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The Dragon

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This article focuses on the Land Without Magic character.
For the creatures, see dragons.


You haven't met me. At least not the real me.

—The Dragon to Tamara src

The Dragon is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the eighteenth episode of the second season and is portrayed by guest star Tzi Ma.

History

Before First Curse
At some point, the Dragon loses his daughter after making a mistake and paying the price for it. ("I'll Be Your Mirror")

During First Curse

In Hong Kong, The Dragon runs a small clinic to cure patients with particular illnesses or diseases by using magical means. During his time in Hong Kong, he does some research on the Author. ("Selfless, Brave and True," "Poor Unfortunate Soul")

At a later time, a patient, Tamara, asks for the Dragon's help to be cured of her terminal cancer, and though he can tell she is lying, he plays along with her act. As payment for his services, she forfeits a cherished photo of herself and her grandmother. His next patient is someone he recognizes as the grown-up Pinocchio, August, who wants to stop himself from turning into wood. August willingly gives over a whale-shaped ornament, which was made from one of the marionette strings his father made him from. As the second part of the payment he requires, the Dragon asks for $10,000 U.S. dollars. August steals the money from Tamara for the Dragon, who hands over a potion for his ailments. However, the Dragon warns that while it can prevent him from turning into wood, it's simply a symptom, and only he can truly cure himself. Shortly after, Tamara returns to the Dragon's office since retrieving the potion from August, where she comes clean about her lies. She recalls her search around the world for actual magic, and after meeting many frauds, the Dragon has proven to be the real deal. Taking out the potion, Tamara reveals she ran tests on the liquid, which contains no known substance in this world. Having accomplished her mission, Tamara moves to kill the Dragon as she doesn't wish others to find his magic as well. Fighting her off, he levitates off the ground, which surprises her momentarily, but then she apparently shocks him to death with a taser. A few days later, August returns to ask the Dragon to cure him again, but he finds him dead on the floor. August, realizing he can only outrun his fate by helping Emma break the curse, takes the Dragon's research on the Author with him, which later ends up in the hands of Regina and eventually her adoptive son, Henry. ("Selfless, Brave and True," "Poor Unfortunate Soul")

After Third Curse

Having somehow survived Tamara's attack, the Dragon relocates to a herbal shop in New York City's Chinatown. As they both need magic to save their loved ones who are trapped in another realm, Mr. Gold and Regina seek him out for help. The Dragon refuses to help Mr. Gold, whose heart he deems too dark, however, he agrees to assist Regina because he sees a noble battle inside her as she fights between the light and darkness inside herself. After Emma, Henry, and Violet also join them at the shop, the Dragon places a water lily in a bowl of water and focuses his magic on it, allowing the group is able to see their family and friends in the other realm. The Dragon attempts to use even more of his own magic to open a portal between realms, but he soon reaches the limit of his powers, causing the forming portal to fall apart completely. As another solution, he suggests they can still find other sources of magic in the Land Without Magic, despite that Henry already destroyed Storybrooke's magic in the Olympian Crystal. The Dragon explains that since magic is not easily seen in the Land Without Magic, it is still present if people are willing to see it. Emma recognizes his advice as the same words August once told her. With more nudging from the Dragon, who reminds her to use what August taught her, Emma remembers August preached that one has to believe in magic in order for it to be seen. ("An Untold Story")

Later that evening, after the heroes have saved their loved ones, the Dragon notices the wind chime in his shop is moving, although there is apparently no breeze in the air. In the next instant, large coils of smoke creep in from the entrance and form into the shape of the Evil Queen, who has come back even though Regina killed her earlier. The Queen agrees that while Regina did win the fight between light and darkness, she intends to wage war to defeat her better half. When she rips out his heart, the Dragon stumbles back in shock, as she proclaims the Queen is back again. She tries to get him to help her but he refuses, so she traps him in the World Behind the Mirror, but keeps his heart for her own use. She then takes magical items from his shop to get to Storybrooke. ("An Untold Story," "A Bitter Draught," "I'll Be Your Mirror")

Unaware that the Dragon has since been captured by the Evil Queen, Emma's attempt to contact him so he can cure her parents' joint Sleeping Curse leads her nowhere, especially since she doesn't know the Dragon's actual name. Later, she and Regina end up trapped in the World Behind the Mirror, where they encounter the Dragon again. He reveals that there is one possible way to escape the realm through a portal that Sidney previously worked on in an attempt to escape the mirror world. Despite his best efforts, the Dragon cannot finish it, though he suggests that if the three of them work together, they may have better luck. Before they can accomplish much, the Queen speaks through the Dragon with his heart, taunting Emma and Regina before revealing herself in one of the mirrors with Henry. She then orders the Dragon to kill Emma and Regina. Unable to disobey her, he transforms into his true form, a gigantic dragon, and as he rampages, Emma and Regina duck behind a pillar. They determine that if they can get the Dragon to blast the mirror with his fire breath, it could break and release them. This attempt is assisted by Henry, who uses the hammer of Hephaestus from the other side to break Emma and Regina free. As the Dragon's fire breath bursts through the mirror, Henry grabs the Dragon's heart to save his life. ("I'll Be Your Mirror")

After the Evil Queen leaves Storybrooke, Regina is able to free the Dragon from the mirror world and subsequently returns his heart. ("Mother's Little Helper")

Magical Abilities

  • Potioncraft - Ability to create liquid substances for various purposes by combining a set of ingredients.

Trivia

Character Notes

Production Notes

  • The casting call name for him was "The Healer".[1]
  • The casting call describes him as, "60, mystical, powerful, helpful to those in trouble, and makes predictions that can be difficult to understand."[1] Also with further details, "He’s described as being an Asian male in his late 50s or 60s, a powerful and revered figure known for helping folks in terrible trouble. Deep down, though, The Healer is deeply moral, he knows right from wrong and understands that his great powers come with great responsibilities.[2]

Disney

Set Dressing

Appearances

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Once Upon a Time - Episode 2.18 - Role being Cast. SpoilerTV (January 28, 2013). “For episode #218 of Once Upon a Time, a guest role (preferably with an Asian accent) is being cast: The Healer. He's 60, mystical, powerful, helpful to those in trouble, and makes predictions that can be difficult to understand.”
  2. ↑ Mitovich, Matt Webb (January 29, 2013). Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Walking Dead, Grey's, Scandal, Big Bang, Nashville, Bones and More!. TVLine. “Producers are casting a role enigmatically known as The Healer. He’s described as being an Asian male in his late 50s or 60s, a powerful and revered figure known for helping folks in terrible trouble. As you might expect from this mystical type of character, he’s known to fancy a flowery turn of phrase, and doleth out cryptic descriptions does he. (...) Deep down, though, The Healer is deeply moral, he knows right from wrong and understands that his great powers come with great responsibilities.”
  3. ↑ File:218Clock.png
  4. ↑ File:218PaymentFromYourSoul.png
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