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Hook: Look, he's grown into a fine young lad, and he is lucky to have a mother like you.
Emma Swan: He's lucky to have a pirate like you.

"A Pirate's Life" is the second episode of Season Seven of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Jane Espenson & Jerome Schwartz, and directed by Tara Nicole Weyr. It is the one hundred and thirty-fifth episode of the series overall, and premiered on October 13, 2017.

Synopsis

When Henry finds himself in trouble, he calls upon his Storybrooke family for help, and together they set off on a mission to find Cinderella. Along the way, Hook is confronted by an unexpected foe who threatens the group's success. In Hyperion Heights, Jacinda searches for a way to see Lucy with some unwelcome assistance from Henry, while Victoria Belfrey enlists the help of Gold [sic] and Weaver to push Henry out of the neighborhood.[2]

Recap

This section is a detailed recap of this episode. There are major spoilers. Click to expand.

Hook and Henry practice sword fighting aboard the Jolly Roger at the Storybrooke docks. While Henry initially wins, when he is distracted by Emma, Killian disarms him, after which he gets discouraged and walks away. Captain Hook and Emma discuss that Henry will likely leave them. Though Emma is worried, Hook shows her a bottle he will give Henry so that he can send messages for help if need be.

Years later, Henry rides a white horse through a forest, looking for Cinderella. He encounters Cinderella's stepmother and two castle guards. Before they take him prisoner, he manages to send a message for help through the bottle given to him by Captain Hook. Lady Tremaine wants to know where the glass slipper is, but Henry refuses to tell her where he has hid it.

In Hyperion Heights, Rogers confronts Henry about the novel he wrote, as well as the illustration of a blonde woman. As the former leaves, Henry questions the officer about the location of where his family might be buried and Rogers tells him he will try to help.

Meanwhile, at Belfrey Towers, Jacinda Vidrio asks her stepsister, Ivy Belfrey about a ticket for Lucy's ballet recital. Unbeknownst to her, Victoria decided to turn the ballet recital into a charity event for disadvantaged children and the price for the tickets is just out of reach for Jacinda. The later confronts her stepmother, but Victoria declines her offer for a second chance.

In the New Enchanted Forest, Lady Tremaine orders her daughter Drizella to get the information out of him, but before she can torture him, Regina and Killian appear to save him - sans Emma. Killian tells Henry she is fighting tiny dragons, which we find out is a lie when Regina confronts him about it out of Henry's earshot.

Rogers' arrives at the station to find Weaver leaning against his car. The older man scolds the detective for being late before throwing his car keys at him and instructing him to get in. At Roni's, Jacinda and Sabine discuss possible job opportunities in order to raise enough cash to attend Lucy's ballet recital. During this, Henry walks in and apologizes for yesterdays events. He offers the woman money to attend the recital, but Jacinda declines and walks out of the bar. With Rogers promoted to detective as Weaver's partner, Victoria Belfrey wants them to get "dirt" on Henry to get him out of Jacinda and Lucy's life.

Killian decides to go to the port to look for Cinderella there, where he is confronted by his alternate self from the Wish Realm, who bests him in a fight and goes to Lady Tremaine to be turned into a younger version of himself, so he can take Killian's place and have True Love with Emma. In exchange, he tries to convince Henry to come home. But when Emma appears and announces she is pregnant, alternate Killian feels guilty and goes back to get the primary Captain Hook from where he was left in a cart. Unfortunately primary Killian thinks that his alternate self has come to finish him off, and stabs alternate Captain Hook. When he discovers that his alternate self had come to make things right, he somehow summons Emma to save him. Meanwhile he learns that alternate Captain Hook is searching for his long-lost daughter who was trapped by a witch.

Jacinda is trying to get enough money so she can buy a ticket to Lucy's ballet recital. Jacinda tries to find extra work, and Henry has arranged a catering job that she can do at the ballet recital so that she can see Lucy perform.

Weaver and Rogers plan to frame Henry for stealing Victoria Belfry's bracelet at the event, but Rogers decides at the last minute not to frame Henry. He thinks he will lose his job for this but Weaver tells him that he likes Rogers' "moral core."

In Roni's bar later, Rogers tells Henry about a woman who helped him survive a gunshot wound until an ambulance could arrive, while he was searching for a missing girl. He thinks someone powerful must want that girl to not be found, and that powerful person might be Victoria Belfry. He invites Henry and Roni to help him bring her down.

In the past in the forest, alternate Captain Hook and Henry decide to team up to look for Cinderella and alternate Captain Hook's missing daughter. Regina also decides to stay with them. Emma and Killian go home through a portal.


Cast[2]

Starring

Special Guest Star

Guest Starring

Co-Starring

Trivia

Title

  • The title card features a swan.[3]
  • The title of this episode was revealed by Adam Horowitz via his Instagram account on July 10, 2017.[4]
  • MUSICAL INSPIRATION: This episode could be named after:
  • HIDDEN DETAILS: The expression "A Pirate's Life" has already been used on the show:

Production Notes

  • PRESS RELEASE: The press release for the episode mistakenly says "Victoria Belfrey enlists the help of Gold and Weaver".[2] However, it is not possible as Weaver is Mr. Gold's cursed persona, so they can't both exist in Seattle at the same time.
  • It was supposed to say "Victoria Belfrey enlists the help of Rogers and Weaver" as confirmed by the episode.

Event Chronology

Episode Connections

Disney

Fairytales and Folklore

Lost

Popular Culture

Props Notes

  • All items could be seen among the possessions which Emma packed up in "A Wondrous Place".[18]


Henry,

The pirate who will bring you this note has
informed that you've been looking for
me. Worse, he tells me that you've me [sic] of
my glass shoes, and have taken it as a
sign of affection. It pains me to tell you
that you've misunderstood. Please call off
your pursuit and know that I'm well and
require no rescuing.

I wish you well in your future adventures.

Cinderella.


  • When Henry is heartbroken over Jacinda in "Pretty in Blue", he gets drunk on Aschenputtel.[23]
  • When Jacinda's stepsister Ivy seeks out Roni at the bar in "Sisterhood", a bottle of the same brand is sitting next to her.[24]
  • Fittingly enough, when playing chess with Tilly in the Hyperion Heights Hospital in "Beauty", Rogers places the black rook next to the white knight,[25] foreshadowing Alice's identity as Wish Hook's daughter: Wish Hook states that his daughter has his knight. After Alice's identity is revealed, the color of the knight is revealed to be white in "Pretty in Blue".

Set Dressing

Costume Notes

  • BRAND INFO: Ivy is wearing[37] a Miu Miu Printed Button Front Shirt[38] (no longer available).
  • BRAND INFO: Jacinda is wearing[39] a Maje 'Bianca' hummingbird-embroidered bomber jacket[40] (no longer available).
  • BRAND INFO: Regina is wearing[43] a Kooples Leather Trim Prince of Wales Plaid Jacket (no longer available).[44]

Filming Locations

International Titles


Videos

References

  1. Porter, Rick (October 14, 2017). TV Ratings Friday: 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' and 'Jane the Virgin' return, 'MacGyver' dips. TV by the Numbers. “Once Upon a Time (ABC) (...) 2.78”
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 LISTINGS: ONCE UPON A TIME. The Futon Critic. “Air Date: Friday, October 13, 2017. Time Slot: 8:00 PM-9:01 PM EST on ABC. Episode Title: (#702) "A Pirate's Life".”
  3. File:702Title.png
  4. InstagramIcon Adam Horowitz (@adamhorowitzla) on Instagram: Here's a little #onceuponatime #titlespoiler for 702! (July 10, 2017). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  5. Smith, C. Molly (July 28, 2017). Robert Carlyle has to re-record some "Once Upon a Time" Season 7 lines — because Rumple changed his accent. HelloGiggles. “So, he started with one accent and then, presumably upon learning more about his character and the season ahead, changed it to another. Which means, he'll have to re-record his previous lines for continuity, and that's dedication. "I kind of started off going in a slightly different direction, and I actually changed the accent in Episode 2," he said. "So, I'm going to [ADR] out all the stuff that I did in Episode 1, because in Episode 2 I suddenly went, 'Wait a minute...You've got to remember you ain't that character anymore.' It's so incredibly different, so to walk in there as Gold — or even have Gold's voice or Gold's mannerisms — it would be very confusing."
  6. InstagramIcon Alison Fernandez (@tvalisononset) on Instagram: Tonight's episode of #onceuponatime was filmed on #mybirthday! (October 14, 2017). "Join me and the cast for a #behindthescenes fun. What a lucky girl I am to have these wonderful people as friends and come to my party! 🎼🎤 I love you all, thank you! 🤗🤗🤗🤗🎉🥂🎭✨🎂🍰🍦🍭👯👯‍♂️👯💋" (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  7. TwitterLogo Court ➳ (@Court_rankin) on X, formerly Twitter: Deleted line from 7x02: "she's bad at goodbyes" - Henry about Emma #ouatnj (October 21, 2017). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  8. TwitterLogo Andrew J. West (@andjwest) on X, formerly Twitter: .@colinodonoghue1 made fun of me for missing the fire with the crumpled up note... (October 14, 2017). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
    TwitterLogo Colin O'Donoghue (@colinodonoghue1) on X, formerly Twitter: Yep, cause you missed. Every time!!! (October 14, 2017). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
    TwitterLogo Andrew J. West (@andjwest) on X, formerly Twitter: Character choice. Henry's bad at throwing crumpled notes into fires. Duh. (October 14, 2017). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  9. File:702CommunityCenter.png
  10. WS HA Waterfront and downtown from Pier 66 / Seattle, Washington, USA. Getty Images. Retrieved on October 27, 2018.
  11. Abrams, Natalie (September 26, 2017). Once Upon a Time bosses deep dive into season 7 reboot. Entertainment Weekly. “HOROWITZ: But we get into how all that works very quickly, but the present-day Hyperion Heights, Seattle stuff takes place in 2017.”
    TwitterLogo Liliam (Lilo) (@girlLily) on X, formerly Twitter: @AdamHorowitzLA hey Adam... Just to clarify, Hyperion Heights (season 7) is set in 2017, right??? (October 17, 2017). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
    TwitterLogo Adam Horowitz (@AdamHorowitzLA) on X, formerly Twitter: Yes (October 17, 2017). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
    TwitterLogo Yaroslava (@yarosnikulina) on X, formerly Twitter: but how about this thing in the episode 7x01? it dates 2018 June. Im confused a little bit.. @JaneEspenson @InkTankGirl (October 19, 2017). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
    TwitterLogo Adam Horowitz (@AdamHorowitzLA) on X, formerly Twitter: That's a mistake. Should have been dated in 2017. (October 19, 2017). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  12. File:702ThisAppSucks.png
  13. File:702Book.png
  14. 14.0 14.1 File:702Doll.png
  15. File:702PicksUpBottle.png
  16. File:317WhereYouWent.png
    File:317WhereYouWent2.png
  17. File:615ClosingTheBox.png
    File:615TakingTheConchShell.png
  18. File:615TakingTheBottle.png
    File:615HoldingTheSpyglass.png
    File:615ClosingTheBox.png
    File:615TakingTheConchShell.png
    File:615OpeningTheBox.png
  19. File:702UsedToSleep.png
    File:702So2.png
  20. File:221ABoy.png
  21. Once Upon a Time - Cinderella's Letter to Henry Prop (S07E02) (0815). iCollector (March 28, 2021). Archived from the original on September 2, 2021.File:702Prop13.jpg
  22. File:702Hey.png (shows the first letters of the name)
    File:702Mhm.png (shows the last letters of the name)
    File:701ConceptArt8.jpg (concept art of the beer bottles, which shows the full name)
  23. File:708AreYouDrunk.png
  24. File:715IfNotFor.png
  25. File:704ChessMove.png
  26. File:702ExtremelyLoyalToMe.png
  27. File:102Devastating.png
  28. Sommer, Charles. A Brief History and Sketch of the Madonna Ministry by Bishop Charles Sommer, Former President. Madonna Interfaith Community. Retrieved on October 28, 2018. “Arnold Michael, D.D., L.H.D., the founder of the Madonna Ministry writes: "During 1947, under very unusual circumstances I was undeniably impelled to go into seclusion and write a book that would record the birth, life, ministry, assumption and coronation of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The book was first published in 1948. It is entitled, Blessed Among Women.”
  29. Joseph Hamburger. Online Library of Liberty. Retrieved on October 28, 2018. “Joseph Hamburger was the Pelatiah Perit Professor Emeritus of Political and Social Science at Yale University.”
  30. File:702KillMe.png
    File:702GirlsDancing.png
  31. What to wear to work in a heatwave. The Telegraph (July 18, 2016). “Rachel Comey Laurel ruffle-sleeved top, £314, Matches Fashion”
  32. File:619HisMotherWillDo.png
  33. File:702TimeForMe.png
  34. VEDA Jayne Suede Jacket. Shopbop. Retrieved on October 31, 2018.
  35. File:620BeBrave.png
  36. File:622SendingHenryOffToSchool.png
  37. File:702Victoria.png
  38. ONCE UPON A TIME: SEASON 7 EPISODE 2 IVY’S GREEN PRINTED SILK SHIRT. shopyourtv. Retrieved on October 31, 2018.
  39. File:702ATicket.png
  40. MAJE Bianca hummingbird-embroidered bomber jacket. Selfridges. Retrieved on October 31, 2018.
  41. File:703LookingAtLetter2.png
  42. File:708OutInASecond.png
  43. File:702Hug.png
    File:702WontComeWithUs.png
  44. The Kooples Women's Black Jacket - Leather Trim Prince Of Wales Plaid. Lyst. Retrieved on October 31, 2018. (Note that the details are located at the bottom of the page.)
  45. File:720MoodyHenry.png
  46. File:702Clink.png
  47. Painted Florica Jacket. Aritzia. Retrieved on October 31, 2018.
  48. File:706CouldntComeHere.png
  49. File:708AThankYouFrom.png
  50. File:711ExchangeForWhat.png
  51. File:712IntoMyTown.png
  52. File:713InThat.png
  53. File:718AboutTheDagger.png
  54. File:720AGreatExtinction.png
  55. File:702IDontCare.png
  56. Eliza Dress. Rag & Bone. Retrieved on October 31, 2018.
  57. THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: JULY 2017 KATIE’S WHITE LAYERED DRESS. shopyourtv. Retrieved on October 31, 2018.
  58. TwitterLogo YVRShoots (@yvrshoots) on X, formerly Twitter: #OnceUponaTime blocking scene w/Regina (Lana Parrilla), Henry (Andrew J. West) & horses in Burnaby's Central Park. (July 26, 2017). (backup link; the user's account and the original post have been deleted – they are now using a different account with the handle "yvrshootstweets," and the name "YVRShoots Tweets") (archive screenshot)
  59. TwitterLogo Wonderhawk (@wonderhawk_9) on X, formerly Twitter: #OUAT set photos from set today in Central Park Burnaby. Pics with JMo and Colin to follow :) (July 19, 2017). (backup link; the user's account and the original post have been deleted) (archive screenshot)
  60. File:702MillsApartment.png
  61. Screenshot from Supernatural: "Shadow"
  62. Screenshot from Supergirl: "For Good"
  63. TwitterLogo YVRSHoots (@yvrshoots) on X, formerly Twitter: #OnceuponaTime has wrapped at Vancouver Rowing Club in Stanley Park. Arrived in time to see Colin O'Donoghue & Robert Carlyle leave. (July 26, 2017). (backup link; the user's account and the original post have been deleted – they are now using a different account with the handle "yvrshootstweets," and the name "YVRShoots Tweets") (archive screenshot)
    TwitterLogo e ⎊ 🇨🇦🇬🇧 (@way2distracted) on X, formerly Twitter: Quite the interesting scene being shot on Once Upon A Time today. On set was Bobby, Andrew and Colin. (July 26, 2017). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  64. TwitterLogo Celeb Sessed (@celebsessed) on X, formerly Twitter: OUAT filming right now on COLUMBIA St in New West. Spotted "Hook" on set. (July 24, 2017). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
    TwitterLogo Celeb Sessed (@celebsessed) on X, formerly Twitter: no problem! A quick pic. (July 24, 2017). (backup link) (archive screenshot)

Notes

  1. Note that Roni's contract from "Hyperion Heights" says June 2018 (File:701Contract.png), but Adam Horowitz clarifies in this tweet (backup link) that the year on the prop was a mistake and it should have been dated 2017, not 2018. In "Beauty", Henry states that "Until last week, the only human contact I had was with my Swyft riders", indicating that the events of "Hyperion Heights", where Henry meets his new friends, also take place in October, about a week before Halloween. In addition, in "Eloise Gardener", the concert tickets that Henry presents to Jacinda for their date later that night are dated "NOV1817" (File:707IsSpigolli.png) (in the lower left hand corner), meaning November 18, 2017.

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