The Tower

"You can leave this tower!"

- Prince Charming to Rapunzel

"The Tower" is the fourteenth episode of Season Three of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Robert Hull and directed by Ralph Hemecker. It is the fifty-eighth episode of the series overall, and premiered on March 23, 2014.

Synopsis
While Emma, David, Regina and Hook continue their search for the Wicked Witch, she, in turn, is planning a dark surprise for David, and Zelena's prisoner is powerless under her watch as she plots her next course of action against the townspeople. Meanwhile, in the Fairy Tale Land that was in the previous year, Prince Charming stumbles upon Rapunzel, who is trapped inside a tower, and must help her confront her fears in order for her to be free.

Starring

 * Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
 * Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina Mills
 * Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David Nolan
 * Emilie de Ravin as Belle/Belle French
 * Colin O'Donoghue as Hook
 * Michael Raymond-James (Credit only)
 * Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills
 * Robert Carlyle as Mr. Gold

Guest Starring

 * Rebecca Mader as Zelena
 * Sean Maguire as Robin Hood
 * Alexandra Metz as Rapunzel
 * Raphael Sbarge (Press release only)

Co-Starring

 * Everick Golding as Rapunzel's Father
 * Natalie von Rotsburg as Rapunzel's Mother

Trivia
Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The title card features Rapunzel's tower.
 * The title of this episode was announced by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on December 20, 2013.
 * -|Episode Connections=

Event Chronology

 * The opening scene in the Enchanted Forest occurs after "Quiet Minds", around the same time as "The Jolly Roger", and nine months before the casting of the new curse in part two of "A Curious Thing". Charming's quest and Rapunzel's story takes place after Belle returns to the others in part one of "A Curious Thing".
 * The Land Without Magic events take place after "Witch Hunt" and before "Quiet Minds".

Episode Connections

 * The Royal Castle and the Magic Wardrobe first appeared in "Pilot".
 * How Zelena came to possess the Dark One's Dagger and the reason for the voices in Mr. Gold's head is revealed in "Quiet Minds".
 * Zelena's relationship with her adoptive father is shown in "It's Not Easy Being Green".
 * Emma mentions the Wicked Witch breaking into Regina's office, which occurred in "Witch Hunt".
 * Both Regina and Hook allude to the events in "Witch Hunt", in which town residents began turning into flying monkeys.
 * Emma recalls the lie she told Henry that their trip to Storybrooke is work-related, which occurred in "New York City Serenade".
 * Belle states that Mr. Gold died, which happened in "Going Home".
 * Zelena mentions meeting Mary Margaret at Granny's Diner in "Witch Hunt".
 * David mentions his time working at the pet shelter, which began in "Desperate Souls".
 * Robin Hood receives gold-tipped arrows for helping Regina break into her palace, which occurred in "Witch Hunt".
 * Robin Hood references the death of Roland's mother, Maid Marian, which was first mentioned in "The Heart of the Truest Believer".
 * Mary Margaret mentions, during her life as Snow White, how she robbed Prince Charming's carriage and he later entrapped her in a net, which occurred in "Snow Falls".
 * Zelena states Mary Margaret has already been in labor once, which occurred in "Pilot".
 * Zelena brings up to David the matter in which he lost his first child the day the Dark Curse was cast, an event shown in "Pilot".
 * What Hook is hiding from Emma, is revealed in "The Jolly Roger".
 * Hook references Emma's ex-boyfriend, Walsh, who was introduced in "New York City Serenade".
 * Hook speaks of Walsh proposing to Emma and her discovery of his true identity in "New York City Serenade".
 * Snow White remembers losing Emma twice, once during the day the Dark Curse was cast in "Pilot", and when they were sent back to the Enchanted Forest in "Going Home".
 * Mary Margaret's desire for a second child was first mentioned in "Ariel".


 * -|Cultural References=

Fairy Tales and Folklore

 * This episode is a rendition of the Rapunzel fairy tale, focusing on Rapunzel's entrapment in her tower.
 * Also featured is Belle from the Beauty and the Beast fairytale, Evil Queen, Prince Charming and Snow White from the Snow White fairytale as well as Robin Hood from the Robin Hood ballad.
 * The character Nancy Drew of the book series of the same name is mentioned.

Pop Culture

 * The neighborhood of Little Italy in Manhattan, New York City is mentioned.
 * The Borough of Queens in New York City is mentioned.
 * There is a bicycle with a basket in Zelena's porch, which references Miss Gulch, the Wicked Witch of the West's Kansas counterpart, from the 1939 The Wizard of Oz film, who has a similar bicycle.
 * When David calls Emma's phone, he receives her voice mail, in which she names her work business as "Big Apple Bails Bond". The Big Apple is a popular nickname for New York City.


 * -|Set Notes=

Costume Notes

 * The dress Emma wears in Prince Charming's nightmare has swan-like feathers.
 * Emma's tiara is the same one worn by Emma at King Midas' ball in "Snow Drifts".
 * Rapunzel's outfit is the same outfit that Guinevere wears for her birthday celebration in "The Broken Kingdom".


 * -|Goofs=

Goofs

 * David explains gaining knowledge about holly berries from previously working in the animal shelter and frequently seeing dogs track them. However, that appears to be unlikely to happen in a real life scenario as holly berries are poisonous to dogs.


 * -|Other Notes=

Filming Locations

 * The set used to film Rapunzel's Tower also doubles as the dungeon where Rumplestiltskin tortures Robin Hood in "Lacey", and the Arendelle castle tower where Anna tries on the wedding dress in "A Tale of Two Sisters".
 * The scene with Henry and Regina by the duck pond, and the scene with Emma and Hook in the Storybrooke forest, were filmed in Burnaby's Central Park.