'Once Upon a Time' Hero and Villain of the Week: Courage Under Fire

Warning: Spoilers ahead for this week’s episode of Once Upon a Time.

Once Upon a Time is filled with witches and wizards, sorcerers and spells, but magic doesn’t fix every problem. A hero isn’t defined by how well he or she uses magic against danger; a hero is somebody with the courage to step up and face the danger, knowing what it could cost them.

This week, we saw both Merida and Rumplestiltskin have to choose between the easy way and the hard way. For Merida, the easy way was using a potion to transform her into a bear, which would let her save her brothers. For Rumple, it was driving straight out of Storybrooke and away from Emma’s grasp.

Related: Get Caught Up With Our ‘Once Upon a Time’ Recaps

But both ended up taking the other path in the forked road. Merida used her sharp archery skills to defeat the clan lords, while Rumple chose not to run for the first time in his life.

And for both, it was one person who pushed them to find their courage, which is why…

Hero of the Week: Belle

Belle is often overlooked as a hero, because, well, swords and magic are sexier than books. But finally, Belle can shine in both present-day Storybrooke and the Camelot of six weeks ago, by using her brains and her heart.

In Camelot, Belle, Charming, Hook, and Merlin gang up to free Lancelot and Merida from Arthur’s prison. But Merida soon kidnaps Belle for her own purposes — to rescue her brothers! Belle ends up agreeing to help her, and they sneak into a witch’s hut to brew a spell to defeat the clan lords who are holding the brothers captive.

Merida wants to use a potion that will turn her into a bear, but Belle urges her to consider using her excellent archery skills instead. That would not only save Merida’s brothers, but convince the clans that she is the rightful queen. But Merida is afraid — after all, her father died because her aim wasn’t true. Belle tells her the death is not her fault, and that she has to forgive herself.

When they find the brothers on the verge of execution, Merida drinks the potion… but it doesn’t work! She has to dig deep, find her courage, and save her brothers with her bow and arrow. This time, her aim is true. She saves them, impresses the clans, and proves she deserves her crown.

As for Belle’s part in turning Rumple from a coward into a hero, read on…

Villain of the Week: Emma

The Dark One takes this dubious honor once again. In the present day, she’s still using Merida’s heart to turn Rumple into a hero. When they discover he’s escaped, Emma orders to kill Belle instead! That will force Rumple into saving her.

Rumple figures this out, though, and has a plan: Get the hell outta town! He grabs Belle and some magic powder and starts to flee. But Belle doesn’t want to go. She doesn’t want to run away and give up on the people they care about. Rumple is too afraid and keeps driving.

Then Merida confronts Belle and uses a potion to turn herself into the bear that we never saw her become in Camelot time! Merida the Bear is about to kill Belle when Rumple shows up to save the day!

Now he’s a hero, but that means Emma got what she wanted. Rumple knows he can’t evade her forever, so he cuts a deal: Give back Merida’s heart, and he’ll pull Excalibur from the stone. He does so, and it seems Merlin’s prophecy — the one he delivered to young Emma in the movie theater — will mean very bad things for all our fairy tale heroes.

There’s hope, though. Apparently, there is one person who has the power to defeat Emma. Regina, Charming, and Snow use that magic mushroom (after Arthur tried to destroy it) to get a message from Merlin. He tells them that person is Nimue. If you aren’t familiar with Arthurian legend, that is the name of the Lady of the Lake.

Time for swimming lessons!

Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on ABC.