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"A Wondrous Place" is the fifteenth episode of Season Six of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Jane Espenson & Jerome Schwartz, and directed by Steve Pearlman. It is the one hundredth and twenty-sixth episode of the series overall, and premiered on April 2, 2017.
Synopsis
When Hook finds himself trapped in another realm along with the Nautilus and her crew, he races to return to Emma before Gideon can execute the rest of his plan. In Storybrooke, Regina and Snow take Emma out to get her mind off Hook’s disappearance. And in a flashback to Agrabah, Jasmine befriends Ariel, and together they set out to locate Prince Eric as the threat from Jafar intensifies.[2]
Recap
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Cast[2]
Starring
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Guest Starring
Co-Starring
Uncredited |
Trivia
Production Notes
- The title card features a flying carpet in the woods.
- The title of this episode was revealed by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on December 12, 2016.[3]
- This episode is named after a lyric from the song "A Whole New World" from the Disney film Aladdin. The song is sung by Aladdin and Jasmine.
- The establishing shot of Storybrooke early in the episode, where the leaves are blown across Main Street, is the exact same shot that was used to show the empty streets of Storybrooke the morning after Hook's death in the the Season Five episode "Swan Song".[4]
- Director Steve Pearlman came up with the name for the bar that Emma, Mary Margaret and Regina visit, Aesop's Tables.[5]
- Llamas were used in this episode instead of camels, because it would have cost 20,000 dollars to import them.[6]
- During filming of this episode, greensperson Sarah McCulloch nicknamed Deniz Akdeniz, Ali Baba.[7]
- The pants Deniz Akdeniz wore for this episode, had to be fitted with a heating device due to the cold weather they experienced during filming.[8]
Event Chronology
- The Agrabah events take place after "The Savior" and the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland episode "Trust Me", and after Prince Eric left for Agrabah in "Ariel". (For more details, see the Agrabah timeline)
- The Storybrooke events take place after "Page 23". (For more details, see the Land Without Magic timeline)
- The Enchanted Forest events take place after "Broken Heart". It also takes place after Jasmine and Aladdin left Storybrooke in "Wish You Were Here", and after the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland episode "And They Lived...". (For more details, see the Enchanted Forest timeline)
Episode Connections
- Hook proposed to Emma in "Ill-Boding Patterns" and she broke off their engagement in "Page 23".
- It was revealed that Hook killed Robert in "Murder Most Foul".
- The reason for Hook's unexpected departure on the Nautilus is shown in "Page 23".
- Aladdin and Jasmine wished to find Agrabah in "Wish You Were Here".
- Hook's chest of belongings is the same chest that he brought with him from the Jolly Roger in "Strange Case".
- How Ariel and Prince Eric ended up on Hangman's Island is shown in "The Jolly Roger".
- Hook previously met Ariel in "The Jolly Roger" and again in "Poor Unfortunate Soul".
- Ariel's home features a collection of corkscrews and forks. Ariel learned what a fork is in when she attended the Under the Sea Celebration with Snow White in "Ariel. She learned what a corkscrew is when she explored Mr. Gold's pawnshop with Belle in "Dark Hollow".
- Jafar says that the people of Agrabah call him a "bastard". The reason for this is explained in the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland episodes "The Serpent" and "Bad Blood", where Jafar is revealed to be the illegitimate son of a sultan.
- How Jafar was transformed into a Genie is revealed in the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland finale "And They Lived...".
- Tears were previously used for magical purposes in "Second Star to the Right" and "Dreamcatcher".
Disney
- This episode is a rendition of Aladdin, with Aladdin, Jasmine, Jafar, the Sultan, the Flying Carpet, and two allusions to the Genie. The episode also introduces new characters from the film: Prince Achmed and the Street Vendor, who is based on Farouk.
- In the scene where Hook and Ariel are talking, there is a tiger behind them. This is a nod to Raja, Jasmine's pet tiger from the Aladdin film.
Fairytales and Folklore
- This episode is a rendition of the One Thousand and One Nights story, with the Princess, the Sorcerer, and Aladdin.
- Prince Achmed is based on Prince Ahmed from "The Story of Prince Ahmed and the Fairy Paribanou".
- Jasmine says that Ariel's story is "like something out of Scheherazade", a reference to the famous storyteller from One Thousand and One Nights.
- This episode also features Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, The Little Mermaid and the Prince from The Little Mermaid fairytale, and Captain Nemo and his First Mate from the Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea story.
- Aesop's Tables, the new bar that Emma, Mary Margaret and Regina visit, is a pun on "Aesop's Fables". Gideon poses as Aesop while he is pretending to be the bartender.
- The drinks on the menu are named after stories from "Aesop's Fables": "The Dog and the Wolf", "The Fox and the Grapes" and "The Ant and the Grasshopper".
- A sea wyvern is pictured on the banners outside the tent where "Prince Eric" is staying. A sea-wyvern is a legendary creature with a dragon's head and wings, a reptilian body, two legs, and a fish tail. It is the sea-dwelling variant of the creature known as a wyvern.
Props Notes
- The Sultan's meeting table is the same prop that was used for the Round Table in the first half of Season Five. The chairs are also the same.[9]
- Jafar's Genie Bottle[10] has the same design as Cyrus' and Will Scarlet's bottle from Once Upon a Time in Wonderland,[11] even though Nyx imprisoned Jafar in a different bottle when she cursed him in "And They Lived...".[12]
Set Dressing
- A small ship painting seen behind the bar at Aesop's Tables also appears in Emma's room at the inn in the Season One episode "The Thing You Love Most"[13] and the room where Sheriff Graham meets Regina in the Season One episode "The Price of Gold",[14] but with a different frame. It can also be seen in Edwin's home in the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland episodes "Down the Rabbit Hole"[15] and "Who's Alice".[16]
- The banners outside the tent where "Prince Eric" is staying feature the same motif and design as King Arthur's coat of arms from the first half of Season Five:[17] A yellow crown and a sea-wyvern against a red background. A sea-wyvern is a legendary creature with a dragon's head and wings, a reptilian body, two legs, and a fish tail. It is the sea-dwelling variant of the creature known as a wyvern.
Costume Notes
Filming Locations
- Belcarra Regional Park in Vancouver doubles as Hangman's Island for this episode, both for the forest scenes and the scene on the sandy beach.[21] For the scenes outside Ariel's cottage, a cabin set was built in the forest at the park.[22]
International Titles
| International Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Title | Translation |
| French | "Un Endroit Merveilleux" | "A Wondrous Place" |
Videos
6x15 - A Wondrous Place - Promo
6x15 - A Wondrous Place - Sneak Peek 1
6x15 - A Wondrous Place - Sneak Peek 2
