EXCLUSIVE! The Ultimate 'Once Upon a Time' Season 5 Preview: Positive Scoop for Your Favorite Pairings!
A new Dark One is coming to Once Upon a Time, but that doesn’t mean we can't still have some truly amazing moments -- like in our sneak peek above!
As you should already know, we at ETonline are just a little bit obsessed with the enchanting ABC drama, and now, as we approach the darkly twisted season five premiere, we wanted to take some time to focus on the lighter side of things.
So when we called up executive producers Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis, we made sure to get all the exclusive positive scoop on what's coming up for ALL of your favorite pairings -- plus, THREE new ones!
"We're writing this show as a show where there is a light at the end of the tunnel that everyone is trying to reach," Horowitz dished of season five. "And when someone you care about and love is facing adversity, that brings out the best in those who care about you."
"Camelot is a place to fall in love," Kitsis added. "And I think we're going to see some really romantic and hopeful moments throughout the year as well."
WATCH: Jennifer Morrison's Plan for Keeping Captain Swan Together
Captain Swan: As Emma struggles with the overwhelming evil that comes with being The Dark One, Killian is hellbent on keeping her hooked into love and goodness. But, as Jennifer Morrison coyly confessed at Comic-Con, maybe Emma will just have to "suck him into the darkness with her." "Hook is a person who has flirted with darkness for a very long time, so seeing what Emma is going to go through is going to be a tricky situation," Horowitz revealed. But can The Dark One still love? "I think we saw with Rumple that The Dark One is absolutely capable of love," Kitsis promised.
"The Dark One is capable of love. The problem with The Dark One is that the darkness leads to selfishness, which leads to bad decisions, which leads to everyone leaving you," Kitsis said. Before you start panicking, Captain Swan fans, we made sure to ask about Emma's "I love you" declaration in the season finale, and if we could be getting more. "I think we're going to explore that," Kitsis confirmed. "This year she has to deal with the fact that every time she ever told someone she loved them or kissed them, they died. Hook is there because we know he's a good survivor. So I think that it is very hard to let your guard down and make yourself more vulnerable, and that we're going to explore with Hook and her this season." Speaking of Hook, look out for a Hook-centric article next week, Oncers!
Rumbelle: Our hearts truly ached for those Rumbelle fans last year, because this couple had a gut-wrenching season, but now it's time to discover a brand new facet to this diamond of a relationship: What are Belle and Rumple like when they're free of darkness? "I think as far as Rumple and Belle go, we saw where their relationship was last season and they were facing adversity," Horowitz confessed. "And now Gold is facing a really tough situation and we don’t know what his physical state is, and I think that that overrides everything."
"We'll probably see Belle reacting to that and all her issues with Gold," Horowitz continued. "What he has done has to be put aside for this more important issue of how do we save him? And if we do save him, if we do wake him up, what is he? Who is he? Now that the darkness has been stripped away, what kind of person is he and how can their relationship move forward. Their relationship isn’t over, it's growing and changing and evolving." Not to mention, there is a truly touching (and iconic!) item from the Beauty and the Beast movie introduced in Sunday's premiere, and let's just say we gasped and then "Awww"-ed very loudly when we saw it.
WATCH: 'OUAT' Cast Laughs About 'Warped' Romantic Relationships
Snowing: By now, you've probably heard that there is turmoil ahead for the most iconic couple in Storybrooke, but can we expect to see any positive moments for these two? "100 percent," Kitsis answered without skipping a beat. "They share a heart. Their daughter is in trouble and they're not sure how to help her, and that causes a lot of stress, but at the end of the day, Mary Margaret -- as she told us in the pilot -- believes in hope and we are going to get some great moments."
In addition to some great Charming family bonding, fans will also be treated to another epic Charming bromance as he embarks on Camelot adventures with King Arthur. "But it's not just [Charming] and King Arthur having an adventure," Horowitz stressed. "It's about how his adventure with Arthur impacts his relationship with Snow and we're going to see that very quickly. And let's not forget that they have a connection to Camelot already: We saw them married by Lancelot years ago, so I would be surprised if that didn’t come up as a topic in a coming episode."
Wicked Womb: Here’s your brand new pairing name, Oncers! We wanted a way to refer to the (very strong!) relationship between Zelena and her unborn child without involving outside dynamics, and our new name definitely has the Adam and Eddy seal of approval. "I really like it!" Kitsis exclaimed. "I think we're going to get an insight into what this baby means to her and how she feels about the entire situation. And I'll be totally honest with you, Leanne, she's going to scare the s**t out of you at some point! She's the wicked witch you can't get around it."
Horowitz furthered, "Right, she's wicked and that part of her is still there and Wicked Womb is a great way to look at it because this is not a love triangle. It's not Regina, Robin and Zelena, the wicked witch. It's this half-sister of Regina, who has caused incredible chaos and pain, is now going to be causing more -- but it's all based on a very strong, emotional connection and that is the love for her unborn child." And speaking of Robin and Regina…
MORE: Regina and Robin's Baby Mama Drama With That 'Villain'!
Outlaw Queen: Now that we've (very happily) established that there is no Wicked Ouatlaw Queen love triangle going on, it's time to find out what's next for her majesty and her man. "I think their journey looks strong," Kitsis said. "I think that this baby may be a setback last year, in the sense that it threw everyone for a loop, but I think they've come together, their remaining strong. You're going to see Regina in a leadership position this year and Robin is really supporting that."
Kitsis continued, "And we're going to get a really romantic moment between the two of them in episode two. There is a Camelot ball or as we call it: Prom. No. You know what, I guess it's fall so it would be a Homecoming dance!" I guess we already know who will be crowned Queen! So just how romantic is this episode going to be? "It's hugely romantic," Horowitz teased. "I think episode two has romance blowing through its veins." Jaw, meet floor.
Henry and Violet: Turns out, the romance is spreading everywhere in episode two because Henry has a Camelot crush, y'all! Although this official shipper name is still pending, we're suggesting Cobra Cutie or Cobra Camelot. (Make sure to share your favorite with @LeanneAguilera on Twitter!) "Episode two has my favorite romance of all, Leanne, and that's the first romance," Kitsis gushed. "The first time you look at someone and say, 'I think I have a crush on you.' So Henry is going to meet the apple of his eye, if you will, in Camelot."
So who is this mysterious other world girl? "She's a creation within our own show and it's really less about who she is and really more about her and Henry together," Kitsis answered. "We're really seeing Henry grow up in front of our eyes and I can tease that her name is Violet, and the two of them together are pretty awesome. Henry is going to go after his first crush."
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Swan Queen: Fans of Emma and Regina's unwavering bond are going to be truly pleased with Sunday's episode, and, after chatting with Adam and Eddy, it looks like things will continue to grow stronger. "Emma and Regina have a relationship that has grown and now, into its fifth season, it has become a really strong and intense relationship," Horowitz said. "And it started from a place of complete animosity. They were really at each other over their son, and now they've reached a place where they are both Henry's mother, and they are both sort of acknowledging that fact, and an unlikely friendship has been born between them."
"They've gotten closer than we ever thought they would get when we first saw them in the pilot and it's great," Horowitz dished. "And what I think is so great about their friendship and relationship is that we're seeing how it brings out different sides of each other. Particularly in this Dark Swan kind of arc that we're going through, Regina's history with darkness is something that gives her unique insights to Emma."
Our Mystery LGBT Pairing: By now you know that the powers-that-be at OUAT are finally going to officially explore a same-sex relationship, so of course we had to get the details! "We aren't going to say who the characters are," Kitsis teased, "We can say that we are going to set it up in the first half, but we are really going to be doing it in the second half. We like to plant the seed and let it grow, so people have to know it'll be in the second half of the season."
"We feel that it is important to show many different kind of love stories -- whether they're between a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, or just family love stories with a mother and a daughter, or friendship," Kitsis said. "So we feel that it is time that we explored a relationship in that community, and we're very excited about it because we're treating it no different than any other love story that we do because that's just the way of the world." Horowitz added, "Love is love and that is how we intend to handle it."
Season five of Once Upon a Time premieres Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC!
There you have it, Oncers! Your ultimate (and totally positive!) guide to what is coming up next for your favorite pairings. What are you most looking forward to seeing? Share your thoughts with @LeanneAguilera and embrace the OUAT cast's adorableness in the video below!