History Recap / OnceUponATimeS4E15PoorUnfortunateSoul

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* CallingTheOldManOut: Ursula certainly lets her father have the rough side of her tongue. [[AbusiveParents And rightfully so]].

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Will mocking Hook for the size of the shrunken Jolly Roger, and Hook's subsequent wounded rejoinder about "never making fun of the size of a pirate's ship." It's funny enough that [[ActuallyPrettyFunny even Belle]] [[{{Corpsing}} has to duck her head and stifle her laughter]].

* DramaticIrony: Regina's cover as the ReverseMole in the villain group is only maintained by Cruella's mistaken belief that ''Ursula'' was said mole.

** The song Ursula sings to the bar patrons (and later to Hook's crew) is "Fathoms Below", the opening song from ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid'' (except with "where Poseidon is king" instead of "where Triton is king").

* ShoutOut: Mary Margaret's use of a frying pan to knock out Cruella is [[Disney/{{Tangled}} rather familiar]].

* DeusExMachina: While it makes perfect sense that Ariel would have saved Blackbeard so as to rescue Eric, and that he would raid Arendelle in retaliation for Elsa taking back the money Hans paid him, the fact that Ariel just happened to be near the Jolly Roger when Elsa used the bottle on it is this--since it not only allows her to rescue Hook from drowning, it gives him the means to bring Poseidon to Ursula via Ariel's portal magic.

* DiggingYourselfDeeper: The relevation that Gold is back and tricked Belle into giving him the dagger back clearly isn't going to help him win her back anytime soon.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Emma's rather fierce and cutthroat declaration that she'd have felt like doing the same thing to Gold that Hook threatened, if he'd done to her what he did to him, startles and upsets Mary Margaret. Emma says it was just a figure of speech, showing she understood where he was coming from, but that he had changed and she'd never do that. But based on Hook's surmise he was still seen as a villain (and thus couldn't get a happy ending) and what Ursula revealed about Emma, and...yeah, Snow has a right to be worried.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Will mocking Hook for the size of the shrunken Jolly Roger, and Hook's subsequent wounded rejoinder about "never making fun of the size of a pirate's ship."

* NoSell: Hook has Ursula open a portal to bring the Jolly Roger back to Storybrooke, since her happy ending is on it. Too bad the ship is now in a bottle...

* BewareTheNiceOnes: What does Elsa, who wouldn't harm a fly if she didn't have too, do to those who worked against her and Anna? ''Imprison Blackbeard in a bottle on board the Jolly Roger.''

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Apparently, Elsa has gained the power to turn a real ship into a bottled ship offscreen. FridgeBrilliance: A "ship in a bottle" is very similar to a snow globe, which could be Elsa's new ice power.

** The song Ursula sings to the bar patrons (and later to Hook's crew) is the opening song from ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid'' (except with "where Poseidon is king" instead of "where Triton is king").

Hook leverages his complicated history with Ursula to find out what she knows about Gold’s endgame. Gold and the Queens of Darkness torture August for information about the Author as Emma, Mary Margaret and David race to find them. Regina grows concerned for Robin Hood’s safety while she struggles to maintain her cover with the villains. In a Fairy Tale Land flashback, when a restless young Ursula enlists Hook’s help to run away from home, she soon learns it isn’t wise to trust a pirate.

** Ariel was accidently trapped inside the Jolly Roger when the Queen of Arendelle turned it into a toy.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Poseidon believes this because a pirate killed his wife, which was also Ursula's mother. An enforced version comes via Hook thanks to Poseidon's deal.

* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: Hook manages to embarass and outwit Poseidon, who reminded him moments ago in the same scene that he is a ''diety''. That he, a pirate who sails ships for a living, manages to do this to the god of the sea without suffering any repercussions whatsoever makes this all the more impressive.

* MagicMusic[=/=]CompellingVoice: Played with. As was true of the Sirens in [[ClassicalMythology Greek mythology]] ([[SadlyMythtaken but not mermaids]]), mermaids in OUAT can enchant anyone who listens to their songs. However, the original purpose of this singing is not to lead men to their doom, but to soothe their souls, make them forget their pain, and give them happiness. All Ursula wants [[BreakTheCutie (at first)]] is to do this for people everywhere, whether in Glowerhaven, a lowly tavern, or on the Jolly Roger; it's only because of Poseidon's desire for revenge against [[FantasticRacism the humans who killed his wife]] that he is ''forcing'' her to lure ships onto the rocks. Ironically, by the time she is in the right mindset to want to do this for real, she can't because her voice has been taken away (in fact that's ''why'' she would want to do it).

** The Dragon who August met in Hong Kong (and was uncerimonusly killed by Tamara) was also looking for the Author. In fact, most of what August knows about the Author and the book was from his research.

** In the flashbacks, Hook and his crew are working for Pan. Apparantly this mainly consists of running errands such as bringing the Lost Boys food, like cakes.

* WhamEpisode: Ursula regained her happy ending without the help of the Author, Regina had a PropheticDream about herself protecting Robin Hood and asked Emma to find him. The MythArc moved forward with the reveal that the Sorcerer trapped the Author inside the book and even he can only give the villains their happy ending if the Savior-Emma was no longer an obstacle. Finally, the lynchpin of Gold's plan was the corruption of Emma.

* InternalReval: Regina tells Emma and the heroes that Gold is back in town. Then they go to Belle for the dagger, only for her to tell them that she gave it to Hook. And he tells her that she never gave it to him. Then they realize that Gold disguised himself as Hook so he could get it back.

** In the flashbacks, Hook and his crew are working for Pan. Apperantly this mainly consists of running errands like brining the Lost Boys food like cakes.

* ExactWords: When Gold asked August where the door was and he said he didn't know, only to reveal to the heroes later that he did know. The reason his nose didn't grow? At the time he was asked the question, he ''didn't'' know...because he didn't know where Henry had hidden the page. [[spoiler: The door is ''on'' the page.]]

* ExactWords: When Gold asked August where the door was and he said he didn't know, only to reveal to the heroes later that he did know. The reason his nose didn't grow? At the time he was asked the question, he ''didn't'' know...because he didn't know that the page was with Henry. [[spoiler: The door is ''on'' the page.]]

* HeelFaceTurn: Ursula has her's after getting her singing voice back.

* LoopholeAbuse: Poseidon tells Ursula that he has to listen to him as long as she lives in "his ocean". So she turns herself into a human and leaves.

* OneSteveLimit: Averted in order to fix a continuity problem. The goddess, Ursula, and the sea witch, Ursula, are two different characters.