Eloise Gardener (Episode)

"I'm gonna find Eloise Gardener. And I won't let you, Victoria Belfrey, or anyone else stop me."

- Rogers to Weaver

"Eloise Gardener" is the seventh episode of Season Seven of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by David H. Goodman & Brigitte Hales, and directed by Alex Kalymnios. It is the one hundred and fortieth episode of the series overall, and premiered on November 17, 2017.

This episode is the first of a two-episode airing.

Synopsis
In pursuit of revenge, Hook seeks a dark and powerful magic, but an encounter with Rapunzel could alter his fate forever. Meanwhile, in Hyperion Heights, Ivy's plot to take down Victoria intensifies and has unexpected consequences for Jacinda and Lucy. Rogers enlists Henry and Tilly's help in his ongoing quest to find the missing Eloise Gardener, but what he discovers isn't what meets the eye.

Starring

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

Guest Starring

 * Emma Booth as Witch/Witch
 * Christopher Gauthier as William Smee (Wish Realm)
 * Adelaide Kane as Ivy Belfrey
 * Rose Reynolds as Tilly
 * Meegan Warner as Rapunzel

Co-Starring

 * Nneka Croal as Social Worker
 * Sandy Robson as Perp

Uncredited

 * Unknown baby as Alice

Trivia

 * -|Production Notes=

Title

 * The title card features the entrance of the Witch's secret garden and the garden gnome.
 * The title of this episode was revealed by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on September 8, 2017.

Production Notes

 * Despite being promoted since "Greenbacks", the press release does not credit Mekia Cox as series regular.
 * It also mistakenly credits Adelaide Kane as "Drizelle" instead of "Drizella".
 * -|Episode Connections=

Event Chronology

 * The Seattle events take place after "Wake Up Call" and before "Pretty in Blue".
 * The New Enchanted Forest flashbacks take place decades before "Greenbacks".
 * The Wish Realm flashbacks take place before "Wish You Were Here".

Episode Connections

 * Roni regained her memories in "Wake Up Call".
 * Rogers discovered the dead body in "Wake Up Call".
 * Jacinda and Sabine bought a food truck in "Greenbacks".
 * Victoria gained custody over Lucy in "Hyperion Heights".
 * It was revealed that Ivy had her memories and was working with the witch in "Greenbacks".
 * Tilly helped Rogers with the Eloise Gardener case in "Wake Up Call".
 * Tilly's love for marmalade sandwiches was previously established in "Beauty".
 * Magic was previously used to speed up a pregnancy in "Birth" and "Changelings".


 * -|Cultural References=

Disney

 * Mother Gothel and Rapunzel, who Gothel impersonates, from Disney's Tangled appear, along with the Tower and the Golden Flower.
 * "Rapunzel" arms herself with a frying pan when she first meet Wish Realm Hook, a reference to the scene where Rapunzel knocks out Flynn Rider with a frying pan in the movie.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode is rendition of the Rapunzel fairytale, with Rapunzel and the witch. It also features Captain Hook and William Smee from the Peter Pan story, Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the Evil Queen from the Snow White fairytale.
 * Victoria Belfrey finds Ivy's shoes under the desk and later remarks, "Why is women's footwear the constant bane of my existence?", a reference to the events of the Cinderella fairytale.
 * Alice's Land Without Magic counterpart Tilly sells stolen watches and remarks that "time is always slipping away" and you need a good timepiece "before it's too late", a reference to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where the White Rabbit has a pocket watch and worries about being too late.
 * Tilly likes marmalade sandwiches, a reference to the scene where Alice grabs a jar of orange marmalade from a shelf while falling down the rabbit hole.
 * A statue of a griffin can be seen in the witch's garden. A griffin is a legendary creature which has the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a lion.

Popular Culture

 * In order to reveal the golden flower, Hook sings the song "Dead Man's Chest" from Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island.
 * The lullaby which Hook sings, first to locate the mysterious flower and later to his newborn daughter (the same song his mother used to sing to him and his brother), is "She Moved Through the Fair", a traditional Irish folk song.
 * Colin O'Donoghue, who is from Ireland, picked out this song himself.
 * When Tilly lies to Rogers about Eloise Gardener, she claims that the girl "loved Salinger", a reference to the American writer J. D. Salinger, known for the novel The Catcher in the Rye.


 * -|Set Notes=

Set Dressing

 * A statue of a griffin can be seen in the witch's garden. The same statue, painted in a different color, can be seen on top of the grave that Hook, Emma and Mary Margaret are hiding behind in the Season Five episode "Her Handsome Hero", and among the gargoyles that the children are throwing bottles at on Pleasure Island in the Season Six episode "Murder Most Foul".
 * Two decorative boxes that were sitting on the coffee table in Regina's living room in the Season Three episode "Bleeding Through" and the Season Six premiere "The Savior" (one of them can also be seen on a side table in the Season Six episode "Murder Most Foul") are used to decorate the living room in the witch's tower. One is sitting on a shelf, while the other one is sitting on the bedside table.

Costumes Notes

 * Ivy is wearing a RED Valentino star sweater.
 * Roni is wearing a All Saints tiger print t-shirt and an Alexander McQueen skull and star print scarf.
 * Victoria is wearing a Roland Mouret 'farrant' dress.
 * The Evil Queen from the Wish Realm is wearing the same coat her Enchanted Forest counterpart wore in the Season One episode "Heart of Darkness", the Season Two episodes "The Outsider", and "The Evil Queen," the Season Three episode "Snow Drifts" and the Season Four premiere "A Tale of Two Sisters".


 * -|Other Notes=

Filming Locations

 * The scene with Wish Realm Hook and Smee in the witch's garden was filmed in Lynn Canyon Park in the District of North Vancouver.
 * The park scene with Henry, Rogers and Tilly was filmed in CRAB Park at Portside in Vancouver.
 * The short scene where Rogers parks his car outside the abandoned building was filmed outside a decrepit building next to 1050 Glen Drive in Vancouver. The scene with Tilly, Rogers and Eloise outside the building was filmed outside an unidentified warehouse (the same or a different building).