5x08 Birth/5x09 The Bear King - ABC Press Release

On a Two-Hour Special of ABC’s Once Upon a Time: “Birth”/ “The Bear King” (11/15)
THE HEROES’ CAMELOT QUEST CULMINATES WITH AN IMPOSSIBLE DECISION EMMA MUST MAKE WITH CONSEQUENCES SHE MAY NEVER BE ABLE TO COME BACK FROM, AND IN DUNBROCH, MERIDA TEAMS UP WITH MULAN AND RUBY ON A VERY PERSONAL MISSION, IN A SPECIAL TWO-HOUR “ONCE UPON A TIME,” STARTING AT 8/7c, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15 ON ABC

Guest Star Jamie Chung Reprises Her Role as Mulan and Meghan Ory Returns as Ruby

In the first hour of this special “Once Upon a Time” event – “Birth” – tensions in Camelot come to a head when Merlin, now under Arthur’s control, delivers an ultimatum to Emma: hand over the Dark One dagger and the Promethean spark or he will kill her entire family. Refusing to give in, Emma and our heroes face off against Arthur, Merlin and Zelena in an epic battle of magic and will. Just when the end is in sight, Emma is forced to make a gut-wrenching choice that no one saw coming. Back in Storybrooke, Zelena’s pregnancy mysteriously accelerates and Hook goes to new and desperate lengths to get answers from the Dark Swan. In the second hour – “The Bear King”– Zelena and Arthur journey to DunBroch on a mission to retrieve an enchanted relic that will provide the advantage they need to vanquish Emma and our heroes. Their path will cross with Merida’s, who is on a journey of her own to pay a debt that her father, King Fergus, owed to the Witch when he died. Merida enlists the help of two friends, Mulan and Ruby, but, in order to satisfy the Witch and save DunBroch, she first must discover the identity of the knight who killed her father. In flashbacks, Merida learns about bravery and honor as she trains for combat and rides alongside Fergus into the infamous battle that claims his life, in the two-hour “Once Upon a Time,” airing SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15 (8:00-10:01 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“Once Upon a Time” stars Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret, Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan, Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen/Regina, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David, Emilie de Ravin as Belle, Colin O’Donoghue as Hook, Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills, Sean Maguire as Robin Hood, Rebecca Mader as the Wicked Witch/Zelena and Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold.

“Birth” was written by David H. Goodman & Jerome Schwartz and directed by Eagle Egilsson. Guest cast includes Beverley Elliott as Granny, David-Paul Grove as Doc, Micahel Coleman as Happy, David Anders as Dr. Whale, Ingrid Torrance as Nurse Ratched, Elliot Knight as Merlin, Liam Garrigan as King Arthur and Joana Metrass as Guinivere.

“The Bear King” was written by Andrew Chambliss and directed by Geofrey Hildrew. Guest cast includes Meghan Ory as Red/Ruby, Beverley Elliott as Granny, Jamie Chung as Mulan, Amy Manson as Merida, Glenn Keogh as King Fergus, Caroline Morahan as Queen Elinor, Lily Knight as Witch, Richard Stroh as Edgar, Paul Telfer as Lord Macintosh, Marco D’Angelo as Lord MacGuffin, Josh Hallem as Lord Dingwall, Matthew Olsen as Brother #1, Jordan Olsen as Brother #2, Colton Barnert as Brother #3 and Liam Garrigan as King Arthur.