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"Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" is the eleventh episode of Season One of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Ian Goldberg & Andrew Chambliss and directed by Bryan Spicer. It is the eleventh episode of the series overall, and premiered on January 29, 2012.
Synopsis
A dejected Sidney enlists the aid of Emma to help uncover evidence that could expose Mayor Regina as the corrupt person she really is to the townspeople of Storybrooke; and Mary Margaret and David continue their secret rendezvous while trying to figure out a way to unleash their unrequited love. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale land that was, King Leopold, who is the father of Snow White and married to the Evil Queen, stumbles upon a magic lamp and is granted three wishes by a Genie - who warns the king to be careful what he wishes for.[1]
Recap
In the Enchanted Forest, King Leopold finds a golden lamp washed up on the shore of the sea. He cleans the lamp and frees the Genie of Agrabah who grants him 3 wishes. However, the King says that he has everything he could possibly want and needs nothing more. He uses his first wish to free the Genie, then his second wish to give away his third wish to the Genie. He then brings the Genie back to his castle and introduces him to the Queen Regina and Snow White.
In Storybrooke, Henry Mills' "castle" is being torn down by Regina. Henry is distraught, because he had hidden the fairy tale book there, but the storm had washed it away. Regina's unilateral decisions about town matters upset Emma and she calls Sidney Glass to set up a meeting to find out a secret that will help bring her down. Sidney tells her that 50,000 dollars are missing from the town's budget. Mary Margaret Blanchard and David have a picnic out in the woods.
Back at the palace it is the King's birthday. He tells Snow White that she truly is the fairest of them all. This upsets the Queen who leaves. The Genie follows her out, and he gives her a mirror and tells her she is the "Fairest in all the land".
Sidney and Emma are digging up dirt on Regina. They go to visit Regina in her office, where they ask her about the missing money. After they leave, Emma reveals that she has planted a bug under Regina's desk.
The Genie is summoned to see the king. King Leopold has read her diary reveling that she thinks of herself as being trapped. He tells the Genie that he thinks the queen is in love with someone else and is unhappy. He asks the Genie to find the man who gave her the mirror, a task which he accepts.
Sidney and Emma find out about a secret meeting in the woods. While driving out there the brakes on Emma's car fail resulting in a crash. Sidney realizes someone tampered with the brakes. Mr. Gold comes out and tells them that Regina was meeting with him and that she has bought the land on which they are standing. Sidney and Emma break into Regina's office. Regina arrives and they claim some kids broke in. Regina sends them away.
Regina's father shows up and gives the Genie a box to take up to her. She opens the box to reveal a snake. The snake can kill anything with a single bite. Regina tells the Genie that she is so unhappy that she is going to kill herself. He stops her from using the snake on herself and gives her the idea of using the snake on the king. He offers to be the one to commit the murder.
Henry is sitting at Granny's when the Stranger comes up to him. Henry questions him on why he has come to Storybrooke, but he declines to give an answer. Sidney and Emma find out that she is planning on building something. Sidney shows her photo's that he has taken of her and Henry together. While at the city council Sidney brings up the files they found. They accuse her of building a home in the woods. Emma calls her on her true self and outs her to the people of Storybrooke. Regina however reveals that she is building a play house for the children of the town.
The Genie sneaks into King Leopold's room where he releases the snakes into the bed. The king is bitten, and the Genie reveals that he is in love with Regina. Before dying, the king declares his regret for freeing the Genie, acknowledging the previous warning that every wish has a price.
Mr. Gold congratulates Emma on her courage. Emma accuses Regina of messing with her brakes, but Regina appears to be ignorant of this. Regina tells Emma that she is no longer allowed to see Henry, unless she has Regina's permission or else she will take Emma to court and put a restraining order out against her. Emma tells Henry this news, and she promises him that she will try and find the book. It is revealed that the stranger is the one who has Henry's book. Sidney and Emma meet, and Sidney tells her that they are allies.
The Genie goes to tell Regina that they can be together. Regina tells him that the guards know that he killed the king, and she tells him that they can never be together. The Genie realizes that Regina set him up and that the murder would be traced back to him. He tells her that he can't live without her. Regina says that she will never love him, and he will never see her again. The Genie then uses the wish that the King had given him. He wishes to be with her forever, and never leave her side which turns him into the mirror. She tells him that he will be with her forever.
It is shown that Sidney is actually working with Regina. Sidney tells her that he will give her any information he can find. Regina replies that she doesn't know what she would do without him.
Deleted Scenes
Mr. K
A scene with Mr. K was deleted from the episode. However, the actor is still listed in the press release.[1]
Prince Charming
A scene with Prince Charming dressed in royal attire and carrying a sword in an unidentified throne room, was cut from the episode.[3]
Cast[1]
Starring |
Guest Starring
Uncredited
|
Trivia
Title
- The opening title card features the genie appearing from his lamp.[4]
Production Notes
- This episode is one of seven episodes of the entire series to not feature a co-starring cast member. The other are "Red-Handed", "The Stable Boy", "Into the Deep", "A Curious Thing", "Poor Unfortunate Soul" and "Her Handsome Hero".
- This episode reveals that the Evil Queen's given name is Regina.
- As Regina tells Emma and Sidney, the present events in Storybrooke take place three weeks after "Desperate Souls".
- The word "magister" (Latin for "master" or "teacher") is written above the door frame of the Mayor's office.[5] Magister was a title of the Middle Ages, given to a person in authority, or to someone having a license from a university to teach philosophy and the liberal arts.[6] It was also a title given to several positions of authority in Ancient Rome, such as Magister officiorum, which literally means "master of offices".
- In the Season Four premiere "A Tale of Two Sisters", the word "civitas" is engraved over the door frame of the room outside the Mayor's office.[7] In Ancient Rome, this word referred to the whole body of members of any given state. It was frequently used by the Roman writers to express the condition of a Roman citizen as distinguished from those who were not Roman citizens.
- The new playground is located at 2536 Old Yale Road.
- The design of the new playground castle[8] is similar to the Evil Queen's palace.
Event Chronolgy
- The Enchanted Forest flashbacks occur many years after "Labor of Love" and before "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter". (For more details, see the Enchanted Forest timeline)
- The Storybrooke events of this episode take place after "7:15 A.M." and before "Skin Deep".
- They also happen three weeks after "Desperate Souls". (For more details, see the Land Without Magic timeline)
Episode Connections
- How Regina came to marry King Leopold is revealed in "The Stable Boy".
- Other pictures that Sidney took of Emma and Henry, are seen in "Breaking Glass".
- The first photo of Emma and Henry at the playground castle[9] was taken in "Desperate Souls" (they are holding the walkie-talkies).[10]
- The photo of Emma and Henry leaving Archie's office[11] was taken in "The Thing You Love Most".[12] Emma shows Elsa the same photo in "Breaking Glass".[13]
- The photo of Emma and Henry walking by the Storybrooke Post Office[14] was taken in "The Price of Gold".[15]
- A photograph[16] from David and Mary Margaret's date by the Toll Bridge,[17] also taken by Sidney, appears in "What Happened to Frederick".
- What Regina's keys open is revealed in "What Happened to Frederick".
- The Genie's infatuation with Regina lasts until he's had enough and betrays her in "Breaking Glass".
- Where the Genie was trapped after he made his last wish, is revealed in "I'll Be Your Mirror".
Disney
- King Leopold accidentally releases the genie by rubbing the lamp while cleaning it.
- King Leopold is an allusion to Aladdin from the Disney film since, similarly to the character of Aladdin, he rubs a magic lamp and later uses a wish to free a genie.
- This episode contains a number of other references to Disney works. See the list of Disney references for more.
Lost
- Emma crashes her police cruiser into a street sign where the roads are numbered 4 and 23,[18] two of the Lost numbers.
- This episode contains a number of other references to ABC's Lost. See the list of Lost references for more.
Fairytales and Folklore
- This episode is a rendition of the "Aladdin" tale, focusing on the genie of the lamp .
- This episode also features the ugly duckling from the fairytale of the same name, and Snow White, the king, the magic mirror and evil queen from the "Snow White" fairytale.
- The genies line, "In my time I have granted a thousand and one wishes and I have seen them end poorly a thousand and one times..." is a reference to One Thousand and One Nights.[19]
- King Leopold calls Snow White "the fairiest of them all", which is a line derived from the "Snow White" fairytale, where the evil queen asks, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all?".
- When Queen Regina opens the box there is a snake that can kill her in one bite. This is a reference to the story of Cleopatra (the last Pharaoh of Egypt) who is said to have killed herself with the bite from a poisonous snake as she knew the Romans were coming to take over Egypt.
Popular Culture
- Sidney Glass' attire[20] bears striking similarities to the signature outfit of Inspector Gadget.[21]
Props notes
- The hand-held mirror that the genie keeps with him inside his lamp,[22] which he later gets trapped inside when he makes his final wish,[23] is the same mirror that the Evil Queen uses to trap Emma and Regina in the Season Six episode "I'll Be Your Mirror".[24]
- The prop used for the Magic Mirror's lamp[25] was later re-used for one of Cyrus' brothers' genie lamps on the spin-off show Once Upon a Time in Wonderland,[26] but with differently colored jewels. The same prop is used for the genie lamp that Aladdin steals from Mr. Gold's pawnshop in the Season Six episode "I'll Be Your Mirror". This lamp also has differently colored jewels.[27]
- Although it cannot be deciphered on-screen,[28] a prop photograph from an online auction reveals that the pages that King Leopold and the genie read in Regina's diary contain an excerpt from the Epistles (Letters) of the Roman poet Horace,[29] published in two books, in 20 BCE and 14 BCE.
PAGE 1 qui redit in fastos et virtutem aestimat annis miraturque nihil nisi quod Libitina sacravit. Ennius et sapines et fortis et alter Homerus, ut critici dicunt, leviter curare videtur, quo promissa cadant et somnia Pythagorea. Naevius in manibus non est et mentibus haeret paene recens? Adeo sanctum est vetus omne poema. ambigitur quotiens, uter utro sit prior, aufert Pacuvius docti famam senis Accius alti, dicitur Afrani toga convenisse Menandro, Plautus ad exemplar Siculi properare Epicharmi, vincere Caecilius gravitate, Terentius arte. Hos ediscit et hos arto stipata theatrospectat Roma potens; habet hos numeratque poetas ad nostrum tempus PAGE 2 potens; habet hos numeratque poetasad nostrum tempus Livi scriptoris ab aevo. Interdum volgus rectum videt, est ubi peccat.si veteres ita miratur laudatque poetas, ut nihil anteferat, nihil illis comparet, errat.si quaedam nimis antique, si pleraque duredicere credit eos, ignave multa fatetur, et sapit et mecum facit et Iove iudicat aequo. non equidem insector delendave carmina Livi esse reor, memini quae plagosum mihi parvo Orbilium dictare; sed emendata videripulchraque et exactis minimum distantia miror.inter quae verbum emicuit si forte decorum, et si versus paulo concinnior unus et alter, iniuste totum ducit venditque poema. TRANSLATION[30] I take what you allow, and like hairs in a horse's tail, first one and then another I pluck and pull away little by little, till, after the fashion of the falling heap, he is baffled and thrown down, who looks back upon the annals, and values worth by years, and admires nothing but what the goddess of funerals has hallowed. Ennius, the wise and valiant, the second Homer (as the critics style him), seems to care but little what becomes of his promises and Pythagorean dreams. Is not Naevius in our hands, and clinging to our minds, almost as of yesterday? So holy a thing is every ancient poem. As often as the question is raised, which is the better of the two, Pacuvius gains fame as the learned old writer, Accius as the lofty one. The gown of Afranius, 'tis said, was of Menander's fit; Plautus hurries along like his model, Epicharmus of Sicily. Caecilius wins the prize for dignity, Terence for art. These authors mighty Rome learns by heart; these she views, when packed in her narrow theater; these she counts as her muster-roll of poets from the days of Livius the writer to our own. At times the public see straight; sometimes they make mistakes. If they admire the ancient poets and cry them up so as to put nothing above them, nothing on their level, they are wrong. If they hold that sometimes their diction is too quaint, and ofttimes too harsh, if they admit that much of it is flat, then they have taste, they take my side, and give a verdict with Jove's assent. Mark you! I am not crying down the poems of Livius—I would not doom to destruction verses which I remember Orbilius of the rod dictated to me as a boy: but that they should be held faultless, and beautiful, and well-nigh perfect, amazes me. Among them, it may be a pleasing phrase shines forth, or one or two lines are somewhat better turned—then these unfairly carry off and sell the whole poem. |
- The bottom text on the printout of Regina's files reads (note that most of the document is too blurred to make out):[31]
on the [illegible word] day of September
No person may copy, reproduce or alter this plan
in whole or in part without the written authorization
of Westlake Limited.
MAINE LAND SURVEYORS
DOMINION STREET, UNIT 4
STORYBROOKE, MAINE
- Neil Westlake is a graphic designer and production staff member on the show. His name appears on several different props throughout the series:
- As a complainant in a police report in "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter".[32]
- As a photographer on the front page of the Storybrooke Daily Mirror in "The Stable Boy".[33]
- As one of the reviewers on the book blurb for Isaac's novel Heroes and Villains.[34] ("Operation Mongoose Part 1")
- As a Storybrooke entrepreneur on a sign by the town hall.[35] ("Last Rites")
- As the author of the fictional novel Robin Hood: Myth and Legend.[36] ("Only You," "The Girl in the Tower")
- According to the slide projector, Storybrooke's coat of arms is an apple tree with a bee hive in front of it.[37]
Set Dressing
- The chess set next to King Leopold[38] can be seen in pawnshop in "The Price of Gold".[39] It is the item that Mr. Gold hurts his head on when he is attacked by Ashley.
Costumes Notes
- Emma is wearing[40] a Lauren by Ralph Lauren Portsmouth Fair Isle Beanie Hat[41] (no longer available).
- Emma wears the same headgear in "Skin Deep"[42] and the Season Three episodes "The New Neverland"[43] and "Going Home".[44]
- Canadian-based fine headwear maker Kelly Dunlap created a hat for the Evil Queen to wear in the Enchanted Forest flashback, but due to unforeseen rain, Lana Parrilla's wardrobe had to be changed to fit the weather, so the hat was not used for this episode.[45]
- Mary Margaret is wearing[46] a Gap Lightweight Bird and Check Scarf (no longer available).[47]
- The dress the Evil Queen is wearing[48] is the same dress worn by her Storybrooke counterpart in the Season Seven episode "A Taste of the Heights".[49]
Goofs
- When the Genie of Agrabah enters King Leopold's chambers,[50] he isn't wearing his Genie bracelets (This is due to him being freed at the start of the episode). But when King Leopold hands him the mirror, the bracelets are now on his wrists.[51]
Filming Locations
- The Makin Lands at Britannia Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia doubles as the tunnel where Emma meets with Sidney.[52] The same area also doubles as Lake Nostos in "Lady of the Lake" and "Queen of Hearts".[53]
- The Makin Lands also doubles as the Sector Four Tunnel in The 100 episode "Wanheda: Part 1" (a show which features Once Upon a Time guest star Jarod Joseph and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland guest star Leah Gibson), a field in Redmond in the Legends of Tomorrow episode "Invasion!", a quarry in the Siren episode "Entrapment" (an episode which features Once Upon a Time guest stars Chad Rook and David Cubitt) and a North Korean Nuclear Silos in the 2014 action comedy film The Interview (a movie which features Once Upon a Time guest star Geoff Gustafson).[52]
International Titles
| International Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Title | Translation |
| Finnish | "Lampun henki" | "The Genie of the Lamp" |
| French | "Le Génie" | "The Genie" |
| German | "Frucht des vergifteten Baumes" | "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" |
| Hungarian | "Mérgezett fa gyümölcse" | "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" |
| Italian | "Il frutto dell'albero avvelenato" | "The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" |
| Polish | "Owoc z zatrutego drzewa" | "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" |
| Portuguese | "O Fruto da Árvore Envenenada" | "The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" |
| Spanish | "El fruto del árbol envenenado" | "The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" |
Videos
