The Apprentice (Episode)

"The Apprentice" is the fourth episode of Season Four of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Andrew Chambliss & Dana Horgan, and directed by Ralph Hemecker. It is the seventieth episode of the series overall, and premiered on October 19, 2014.

Synopsis
After Emma asks Hook out on a real first date, Hook visits Mr. Gold and asks for his hand to be reattached so that he can embrace her with both hands. But magic always comes with a price. Henry and Mary Margaret try to offer hope to Regina when she becomes frustrated over not being able to find a cure to save a frozen Marian, and Will Scarlet attempts to break into the Storybrooke library to find a special book. Meanwhile, back in the Fairy Tale Land that was, Rumplestiltskin is after a magical box that the Sorcerer’s apprentice is guarding, and he may use Elsa’s sister Anna to help him get it.

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
 * Colin O'Donoghue as Hook
 * Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills
 * Michael Socha as Will Scarlet
 * Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold

Guest Starring

 * Brad Dourif as Zoso
 * Scott Michael Foster as Kristoff
 * Georgina Haig as Elsa
 * Elizabeth Lail as Anna
 * Elizabeth Mitchell as Snow Queen
 * Timothy Webber as The Apprentice/The Apprentice

Co-Starring

 * Catherine Bogdanova as spaghetti lady
 * Emanuel Fappas as bartender
 * Garry Garneau as spaghetti man

Uncredited

 * Jack as Sven
 * Mark Goldman as Sven (Voice)
 * Unknown baby as Neal Nolan

Production Notes

 * The title card features an enchanted broom.
 * This episode reveals that Mr. Gold has kept Captain Hook's hand in his pawnshop. A severed hand was sitting on a shelf in the pawnshop in "The Outsider", while Mr. Gold conversed with Belle on the phone.
 * A severed hand was also on a pedestal in Rumplestiltskin's castle in "Skin Deep". It is most noticeable when he says to Belle, "You will serve me my meals".
 * Josh Dallas and Georgina Haig wrote a story whilst filming one scene.

Event Chronology

 * The opening scene in the Enchanted Forest events takes place before "Desperate Souls".
 * The rest of the Enchanted Forest events take place after "White Out", and before "Skin Deep", where the Sorcerer's Hat is in Rumplestiltskin's possession.
 * The Arendelle events take place after "Rocky Road".
 * The Storybrooke events take place after "Rocky Road".

Episode Connections

 * Zoso's future fate is explained in "Desperate Souls".
 * The hand in the jar, which Hook wanted back, is the hand he lost in "The Crocodile".
 * Geppetto's parents's puppets are seen in the background in Rumplestiltskin's hall. How Geppetto's parents became puppets is explained in "That Still Small Voice".
 * Emma discovers an image featuring the Red Queen, who is Will's lover. Their backstory was explored on the Once Upon a Time spinoff, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

Disney

 * This episode features Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Sven from the movie Frozen as well as their homeland Arendelle.
 * The Sorcerer's Hat is from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" scene from Disney's Fantasia. However, the Apprentice being turned into a mouse is a reference to Mickey Mouse, who portrayed the Apprentice in the Disney film. The enchanted broom is also an allusion to this film.
 * The man and woman eating spaghetti at the restaurant is a reference to the famous scene from Lady and the Tramp.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode features Rumplestiltskin from the Rumplestiltskin fairy tale, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story as well as the Snow Queen from the fairytale of the same name. It also features the Apprentice and the magical broomstick from the poem, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice".
 * Emma found the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll beside Will in the library.
 * After Emma's car skids on the ice, the car radio host takes a request from Rip van Winkle, who is looking for a classic song to wake up to. This is a reference to the American story of the same name. Rip van Winkle previously appeared in a deleted scene from "Nasty Habits".

Lost

 * When Will tries to break into the library, he's holding a bottle of MacCutcheon Scotch Whiskey. This was a fictional brand featured on Lost.