Pretty in Blue

"I know that, where you come from, true love always wins, but mine is a world of broken promises where people never find each other."

- Cinderella to Henry

"Pretty in Blue" is the eighth episode of Season Seven of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Dana Horgan & Leah Fong, and directed by Ralph Hemecker. It is the one hundred and forty-first episode of the series overall, and premiered on November 17, 2017.

This episode is the second one of a two-episode night, and premiered immediately following "Eloise Gardener".

Synopsis
In an attempt to prevent a distressed Alice from running away, Henry and Ella follow her into Wonderland. Once there, Henry realizes that Ella has a surprising connection to this strange world. In Hyperion Heights, Jacinda reconnects with an old friend in a last ditch effort to regain custody of Lucy, but her decision to enlist outside help could put a strain on her burgeoning relationship with Henry.

Starring

 * Lana Parrilla as Regina Mills/Roni
 * Colin O'Donoghue as Hook (Wish Realm)/Rogers
 * Andrew J. West as Henry Mills
 * Dania Ramirez as Cinderella/Jacinda Vidrio
 * Gabrielle Anwar (Credit only)
 * Alison Fernandez as Lucy
 * Mekia Cox as Tiana/Sabine
 * Robert Carlyle as Weaver

Guest Starring

 * Emma Booth as Witch
 * Adelaide Kane as Drizella/Ivy Belfrey
 * Nathan Parsons as Jack/Nick Branson
 * Rose Reynolds as Alice/Tilly

Co-Starring

 * Bruce Blain as Desk Sergeant
 * Nneka Croal as Social Worker
 * Trevor Roberts as Remy

Trivia

 * -|Production Notes=

Title

 * The title card features New Wonderland's mushrooms.
 * The title of this episode was revealed by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on September 14, 2017.
 * The title of this episode is a reference to the 1986 film Pretty in Pink.

Production Notes

 * The press release mistakenly credits Adelaide Kane as "Drizelle" instead of "Drizella".
 * Despite being promoted to series regular in "Greenbacks," this is the first press release where Mekia Cox is credited as a regular character.


 * -|Episode Connections=

Event Chronology

 * The Seattle events take place after "Eloise Gardener" and before "One Little Tear".
 * The New Enchanted Forest flashbacks take place after "Wake Up Call" and around nine years before "The Eighth Witch".

Episode Connections

 * Cinderella mentions that Henry was taught swordplay by a pirate, which was shown in "A Pirate's Life".
 * Henry mentions how Alice drugged and imprisoned him, referring to events in "Hyperion Heights". He also introduces Cinderella to her as "Alice from Wonderland... and other places", which references how Alice described herself to him in the same episode.
 * Regina visited the ruins of Rapunzel's tower in "Wake Up Call".
 * Hook had a baby with Gothel, who grew up to be Alice, in "Eloise Gardener".
 * How Alice escaped from the tower is revealed in "The Girl in the Tower".
 * Victoria was arrested in "Eloise Gardener", and Lucy was taken into the foster care system in the same episode.
 * Rogers rescued Eloise Gardener in "Eloise Gardener".
 * Henry starts a podcast in "A Taste of the Heights".
 * Roni regained her memories in "Wake Up Call".
 * The bad thing that Regina fears will happen if the Dark Curse broken is revealed in "The Eighth Witch".
 * The backstory of Drizella's history with Gothel is explored in "Sisterhood".
 * Henry and Nick discuss the best songs by the band New Order. Henry's love for the English rock band was established in "Wake Up Call", where it appears on his list of 80s elements that he likes, which he mentions to Jacinda.
 * Jacinda started working for Roni in "Eloise Gardener".
 * Jacinda previously told Henry about Nick in "Hyperion Heights".
 * Although Jacinda believes with certainty, because of her cursed memories, that Nick is Lucy's biological father, a blood test in "Secret Garden" confirms he is not.
 * Henry reveals to Cinderella how his grandparents met and says that his grandmother hit his grandfather with a rock before his grandfather trapped his grandmother in a net; a reference to events from "Snow Falls".
 * Strangely, Henry specifically refers to the original version of the events (being hit by a rock), from before they were altered by Zelena's time travel spell (where the weapon of choice was changed to a jewelry box, as seen in "Snow Drifts").
 * Lucy mentions the "Kathryn Nolan situation", in which David was cursed to believe he was meant to be with his wife Kathryn but only after the curse broke in "A Land Without Magic", he realized his true love prior to the curse had always been Mary Margaret.
 * In Henry's book, the story ends with the main protagonist meeting Cinderella, which was an event shown in "Hyperion Heights".
 * Henry wonders if he should slay a dragon to win Jacinda's affections. Under different circumstances, both Prince Charming and Emma slayed a dragon, with Charming accomplishing this in "The Shepherd" and Emma doing this in "A Land Without Magic".
 * The bottle of shrinking potion which Cinderella finds in New Wonderland, which is labeled "drink me" and which she drinks to change size, is the same bottle that Alice wore around her neck she was with Henry in the cave in "Hyperion Heights". It is what clued him in on her identity.
 * Jacinda and Sabine bought a food truck in "Greenbacks".
 * Rogers became disappointed in Tilly for aiding Weaver in fabricating Eloise's death in "Eloise Gardener".
 * Anastasia wakes up in "One Little Tear".
 * Victoria unearthed Anastasia's coffin in "The Garden of Forking Paths".
 * Ivy and Eloise's joined partnership to obtain Anastasia's magic ends in "The Eighth Witch" when Eloise betrays Ivy. Additionally, Eloise attempts to renew their deal in "Sisterhood", which Ivy rejects in favor of saving Anastasia rather than hurting her.
 * How Cinderella's mother Cecelia became cursed is shown in "One Little Tear".
 * Alice obtained the cursed mark on her wrist in "Knightfall" when she was in close proximity to Hook after he was poisoned by Gothel.
 * Drizella learned magic from Regina in "Wake Up Call".
 * The food truck is up and running in "A Taste of the Heights".
 * The mushroom used to poison a person's heart is utilized again in "One Little Tear".
 * While Drizella is unsuccessful in this episode with poisoning Henry's heart, she manages to do it in "The Eighth Witch".
 * Roni wastes no time in confronting Weaver about his real name, Rumplestiltskin, unlike when she made him outright confess his name to her in "Skin Deep".
 * Weaver eventually admits to Roni in "The Girl in the Tower" that he is awake.
 * Weaver's quest to reunite with Belle began in "Beauty" after he regained his memories.
 * Alice sees her father again in "Sisterhood", although she observes him from a distance without him knowing. The next time they converse with each other is in "The Eighth Witch".
 * Hook remembers giving the white knight chess piece to Alice so she could remember him in his absence. This happened in "Knightfall".
 * Jack's actual New Enchanted Forest name and backstory is hinted at in "Sisterhood".
 * Roni finds the person she is looking for in San Fransico during "The Eighth Witch".
 * The origin story of the troll statue and why he is holding a yellow bug is revealed in "The Girl in the Tower".
 * Tilly's familial-like relationship with Weaver was seen in "Beauty"
 * Rogers and Tilly first played chess together in "Beauty".
 * Remy's catering business was shown in "A Pirate's Life".
 * Jacinda finally gives Henry the mixtape in "A Taste of the Heights".
 * The location that Victoria moved Anastasia's body to is shown in "One Little Tear".


 * -|Cultural References=

Disney

 * A Star Wars backpack is hanging on a chair during Alice's teaparty.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode features Cinderella and one of the Evil Stepsisters from the "Cinderella" fairytale, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Jack from "Jack and the Beanstalk".
 * When Henry and Cinderella are trapped in the net, Henry refers to it as a "white rabbit trap", a reference to the White Rabbit from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
 * Similarly, Drizella refers to Alice's portals between New Wonderland and the New Enchanted Forest as Alice's "little bunny holes", a reference to the rabbit hole from the book.
 * The new restaurant that Nick takes Jacinda to is called Walrus & Company, a reference to the poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter" from Lewis Carroll's sequel Through the Looking-Glass. Fittingly enough, Nick and Jacinda are served oysters at the restaurant.
 * When Weaver feigns ignorance about Rumplestiltskin, his true identity, he says, "Didn't he sleep for hundred years?". Roni replies, "That was Rip Van Winkle", a reference to the American short story of the same name.
 * Rip van Winkle previously appeared in a deleted scene in the Season Three episode "Nasty Habits", where it was revealed that it was Rumplestiltskin himself who put him to sleep for hundred years.

Popular Culture

 * Henry and Nick discuss the best songs by the band New Order: "Bizarre Love Triangle" (1986), which Henry is listening to, "Temptation" (1982) and "Blue Monday" (1983).
 * The song playing in the restaurant where Jacinda is having dinner with Nick is "Once Again" by Harriet Goldberg.
 * The same song was playing on the jukebox in Granny's Diner when Emma was leaving a letter to her family in the Season Five episode "Swan Song".
 * According to Nick, he used to think of his former band as "the next Nirvana", a reference to the famous rock band that made its mark on music history during the late eighties and early nineties.
 * While at her bar and the police station, Roni is wearing a graphic tee featuring Chrissie Hynde, the founding member of the The Pretenders.


 * -|Set Notes=

Props Notes

 * According to the open tab on Henry's browser, he is reading a web page about "the best view of Seattle".

Set Dressing

 * During Alice's tea party, a hare plush toy is sitting on a chair, a reference to the March Hare from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
 * A black top hat is sitting on the table, a reference to the Mad Hatter and his hat.

Costume Notes

 * Eloise is wearing a Maje Ruffle Floral Print Faux Wrap Dress (note that the dress is hidden by a red coat). She continues to wear the dress in "One Little Tear" and "The Eighth Witch".
 * Ivy is wearing a Maje Vreni Crepe Kimono Jacket over a MSGM Ribbed Ruffle Sweater. The outfit is paired with a Kooples Short Sequinned Tweed Skirt.
 * Jacinda is wearing a Rails Hunter Button Down in Rosewood/Sky.
 * The vest Jack is wearing was also worn by Robin Hood in the Season Four episode "Heart of Gold". Jack wears the vest again in "The Eighth Witch".
 * By the end of the episode, Roni is wearing a Topshop Check Cold Shoulder Shirt.


 * -|Other Notes=

Filming Locations

 * The scenes at Lucy's group home were filmed at a house attached to the St. Francis of Assisi Church on 2025 Napier Street in East Vancouver. The scene with Sabine and Jacinda walking down the street, away from the house, was filmed along Napier Street and Semlin Street.
 * The restaurant scene with Nick and Jacinda was filmed at the Cuchillo restaurant on 261 Powell Street in Vancouver.