Hook Will Meet Another Old Foe On 'OUAT'

If you, like me, are worried that Once Upon A Time Season 5B — which is, I may remind you, less than two weeks away — was going to be largely centered on Hook again... well, I'm afraid I can't do much to allay your fears. We already know we're going to the Underworld in an attempt to save Killian from certain death (which he's already experienced and which shouldn't be reversible, by the way), but now it seems he'll be doing some soul searching down there, as well. Once Upon A Time has cast Costas Mandylor as Captain Silver, an old pirate foe of Hook's who's bound to cause some serious trouble. Great, just what we need more of!

It's unclear which episode he'll appear in, but it seems unlikely that it'll be in the 100th, which also happens to be the spring premiere. This means either that we'll be spending longer than we originally thought in the Underworld, or that Hook somehow survives death despite the fact that it's meant to be the one thing that even magic can't reverse. Neither option sounds particularly inviting, but Captain Silver could bring something new and fun to the show if rumors about his identity are true.

Once execs won't confirm or deny, but could Captain Silver be the Captain Silver, as in Captain Long John Silver, the pirate villain from Treasure Island (and also, incidentally, the namesake of a delicious seafood-based fast food restaurant, but that's neither here nor there, I suppose). Of course, I doubt we'll be seeing him for very long, and given that his appearance could very well be in flashback form rather than in the present means he may literally spend mere moments on screen. However, if they've taken the time to cast him, he must play an important role somewhere in Hook's life.

I like a good bit of swashbuckling and pirating, so if we see a bit of Hook's gritty past, I'm all for it. Let's just hope Captain Silver aids in a return to the villain we know Hook is at heart — the one that's a lot of fun to watch and that we actually love to hate, rather than the faux hero we just can't stand watching. There's some potential here, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out.