Sisters

"No matter what she does, we're sisters! And nothing can change that! I will find you! I promise!"

- Regina to Zelena

"Sisters" is the nineteenth episode of Season Five of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by David H. Goodman and Brigitte Hales, and directed by Romeo Tirone. It is the one-hundredth and seventh episode of the series overall, and premiered on April 24, 2016.

Synopsis
Now that Hades and Zelena are reunited, Hades tells Zelena that he wants a future with her outside of the Underworld. All she needs to do is heal his heart with True Love’s Kiss so they can leave the Underworld and trap the heroes there for eternity. When Regina overhears of this plan, she enlists Cora's help to find a way to separate Zelena from Hades. However, Cora reveals a family secret that could change Regina and Zelena's lives forever. Meanwhile, David finally meets James, only to realize that his twin is determined to seek revenge on him for stealing the life he could have had.

Starring

 * Ginnifer Goodwin (Credit only)
 * Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
 * Lana Parrilla as Regina Mills
 * Josh Dallas as David Nolan
 * Emilie de Ravin as Belle French
 * Colin O'Donoghue as Hook
 * Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills
 * Rebecca Mader as Zelena
 * Sean Maguire as Robin Hood
 * Robert Carlyle as Mr. Gold

Guest Starring

 * Greg Germann as Hades
 * Barbara Hershey as Cora
 * Robbie A. Kay as Peter Pan
 * Tony Perez as Valet
 * Victoria Smurfit as Cruella De Vil
 * Ava Acres as Young Regina
 * Isabella Blake-Thomas as Young Zelena
 * Adrian Hough as Woodcutter

Co-Starring

 * Romuald Hivert as Guard

Uncredited

 * Unknown baby as Baby Hood
 * Josh Dallas as Prince James

Trivia
Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The title card features the Underground Mill.
 * The title of this episode was announced by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on February 5, 2016.
 * The title of this episode is a reference to the Season Four episode "Mother", which revolved around Regina's relationship with her mother, Cora.
 * This episode is dedicated in loving memory of Scott Nimerfro, who passed away on April 18th, 2016, six days prior to the episode's airing.
 * Regina names her doll Isabella, which is the same first name as Isabella Blake-Thomas, young Zelena's actress. This is especially appropriate since Regina tells the doll that she can be her sister. In addition, Ava Acres, who plays young Regina, has an older sister named Isabella.
 * Isabella Blake-Thomas' hair was dyed red to match her older self.
 * Ava Acres and Isabelle Blake Thomas both put on their own make-up for the dress-up scene.
 * According to Ava Acres, Barbara Hershey hugged her after every take of having to yell at her.


 * -|Episode Connections=

Event Chronology

 * The Underworld events take place after "Ruby Slippers" and before "Firebird".
 * The Enchanted Forest events take place years after "The Miller's Daughter", and years before Regina Rising and "The Stable Boy".
 * The Oz events take place years after the first flashback scene of "It's Not Easy Being Green", and before "Where Bluebirds Fly", where Zelena has embraced her powers.

Episode Connections

 * The history between Zelena and Hades is first explored in "Our Decay".
 * Zelena once again shows her ability to conjure green fire, she used this first in "Our Decay".
 * Mary Margaret and David swapped names on the headstones in "Ruby Slippers".
 * Cora was made to work in the mill in "Souls of the Departed".
 * Cora uses Hook's hook to remove the cuff from her wrist. His hook was also used to remove Zelena's cuff in "Broken Heart".
 * Cora first questioned how Hades found out about Zelena in "Souls of the Departed".
 * Belle French went under a Sleeping Curse in "Ruby Slippers".
 * David first learnt of James' resentment towards him in "The Brothers Jones".
 * The framed photograph that Emma is looking at, which she says was taken during her parents' wedding anniversary, is the same photograph that she showed Regina in "Labor of Love".
 * Cruella was killed by Emma in "Sympathy for the De Vil".
 * Hook points out that Cruella cannot use a gun, referring to how Isaac used his quill to take away her ability to kill in "Sympathy for the De Vil".
 * Cora mentions to Zelena what she did to Regina's father in "Souls of the Departed".
 * Peter Pan first proposed his deal to Mr. Gold in "Souls of the Departed".
 * Mr. Gold made a deal with Zelena to stop trying to harm her in "Heart of Gold".
 * -|Cultural References=

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode features the Evil Queen from the Snow White fairytale, the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz story, the Miller's Daughter from the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale, Captain Hook and Peter Pan from the Peter Pan story, Robin Hood from the ballad, the Prince from The Prince and the Pauper story, Cruella De Vil from The Hundred and One Dalmatians story, and Hades from Greek Mythology.
 * Also featured is the Underworld and the river Lethe (the latter is correctly referred to as the River of Forgetfulness) from Greek Mythology.

Lost

 * The number 15 appears on a pavement sign outside the Underbrooke version of the Marine Garage; a reference to the third Lost number.

Pop Culture

 * The way Zelena asks Cora if she is a "good witch" is a reference to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
 * The song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by The Ink Spots plays in Hades' car radio during his date with Zelena. Hades plays the song again on the Underbrooke Diner's jukebox, as he prepares for another date.


 * -|Set Notes=

Props Notes

 * When Cora opens the Book of Spells, one of the illustrations is a slightly modified, upside-down version of the seal of Marbas, an illustration from the Lesser Key of Solomon, a spell book on demonology published in the 17th century. Marbas is a demon who is described as the Great President of Hell, governing thirty-six legions of demons.
 * Other demonic seals from the book appear in the spell book in previous episodes: The seal of Botis in "We Are Both", and the seal of Buer and the seal of Amon in "Going Home" and "The Jolly Roger".
 * At the Underbrooke Docks, when James gets up after David pushes him to the ground, in the background, you can see the Enchanted Cuff lying on the ground next to Emma and Hook, indicating that Hook used his hook to remove it from Emma's wrist off-screen, just like Cora used it to remove her own cuff earlier in the episode.

Costume Notes

 * Prince James is wearing a Belstaff H Racer Jacket in black. When his twin brother David escapes from the sheriff's station, he is wearing the same jacket (because James stole David's own jacket in order to impersonate him).
 * Interestingly, David continues to wear his deceased brother's jacket in the next episode, "Firebird", and even takes it with him when he goes back to the Land Without Magic. He continues to wear it in "Last Rites", "Only You" and "An Untold Story", and the Season Six premiere "The Savior".
 * Robin Hood wore a green version of this jacket in "Heart of Gold" and the last three episodes of Season Four, as well as almost every episode of Season Five, including this episode. Robin Hood's Wish Realm counterpart, Robin of Locksley, also wears this jacket in the Season Six episodes "Murder Most Foul", "Ill-Boding Patterns" and "Page 23".
 * The black jacket was also worn by Lance Hunter in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode "Purpose in the Machine".
 * The dress worn by Cora in her last two flashback scenes at Royal Manor is the same dress that she wears for the scene where Anastasia tries to run away in the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland episode "Heart of the Matter", but with different embroidery.


 * -|Other Notes=

Filming Locations

 * Zelena's date with Hades was filmed in Garry Point Park, a large 75 acre waterfront park located close to Steveston Village, which doubles as Storybrooke and Underbrooke on Once Upon a Time.
 * The Woodcutter's cottage is a redressed version of the Apprentice's cottage from Season Four, one of the cottages in the village of Camelot in "The Broken Kingdom" and Brennan's cottage from "Swan Song". Although the set has been heavily redressed to double as the Woodcutter's home (most noticeably, the roof has a completely different shape, and the chimney is in a different position), the door, the window panes and the pattern of the brick stones (the ones around the window are easiest to compare) are the same.
 * Burnaby's Central Park doubles as the Underbrooke Woods for this episode.