The Savior

"That's why you never, ever hear these words about a Savior: "They lived happily ever after.""

- Jafar to Aladdin

"The Savior" is the first episode of Season Six of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, and directed by Eagle Egilsson. It is the one-hundredth and twelfth episode of the series overall, and premiered on September 25, 2016. This episode is the sixth season premiere.

Synopsis
As our heroes set out to stop Hyde, Emma develops a mysterious side effect, and Storybrooke becomes a haven for refugees from the Land of Untold Stories. Meanwhile, Regina and Zelena embrace their newfound sisterhood by becoming roommates, while Rumple tries to free Belle from the sleeping Curse with the help of a stranger. In flashback, Jafar confronts an afflicted Aladdin in Agrabah, and a secret about the Savior is revealed.

Starring

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

Guest Starring

 * Deniz Akdeniz as Aladdin
 * Beverley Elliott as Granny
 * Oded Fehr as Jafar
 * Hank Harris as Dr. Jekyll
 * Giles Matthey as Morpheus
 * Raphael Sbarge as Archie Hopper
 * Sam Witwer as Mr. Hyde

Co-Starring

 * Thomas Gasior as Musketeer Man
 * Tarun Keram as Emir
 * Peter Marcin as Chief*
 * Jordyn Ashley Olson as Young Nurse/Oracle
 * Ingrid Torrance as Nurse Ratched*
 * Farris Tyab**

Uncredited

 * Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen (Serum)
 * Cinder as Pongo
 * Unknown baby as Robin

*: Although being credited, Chief and Nurse Ratched did not appear in the episode. ''**: Press release only

Trivia

 * -|Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The title card features Jafar flying on his carpet.
 * The title of this episode was announced by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on June 25, 2016.
 * A few scenes of this episode and "A Bitter Draught" were filmed simultaneously.
 * Several mistakes were made on the press release of this episode:
 * Ingrid Torrance is mistakenly credited as "Nurse Ratchet", instead of "Nurse Ratched".
 * Jordyn Ashley Olson is misspelled as "Jordan", instead of "Jordyn".
 * Farris Tyab is credited without a character name, while he was not credited at all in the episode.


 * -|Episode Connections=

Event Chronology

 * The Storybrooke events take place after "An Untold Story".
 * The Land of Untold Stories events take place after "An Untold Story".
 * The Agrabah events take place "many years" earlier, after Amara is turned into a Serpent Staff in the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland episode "The Serpent", and before Jafar leaves Agrabah for Wonderland in "Down the Rabbit Hole".

Episode Connections

 * Emma and Hook make references to Emma's red leather jacket, which was first seen in "Pilot". The story behind the jacket, is revealed in "Firebird".
 * Mr. Hyde's cell at the psychiatric ward is the same cell that Zelena lived in in "Mother" and "Season Five. Belle also lived in this cell during Skin Deep" and "A Land Without Magic".
 * In Belle's dream, Rumplestiltskin recreates the dance scene from their honeymoon in "A Tale of Two Sisters".


 * -|Cultural References=

Disney

 * In Belle's dream, she and Rumplestiltskin dance to an instrumental version of the title song from Beauty and the Beast. Belle's yellow dress is similar to the one her Disney counterpart wears in the dance scene from the movie.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode features the Evil Queen from the Snow White fairytale, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde story, the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz story, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, Beauty and the Beast, who is also Rumplestiltskin from the Rumplestiltskin fairytale from the Beauty and the Beast fairytale, Aladdin and the Sorcerer from One Thousand and One Nights, and Morpheus from Greek Mythology.


 * -|Set Notes=

Props Notes

 * The drink that the Evil Queen offers Zelena is green apple martini.


 * -|Other Notes=

Filming Locations

 * The scene where the people of Storybrooke watch the flying dirigible, the scene where Emma and Hook are talking in the forest, and the scene where Emma meets the Oracle, were all filmed in Burnaby's Central Park.
 * A park in Steveston Village doubles as the Storybrooke Graveyard for this episode.