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The Enchanted Bow is a magical item featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It first appears in the sixteenth episode of the first season.
The enchanted bow is based on Robin Hood's bow from the Robin Hood ballads.
History
In Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West, Zelena, comes to possess an enchanted bow after assuming control of the Emerald castle since disposing of the Wizard of Oz. From the Enchanted Forest, a thief named Robin of Locksley arrives, under orders from Rumplestiltskin, to steal an elixir of the wounded heart from the Emerald castle, in exchange for clearing his tax debts. Although he disguises himself as one of Zelena's guards, she quickly realizes he is an outsider. With his cover blown, Robin grabs the enchanted bow from the room, but before he can fire at her, she has created two more illusions of herself to confuse him. As she figures out Rumplestiltskin sent him, Robin eyes the steam engine behind her and steadies his arrow on it. However, when she dissipates her illusions and throws a fireball at him, he dodges and releases the arrow. It flies around the room aimlessly until hitting Robin's intended target, the steam engine, which fogs up the entire room. While Zelena is distracted by the fog, he escapes with the bow. ("Heart of Gold")
With his wife, Marian, pregnant and very ill, Robin Hood glamours himself with a Six-Leaf Clover he has procured from Oz, hoping Rumplestiltskin won't recognize him, before breaking into the Dark One's castle to steal a healing wand. When Rumplestiltskin catches him stealing, Robin Hood looses an arrow from the enchanted bow, hitting him in the chest. Since the Dark One is immortal, the arrow has no effect on him. Taken as prisoner, Robin Hood is flogged by Rumplestiltskin until Belle frees him. Furious, Rumplestiltskin then forces Belle to come with him as he hunts down the thief with the bow. The pair find Robin Hood healing Marian with the wand, but Rumplestiltskin is still unwilling to let things settle. As he aims an arrow at Robin Hood, Belle convinces him out of it since Marian is pregnant, and killing her husband will make the child fatherless. Reminded of his own son, Rumplestiltskin's resolve weakens and he allows the arrow to hit the carriage instead, scaring the couple into fleeing. ("Lacey," "Heart of Gold")
Becoming bitter and vengeful due to a potion, Snow White plans to kill the Queen, and asks Rumplestiltskin how to do it. He gives her the enchanted bow and arrow that "always hits its mark" and shows her the best location on the map to shoot the Queen. When Snow White inquires about payment, Rumplestiltskin says that he does not want anything and is simply invested in her future. As Snow White is testing out the bow, Prince Charming sneaks up behind her. He embraces and kisses her, however, true love's kiss has no effect since she does not feel the same about him. Snow White finds him to be a nuisance, so she knocks him out and ties him to a tree. Jiminy chews through Prince Charming's binds and suggests since he cannot make Snow White remember him, perhaps he should help her remember who she is. As the Queen travels down the road, Snow White looses the arrow, but Prince Charming takes the hit instead. She is baffled why he would do such a thing, to which Prince Charming attests he'd rather die than see her become evil. Surprised, her expression softens and she leans in to kiss him, which breaks the potion's effects on herself. ("Heart of Darkness")
Trivia
On-Screen Notes
- The enchanted bow is featured in the title card for "Lacey."[1]
- Commenting on an arrow found by Robin Hood's daughter in Memento Mori, Gothel says, "Legend has it this arrow was enchanted to always hit its mark"; an indirect reference to the enchanted bow. ("Secret Garden")
Props Notes
- The prop used for the enchanted bow,[2] also doubles as Hercules' bow for the episode "Labor of Love."[3]
Appearances
| Once Upon a Time: Season One | ||||||||||
| "Pilot": | "The Thing You Love Most": | "Snow Falls": | "The Price of Gold": | "That Still Small Voice": | "The Shepherd": | "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter": | "Desperate Souls": | "True North": | "7:15 A.M.": | "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Skin Deep": | "What Happened to Frederick": | "Dreamy": | "Red-Handed": | "Heart of Darkness": | "Hat Trick": | "The Stable Boy": | "The Return": | "The Stranger": | "An Apple Red as Blood": | "A Land Without Magic": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Once Upon a Time: Season Two | ||||||||||
| "Broken": | "We Are Both": | "Lady of the Lake": | "The Crocodile": | "The Doctor": | "Tallahassee": | "Child of the Moon": | "Into the Deep": | "Queen of Hearts": | "The Cricket Game": | "The Outsider": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "In the Name of the Brother": | "Tiny": | "Manhattan": | "The Queen Is Dead": | "The Miller's Daughter": | "Welcome to Storybrooke": | "Selfless, Brave and True": | "Lacey": | "The Evil Queen": | "Second Star to the Right": | "And Straight On 'Til Morning": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Once Upon a Time: Season Four | ||||||||||
| "A Tale of Two Sisters": |
"White Out": |
"Rocky Road": |
"The Apprentice": |
"Breaking Glass": |
"Family Business": | "The Snow Queen": |
"Smash the Mirror": |
"Fall": | "Shattered Sight": |
"Heroes and Villains": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Darkness on the Edge of Town": |
"Unforgiven": | "Enter the Dragon": | "Poor Unfortunate Soul": |
"Best Laid Plans": | "Heart of Gold": | "Sympathy for the De Vil": |
"Lily": | "Mother": | "Operation Mongoose Part 1": |
"Operation Mongoose Part 2": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Once Upon a Time: Specials | ||||||||||
| "Magic is Coming": |
"The Price of Magic": | "Journey to Neverland": | "Wicked is Coming": | "Storybrooke Has Frozen Over": | ||||||
| Archive | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | ||||||
| "Secrets of Storybrooke": | "Dark Swan Rises": | "Evil Reigns Once More": | "The Final Battle Begins": | |||||||
| Absent | Archive | Absent | Absent | |||||||
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.
