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DunBroch is a Fairy Tale Land realm[1] featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It first appears in the sixth episode of the fifth season.
DunBroch is based on the location of the same name from the Disney/Pixar film, Brave.
History
After saving her mother from a curse years before, Merida lives in peace. One day, while the Witch is in her cottage, King Fergus arrives with his sword. Though he accuses her of being a witch, she attempts to keep her cover as a woodcutter, until he reveals that he knows she turned his wife and sons into bears. She admits to using magic, and Fergus reveals that he isn't at her cottage for revenge, but rather wants magic himself. He requests something to allow him to defeat the incoming invaders from the south and ensure the fate of his kingdom. She requests payment and has him sign a contract as an "I.O.U." before getting to work, and presents him with an Enchanted Helm that will cause any army to willingly follow the wearer into battle, no matter the dangers. ("The Bear King")
During a battle with enemies from another land, Merida sees her father King Fergus being attacked by a knight, who she attempts to take out with an arrow. However, she misses, giving the knight the opportunity to kill her father. Although she is next in line and becomes Queen, the clans lose faith in Merida because she failed to protect King Fergus. All the clansmen decide she is unfit to rule since she is a woman, and they rebel against her by exiling her mother and kidnapping her three younger brothers. She then sets out to rescue her brothers. ("The Dark Swan," "The Bear and the Bow," "The Bear King")Sometime after this, Merida makes the mistake of stealing a boat that belongs to King Arthur, in her attempt to cross the Ivory Sea to DunBroch, where the wisp is guiding her towards. She is captured and imprisoned in King Arthur's castle, with the wisp being taken away from her.
When Merlin, accompanied by David, Hook and Belle, arrive to the dungeon to break Lancelot out, they decide to free Merida as well. With Belle's bookish help, Merlin magicks away the prison bars. Because the guards are quickly closing in on them, Merida is forced to flee with the group, without retrieving the wisp. Believing Belle will be useful to her because of her magic knowledge, Merida purposely distracts her before knocking her out, taking the girl with her on a boat to DunBroch. Upon awakening, Belle huffs at her forceful tactics, while Merida insists she couldn't risk asking for Belle's help and being turned down. At a witch's house, Belle helps make a spell to see Merida's brothers, who are set to be executed by the three clans, in order to secure the throne for themselves. In order to beat the clans, Merida has Belle make a potion for turning into a bear. Belle, catching the fierce redhead during archery practice, is amazed to see Merida hit a bullseye thrice, as the loosed arrow cleaves the prior arrow in half each time it hits the target. She questions why Merida needs magic to change her brothers' fates when she can use her archery skills to prove herself. Only later, when they are preparing to ambush the clans, Merida admits to Belle about her father's fate, and the guilt she harbors for not being able to save him. Thus, she believes magic is necessary to win this time, however, Belle disagrees and secretly switches out the potion with water. When push comes to shove, with the clans releasing three arrows to kill her brothers, Merida looses a single arrow that cuts off all three arrows before they hit their targets. The clansmen draw their swords, but she warns them not to test her sword skills, as they already know what she can do with an arrow. Eventually, they kneel in recognition of her as Queen, as Merida remarks that they're lucky someone once taught her to be merciful. After Merida's happy reunion with her brothers, she sends Belle off, presumably going back to her allies, in a boat. ("The Bear and the Bow")
On the day of Merida's coronation, the old witch bursts in, asking Merida to return the magic helm that King Fergus got from her in the past. She warns that if the helm is not returned by sundown tomorrow, she'll turn everyone into bears. With the help of Mulan, Merida sets to find for the helm. During the quest, Merida is confronted by King Arthur and Zelena, who traveled from Camelot to DunBroch to locate the lost helm. Merida gives up and returns to her castle. Later, Mulan turns Ruby back to human form by knocking over a cauldron brew over her. Together, they reunite with Merida to continue the quest. During the quest, Merida discovers that Arthur was the knight who killed Fergus. To keep him from stealing the helm, she duels him, with Arthur retreating after Lord Macintosh, Dingwall and MacGuffin back her up. After Merida is crowned, she refuses to return the helm, to which the old witch congratulates her on passing the test, as she gained confidence to lead DunBroch without resorting to magic. The old witch rewards her with magical ale, which Merida sprinkles on her father's grave, giving her a chance to talk with Fergus one last time. After her father's spirit vanishes, Merida is reminded that King Arthur is to blame for his death and decides to seek revenge. ("The Bear King")
Sometime later, on horseback, Merida travels from DunBroch into the woods near Camelot, but before she can go any further, she is swept up by the Dark Curse, which takes her to the Land Without Magic ("Broken Heart")Locations
For detailed location information see DunBroch Locations and the list of minor DunBroch Locations.
Inhabitants
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Trivia
On-Screen Notes
- DunBroch is an island,[1] separated from Camelot by the Ivory Sea. ("The Bear and the Bow")
- DunBroch is located north of Camelot. ("The Bear King")
- Gold sceat is DunBroch's currency. ("The Bear King")
Filming Locations
- Robert Burnaby Park in East Burnaby doubles as DunBroch for the scenes outside the Witch's cottage in "The Bear and the Bow".[2]
- The rowing boat scene where Merida says goodbye to Belle in "The Bear and the Bow" was filmed in British Columbia's Golden Ears Provincial Park.[3]
- For the episode "The Bear King," some of the outdoor scenes were filmed in Surrey, British Columbia,[4] while others were filmed in Vancouver, by the ocean and up in the mountains.[5]
- The scene where Merida rides off to surrender the crown in "The Bear King" was filmed on Mount Seymour.[6]
Appearances
| Once Upon a Time: Season Five | |||||||||||
| "The Dark Swan": | "The Price": | "Siege Perilous": | "The Broken Kingdom": | "Dreamcatcher": | "The Bear and the Bow": | "Nimue": | "Birth": | "The Bear King": | "Broken Heart": | "Swan Song": | |
| Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Appears | Absent | Absent | Appears | Absent | Absent | |
| "Souls of the Departed": | "Labor of Love": | "Devil's Due": | "The Brothers Jones": | "Our Decay": | "Her Handsome Hero": | "Ruby Slippers": | "Sisters": | "Firebird": | "Last Rites": | "Only You": | "An Untold Story": |
| Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Once Upon a Time: Season Seven | ||||||||||
| "Hyperion Heights": | "A Pirate's Life": | "The Garden of Forking Paths": | "Beauty": | "Greenbacks": | "Wake Up Call": | "Eloise Gardener": | "Pretty in Blue": | "One Little Tear": | "The Eighth Witch": | "Secret Garden": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "A Taste of the Heights": | "Knightfall": | "The Girl in the Tower": | "Sisterhood": | "Breadcrumbs": | "Chosen": | "The Guardian": | "Flower Child": | "Is This Henry Mills?": | "Homecoming": | "Leaving Storybrooke": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears |
See also
References
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