   
|
"Changelings" is the ninth episode of Season Six of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by David H. Goodman & Brian Ridings, and directed by Mairzee Almas. It is the one hundred and twentieth episode of the series overall, and premiered on November 27, 2016.
Synopsis
In a Fairy Tale Land flashback, Rumple collects Jack and Jill's son as bait to lure a powerful being to him. Back in Storybrooke, Gold tells the Evil Queen that she must kill Zelena, and the EQ makes a decision that will change her relationship with her sister forever. When Belle discovers Gold’s plans for their son, she convinces Hook and Emma to help her steal squid ink that can immobilize him, and, as a result, Belle is left to make a sacrifice that will affect the lives of everyone in Storybrooke. Meanwhile, Jasmine finds a genie-less lamp that she hopes to use to save Agrabah, and Aladdin finds a way to be her hero.[2]
Recap
At Rumplestiltskin's castle, Belle is stunned to see Rumplestiltskin bring a child back with him, but as she asks questions, he makes her stop before he leaves again. While reading "Her Handsome Hero" Belle calms the baby down as she plots to track down the parents. Belle enters his secret room and deciphers a scroll with an incantation, but Rumple finds her, locks Belle in the room and disappears with the baby. She is then rescued by The Blue Fairy, who enlists Belle to save the child before he can use it as a way to seek revenge on The Black Fairy, who, like Rumple, is known to take children.
That night in the forest, with the incantation, Rumple summons the Black Fairy and throws squid ink on her to paralyze her. When she warns him that the squid ink won't hold her for long, he tells her that his ability to kill her with his Dagger would compel her to stay. He questions her about abandoning babies, and why she abandoned her own child, and she suddenly realizes that the baby he is referring to was Rumplestiltskin himself, as it turns out that he is her son. Though shocked, she recovers and tells him that she abandoned him because "sometimes, you have to choose power over love." Moments later, Belle shows up to rescue the baby, and the Black Fairy overcomes the effects of the squid ink, and leaves Rumplestiltskin guessing about why she really abandoned him. Afterwards, Belle returns the baby to its parents, as Rumplestiltskin watches, observing the happiness of a family that he never had.
In the present day at an undisclosed location, Gold chases down and captures a nun, and the Evil Queen has shown up to witness what he planned to do to her, as she is aware of his hatred towards fairies. As Gold reminds the Evil Queen that she is supposed to kill Zelena on his behalf, he proceeds to toss magical dust on the fairy, causing her to age immediately, which he wants to serve as a message to the fairies. This has Belle more worried after seeing the aged nun and knowing that he'll use everything to take their child away. While doing research on how to stop Gold, Belle comes across a "Manual on Defeating the Dark One" book and as she opens it; a red string appears on the floor that matches the page on the book. She follows it to her son, who tells her the answer was in front of her. She suddenly wakes up on top of the book, realizing that she was dreaming while searching for the answer.
In the meantime, Jasmine tells Snow that she is nervous about the lamp, assuming that a genie's magic could help her find Agrabah, but fears what the genie will want in return. She decides to summon the genie anyway, but when she rubs the lamp, all that comes out are two cuffs, implying that the genie was freed. Aladdin then puts the cuffs on, turning himself into a genie instead. Around the same time, the Evil Queen confronts Zelena and is ready to kill her, but she is stopped by Regina, who squeezes her own heart. Since both are connected, whatever happens to one also affects the other. During Regina's confrontation with the Evil Queen, in an effort to save Zelena, Regina tells the Evil Queen that Gold is using her. Since Regina cannot kill the Evil Queen because she would also die, she allows the Evil Queen to get away. Despite saving Zelena's life, Regina continues to blame her for Robin's death and tells Zelena she cannot forgive her.
The book that Belle slept on captures the attention of Hook as the book is written in Squid ink, and suggests that he and Emma take care of the situation. When they arrive to the Pawn Shop, Hook provokes Gold's anger to allow Emma to use the ink on him. As they are searching the shop, Emma sees the sword from her visions and has a vision upon touching the sword, resulting in her hands shaking again. When Hook & Emma check on Gold, they realize he escaped the squid ink. Gold, ready to confront Belle with the aging dust, tells her that he thinks their son may be the only person who could ever love him and is willing to do anything to steal their child from her. However, Gold starts having second thoughts after Belle tells him that he might also lose her forever.
At Granny's, Belle, Emma, and Hook have a conversation. As Emma tells Hook that a new vision involving her death has appeared, Belle drops her mug on the ground, revealing that the tea she was drinking had a potion that causes her pregnancy to accelerate and she goes into labor. As Emma and the fairies help Belle deliver, she finds herself again in the dream world talking to her son, who gives his mother a message, “you know what you must do." As Belle successfully delivers the baby, she asks Mother Superior to make a request to be his fairy godmother and to take him far away from Storybrooke, where he will be safe from Gold. Belle then names her son Gideon, in honor of her favorite book hero before Mother Superior sends the child away. The nuns/fairies & Emma had placed a protection on the nunnery to prevent Gold from entering until the baby was delivered. Thus Gold enters after the Blue Fairy/Mother Superior has already taken his son. Belle refuses to tell Gold their son's name, but he vows to find him regardless.
When Gold returns to his shop, the Evil Queen is waiting and tells him that she is responsible for placing the spell in Belle's tea that resulted in her pregnancy to accelerate. The Evil Queen tells Gold that he just “made an enemy” of her, but he counters that she is merely a pawn in his game and vows to get even, but not before she leaves with a message about the way "Fairies make great mothers" (now that she knows that The Black Fairy is Gold's mother), then he throws everything to the ground. Finally, after Hook tells her that Regina reversed the aging spell on the nun, Emma tells Hook that she feels stronger than ever, ready to confront her vision, returned to the shop, where she finds the sword that will kill her in her vision and takes it.
Deleted Scenes
"Collecting On A Deal" (Scene 2-3-4)
This scene is included on Once Upon a Time: The Complete Sixth Season.
Rumplestiltskin stalks Jack as he enters his cottage and appears right before Jack and Jill. He tells the couple that he's here because he wants the collect what he desires according to a deal they made. Rumplestiltskin refreshes their memory by saying that some time ago, Jill rushed to see Rumplestiltskin to make a deal after Jack fell down a hill and broke his skull. Jill says that she remembers what happened, and attempts to give him her ring which she considers her most valuable item. However, Rumplestiltskin says that it was valuable then, but now they have something more valuable: their son. After he steals their baby and walks out of the cottage, he stumbles upon the Blue Fairy who reveals herself to be the baby's fairy godmother. But the fairy's magic is no use for the Dark One as there is a deal for him to collect his payment. After he moves the fairy away, the couple begs Rumplestiltskin, who shoots back and says that they shouldn't have trusted a fairy to protect their child.
Zelena Vs. Serum Queen: Extended
An extended version of the fight scene between Zelena and the serum queen that includes horses, huge riders, Black Knights and the serum queen knocking Zelena off. During this, there are flying monkeys circling around them, and the serum queen jumps at Zelena and hurts her.[3]
Cast[2]
Starring
Guest Starring |
Co-Starring
Uncredited
|
Trivia
Title
- The title card features the Dream World's swingset.[4]
- The title of this episode was revealed by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on September 28, 2016.[5]
- The episode's name "Changelings" is a reference to the myth of fairies abducting children and replacing them with "changelings" or "faerie-babies." The Blue Fairy also mentions that the Black Fairy steals children.
- It is also a subtle reference to the original version of "Beauty and the Beast" by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve: In the fairytale, it is revealed that in order to protect Beauty when she was a baby, the good fairy, upon discovering that a merchant's baby daughter had died, took the dead girl away and left Beauty in her place.
Production Notes
- PRESS RELEASE: Jaime Murray is misspelled as "Jamie," instead of "Jaime" in the press release.
- PRESS RELEASE: The press release credits Jacky Lai's character as Novice Fairy/Young Nun. However, her Enchanted Forest counterpart does not make an appearance.
- REUSED FOOTAGE: The establishing shot of the Dark Castle is stock footage from the background plate of a view of the castle in Belle's Dream World in "The Savior.[6]
- HIDDEN DETAILS: In Belle's dream, she mentions Hildrew as the author of the book Manual on Defeating the Dark One. This is a reference to Geofrey Hildrew,[7] one of the editors on the show, who also directed the episode "The Bear King."
- Belle also mentions a book called Treatise on the Metaphysics of Magic by "Goldman," a reference to Mark Goldman, also an editor on the show, and the one who provided the voice of Sven.
- Another book mentioned in the dream is The White Sorcerer's Way by "Talbot," a reference to Joe Talbot Hall, another editor on the show.
- ABANDONED IDEAS: The episode script contains a segment where Emma asks, "You sure about that?," and Belle answers, "He still loves me."[8] This segment is not in the final episode.
- ABANDONED IDEAS: In the episode script, Belle describes Fairy language as ancient, and says that almost no one knows it. She also says that her mother taught her some when she was young.[9]
- HIDDEN DETAILS: Granny serves Belle a cup of chamomile tea that "soothes the soul," and Hook comments on how it helps calm the nerves. Unbeknownst to Granny, however, the tea has been dosed with aging powder that accelerates Belle's pregnancy and causes her to go into labor. Chamomile, an old medical herb, can actually be used to reduce stress, and has been stated to have a soothing and calming effect.[10] However, the consumption of too much chamomile can lead to a miscarriage, or a premature birth.[11]
- REUSED ACTOR: Nick Hunnings, who portrays Jack, also portrays the Prison Guard in the Season Two episode "The Cricket Game."
Event Chronology
- The Enchanted Forest flashbacks take place some time after "Lacey" and "Heroes and Villains" (in the latter, the curtains in Rumplestiltskin's castle are still nailed to the wall,[12] and they are open in "Changelings"[13]), after the scene where Belle opens the curtains in "Skin Deep," and before Belle is banished from Rumplestiltskin's castle in the same episode. (For more details, see the Enchanted Forest timeline)
- The Storybrooke events take place after "I'll Be Your Mirror" and before "Wish You Were Here." (For more details, see the Land Without Magic timeline)
- The Dream World events take place after "The Savior" and before "The Black Fairy."
Episode Connections
- The power station where Mr. Gold takes the nun prisoner,[14] is the same location where Mary Margaret struggles to turn the power back on during the town-wide black-out in "White Out."[15]
- Rumplestiltskin's other dealings with babies were explored in "The Price of Gold," "The Shepherd," "The Miller's Daughter" and "Devil's Due."
- When Belle asks for the name of Jack and Jill's baby, Rumplestiltskin says that names are a special thing. In present day Storybrooke, Belle refuses to reveal the name of their own baby to Mr. Gold, because he might use it to find him. Rumplestiltskin's habit of treating names as important was previously referred to in "Pilot," "That Still Small Voice," "Queen of Hearts," "Manhattan" and "The Apprentice."
- Belle first encountered her son in the Dream World in "The Savior."
- Emma talks about how she used magic to speed up Zelena's pregnancy, which occurred in "Birth." The same thing ultimately happens to Belle, after drinking some tea tainted by the serum queen.
- Regina says that the Evil Queen has a hole in her heart that she is desperate to fill. In "Save Henry," Rumplestiltskin stated that Regina's real counterpart had a hole in her heart as a result of casting the Dark Curse, a hole that she would one day need to fill. Maleficent made a similar comment to Regina's real counterpart in "The Thing You Love Most," where she said that enacting the curse would leave an emptiness inside her; a void she would never be able to fill.
- Mary Margaret talks about how her father found a genie lamp once, an event that took place in "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree."
- Belle talks about how her mother read Her Handsome Hero for her, something that was previously mentioned in "Family Business" and "Her Handsome Hero."
- Belle tries to escape from Mr. Gold by hiding inside the library elevator, the same trick that she used to escape from Hook in "The Outsider." Unfortunately, it doesn't work this time.
- Mr. Gold says to Belle that he's a difficult man to love. He said the same thing to Emma in "Skin Deep."
- Mr. Gold also says to Belle that he's a man no one can ever love, something that he also told her in "Skin Deep," where he stated that "no one could ever love him."
- Mr. Gold snidely refers to Hook as "the Savior's lap dog," echoing a similar comment he made in "The Apprentice," where he referred to Hook as a "puppy dog chasing after the object of his affection."
- The sword that Emma finds, was first seen in her vision in "The Savior." Its origin story is revealed in "Ill-Boding Patterns."
- The Black Fairy was first referenced in "Going Home."
- How the Black fairy ceased to be good is revealed in "The Black Fairy."
- Rumplestiltskin threatens to use the Dark One Dagger on the Black Fairy unless she co-operates. He threatened to do the same to August in "The Return."
- Hook says to Belle that chamomile helps calm the nerves. Zelena said the same thing to David and Mary Margaret in "The Tower."
- The Evil Queen doses a cup of chamomile tea with a magical substance, just like Zelena did when she fed David Night Root in "The Tower."
- Rumplestiltskin asks his mother why she abandoned him. She gives him the answer in "The Black Fairy."
- Mr. Gold expresses his dislike of fairies, something that was first alluded to in "Dreamy," and further elaborated on in "Fall."
- Regina blames Zelena for Robin Hood's death, an event that took place in "Last Rites."
- The serum queen talks about how Zelena killed Mr. Gold's first son, an event that took place in "Quiet Minds."
- When Mr. Gold finds out what the Evil Queen did to Belle, he uses his walking stick to smash items in his shop in a fit of rage, just like he did in "We Are Both" when he discovered that the town line would stop him from leaving Storybrooke.
- Aladdin is freed from the lamp in "A Wondrous Place."
Biblical
- A headstone shaped like a Celtic cross can be seen in Belle's Dream World. Another headstone is shaped like a regular cross.[16]
Disney
- Granny brings Belle some chamomile tea, a reference to the scene where the living teaset bring Belle some tea in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
- This episode contains a number of other references to Disney works. See the list of Disney references for more.
Fairytales and Folklore
- This episode features the ugly duckling from the titular fairytale, Rumplestiltskin from the "Rumpelstiltskin" fairytale, Beauty and the Beast (who is actually Rumplestiltskin) from the "Beauty and the Beast" fairytale, the wicked fairy from the Villeneuve version of "Beauty and the Beast" (who is also the Beast's mother from the same story), the Fairy with turquoise hair from The Adventures of Pinocchio, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, the evil queen from the "Snow White" fairytale, Aladdin and the princess from the One Thousand and One Nights story, and the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz story.
- Jack and Jill from the nursery rhyme of the same name also appear.
- When Belle demands to know the name of Jack and Jill's infant son, Rumplestiltskin says to that names are a special thing. Later, in the present day, Mr. Gold asks Belle for their son's name but Belle refuses because Gold can use it to find him. This is a reference to the "Rumplestiltskin" fairytale, where the titular character consents to give up his claim on the miller's daughter's unborn child if she can guess his name within three days.
- The incantation that Belle reads is written in fairy language. In the Peter Pan novel, fairies also have a language known as "fairy language," which sounds like the tinkle of bells.
- In the original version of "Beauty and the Beast" by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, the good fairy tells Beauty the story of how the wicked fairy attempted to murder Beauty (who is revealed to be the daughter of a king and therefore a princess) when she was a baby, planning to commit the murder in a neighboring forest. The good fairy considered taking Beauty away, but knew that the wicked fairy would just retake the child from her, without it being in her power to stop her. The fairy discovered that a merchant's baby daughter had died, so in order to protect Beauty, the good fairy took the dead girl away and left Beauty in her place. Similarly, in this episode, Belle (here the daughter of a lord who is the ruler of an unnamed kingdom) tasks Mother Superior with taking her newborn son away to protect him from Rumplestiltskin, the Black Fairy's son (similarly, the Black Fairy's habit of stealing other people's babies right out of their mothers' arms also alludes to the original story). However, in "Wish You Were Here," it is revealed that the plan failed, and a distraught Mother Superior reports to Belle and Mr. Gold that the Black Fairy abducted the baby in the forest, despite Mother Superior fighting as hard as she could to stop her.
- Similarly, in the Enchanted Forest, the Blue Fairy tells Belle about how she failed to protect Jack and Jill's infant son from being kidnapped by Rumplestiltskin. The latter then proceeds to use the baby to lure the Black Fairy.
Popular Culture
- BOOKS AS SET DRESSING: On the library shelf where Belle finds the Manual on Defeating the Dark One in her dream, there is a bound volume of Scots Law Times from 1927.[17] Scots Law Times is a Scottish law report service containing coverage from every Scottish court, a service which dates back as far as 1893.[18]
- Also sitting on the shelf is an old volume of The New Teachers' and Pupils' Cyclopaedia.[17]
- ARTWORKS: Venus and Mars, a famous painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli, can be glimpsed behind Mr. Gold as he is talking to Belle inside the convent.[19] It can be seen more clearly in the Season Five episode "Our Decay."[20]
- The incantation to summon the Black Fairy begins with "Let the night sky tremble, as the Dark Star shall fall." "Dark Star" is the name of a song by Grateful Dead. Once Upon a Time co-creator Edward Kitsis is a noted fan of the rock band.[21] The Dark Star Pharmacy is also named after this song.[22]
Props Notes
- PAUSE AND READ: The essay written by one of Mary Margaret's students, Victoria N., is about "the best invention of all time." It reads:[23]
was ever invented is swimming polls [sic]! Swimming
pools are the best inventions cuz you can dive
from high places, and there is a lifeguard [obscured]
dangerous as if you did it [obscured]
on Any Parte of the body.
Stand ye in front of a large looking glass.
Looke fulle at the part of your body whereabouts
the folicles [sic] are to be diminished. Thereafter fashion
a concoction of clove spice, macerated rose-hips
and milk whey.
Mix the ingredients together full well and apply
to the glass that reflects the portion of the body to
be acted on.
Say the incantation follicles be damned, get thee
gone by wave of my hand.
[faded word] wave your right hand in a deosil motion in
a front of thine likeness and
paste into a pannie[obscured]
when the moon[obscured]
- ARTWORKS: The spell book that Mr. Gold is reading when Hook walks into his shop[25] contains an illustration of a magic circle from Key of Solomon, an old grimoire incorrectly attributed to King Solomon. This particular illustration is from one of the earliest manuscript of the grimoire, entitled The Clavicle of Solomon, revealed by Ptolomy the Grecian, written in English and Latin and dated 1572. Note that the illustration has been touched up, colorized and modified by the prop makers: For example, the sensors in the north, east, south and west have been replaced with new symbols (a star and circle inside a circle), the Stars of David (✡) have been replaced with three five-pointed stars (☆), the text in the inner circle (which has no actual meaning) has been slightly modified and the two lowermost text passages have switched sides, while the word "Plemoma" (Esperanto for "people") has been added to the center.
- PAUSE AND READ: The caption reads (some of it is obscured but can be seen in a book prop which was auctioned off online; this text is set in fuchsia):[26]
He who follows the other side the forme of
the circle shall be as sure as in a very
strong castle within he need not feel the
illfect of any magic. He is impervious
to all enmity and mentacity.
- The text is adapted from the caption which accompanies the original illustration in the book. The original caption reads thus: "Heare Followeth one the other side the forme of the circle whosoever be in such a circle shall be as sure as in a very stronge castle wherin he needeth to feare nothinge."[27]
- ARTWORKS: The illustration on the other side of the page[25] (seen through the paper) contains symbols from the outer circle of the Pentacle of Solomon, an illustration found in the Lesser Key of Solomon, an anonymous grimoire on demonology compiled in the mid-17th century. (Note that since the page is seen from behind, all the symbols are mirror-inverted.)
- PAUSE AND READ: Around the illustration, the names Jaldabaoth, Samael, Nebro and Saklas (the latter is partially obscured but can be seen in the concept art) are printed. These are all alternate names for the Gnostic demiurge Yaldabaoth.
- PAUSE AND READ: The caption beneath the illustration is difficult to read since it is only seen though the paper and is therefore mirror-inverted; in addition, the first caption, which is printed on the opposite side, obscures most of the text. However, if you flip the screenshot, you can read parts of it, while some of it can be seen on a piece of concept art by graphic designer Neil Westlake.[28] The text is taken from The Book of Abraham the Jew[29] (1774) by Abraham Eleazar, who was supposedly a Jewish alchemist. Nothing is known about him; his name was most likely fictional and the real author seems to have been a person called Julius Gervasius of Schwarzburg.[30] The full excerpt (the parts which can be read on-screen are set in bold, while the parts that can only be seen on the concept art are set in fuchsia) reads:[29]
drawn out and with which our salt
is prepared. The undermost culebra* serpent
however denotes our Materiam,
everywhere to be found; it is earthly and also
heavenly, then it the right Earth, Virginea et
Adamica. That one however may know what
it is, so is such to be found under the
vegetable roots.
- The spell book is the same book that Mr. Gold was reading when the serum queen dropped by the pawnshop in "Dark Waters." He later uses it to look up information for his son Gideon, on how to repair the Hrunting, in "Ill-Boding Patterns."[31]
- According to Giles Matthey, he and Emilie de Ravin both played on the swingset between set ups.[32]
Set Dressing
- REUSED PROPS: When Mr. Gold enters the convent, there is a glass-stained window in the hallway behind him.[33] It is the same window that was added to the landing outside the entrance to the Blanchard loft in the Season Two premiere "Broken."[34]
Costume Notes
- USE IT AGAIN: The dress worn by the serum queen at the power station[35] is the same dress that Regina conjured up when under the influence of the Spell of Shattered Sight in the Season Four episode "Shattered Sight,"[36] and when selecting a dress for the ball in Camelot in the Season Five episode "The Price."[37] Regina's real counterpart wore the same dress when giving the Count of Monte Cristo the Agrabahn Viper venom in the Season Six episode "A Bitter Draught"[38] and in Regina's dream in the Season Four episode "Poor Unfortunate Soul."[39]
- USE IT AGAIN: When the serum queen attacks Zelena, she is wearing[40] the same outfit that Regina's real counterpart wore during battle in the Season Two episode "The Cricket Game."[41]
- BRAND INFO: During her confrontation with the serum queen, Zelena is wearing[42] a Michael Kors Faux Fur Peacoat[43] and a Michael Kors Tweed-Print Chiffon Tie-Neck Blouse[44] (both are no longer available).
- BRAND INFO: Emma is wearing[45] a Plumetis Tunic Blouse from Zara.[46]
- USE IT AGAIN: She wears the same blouse in "Wish You Were Here,"[47] "Tougher Than the Rest"[48] and "Murder Most Foul."[49]
- BRAND INFO: Mary Margaret is wearing[50] a Joie Sonomaombre Paisley Printed Sandwashed Savory Silk.[51]
- BRAND INFO: Belle is wearing[52] a Anthropologie Morning Glory Swing Dress (no longer available).[53]
- BRAND INFO: Regina is wearing[54] a Zara Doubled Breasted Coat.[55] (no longer available). Note that the costume department added the red roping around the wrists.
Filming Locations
- The scene with the serum queen and Mr. Gold at the power station was filmed on a television set at The Bridge Studios.[59]
- A forested area of Vancouver doubles as the Enchanted Forest for the deleted scene where Rumplestiltskin kidnaps Jack and Jill's baby, and the brief scene where Belle returns the child to his parents at the end of the episode.[60]
International Titles
| International Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Title | Translation |
| French | "La Fée Noire" | "The Black Fairy" |
| German | "Aus Liebe geboren und doch verloren" | "Born of Love and Yet Lost" |
| Italian | "La fata nera" | "The Black Fairy" |
| Portuguese | "Bebês Trocados" | "Switched Babies" |
Videos
References
|
