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This page is move protected The subject of this article is involved with the Once Upon a Time The subject of this article is or relates to an episode The subject of this article is featured in Season Seven of Once Upon a Time
This article focuses on the Season Seven episode.
For the Season Three episodes with a similar title,
see "Going Home" and "There's No Place Like Home".
For the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland episode with a similar name, see "Home".


Henry Mills: What happened? Where are my family? What did you do to them?
Rumplestiltskin: Well, I sent them back to my home. In the Wish Realm.

"Homecoming" is the twenty-first episode of Season Seven of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by David H. Goodman, and directed by Steve Pearlman. It is the one hundred and fifty-fourth episode of the series overall, and premiered on May 11, 2018.

This episode is the first part of the season seven finale and the series finale.

Synopsis

As the residents of Hyperion Heights celebrate the breaking of the curse, Henry is visited by Wish Rumple, who's hatched an evil plan to use Ella and Lucy to keep Weaver from destroying the Dark One powers. In order to stop him, Henry, Roni, Weaver and Rogers must travel to the Wish Realm, home to versions of some of our most beloved and fearsome characters. In a flashback, a discouraged Young Henry is visited by Wish Rumple and offered a deal that could have tragic consequences.[3]

Recap


Deleted Scenes

"The Hopeful Ones"

This scene is included on the Once Upon a Time: The Complete Seventh and Final Season Blu-ray, but not the DVD.

While Roni searches for Weaver in the Wish Realm, she stumbles upon the Wish Blue Fairy, Wish Granny and Wish Grumpy by the statue of King David and Queen Snow. Roni magically conjures a cloak for herself to avoid being identified as her Wish Realm counterpart, and asks them if they saw someone who may have crossed through here not long ago. Before she even finishes her words, she recognizes them and calls them by their names. The trio then tries to rob her and Granny aims a crossbow at her. After Roni immediately creates a fireball to scare them away, the fairy asks her to let them go, which Roni quickly does. They ask her if she is not evil anymore, and Roni says that she is not. She asks what happened to them, as they should have been the hopeful ones, and the trio explains that they tried, but that's what Wish Rumplestiltskin does, making people desperate.

The scene was cut for time, because it was the only scene that could be cut without disrupting the whole flow.[4] However, the scene can still be seen in promotional pictures.

The statue was previously used in the Season Six episode "Wish You Were Here", but that prop had been tossed because Josh Dallas and Ginnifer Goodwin weren't going to appear in Season Seven, so they had to build a new one for the scene.[5]

Cast[3]

Starring

Guest Starring

Co-Starring

Uncredited

Note:
*: Only in archive footage

Trivia

Title

Production Notes

  • The "I love you" exchange between father and daughter was ad-libbed on the day of shooting.[5]
  • ABANDONED IDEAS: The scene where Roni discovers Weaver trapped inside the wall of Mr. Samdi's office was initially written as Roni realizing a painting was askew. Director Steve Pearlman suggested that they used the living wall in the office instead and made it more interesting, with Regina noticing the little stream of water hitting off the rock.[5]
  • The part where Wish Rumplestiltskin samples the icing on the cupcakes in Henry's apartment was pitched by Steve Pearlman to Robert Carlyle the night they were shooting. Pearlman had asked the prop department to have enough cupcakes available in case Robert Carlyle liked the idea, which he did. While they were filming it, Pearlman was afraid that the actor would get lead poisoning because of the number of times he sucked cream and the make-up off his finger, or get a sugar high. They did at least 20 takes of the scene, where Robert Carlyle ate the frosting every single time.[5]
  • ABANDONED IDEAS: The music during the sword fight between Henry and Wish Cruella was originally more dramatic, but the director asked for something more fun and swashbuckling, which gave the scene a new energy and fun and tension.[5]
  • The scene with Wish Cruella in the cage was tough to shoot because it was hard getting everything perfectly lined up because the characters' faces were between little six-inch squares.[5]
  • The part with Jacinda and Lucy in the snow globe was filmed by having the actors on a green-screen stage and miming that they were inside a glass dome that was much bigger than them. It was shot before the scene with Henry and Roni finding the globe, so they had to make sure the eyelines matched. They shot it in two different ways, with the actors looking both to the right and the left, so that they had options in editing.[5]
  • Although the water around Wish Ariel was visual effects, the crew had to spray JoAnna Garcia Swisher with a hose so she would be wet and it would appear real. According to the director, this was a little chilling for her because the scene was filmed late at night.[5]
  • It took 10 hours to shoot the scene where Weaver first meets Wish Rumplestiltskin. Weaver's part was shot on the first day and took about six and a half hours. The other part was shot several days later, because Robert Carlyle had to be in make-up. A photo double played the opposite part and learned all the lines. The scene with them in the castle was also filmed over two days with a photo double.[5]
  • ABANDONED IDEAS: The scene with Henry and the Wish Apprentice was originally written as taking place inside the cabin, but was ultimately put outside as the schedule didn't allow them to build the interior.[5]
  • Timothy Webber was originally going to wear contacts for his portrayal of the blind Apprentice, to make his eyes look foggy, but the plan was scrapped when the actor said that the contacts would make him unable to see and move. He told them that he could play blind without the contacts and then he could move wherever they wanted, so they went for that instead.[5]
  • The Wish Apprentice's quote to Henry, which is "That is indeed a complicated story. The timelines alone would make one’s head spin. Only a true author could weave such a tale. [...] Every story an Author has ever written lives in his heart. You have done good work — could use a little more romance, perhaps, but maybe in your next book." is a reference to the showrunners Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, and other writers of Once Upon a Time.[12]

Event Chronology

Episode Connections

Biblical

  • The Cross of Saint Peter (an inverted Latin cross) is pictured in a book sitting on the bench where the snow globe is sitting in Wish Rumplestiltskin's castle.[13] The Cross of Saint Peter was traditionally used as a Christian symbol, but in recent times, it has also been used as an anti-Christian symbol.
  • PAUSE AND READ: When Henry is doing research in Wish Rumplestiltskin's castle, an open book on the table[14] contains verse 19 – 21 from Job 36 in the Bible. Note that some of the words are obscured on-screen; the following is the excerpt in its entirety:[15]
19 Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.
20 Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.
21 Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.


  • A book that he opens as he continues doing research[16] contains verse 1 – 3 from Isaiah 47 (there is additional text underneath, presumably additional verses, but they are too blurred to read). Some of the words are illegible due to a fold in the page; the following is the excerpt in its entirety:[17]


1Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
2Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
3Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.


  • Next to verse 1 – 3, verse 12 – 14 can be seen.[16] Some of the text is obscured by Henry; the following is the excerpt in its entirety:[17]


12 Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.

Disney

Fairytales and Folklore

Lost

Popular Culture

Props Notes

  • HIDDEN DETAILS: The table which Wish Rumplestiltskin places the snow globe (where Jacinda and Lucy are trapped) onto in the Wish Realm version of the Dark Castle is a modified version of the rack,[23] a well-known medieval instrument of torture. This rack has spiked rollers designed to slice into the skin and muscles of the victim's back, an "improvement" made by the French.[24]
  • The cage and the rack could also be seen in Dream World version of the original dark castle in the Season Six premiere "The Savior".[28]
  • Two hanging cages can be seen in Wish Rumplestiltskin's basement.[29] The hanging cage was a medieval torture device in which the victim was either displayed and later freed from, or locked inside and left to die.[30]
  • MYSTERIOUS WRITINGS: When Henry is doing research in Wish Rumplestiltskin's castle, he puts down his quill on top of a piece of paper, which is full of notes[36] (some of the text is obscured on-screen, but most of it can be seen on a photograph from an online prop auction; the obscured text which can be seen on the prop photo is set in fuchsia):[37]
EPE[two symbols] – Possible code?
[obscured]M[symbol] – cross reference in Journal
[obscured]ns pretiam sollicitadin, tinacidant saggitas
[symbols] check Volume 7 of
chamber book
[symbol] = seen this before
Lorem ipsum ador sit amet valumtas turpis
Lament power adore for peace valour time
[three symbols]
  • "Lorem ipsum ador sit amet" is an edited version of "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet" (replacing "dolor" with "ador"), the opening words of Lorem ipsum, a filler text commonly used as mock-content when testing a given page layout or font.
  • MYSTERIOUS SYMBOLS: Three of the strange symbols are symbols for alchemical processes: Fire of reverberation, purification 1 (slightly modified for the show) and composition 2.[38]

Set Dressing

  • MYSTERIOUS SYMBOLS: When Henry is doing research in the Wish Realm version of the Dark Castle, an illustration in one of the books[50] shows the Sigillum Dei, a late Middle Ages magical diagram.

Costume Notes

Filming Locations

  • The basement set[29] previously doubled as the Royal Castle's wine cellar in the Season Six episode "A Bitter Draught".[60] This can easily be seen from the identical chandelier, the shape of the walls and the door.
  • A redressed version of the basement also doubles as Dr. Jekyll's laboratory in Mr. Hyde's hospital in the Season Five episode "Only You".[61]
  • Moreover, the hospital scenes with the cage in "Only You" were shot on the same set as the scenes in Dr. Jekyll's laboratory. The cage was removable, and the set was redressed as the laboratory. Some of the walls were removed, and windows put in.[62]

Goofs

  • Wish Rumplestiltskin implies that he and his other version heard the prophecy about the boy being their undoing on the same day they met the Seer. That is not true, at least for the original Rumplestiltskin, who didn't get that prophecy until years after his first encounter with the Seer. ("Manhattan")
  • When a portal opens in front of Henry, Weaver, Rogers and Roni, a shadow appears in front of them, when it should've appeared behind them, because of the light of the portal.[66]

International Titles


Videos

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 TwitterLogo crosimmer (@Crosimmer) on X, formerly Twitter: @AdamHorowitzLA I got a question about last night's episode: In Henry's flashback with Rumplestiltskin, is it Wish Henry or the real Henry? (May 12, 2018). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
    TwitterLogo Adam Horowitz (@AdamHorowitzLA) on X, formerly Twitter: Wish (May 12, 2018). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  2. Porter, Rick (May x, 2018). ‘Blue Bloods’ finale adjusts up, Meghan Markle special adjusts down: Friday final ratings. TV by the Numbers. “Once Upon a Time (ABC) (...) 2.26”
  3. 3.0 3.1 Once Upon a Time: Homecoming (5/11) - PT. ONE SERIES FINALE. Disney ABC Press (May 7, 2018).
  4. Abrams, Natalie (March 18, 2018). Once Upon a Time bosses on that surprise series finale ending. Entertainment Weekly. “There seemed to be photos of Regina in front of the statue of Wish Snow and Charming, but we never saw that scene. KITSIS: Maybe we'll put it on the DVD, but that was a scene that was cut for time. It was Regina getting robbed from Wish Realm Grumpy and Wish Realm Blue Fairy, who had fallen on tough times. But when we did the episode for the first hour — with network you only have 42 minutes and 30 seconds — it was a really hard scene to cut, but we had to do it because it was the only one that could come out without disrupting the whole flow.”
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 Steve Pearlman and David H. Goodman on the Season Seven Blu-ray-exclusive Audio Commentary for "Homecoming"
  6. File:721ApprenticeVision2.png
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 File:721ApprenticeVision13.png
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 File:721ApprenticeVision5.png
    File:422CurseIsUndone.png
  9. File:721Title.png
  10. TwitterLogo Adam Horowitz (@AdamHorowitzLA) on X, formerly Twitter: Here's another #OnceUponATime #titlespoiler — hope to see ya Friday! (March 6, 2018). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  11. TwitterLogo jamz (@demzcatchme) on X, formerly Twitter: @RoseAReynolds @SkovbyeTiera Finally this last weekend I created the courage and watched the last season of OUAT and my God I am completely in love with Tilly and Robin 😍😭 (November 5, 2018). (backup link; original post, and the user's other posts, have been protected, so that only approved followers can see them) (archive screenshot)
    TwitterLogo Rose Reynolds (@RoseAReynolds) on X, formerly Twitter: She was so sick that day that she kissed my shoulder instead of my face ☺️ (November 5, 2018). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  12. Abrams, Natalie (May 11, 2018). Once Upon a Time just mocked its own complicated story lines. Entertainment Weekly. “Placing his hand on Henry's chest, the Apprentice can see the story Henry had penned in full, a.k.a. the tale of Once Upon a Time. "That is indeed a complicated story," the Apprentice quips. "The timelines alone would make one's head spin." (...) "One of the consequences of the show having had such a long run — seven seasons and more than 150 episodes — is that our characters' lives, and the stories we've told with them, have become, well, complicated," says executive producer David H. Goodman, who penned Friday's hour. "We talk about the show’s timeline in the writers' room constantly. So as we closed out the series, it seemed like a good opportunity to poke some fun at ourselves and tip our hats to the audience. We’re incredibly thankful that they've come along with us for such a wild ride."”
  13. File:721CreatedThisPrison.png
  14. File:721HenryResearching.png (not the one he's reading, but the one directly underneath it)
  15. Job 36. BibleGateway.com. Retrieved on September 16, 2018.
  16. 16.0 16.1 File:721HenryResearching2.png
  17. 17.0 17.1 Isaiah 47. BibleGateway.com. Retrieved on September 16, 2018.
  18. File:721ToBeingTogether.png
  19. Trident. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved on November 15, 2021. “: a 3-pronged spear serving in classical mythology as the attribute of a sea god (such as Neptune)”
  20. File:721VictoryIsTemporary.png
  21. 21.0 21.1 File:721DidFacilierDoThis.png
  22. File:704PicturesOnTheChimney.png
  23. File:721BeUndone.png
  24. The Rack. Torture Museum. Retrieved on May 12, 2018.
  25. 25.0 25.1 File:515EvilTwin.png
  26. File:721ReallyHad.png
  27. File:515MummyNeedsToUnwind.png
  28. File:601CastleTransforms.png
    File:601TakesHand.png
  29. 29.0 29.1 File:721SearchingForFamily.png
  30. The Wrong View of History, Jack Paraskovich, Xlibris, 2016, pp. 118 – 119. Facsimile by Google Books.
  31. File:616ReachingForOrb.png
    File:616CleaningHerBoot.png
  32. File:601CarryingTray2.png
  33. File:721HoldingTrident.png
  34. "Poseidon" trident from Once Upon a Time Season 4, Episode 16.. iCollector. Archived from the original on Feburary 22, 2019. Retrieved on November 30, 2018.
    File:415YourMotherWanted.png
  35. File:112QueenAboutToLeave.png
    File:112ConceptArt9.jpg
  36. File:721HenryNoticingQuill.png
    File:721HenryPicksUpQuill.png
  37. Once Upon a Time - Collection of Production Papers Prop (2283). iCollector (April 5, 2020). Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. (File:UnidentifiedProp142.jpg)
  38. Alchemical symbolism fonts. Alchemy Web Site. Retrieved on September 16, 2018.
  39. File:721Okaaay.png
  40. File:210ReginaArrives.png
  41. File:217GreatestCook.png
  42. File:603MyLasagne.png
  43. File:622LastSupper.png
  44. File:721RoniSensesSomething.png
  45. File:407ReginaReading.png
  46. File:522ShowYouTheWorld.png
  47. File:721AnimalLover.png
  48. File:721LeashRoundHere.png
    File:721WalkingIntoCastle.png
  49. File:601CastleTransforms.png
  50. File:721ReadyToWrite.png
  51. File:202Rumplestiltskin.png
  52. File:721OnceUponATimeBookOpened.png
  53. The decisions of the Court of Session: from its first institution to the present time: digested under proper heads, in the form of a dictionary, Volume 5, William Maxwell Morison, Edinburgh, Bell & Bradfute, January 1, 1802, pp. 3652 – 3653. Facsimile by Google Books.
  54. File:721FancyALittle.png
  55. File:421WhereIsHe.png
  56. 56.0 56.1 TwitterLogo deb s (@belcarradeb) on X, formerly Twitter: @WhatsFilming #Once #rumplestiltskinfurniture #whitepine #yvr @olv #2ndtolastep (March 12, 2018). (backup link) (archive screenshot) (filming notice; note that it erroneously refers to the location as "White Pine Park")
    TwitterLogo deb s (@belcarradeb) on X, formerly Twitter: Yes White Pine Beach. It is gated. No filming until tomorrow. Is she in Vancouver? This is about 35 mins from Vancouver. (March 13, 2018). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  57. File:721WavingAtHerDad.png
    500 Alexander St Vancouver, British Columbia. Google Maps (May 2017).
  58. InstagramIcon Craig Clarke (@vfxsup) on Instagram: So glad to have had the pleasure of working with Vic again to cap off the show. Her endless positive fun energy will be missed 😘 Thanks for the laughs !!! (Bridge Studios) (May 15, 2018). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  59. InstagramIcon Craig Clarke (@vfxsup) on Instagram: From one of my last days shooting with this legend! (Bridge Studios) (May 17, 2018). (backup link)
    InstagramIcon Craig Clarke (@vfxsup) on Instagram: #bts with @lparrilla & @andrewjwest in-between takes she was impossible to sneak up on with a camera. I was in a torture cage for this shot 😂 (Bridge Studios) (February 28, 2019). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  60. File:602WhatWasThat.png
  61. File:522WalkingIntoLab.png
    File:522CanHelpHim.png
  62. David H. Goodman and Andrew Chambliss on the Season Five Blu-ray/DVD Audio Commentary for "Only You"
  63. InstagramIcon Craig Clarke (@vfxsup) on Instagram: Best moment of tonight's episode! (Everett Crowley Park) (May 12, 2018). "All my time on the show this was the first time I asked to get a pic with the cast... Thanks to these 2 legends for making every day at work fun! So many good memories!" (backup link) (archive screenshot)
    Tumblr Tales of the Sea (@alexandralyman) on Tumblr: Here's the details for what I saw filming today (Mon Mar 18) for 7x21 (March 20, 2018). "They had two locations set up in a park - one was an Enchanted Forest hovel/peasant cottage (pics in my post here) where they filmed in the little yard area. Both were dressed in their normal Rogers and Weaver costumes, not EF gear. I could not hear the dialogue, so I have no idea what they said. Now, on the set tour on Saturday, we saw the inside of an EF peasant hovel that was all set up and one thing I noticed specifically was that it had a cradle in it, which I thought might be important." (backup link) (archive screenshot)
    Tumblr Tales of the Sea (@alexandralyman) on Tumblr: This is the set Colin and Bobby were filming on in the park earlier this morning, Mon Mar 19 - but they were in Weaver and Rogers costumes. Too far away to hear any dialogue. (March 19, 2018). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  64. InstagramIcon Craig Clarke (@vfxsup) on Instagram: So many laughs shooting with these 3 😂 (Everett Crowley Park) (June 21, 2018). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
    TwitterLogo YVRShoots (@yvrshoots) on X, formerly Twitter: A statue dedicated to Prince Charming & Snow White/#Snowing. It really is the end of #OnceUponaTime. #OUAT filming its 2-part series finale in Vancouver's Eveett [sic] Crowley Park today. (March 19, 2018). (backup link; the user's account and the original post have been deleted – they are now using a different account with the handle "yvrshootstweets," and the name "YVRShoots Tweets") (archive screenshot)

    TwitterLogo Joyce Scott (@jmarie83) on X, formerly Twitter: Got to see a little bit of @OnceABC filming this morning! With an extra special surprise! (March 19, 2018). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  65. File:IGlee j buckley-721.png
  66. File:721LastAdventure.png

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