The Broken Kingdom
| "The Broken Kingdom" | |
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| Once Upon a Time episode | |
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| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 4 |
| Directed by | Alrick Riley |
| Written by | David H. Goodman & Jerome Schwartz |
| Production code | 504 |
| Original air date | October 18, 2015 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"The Broken Kingdom" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the American fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time, which aired on October 18, 2015.
In this episode, Mary Margaret decides to take matters into her own hands when she fails to convince David about Lancelot's warning about King Arthur, and Hook’s unwavering love for Emma provides a slight possibility of succeeding in her struggle against the unrelenting voice of Rumplestiltskin, while in Storybrooke, Emma unleashes a weapon to unleash Excalibur by using a brave soul to do the task. Back in Camelot's past, Guinevere sets out with Lancelot on a quest to locate the other half of Excalibur, as she begins to sense Arthur's obsession with making Excalibur whole.
Merlin's tower is featured in the forest.
The opening scene at Camelot takes place after "Nimue", and several hundred years before the scenes with young Arthur and Guinevere. The Camelot scene with young Arthur and Guinevere, takes place hundreds of years after the opening scene, and several years before the opening of "The Dark Swan". The Camelot scene where King Arthur shows Excalibur to his subjects, takes place shortly after the opening scene of "The Dark Swan". The Camelot flashback scenes focusing on the hunt for the Dark One's Dagger, takes place 33 years before the events with the group from Storybrooke, three years before the casting of the Dark Curse, and after the scene where Arthur shows Excalibur to his subjects. The Camelot events with the group from Storybrooke take place after "Siege Perilous", the episode places these event five years after the scenes focusing on the hunt for the dagger, meaning the time period is from the point of view of Camelot people and does not include the Dark Curse's duration. The Enchanted Forest flashback scenes at the Vault of the Dark One take place immediately before "Heroes and Villains". The Enchanted Forest flashback scenes at Granny's Diner take place after "The Dark Swan" and before "Dreamcatcher". The Storybrooke events take place after "Siege Perilous".
In the early years before Camelot, we meet the stable boy who would later become the once and future King, Arthur, who was motivated to fulfill his prophecy of finding Excalibur at a very early age, which he would follow through as an adult years later (33 years before the Storybrooke residents' arrival, including 28 years of Regina's Curse), when he pulled the sword out the stone. While he proclaimed to his kingdom that he had found the entire sword, Arthur, like Merlin, only spoke in half truths, as the King left out the part about the sword being split in half, after he shows a portion from the case. He even tells Guinevere that he has studied the translations of the Camarthen Scroll, which contain the three elements: the star, the eye, and the sun, but he can't decipher the clues. Arthur's quest to reunite Excalibur has led to his long running obsession to seek out the missing sword piece, which in turn leads to shutting Guinevere out of his life, which in turn leads to her turning to Lancelot, who plans a party for her and makes her feel loved, and would stay behind to watch Guinevere as Arthur began his search for the missing dagger.
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