little further. I can’t say when, but there is something there to explore. Maybe we’ll have some pirate adventures.”

Merlin had the opportunity to turn into darkness, but resisted. People think there is only darkness in Hook, but think of this: When Emma was trying to light the Prometheus Flame, she needed light magic, but was unable to let go of the darkness within her. It was only after she kissed Hook that she was able to light the flame, making him and her future with him, her light.

Maybe what it comes down to is like Emma, Hook will fight with what he knows about himself. He knows that he has a darkness in him, and that will be his first reaction, but perhaps he will find that in the end, the light is in him. That he is the other half of the puzzle, and the light magic against Emma, his true love, like Merlin was to Nimue.

Or maybe he is just dark and I am thinking too much about it.

For now, it looks as though we have two Dark Ones, and that there will be no end of the trouble in store for Storybrooke. Check out the newest promo and decide for yourself.