Sisterhood

"I guess you underestimated the power of sisterhood."

- Ivy Belfrey to Eloise Gardener

"Sisterhood" is the fifteenth episode of Season Seven of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Christopher Hollier & Adam Karp, and directed by Ellen S. Pressman. It is the one hundred and forty-eighth episode of the series overall and premiered on March 30, 2018.

Synopsis
When the Candy Killer attacks, Ivy will have to risk what remains of her family, while Jacinda and Henry grow closer and Roni questions her relationship with Samdi. Meanwhile, Drizella faces an unthinkable challenge in her attempt to join the Witch's Coven.

Starring

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

Guest Starring

 * Emma Booth as Gothel/Eloise Gardener
 * Daniel Francis as Mr. Samdi
 * Adelaide Kane as Drizella/Ivy Belfrey
 * Nathan Parsons as Nick Branson
 * Sara Canning as Gretel
 * Yael Yurman as Anastasia

Co-Starring

 * Bruce Blain as Desk Sergeant
 * Anna Cathcart as Tween Drizella

Trivia

 * -|Production Notes=

Title

 * The title card features the Flynn's Barcade sign.
 * The title of this episode was revealed by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on January 3, 2018.


 * -|Episode Connections=

Event Chronology

 * The Seattle events take place after "The Girl in the Tower".
 * The New Enchanted Forest flashbacks occur in various places of the overall timeline.
 * The flashback with Anastasia and young Drizella takes place several years after Rapunzel was imprisoned in Gothel's Tower in "One Little Tear", and before Anastasia falls through the ice in the same episode.
 * The rest of the flashbacks take place at an unspecified point between "Wake Up Call" and "The Eighth Witch".

Episode Connections

 * Drizella talks about how Anastasia left her and has been lying in a box ever since, referring to how the latter was put in a magic stasis after nearly dying in "One Little Tear".
 * Regina recalls how she taught Drizella magic, something that took place in "Wake Up Call". Drizella announced her plans to cast the Dark Curse in the same episode.
 * Ivy began looking for Anastasia in "Knightfall".
 * It was established in "Knightfall" that the killer gives his victims a heart-shaped box before he kills them.
 * Lucy is aware that breaking the Dark Curse will kill Henry, something she discovered in "A Taste of the Heights".
 * Nick's counterpart, Jack, was first introduced as Henry's close friend in "Pretty in Blue".
 * Weaver is trying to repair the chipped cup, which was broken in "Beauty".
 * Drizella poisoned Henry's heart in "The Eighth Witch".
 * Mr. Samdi mentions the death of Ivy's mother, which happened in "Secret Garden".
 * Roni learned about Samdi's desire for the Dark One's Dagger in "The Girl in the Tower".
 * Nick makes a reference to Henry's love for Jon Hughes movies, which was previously established in "I'll Be Your Mirror" and "Wake Up Call".
 * Weaver's quest to reunite with Belle began after he became awake in "Beauty".
 * Nick is revealed to be the "Candy Killer", who was first seen carrying out a murder in "Secret Garden".


 * -|Cultural References=

Disney

 * Flynn's Barcade is a reference to Flynn's Arcade from the Tron franchise.

Lost

 * When Ivy enters the pub, Roni is pouring four shots of MacCutcheon Scotch Whisky, a fictional brand on Lost. However, when she sees Ivy, Roni removes the bottle and snidely remarks that they have a strict "no whisky for witches" policy.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode features the Evil Stepsisters from the Cinderella fairytale, Dame Gothel from the Rapunzel fairytale, and Gretel from the Hansel and Gretel fairytale.

Popular Culture

 * The song playing in the background when Jacinda and Lucy visit Roni's together is "Float" by Jude Shuma.
 * The same song could be heard when Henry was having drinks with Ivy in "Beauty", and when Henry was sitting at the bar and received a text message from Jacinda in "A Taste of the Heights".
 * Henry says to Rogers, "Aside from seeing me at geek DEFCON 1, what are you doing here?"; a reference to DEFCON (DEFense readiness CONdition), an alert state used by the United States Armed Forces.
 * The game Henry is playing at Flynn's Barcade is Galaga, an arcade game in which the player controls a spaceship battling a fleet of aliens. The in-game ship was the inspiration for an animated logo that plays at the end of every Kitsis/Horowitz production.
 * Among the other games sitting in the background are Q*bert, Bubble Bobble and Pac-Man. In addition, Rogers remarks that he was always "more of a Pinball man".
 * Nick remarks that there are plenty of women who would find Henry's John Hughes outlook charming, a reference to the famous American filmmaker who directed and/or scripted some of the most successful comedy films of the 1980s and early 1990s.
 * When Roni returns to the bar at the end of the episode and finds Mr. Samdi there, "Lost in the Sun" by Joe Marson is playing in the background.


 * -|Other Notes=

Filming Locations

 * A scene with Ivy Belfrey was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia.
 * New Westminster doubles as Seattle for the scene where Henry, Nick and Rogers exit Flynn's Barcade together at the end of the episode.
 * New Westminster Police Station doubles as the exterior of Flynn's Barcade.