Tougher Than the Rest

"Tougher Than the Rest" is the eleventh episode of Season Six of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, and directed by Billy Gierhart. It is the one-hundredth and twenty-second episode of the series overall, and premiered on March 5, 2017.

Synopsis
With Snow still asleep in Storybrooke, David and Hook race to stop Gideon before he can confront Emma. Gideon makes a startling confession to Belle and Gold about his whereabouts while he was missing. Meanwhile, Regina struggles with the realization that everyone, perhaps even Robin, is better off in the alternate world where the Evil Queen was defeated. And when Emma inspires a familiar face to help her and Regina return home, she discovers the power to change her fate.

Starring

 * Ginnifer Goodwin as Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
 * Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen*/Regina Mills
 * Josh Dallas as David Nolan
 * Emilie de Ravin as Belle French
 * Colin O'Donoghue as Hook/Hook (Wish Realm)
 * Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills/Sir Henry
 * Rebecca Mader (Credit only)
 * Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin*/Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin (Wish Realm)

Guest Starring

 * Eion Bailey as August Booth/Pinocchio (Wish Realm)
 * Sean Maguire as Robin Hood*/Robin of Locksley (Wish Realm)
 * Giles Matthey as Gideon
 * Wil Traval as Sheriff of Nottingham (Wish Realm)

Co-Starring

 * Gaalen Engen as Bar Patron
 * McKenna Grace as Young Emma
 * Rustin Gresiuk as Young Pinocchio/Teen Boy
 * Nancy Sivak as Helen

Uncredited

 * Jaime Murray as Black Fairy
 * Unknown actor as Young Gideon
 * Rose McIver as Tinker Bell*

Trivia

 * -|Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The title card features the Enchanted Tree.
 * The title of this episode was revealed by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on October 21, 2016.
 * Adam Horowitz is a fan of the singer Bruce Springsteen. This episode shares its name with a song from the rock star's 1987 album Tunnel of Love.
 * -|Episode Connections=

Event Chronology

 * The Land Without Magic flashbacks take place during winter 1990, one year after the flashback of "The Dark Swan", and a few years before "Snow Drifts".
 * The Storybrooke events take place after "Wish You Were Here".
 * The Wish Realm events take place after "Wish You Were Here".
 * The Dark Realm flashbacks take place after the Black Fairy kidnapped Gideon in "Wish You Were Here".

Episode Connections

 * -|Cultural References=

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode features Pinocchio from the The Adventures of Pinocchio story, Robin Hood from the ballad, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, Morpheus from Greek Mythology, and Rumplestiltskin from the Rumplestiltskin fairytale.