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"I'll Be Your Mirror" is the eighth episode of Season Six of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Jerome Schwartz & Leah Fong, and directed by Jennifer Lynch. It is the one hundred and nineteenth episode of the series overall, and premiered on November 13, 2016.
Synopsis
Emma and Regina formulate a plan to trap the Evil Queen in a prison of their own making, while Snow and David adjust to life without each other. As Henry nervously prepares to take Violet to the school dance, the Evil Queen impersonates Regina to give him some advice that could lead him down a dark path. Meanwhile, Zelena agrees to help Belle, and together they enlist Aladdin to steal a magical object from Mr. Gold that could protect Belle and her unborn child from him forever.[2]
Recap
In the present day, Snow and David deal with living without each other as long as their hearts are cursed, leaving one in sleep and the other awake. Snow is aware that The Evil Queen is watching, leading to Snow smashing a mirror. Unfortunately at this point there is nothing that even Emma, Henry, or Regina can do, but they believe that The Dragon might be their answer to stopping The Evil Queen. With no luck finding The Dragon, Regina comes up with a solution, which is using a mirror to trap her other half. At the beach, Henry, acting as bait, confronts The Evil Queen and tells her that he won't forget what she did to his grandparents. After they send him away, Emma and Regina appear ready to send The Evil Queen to another world through the Mirror, but The Evil Queen, who shares the same mind as Regina, has the real mirror and sends Regina and Emma to the other side, then breaks the mirror to keep the women trapped inside.
Meanwhile, Belle enlists Zelena's help to break into Gold's Pawn Shop so she can escape Storybrooke. Zelena isn't interested in helping her but Belle says they both know what it's like to care about people who let them down. Realizing that Zelena needs the Sorcerer's wand, Belle and Zelena go talk Aladdin and Jasmine into helping them. Although Jasmine says it's not Aladdin's business to be involved, Zelena says it's his fault because, thanks to Aladdin, Gold has now acquired the Fates shears. At the same time Gold catches on to The Evil Queen masquerading as Regina, and refused her advances. The Evil Queen then asks Gold for an item called the hammer of Hephaestus, which gives magic to those without it, explaining that she wants it for Henry. As he gives the hammer to the Evil Queen, Gold asks what she has to offer him, only to point out they're on the same team, as he pushes her away. The disappearance of Emma has Hook suspicious. When he investigates and finds Emma's phone on the beach, he is attacked by The Evil Queen.
At Granny's, Henry sits alone at a table, waiting for Violet, then looks in the mirror to see his appearance. As both Emma and Regina see Henry, they almost get his attention until they see The Evil Queen (pretending to be Regina) show up. Henry tells the fake Regina that he doesn't think he's good enough for Violet, but she tells Henry he's a prince and should act like one. After Henry glances at her carefully, Violet shows up and Henry walks over and hands her the flower that "Regina" gave him. He then tells Violet that he knows "Regina" is really The Evil Queen after she "lectures" about his posture, which he knows is The Evil Queen's recurring theme. Using a ruse to help Henry search for Emma and Regina, Violet makes an excuse about needing to change and they leave. Henry arrives at the vault to contact the mirror when The Evil Queen shows up, knowing that he is aware of her plan. The Evil Queen then tempts Henry to become part of her future, but when he refuses, The Evil Queen takes out the Dragon's heart and uses it to turn the Dragon into a dragon in front of Emma and Regina to kill them. The Evil Queen then tempts Henry to kill The Dragon with the Hammer but he defies her and uses the Hammer to smash the mirror and free Emma and Regina from the World Behind the Mirror. After they're released, The Evil Queen is stunned by Henry standing up for himself, but as she initiates a spell to use on them, Hook stops her, but she vows her revenge. Later that night, Henry and Violet finally have their dance as Emma and Regina watch.
In between the events, Aladdin breaks into Gold's shop looking for the wand. He finds Gold at the spinning wheel spinning gold, and is quick to hide from him, allowing Aladdin to find the wand, and later on, show Jasmine the lamp, where he hopes to find out who took the Genie's place. Unfortunately for Belle and Zelena, they aren't as lucky; Gold takes back the wand from Zelena, then uses the gold bracelet he spun at the shop to place on Belle so he can track her, However, Gold forgets he can't hurt Zelena because their hearts are connected. Later on back at the shop, both Gold and The Evil Queen, upset over their latest defeats, agree to team up to seek vengeance, and as they have more tepid kissing, Gold asks The Evil Queen to help him kill the one thing that stands in his way: Zelena.
Inside the trapped universe, Emma looks for Regina and discovers that she can see Storybrooke through the mirror but nobody can hear them. Regina comes to and believes that the person who can reach them is Henry. However, The Evil Queen has taken Regina's place in Storybrooke, by fooling Henry to let him think that The Evil Queen was banished. Emma and Regina begin to look for Henry through the mirrors, and then locate him after Emma remembers Henry will be at Granny's to meet Violet. As both Emma and Regina see Henry, they almost get his attention until they see The Evil Queen (pretending to be Regina) show up, Regina is worried and says Henry doesn't stand a chance against her. Suddenly, the women are shocked to see The Dragon inside with them as a prisoner as well. He tells Regina that she was never supposed to let the Evil Queen out, and that caused his imprisonment, and he tells Regina she needs balance. He tells her that he has also made mistakes, such as losing his daughter. He says he has found a back door out of the mirror world. En route, the Dragon leads the women to the place where Sidney lived as the Magic Mirror, and tells them he was putting together a way to repair the portal, and that he can't break Emma's parents' curse. As they work on the portal, Henry arrives to the vault to contact the mirror when The Evil Queen shows up, now that he is aware of her plan. The Evil Queen then tempts Henry to become part of her future, but when he refuses, the Evil Queen takes out the Dragon's heart and uses it to turn the Dragon into a dragon in front of Emma and Regina to kill them. The Evil Queen then tempts Henry to kill The Dragon with the Hammer but he defies her and uses the Hammer to smash the mirror instead, freeing Emma and Regina from the World Behind the Mirror.
Deleted Scenes
"Strength In Family" (Scene 39)
This scene is included on Once Upon a Time: The Complete Sixth Season.
An extended version of the scene where Henry frees his mothers from the mirror. After the serum queen says to Henry that she only wants what's best for him, she adds, "Remember that." After she teleports away, Henry explains to his mothers how the queen gave him the hammer so he would be forced to crush the Dragon's heart, but he remembered how she also told him never to compromise who he was, so he smashed the mirror instead. Regina assures Henry that they will get the Dragon out, and Hook and Emma share a tender moment while Henry heads off to his dance with Violet.
"Silent Treatment" (Scene 44)
This scene is included on Once Upon a Time: The Complete Sixth Season.
Mary Margaret tells her son the story of how his parents met, which is how she saved David from the trolls. After hearing it, Neal says his first word, which makes Mary Margaret very happy but also sad as his father is not there to witness it. After she puts her son in his crib, she sits near David, attempts to leave a note for him. After a brief moment, she tears the page apart and says that she can't do this anymore and wakes him up after saying she misses him. After David awakens and Snow sleeps, he sees the torn page and tells her that he misses her too.
Doc
A segment where Doc gets into his car and checks himself in a mirror (presumably for the scene where Emma and Regina are in the World Behind the Mirror and calling out to their friends) was deleted from the episode.[3] However, David Avalon is still credited in the episode's press release.[2]
Cast[2]
Starring |
Guest Starring
Co-Starring
Uncredited
|
Trivia
Title
- The title card features the World Behind the Mirror.[4]
- The title of this episode was revealed by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on September 14, 2016.[5]
Production Notes
- HIDDEN DETAILS: When Emma and Regina confront the serum queen at the beach, three swans are swimming in the water.[6] This is a reference to Emma's last name.
- ABANDONED IDEAS: In the episode script, when Hook asks the serum queen what she's done with Emma and Regina, he first says, "You always underestimated me."[7]
- The script also contains a section where Hook goes to embrace Emma and asks, "Alright there, Swan?"[8] This ended up being cut from the episode.
Event Chronology
- The Storybrooke events take place after "Heartless" and before "Changelings." (For more details, see the Land Without Magic timeline)
- The World Behind the Mirror events take place after Sidney Glass is freed from the Mirror by Ingrid in "Breaking Glass."
Episode Connections
- The serum queen placed the new Sleeping Curse on Snow and David in "Heartless."
- The serum queen says to Henry that "posture is self-respect," just like she did in "The Other Shoe."
- The Magic Mirror was previously trapped in the World Behind the Mirror in "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" and again as Sidney Glass in "A Tale of Two Sisters."
- Zelena talks about how she saved Mr. Gold's life back in the New York hospital, an event that took place in "Heart of Gold."
- Violet mentions her first date with Henry, an event that took place in "Dreamcatcher."
- The Dragon has been freed from the mirror world by the time of "Mother's Little Helper."
Disney
- When Aladdin steals from Mr. Gold, a cymbal-banging monkey toy wearing a red vest and a red and blue fez is sitting on the pawnshop counter.[10] This is a reference to Abu, Aladdin's monkey in the movie, who was turned into a cymbal-banging monkey toy by Jafar.
- Henry tells the serum queen that she "can't Darth Vader him" and adds, "I'll never join you." This is a reference to the iconic scene from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, where Darth Vader asks his son Luke Skywalker to join him, and Luke answers, "I'll never join you!"
- The queen answers that they "watched those movies enough to know that Darth Vader wasn't so black and white"; a reference to Anakin Skywalker's story from the Star Wars saga.
- This episode contains a number of other references to Disney works. See the list of Disney references for more.
- The queen answers that they "watched those movies enough to know that Darth Vader wasn't so black and white"; a reference to Anakin Skywalker's story from the Star Wars saga.
Fairytales and Folklore
- This episode features the ugly duckling from the titular fairytale, the evil queen from the "Snow White" fairytale, the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz story, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, and Aladdin and the princess from the One Thousand and One Nights story.
- Hephaestus' hammer from Greek mythology appears, while Hephaestus, the Greek god of blacksmiths and fire, is mentioned.
- HIDDEN DETAILS: Interestingly, in Greek mythology, Hephaestus is the son of Hera, the queen of Olympus, who is often portrayed as vengeful and cruel. She takes the role of the evil stepmother of Heracles (the Greek equivalent of the Roman deity Hercules) and many of the other children fathered by Zeus. She was also known to grow apples. All of which mirrors the Evil Queen and her serum counterpart.
Popular Culture
- ♫ MUSIC: The song playing during the montage scene with David and Mary Margaret is "Colours" by Donovan.
- According to Henry, Violet "stood him up for John Hughes movie night twice." He then says that they watched The Breakfast Club together, and they were going to watch Sixteen Candles next (to show Violet his "fun side"). The Breakfast Club (1985) is a classic coming-of-age comedy-drama directed by John Hughes, while Sixteen Candles (1984) is a famous coming-of-age comedy by the same director.
- Later, Violet says that she has a hard time adjusting to school, comparing it to the movies that Henry showed her. She wonders if she is "a jock, a princess or a nerd," a reference to The Breakfast Club, a story about five high school students who represent different stereotypes – a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal.
- ♫ MUSIC: The song Henry and Violet are dancing to at the diner is "In My Dreams" by Ruth B.
Props Notes
- USE IT AGAIN: The hand-held mirror that the serum queen uses to trap Emma and Regina[12] is the same mirror that the genie kept with him inside his lamp in the Season One episode "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,"[13] and where he got trapped after making his final wish in the same episode.[14]
- USE IT AGAIN: The mirror that Regina finds in Sidney's nest[15] is the World Behind the Mirror version of the mirror that he first appeared in the Season One episode "The Thing You Love Most,"[16] and where she trapped him in the Season Four premiere "A Tale of Two Sisters."[17]
- REUSED PROPS: The genie lamp that Aladdin steals from Mr. Gold's pawnshop[18] is the same prop that was used for the Magic Mirror's lamp in the Season One episode "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,"[19] but with differently colored jewels. The same lamp was in Mr. Gold's shop in the Season One episode "Heart of Darkness,"[20] the Season Two episode "Welcome to Storybrooke"[21] and Mr. Gold's dream in the Season Two episode "Lacey."[22]
- Writer Leah Fong confirmed on Twitter that the genie who used to occupy Aladdin's lamp is a different genie, and not the Magic Mirror.[23]
- In addition, one of Cyrus' brothers' genie lamps on Once Upon a Time in Wonderland[24] is the same prop as the magic mirror's lamp, but, again, with differently colored jewels.
- HIDDEN DETAILS: The tracking bracelet that Mr. Gold puts on Belle looks like golden straw.[25] Mr. Gold's counterpart Rumplestiltskin is known for spinning straw into gold.
Set Dressing
- REUSED PROPS: One of the mirrors in the World Behind the Mirror[26] is the same prop that was used for the mirror that Zelena looks into in the Dark castle in the Season Three episode "It's Not Easy Being Green,"[27] and Zelena's mirror in Oz in the Season Five episodes "Our Decay"[28] and "Ruby Slippers,[29] and the Season Six musical episode "The Song in Your Heart."[30] It is best seen in the shot where Regina says, "There is no way out," where the mirror can be seen behind her.
- REUSED PROPS: The cymbal-banging monkey toy sitting on the counter in Mr. Gold's pawnshop[10] later appears in Memento Mori in the Season Seven episode "Secret Garden."[31]
Costume Notes
- USE IT AGAIN: The dress worn by the serum queen when she meets with Mr. Gold at the end of the episode[32] is the same one worn by her original persona when the Magic Mirror becomes trapped in "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,"[33] and when conversing with Rumplestiltskin about Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding in "The Cricket Game."[34]
- BRAND INFO: Belle is wearing[35] a Anthropologie Perrie Lace Dress[36] (no longer available).
- BRAND INFO: Emma is wearing[37] a Joie 'Oakes' Embroidered Blouse[38] and a Majesty Peacoat in the color red.[39]
- USE IT AGAIN: Emma wears the same coat in the next episode, "Changelings"[40] and "Tougher Than the Rest."[41]
- The coat was also worn by the character Liv Moore (played by Once Upon a Time's Rose McIver) on the iZombie episode "Looking for Mr. Goodbrain, Part 1."[42]
- BRAND INFO: Mary Margaret is wearing[43] a Rebecca Taylor Embroidered Silk Blouse.[44]
Filming Locations
- The Storybrooke beach scenes were filmed in Garry Point Park,[45] a large 75 acres waterfront park, located close to Steveston Village.
- The scenes in the World Behind the Mirror were filmed on a green-screen set at The Bridge Studios.[46] The set was filled with green-screen mirrors and real apple trees were brought in as background elements.[47]
International Titles
| International Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Title | Translation |
| French | "Le Rocher de Sisyphe" | "The Rock of Sisyphus" |
| German | "Hinter den Spiegeln" | "Behind the Mirrors" |
| Italian | "Sarò il tuo specchio" | "I'll Be Your Mirror" |
| Portuguese | "Serei Seu Espelho" | "I'll Be Your Mirror" |
Videos
