Captain Hook (Once Upon a Time)

"Where are my manners, we haven’t been formally introduced. Killian Jones. Now what are you doing aboard my ship?"

- Captain Hook to Rumplestiltskin

Killian Jones, better known as Captain Hook and briefly as the Dark One, is a character on Once Upon a Time. He debuts in the fourth episode of Season Two, and is portrayed by Colin O'Donoghue. Hook serves as the secondary antagonist of the second season, but redeems himself and is now a protagonist of the series. However, in the first half of Season 5, it was revealed that Hook was forcibly turned into a Dark One; therefore, he became the second main antagonist, but redeemed himself by absorbing the Darkness and sacrificing himself.

Emma, however, has begun a journey to the very Underworld itself in an attempt to rescue Hook. It turns out that Hook is being held captive by Hades. He eventually managed to move on from the Underworld and return to Emma alive.

Captain Hook is based on a character from the play Peter Pan.

Before First Curse
Before he was Captain Hook, he met Rumplestiltskin at a tavern where he was entertaining Rumplestiltskin's wife, Milah, with stories of the lands he had visited. Rumplestiltskin approaches the table and asks Milah to come home with him, to which she declined. Jones made a comment about how Rumplestiltskin was taller than Milah described, before Baelfire appeared in the tavern. At her son's appearance, she left with him and Rumplestiltskin. The next day, Jones and his crew seemingly kidnap Milah, and Rumplestiltskin goes to his ship to ask him to give Milah back to him. Jones says that he is a man with a code of honor, and that if Rumplestiltskin can fight him and win, he will allow Milah to go back with Rumplestiltskin. But when he throws the sword to Rumplestiltskin, Rumplestiltskin won't fight, and so concedes to Jones.

Several years later, Jones returns to the same tavern where he met Milah and proceeds to drink and enjoy a good time with his crew. In the alley outside the tavern, he is bumped into by a seemingly helpless beggar, whom he then makes fun of calling him less of a rat and more like a crocodile. The beggar begins to laugh hideously, and casts off his cloak to reveal that he is none other than Rumplestiltskin now "The Dark One". Rumplestiltskin asks Jones where Milah is, and at first Jones pretends not to know her, then tells Rumplestiltskin that she died years ago. Rumplestiltskin challenges Jones to a duel, but takes Jones' sword, saying that he finds something poetic about killing Jones with it. The two battle and Rumplestiltskin eventually gains the upper hand by plunging his hand into Jones' chest to rip his heart out. ("The Crocodile")

At this moment, Milah appears and orders Rumplestiltskin to stop, saying that she will give him the magic bean held by William Smee if he will spare both hers and Jones' life. She also reveals that she and Jones are lovers, and she joined his crew of her own free will. Rumplestiltskin agrees and the next day meets both Jones and Milah on board the ship. Milah offers him the bean, but then tosses it to Jones as Rumplestiltskin moves towards her in a fit of rage. Jones clenches it in his fist as he watches Rumplestiltskin rip Milah's heart out. He runs to her side and holds her in his arms as Milah tells him she loves him. She dies in his arms as Rumplestiltskin crumbles her heart into dust. Rumplestiltskin demands the bean, but Jones refuses. In response, Rumplestiltskin cuts off Killian's left hand, which supposedly holds the bean. Jones cries out in pain, then grabs a hook near Milah's corpse and drives it into Rumplestiltskin's chest. Rumplestiltskin laughs and disappears in a cloud of dark red smoke, leaving the hook to clatter to the deck. Jones takes the hook and replaces his left hand with it, before burying Milah at sea. He then tosses the magic bean, which was concealed in his other hand, into the sea, and states that he and his crew are going to a place where youth is eternal. When Smee asks the name of this place, Jones, now Hook, says, "Neverland". As a result of what Rumplestiltskin did, Hook wanted revenge on him. However, he knew this would be impossible, with how powerful Rumplestiltskin is. He therefore teamed up with Cora, and with her magic, they were not affected by the evil queen's curse.

Season 2
Twenty-eight years later, Hook meets up with Cora near a small island hamlet, where the survivors of the Dark Curse live. She shows him the ashes of the wardrobe, which can be used to get to the other world. There, Hook hopes to finally get even with Rumplestiltskin. ("The Crocodile")

Some time after this, Cora enchants two of her bracelets for herself and Hook to use for climbing up a beanstalk. There, they intend to retrieve a compass for reaching Storybrooke. Rather than wait for Cora, Hook decides to align himself with Emma's group. Pretending to be a survivor of Cora's attack on the Safe Haven, Hook quickly gains Aurora's sympathy. He introduces himself as a blacksmith who lost his hand in an ogre attack, but Emma doesn't believe him. He refuses to tell the truth, so Emma ties him to a tree as bait for ogres. When she whistles to draw the ogres near and leaves him there, Hook finally admits his actual identity as a shocked Mary Margaret pulls his hook out of his satchel. Hook admits working with Cora, but offers to join forces with Emma and her team as he knows a way to get to Storybrooke. Most of all, he wants to go to Storybrooke to get revenge on Rumplestiltskin for taking away his hand. Emma decides to cut him free. Then, he leads them to a giant beanstalk stretching up into the sky, and explains there is an enchanted compass at the top, but first they must deal with the giant guarding it. ("The Doctor", "Into the Deep")

Since Hook possesses a counter spell to allow himself and only one other person to journey up the beanstalk, Emma joins him. During the climb, Hook prods Emma about her past, but she is reluctant to talk about it. He turns the conversation to her son. Hook can tell she is an orphan, just like the Lost Boys of Neverland, since he spent time in their company. He also guesses Emma doesn't want her son to grow up like she did. When he asks if she has ever been in love, Emma denies it. At the top of the beanstalk, Emma and Hook arrive in the realm of the giants. She suggests they use the poppy dust to put the giant to sleep. As Hook passes the powder, she notices the tattoo with Milah's name on it and assumes he must have really loved her. Hook lures the giant out towards Emma, who manages to knock him out by throwing the dust. They wander through the giant's lair, with Emma looking for the magical compass, while Hook seems to have more of an eye on the treasure. Emma notices a tripwire and stops him in his tracks by grabbing his arm. He jests that she likes him, which she strongly refutes. They spot the compass on a top of a golden bird cage, but before retrieving it, the giant storms in. Large stones bury Hook underneath, though Emma later comes to show him the compass. As Hook reaches for it, she tucks it away and entraps him; claiming he can't be trusted. ("Tallahassee")

Escaping from the giant, Hook makes his descent from the beanstalk. At the bottom, Cora confronts him about taking her bracelets and climbing up the beanstalk without her. The pirate claims he intended to take the compass for the both of them. Noting his failure, she asks who had beaten him to it, to which he admits Emma did. Deciding Hook is no longer trustworthy, since he used the bracelets without her consultation, Cora severs ties with him. Ultimately, she decides to leave him in the Enchanted Forest with his vengeance unfulfilled. In anger, he tries to stab her with his hook, but she teleports away; leaving him face-down in the dirt. Realizing he will not get to Storybrooke alone, Hook returns to the ruins of the Safe Haven, where Cora is keeping Aurora captive, and rips out the girl's heart while she is unconscious. He then puts the heart in a pouch and shakes Aurora awake. Pretending to be on her side, Hook explains he is freeing her as a means to ensure Cora's plans fail. Before the girl runs off, he asks her to deliver the message that his deal with Emma, to help her return home, still stands. Later, in the cell, Cora accosts him for helping her prisoner escape. However, all is forgiven when he gifts her Aurora's heart. Using it, he and Cora listen to Aurora and her three companions speak. They learn about the foursome's next journey to Rumplestiltskin's old cell to find squid ink, which will entrap and render Cora powerless. Cora congratulates him on taking out a heart, to which Hook proposes they leave for Storybrooke together. ("Into the Deep")

With Aurora's heart in hand, Cora manipulates the girl into triggering a switch to lock all four of them in Rumplestiltskin's old cell. Out of the darkness, Hook and Cora make themselves known. When the three women attempt to confront Aurora over her "betrayal", Cora unveils Aurora's heart from beneath her cloak and squeezes it as a test. Hook confronts Emma about leaving him atop the beanstalk. She tries to make him reconsider helping her, but Hook is not interested and shows Emma a "souvenir", a magic bean, which was procured from the giant's neck. Tauntingly, he affirms she is very much like the bean as it was once magical and full of hope, but is now "dried up, dead, and useless." Hook makes it clear he's done with her, and leaves with Cora for Lake Nostos. Once there, Cora has Hook dump the wardrobe ashes into the lake, and create a portal. They are stopped at the last minute when Mulan fires an arrow to knock the compass out of Cora's hand. While he and Emma fight for the compass, Cora nearly drops Aurora's heart into the portal. Hook catches and returns it to Mulan, who then hurries back to Aurora. He and Emma continue their sword duel until she is pinned down by him. While throwing her an innuendo, Emma reveals the compass in her hand and promptly knocks him out cold. He wakes up only after Emma and Mary Margaret have left in the portal. Though Cora is disappointed, Hook suggests they restore the withered magic bean with the lake's waters. This idea works, and they sail into Storybrooke's waters on the Jolly Roger. ("Queen of Hearts")

At the Storybrooke harbor, they discuss Hook's desire for vengeance against Rumplestiltskin, which is now more difficult to execute with the presence of magic in Storybrooke. When a local resident sees the ship, Cora hides the vehicle with magic and then turns him into a fish, to which Hook kicks into the water. Sometime later, he and Cora observe Regina leaving the diner alone after her talk with Emma. Cora sets Regina up for the murder of Archie and kidnaps the man aboard the ship for Hook to use for interrogation. ("The Cricket Game")

Below the deck of the Jolly Roger, Hook demands Archie for knowledge on the dagger. Archie pleads ignorance on the topic, and Hook sees he is telling the truth. However, Hook knows Rumplestiltskin must have a weakness, and threatens to "dissect a cricket" if Archie does not talk, which he agrees to do. He learns Rumplestiltskin, who goes by Mr. Gold in this land, has a beloved named Belle. He goes to the library and corners Belle inside the building. When he threatens to kill her, she hastily seeks shelter inside an elevator. In truth, this is just a ploy to force her to call Mr. Gold for help, therefore drawing him out of the pawnshop so Hook's associate Smee can steal Baelfire's shawl. Hook disappears back onto his ship with the shawl. He catches Belle rifling through the lower deck for the shawl after freeing Archie and grabs her gun. He reveals the truth to her about Milah and how she died, though Belle believes Mr. Gold has changed. After Hook is knocked in the head, she runs away to the deck, though he arrives there first. Suddenly, Mr. Gold approaches and begins beating Hook, who openly taunts his cowardice. Belle convinces him to stop as Hook is left in a battered bloody mess when the two leave the ship. At nightfall, Hook shoots Belle as she is bidding Mr. Gold farewell while both are standing on opposite sides of the town border. This causes Belle to fall across the town line and lose her Enchanted Forest memories. While Hook is reveling in causing Mr. Gold pain, a car driven by an outsider speeds into town and hits Hook. ("The Outsider")

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Gold is so enraged at what has unfolded and hurts Hook further by crushing his already broken ribs, though David and Emma stop him. Hook is taken into the hospital as a patient. Emma interrogates him about the location of Cora, but he deflects her questions with flirtatious remarks. In frustration, she pokes him in the ribs until Hook admits he has no idea where Cora is. Even in his wrecked physical state, he is pleased to have damaged Mr. Gold by harming Belle and finds it well worth it since his nemesis started everything by killing Milah. ("In the Name of the Brother")

Having recovered from his injuries, Hook is taken out of the hospital by David, Leroy and Mary Margaret for questioning about Cora's plans. He takes them aboard his ship to show them a giant, Anton, who Cora shrunk and kidnapped from the Enchanted Forest. He denies knowing anything about Cora's intentions and suggests they ask the giant. Mary Margaret lets Anton out, but the giant is worked up into a rage when he sees David. During the commotion, Hook escapes into town to attempt contact with Cora by using a Queen of Hearts card. Instead, Regina appears to tell him Cora is laying low from the public to avoid repercussions. She still blames him for failing to kill Cora, even though the two have now made amends. When she asks about Cora's things on his ship, he specifies that the giant has escaped. From this, Regina devises a plan to use the giant to her advantage to cause trouble in town. ("Tiny")

Hook discovers Mr. Gold is no longer in town, which could make it easier to kill him as there is no magic outside of Storybrooke. Cora promises him that much, but first, he teams up with them to find the one thing capable of controlling Mr. Gold—the dagger. They scour the library after Regina retrieves a call number for a book from Belle's purse. In place of the missing book, there is a treasure map. Previously, Hook placed it there himself to fool Cora and Regina. After he outlines the area on the map where the dagger is located, he passes out when Cora flings him into a book shelf. ("Manhattan")

Awakening, Hook takes matters into his own hands by going to the Storybrooke jail, where he attacks David, steals keys and uses them to open a drawer where his hook is kept. Reattaching it as his missing hand, he leaves and sails the Jolly Rogerto New York. Tracking Mr. Gold to an apartment complex, he knocks Emma out of the way to stab Mr. Gold with his hook, which is coated in Dreamshade, stating he took Milah and his happiness from him, and now Rumplestiltskin's life is his. Emma manages to knock Hook out before he can hurt Mr. Gold any further. Neal runs down the stairs and sees the scene, recognizing Hook. To keep Hook from harming anyone else, Emma locks him in the Neal's storage closet while they make plans to sail back to Storybrooke on the Jolly Roger. ("The Queen Is Dead")

Later, Neal notifies Emma that when his fiancée, Tamara, went to get her bags from the storage closet, Hook was not there. In truth, though Neal and Emma are under the impression Hook somehow escaped, he is actually taken hostage by Tamara and Greg. They sneak him into Storybrooke via hiding him in the back of a truck, and want to use him for their own means. ("Selfless, Brave and True", "Lacey")

On the top level of the clock tower, Tamara and Greg tie Hook to a chair. He guesses they are going to interrogate and torture information out of him, and laughs at the situation. Hook doesn't care about following their rules as he believes he has already accomplished his life's goal of killing the Dark One. Tamara and Greg show him the truth by easing his chair close to the clock tower's face and handing him a telescope. Hook uses it to peer down onto the ground level of the town, and becomes enraged seeing Mr. Gold alive and well walking beside Belle. Greg makes him see he cannot win against the Dark One unless he has help, and if they help him, he must also do as they want. Greg wants Hook to get close to Regina under the pretense of becoming her ally, which he agrees to do.

Hook comes to Regina in her office and pretends to spill Tamara and Greg's secret plan of wanting him to become aligned with and betray her later on. He gives his condolences upon hearing of Cora's death, and pulls at Regina's heart by talking about the one thing Cora wanted for her daughter was to see her win. Regina lets Hook in on her escape plan from Storybrooke by using magic beans to go back to the Enchanted Forest. Before she leaves with Henry, Regina wants to activate a "fail-safe" that will eradicate the whole town and its inhabitants. Hook asks if the "crocodile" will also perish, which Regina confirms.

Hook and Regina travel down to the basement level of the clock tower where inside a cave hides the "fail-safe". Hook grimly talks about how revenge is all he is living for, and once his vengeance is fulfilled, he'll have nothing to live for. But, Regina believes otherwise; that after vengeance is a fresh start. She notices Hook is wearing her mother's armband, and demands it back. Inside the cave, Regina explains the "fail-safe" is guarded by Maleficent, and the magic in the cave prevents her from dying so she can continue to keep the "fail-safe" from intruders. Hook becomes Maleficent's bait and distraction after Regina pushes him into her pit. Despite stabbing Maleficent, she regenerates and reforms into a bigger version of her current self. Using unknown means, Tamara and Greg save Hook from her.

Hook is waiting in the library by the time Regina makes her way back up from the cave to the ground floor of the clock tower. She is astounded he survived, but he states that's the thing he's best at. Hook reveals he felt a genuine connection when she spoke of starting over with a new life after vengeance, and it almost made him put a stop to his "plan". Upon further inquiry, he unveils it as Tamara and Greg's plan, and they walk into the room to face off with Regina. Despite Regina's attempts in using magic against them, it does not work as the armband is designated by science to cancel out magic. Hook lets Greg take the lead in speaking to Regina, and watches as Tamara, on Greg's orders, puts a bag over Regina's head and take her to an unknown location. ("The Evil Queen")

Greg has Regina tied up with the intentions of torturing her until she admits where his father is. He asks Hook to give him a hand, "preferably his good one". Hook refuses, telling Greg that he will only help them when they're interested in killing Rumplestiltskin, before walking off. ("Second Star to the Right")

Hook is incredulous Greg and Tamara plan to use the trigger to bring about the destruction in town and murder everyone just to get rid of magic. With his own safety at risk, too, he aligns himself with David, Emma, Mary Margaret and Regina. The trigger can't be stopped, but Regina can slow it down. David suggests the delay will give them more time to steal back the remaining beans from Greg and Tamara, use them to open portals, and traveling to the Enchanted Forest. Emma points out no one knows their current whereabouts, though Hook chimes in he knows. To keep the pirate from betraying them, David goes along with him.

Outside the cannery, they witness Greg burning documents. Inside the building, David threatens to pull the trigger unless the beans are handed over. As Greg pulls out a small clear bottle containing them, Tamara ambushes from behind and shoots, though David manages to dodge while getting grazed by the bullet. Hook tackles Greg to the ground; causing the bottle to break on the floor. While David chases after Tamara, Hook wrestles for the beans and eventually grabs one while Greg makes off with the other.

Hook catches up to David, who was just bested by Greg. David is upset at their failure, but Hook shows him the bean he was able to get and puts it into his belt container. This does little to cool David's anger at letting Greg and Tamara escape, but the latter attempts to calm him down. Rejecting Hook's words, he grabs the box containing the bean and stalks off.

Returning to the diner, where some of the townspeople are grouped, David gives Emma the news about the procured bean. Henry questions where his adoptive mother is, and Emma tells him that she is in the mines slowing down the trigger, but will not be able to make it out. This cause anger on Henry's part since Regina will basically be left behind as everyone else escapes to the Enchanted Forest. He points out this situation isn't any different from the Wraith attack, which gives Mary Margaret the idea they can use the bean to send the trigger to another dimension. After much debate, Mary Margaret sways Emma into getting Regina out safely. As David tosses the boxed bean to Emma, Hook snatches it in mid-air. Not settling for wasting time and energy on saving someone who clearly wants to die so others can leave the trigger's catalyst, Hook declares he is leaving alone. Emma reasons that he's only ever known to rely on himself as she has, but they are going through with the plan whether he is a part of the group or not. Impressed by her speech, Hook forks over the bean, or so he makes it appear. In actuality, he gives back the box, but hid the actual item for himself. Then, he asks the real reason she's going out on a limb for Regina. Emma tells him Henry's father is now dead and vows to not let her son lose his mother. To Hook's surprise, he is finding out for the first time that Neal, who was known to him as Baelfire, is Henry's father.

After this conversation, Hook gets back on his ship and plans to use it to save himself from the trigger that is destroying town. On deck, he notices the wood indentation on deck where he carved "S" for starboard and "P" for port when he taught Baelfire how to steer the ship. He is reminded of the genuine affection he had for the boy and how he once cared for someone, and decides not to use the bean to make his getaway. Confronted at the docks by Emma, Mary Margaret, David and Regina, he forfeits the bean. Emma still has the impression he has only ever cared for himself, but Hook says he needed some reminding of his own capability to care for others. He allows them to board to start a journey in traveling to another world to find Henry, who has been kidnapped by Greg and Tamara and taken to another land.

Aboard the Jolly Roger, Mr. Gold directly asks Hook if he's done trying to kill him. Grudgingly, Hook responds affirmatively, and the two trade glares. Then, Mr. Gold uses the magic globe to track the realm Henry is currently in—Neverland. Only Gold and Hook were able to recognize the realm and Hook could only glance anxiously at Gold, who was also sporting a jaded expression, over this revelation knowing full well who may be the one pulling the strings behind Henry's abduction. After Hook casts the magic bean into the water to open a portal, he, David, Emma, Mary Margaret, Mr. Gold and Regina set sail for the land. ("And Straight On 'Til Morning")

Season 5
TBC