For the location, see Heart of Oz. For the fungus, see Crimson Crown. |
The Crimson Heart is an item featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It appears in the eighteenth episode of the sixth season.
The Crimson Heart is based on the Tin Man’s heart from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
History
A man comes to see Zelena in her palace. When she fails to recognize him, the man reminds her of how he once held a bird nest, which helps Zelena recognize him as her old friend Stanum. He explains incurring the fury of the Wicked Witch of the North after he chopped down one of her trees and his punishment from her is to slowly turn into a tin man. Stanum requests Zelena's help with obtaining the Crimson Heart from a beast that can stop the curse from taking full effect on him. Zelena refuses to help him at first, but when Stanum calls her out for turning him down because she's afraid of the beast, Zelena agrees to aid him in order to prove she is not only powerful but not afraid of anything. Together, the two of them defeat the lion who protects the heart, but upon when Zelena picks it up, she finds the heart draining her magic. Zelena realizes that there is no magic in the heart and without someone else’s magic, it is just a worthless piece of glass. For the heart to work, it needs someone else’s magic – her magic. Zelena confronts Stanum about knowing all along and accuses him of working for Dorothy Gale. Stanum denies knowing Dorothy, but admits he knew the heart would drain her magic and that he believes she could be happy without her powers if she had a friend like him to accept her for herself. Zelena argues that her power is what makes her special and refuses to help him, standing by as Stanum turns completely into tin, and she walks off with the heart box even as he calls after her. ("Where Bluebirds Fly")
In Storybrooke, the Black Fairy imbues a set of fairy crystals with dark magic, intending to use them for her own agenda. Regina gives one of the dark crystals to her sister Zelena, telling her to return to Oz. Taking her infant daughter Robin with her, Zelena summons a cyclone to go back but instead takes the Crimson Heart from Oz, believing it can revert the dark crystals to light if the heart absorbs all her magic. Before using the heart, she has Regina promise to look after Robin if anything goes wrong. Zelena uses the heart to drain all the magic out of herself. Once Zelena loses her magic, the crystals change back to light magic. ("Where Bluebirds Fly")
Appearances
Once Upon a Time: Season Six | ||||||||||
"The Savior": | "A Bitter Draught": | "The Other Shoe": | "Strange Case": | "Street Rats": | "Dark Waters": | "Heartless": | "I'll Be Your Mirror": | "Changelings": | "Wish You Were Here": | "Tougher Than the Rest": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Murder Most Foul": | "Ill-Boding Patterns": | "Page 23": | "A Wondrous Place": | "Mother's Little Helper": | "Awake": | "Where Bluebirds Fly": | "The Black Fairy": | "The Song in Your Heart": | "The Final Battle Part 1": | "The Final Battle Part 2": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |