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For the world, see Kansas. |
"Kansas" is the twentieth episode of Season Three of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Andrew Chambliss & Kalinda Vazquez and directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton. It is the sixty-fourth episode of the series overall, and premiered on May 4, 2014.
Synopsis
With Mary Margaret in labor and due to give birth at any moment, the residents of Storybrooke go on high alert in an attempt to ensure that Zelena doesn't try to steal her newborn baby for use in her ultimate game plan to turn back time and change her destiny—while obliterating Regina's existence. Meanwhile, in the land of Oz of the past, Glinda tries to convince Zelena to fight her evil tendencies and join her and her sister witches as a protector of Oz. But the appearance of a young girl from Kansas could turn out to be her undoing.[2]
Recap
This section is a detailed recap of this episode. There are major spoilers. Click to expand.
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Cast[2]
Starring
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Guest Starring
Co-Starring
Uncredited
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Trivia
Title
- The title card features the Emerald City.[3]
- The title of this episode was announced by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on February 28, 2014.[4]
Production Notes
- When Mr. Gold is about to stab Zelena with the dagger, as he begins to say, "Rumplestiltskin never breaks a deal", you can see Zelena smile slightly; a subtle clue that everything is not what it seems.
- Christopher Gorham is credited as a guest star and his voice is heard in the episode but his name is missing from the press release.[2]
Event Chronology
- The Oz flashbacks occur after "It's Not Easy Being Green", concurrently with The Doctor", and before "Heart of Gold", "Our Decay" and "Where Bluebirds Fly". (For more details, see the Oz timeline)
- The quick Enchanted Forest scene take place right before and during "The Doctor". (For more details, see the Enchanted Forest timeline)
- The Storybrooke events take place after "A Curious Thing" and before "Snow Drifts". (For more details, see the Land Without Magic timeline)
Episode Connections
- Zelena states that spinning straw into gold helps Mr. Gold clear his mind, which is a claim he made in "Skin Deep".
- Zelena came into possession of David's sword and Regina's heart in "The Tower" and "Bleeding Through".
- Mary Margaret's fears about losing her infant son are due to events she experienced in "Pilot".
- Emma references David's Dreamshade poisoning and how he kept it a secret from his loved ones, which occurred in "Lost Girl".
- Henry has selected what he feels is the right apartment in "Snow Drifts".
- When Zelena is spying on Regina, she sees a scene from "The Doctor".
- Glinda mentions Zelena turning the Wizard of Oz into a monkey, which happened in "It's Not Easy Being Green".
- Throughout the episode, Emma mentions her desire to return to life in New York City, which was first seen in "Going Home" and "New York City Serenade".
- Hook's lips were cursed by Zelena in "The Jolly Roger".
- Emma gets her magic back in "There's No Place Like Home".
- Emma performs mouth to mouth on Hook and whispers, "Come back to me", just like Mary Margaret did with David in "Snow Falls".
- David recalls his visit to Glinda, which occurred in "A Curious Thing".
- Regina mentions how she lost her true love, Daniel, in "The Stable Boy".
- Mr. Gold blames Zelena for his son's death, which was explored in "Quiet Minds".
- The lights flicker when Mary Margaret gives birth to her child as they did when her daughter Emma gave birth to Henry in "The Heart of the Truest Believer".
- Dorothy comes back to Oz in "Our Decay".
- Little John first became a flying monkey in "Witch Hunt".
- Belle and Mr. Gold get married in "There's No Place Like Home".
- Mr. Gold replaces the fake dagger that he gives to Belle, with the real version, in "A Tale of Two Sisters". However, he then changes his mind during the same episode.
- Belle finds out about Mr. Gold's deception, and gets hold of the real dagger, in "Heroes and Villains". This episode also explores the consequences of Mr. Gold's actions.
- Mr. Gold recalls the "follow-the-lady" game he learned from his father in "Think Lovely Thoughts".
- Mr. Gold "kills" Zelena in the same manner he killed Henry in his dream in "Lacey".
- Zelena's "death" and the greenish smoke that activates the time spell is explained in "Heart of Gold".
Religious
- Two cross-shaped headstones can be seen in the Storybrooke graveyard as the green smoke goes out of the heart vault.[5]
Lost
- When David is talking to Emma at the hospital, the sign on the wall says "suite 4".[6] 4 is the first Lost number.
- 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 Wonderful Wizard of Oz story, focusing on Dorothy's relationship with the Wicked Witch of the West.
- Also included are the Good Witch of the South, Witch of the North, Witch of the East, the Wizard of Oz and the Winged Monkeys from the same story.
- The episode also features the ugly duckling from the fairytale of the same name, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story and Robin Hood and Little John from the ballad of Robin Hood.
- Dorothy introduces herself as Dorothy Gale. Dorothy's last name is not mentioned in L. Frank Baum's novel, but was created by Baum for the 1902 musical version of the story.[7] It made its debut in the books in the third novel in Baum's series, Ozma of Oz.
- The Book of Records is based on the Great Book of Records introduced in L. Frank Baum's sixth Land of Oz novel, The Emerald City of Oz.
Popular Culture
- When Zelena is carrying the baby to her house, she hums the lullaby, "Hush, Little Baby".
- Mr. Gold mentions that his father taught him a sleight of hand called "Follow the Lady"; a gambling card game of Spanish origin.
Props Notes
- The design on Zelena's compass[8] is the same as the witches' table[9] in Oz except that the colors are different. The back on the chairs around the table[10] and the illustration on the cover of the Book of Records have the same design.[11]
- When Henry is looking at apartments, one of the classified ads says:
- One of the apartments is described as "charming newly renovated". The ad says, "For enquiries please call Jeanne 604.264.1001 ext. 418".[12] This is a real phone number, which belongs to Noble & Associates Realty Ltd,[13] a property management company in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Once Upon a Time is filmed.
- There is also an ad for a company called the "Royal Carpet Cleaning".[14]
- One ad mentions a Storybrooke location called Hunter's Grove,[12] which also appears on a map of Storybooke in "Manhattan",[15] "The Queen Is Dead"[16] and "Lacey".[17]
- Another ad says:
- Alchemical signs for the four elements[18] are carved into the witches' table[9] and the stone pillars.[19] Each element represent one of the four witches:
- Air, upward-pointing triangle, bisected by an horizontal line (🜁): The Witch of the North
- Earth, downward-pointing triangle, bisected by a horizontal line (🜃): The Witch of the East
- Fire, upward-pointing triangle (🜂): The Good Witch of the South
- Water, downward-pointing triangle (🜄): Fittingly enough, the Wicked Witch of the West, and the seat that Dorothy Gale was offered.
- The element of fire is associated with the south, and water is related to the west.[20] Curiously, earth is connected to the north, and air is the element of the east[20] — the exact opposite of what the two other witches represent. It is not known whether this was a mistake on the show-creators' part.
- The Storybrooke wishing well[21] doubles as the well in Oz.[22] The roof over the wishing well was removed and a different supporting structure for the pulley was added for the episode, while protruding stone carvings were added to the bottom of the well.
- Belle's red handbag[23] is a Mini Perry Tote from Rebecca Minkoff[24] (no longer available). Belle also has it in the next episode, "Snow Drifts".[25]
Set Dressing
- The painting in Mary Margaret's hospital room[26] is Morning Creekside by American artist Megan Lightell.[27]
- There is another copy of the painting in a waiting room in "In the Name of the Brother",[28] in the common room in "Tiny",[29] Belle's hospital room in "Lacey"[30] and the hospital's waiting area in "Dark Waters".[31]
- This painting can also be seen in the Portland motel room where Emma and Neal stay in "Tallahassee".[32]
- The inscriptions on the pillars behind the witches[33] contain letters from the Theban alphabet, which is also known as the Witches' Alphabet. There are four sections, each with two pillars. The text translates as:
- GUARDIAN OF THE SOUTHERN LANDS (🜁)
- KEEPER OF THE WESTERN REALM (🜄)
- PROTECTOR OF THE [image ends]
- DEFE[obscured] OF THE [obscured]THERN [obscured]DS (presumably "defender of the northern lands")
- When Zelena reveals herself to Glinda, the text "Wales" is inscribed on one of the artifacts in Walsh's workshop.[34]
Costume Notes
- Belle is wearing[36] a Gingham Cardigan[37] and a Poplin Short Sleeve Ruffle Blouse[38] from RED Valentino, and a 'Joyeuse' Gathered Skirt by Sandro (all three are no longer available).
- Belle wears the same blouse in the Season Four episodes "Fall" (under a different garment),[39] "Shattered Sight"[40] and "Heroes and Villains",[41] and the Season Five episode "Siege Perilous".[42]
- The same blouse was worn by the character Caroline Channing on two episodes of the fourth season of the television sitcom 2 Broke Girls.[43]
- The dress Zelena is wearing when she meets Dorothy Gale[44] is the same dress worn by her Seattle counterpart in the Season Seven finale "Leaving Storybrooke".[45]
- Regina is wearing[46] a Gucci Raspberry Viscose Jersey Open Front Dress[47] (no longer available).
- The same dress was worn by Blake Lively in the 2015 romantic fantasy film The Age of Adaline[48] and by the character Emily Locke in the Powerless episode "Win, Luthor, Draw".[49]
Filming Locations
- A barn on 104 Street in Delta, British Columbia[50] doubles the barn at Zelena's farm.[51][52] The barn is situated close to a railway and filming there was a challenge due to all the noise.[51]
- The barn also doubles as the location of a demonic cult in the Charmed episode "Surrender" (an episode which features Once Upon a Time guest star Rya Kihlstedt).[53]
International Titles
| International Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Title | Translation |
| Finnish | "Kansas" | "Kansas" |
| French | "Nous ne Sommes Plus au Kansas..." | "We're Not in Kansas Anymore..." |
| German | "Sei mit uns, sprach die gute Hexe von Oz" | "Be With Us, Said the Good Witch of Oz" |
| Italian | "Kansas" | "Kansas" |
| Polish | "Kansas" | "Kansas" |
| Portuguese | "Um Só Coração" | "Just One Heart" |
| Spanish | "Kansas" | "Kansas" |
Videos
3x20 - Kansas - Promo
3x20 - Kansas - Canadian Promo
3x20 - Kansas - Sneak Peek 1
3x20 - Kansas - Sneak Peek 2
3x20 - Kansas - Sneak Peek 3
