   
|
For the item, see Page XXIII. |
"Page 23" is the fourteenth episode of Season Six of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by David H. Goodman & Brigitte Hales, and directed by Kate Woods. It is the one hundred and twenty-fifth episode of the series overall, and premiered on March 26, 2017.
Synopsis
Believing there isn't room in Storybrooke for both her and Regina, the Evil Queen sets out to eliminate her other half using Robin to bait the trap. Hook, determined to make things work with Emma, turns to his old friend Capt. Nemo for advice, but Gideon torpedoes his plan before he's able to set things right. In a flashback to the Enchanted Forest, the Evil Queen learns a surprising lesson about the true source of her misery.[2]
Recap
In the pre-First Curse Enchanted Forest, Regina, during her reign as the Evil Queen, is still after Snow White's heart, and as usual, comes up empty-handed as Snow eludes her once again. The Evil Queen then gathers the villagers and tells them that she, not Snow White, cares about them. When Tinkerbell shows up to tell her why she did not pursue Robin Hood, Regina decides to scorn the fairy, but spares her and tells Tinkerbell not to meddle with her. This later leads to an argument between Regina and Prince Henry, who warns his daughter that revenge will never make her happy.
Later on, Henry, with help from Tinkerbell, leads Regina to a portal that was designed to lead Regina to Robin, but the Queen is still obsessed with revenge, as she takes Cupid's arrow, and uses dark magic to make it pinpoint the person she hates most instead. However, when she fires the arrow, it flies straight towards the fortress. Believing that Snow is there, Regina returns to discover that the arrow leads her to her mirror, which she shatters into pieces. Regina realizes it is herself she hates most.
In the present day, the Evil Queen brings Robin back with her to town, he wants to go to New York but the Evil Queen wants to return Robin back to his Wish Realm, so she first asks him to dig up an item in the woods. Regina and Zelena then visit Emma and Snow, where they learn that Hook proposed to Emma upon looking at the engagement ring, but when they learn that the Evil Queen has returned to her original form, Emma wants to put those plans on hold. In the woods, Robin's shovel hits the metal box, which contained the Fate's Shears of Destiny, which the Evil Queen wants to use not only to separate her fate from Regina's, but to destroy Regina and Storybrooke. The Evil Queen then shows up to take Henry's Author's Pen, so she could keep Henry from writing her out of existence or interfering with her coming showdown with Regina. Then, after Henry reveals that he only wanted to use the Pen to help move her towards redemption, The Evil Queen scoffs at the idea. The Evil Queen then gives Henry a note to deliver to Regina, before telling him that no matter what anyone says, she still loves him.
When Regina receives the message, she learns that the message came from Page 23 of the "Once Upon a Time" storybook that detailed the happy ending Regina never got, which Regina discovered that it all tied to Robin, who is being used as bait to lure her to the Evil Queen so she can kill her, even though Robin believes this plan will fail. Regina confronts her other half at the Mayor's office, but the Evil Queen tells Regina she's more interested in using the shears to destroy Regina rather than helping Robin. Regina dares the Evil Queen to use the Shears and the latter does, unveiling the ties of fate linking Regina to her evil half, which The Evil Queen severes with the Shears. This makes the Evil Queen completely independent of Regina, allowing the two to battle each other until Regina manages to overpower the Evil Queen, and binds her against a pillar on the wall. Then, Regina, after looking at the broken mirror and seeing how much she hated her evil self, displays the Evil Queen's heart to show her that she chooses to love over hate. Regina then transfers half of the Evil Queen's darkness into her heart, while transferring half of her light into the Evil Queen's heart, turning the two Reginas into bonding sisters who agree to bury the hatchet. The two agreed to send Robin back to his Wish Realm, and with help from Henry, he writes a new chapter and happy ending for the formerly Evil Queen by sending her off to a place to begin a fresh start.
Meanwhile, Hook arrives at the docks to say farewell to Nemo, and confides his secret about killing Emma's grandfather to Nemo. Nemo suggests that Hook either ask for forgiveness from Emma or keep the secret and learn to forgive himself. Ultimately, Hook decides to remove his memories through magic and burn them. When Emma sees him doing this, she is not upset to learn he killed her grandfather, since they have come too far for something like that to break them; however, she is upset that Hook chose to keep it from her, as they had earlier in the season decided to no longer keep secrets from one other, in order to build a more honest relationship. Reluctantly, Emma passes back the ring and calls off the wedding until Hook can learn to do that. Later, Snow congratulates Hook on the engagement, not knowing about what transpired earlier. Unfortunately, just as Hook changes his mind and is about to leave Nautilus to return to Emma, the submarine submerges without Nemo ordering it to do so. Hook and Nemo learn that Gideon had ordered the sub out of Storybrooke, in order to get Hook out of the way so he can kill Emma, leaving Hook and Nemo trapped as prisoners. A hurt Emma waits at home for Hook, and realizing he won't be returning, shuts off the lights.
The Queen sends Robin back home after his many pleas to leave Storybrooke. Later, as the Queen wishes for a fresh start, she is sent to the Wish Realm, where she reunites with Robin in a local bar. True to the image on Page 23, a bond begins to blossom.
Cast[2]
Starring
|
Guest Starring
Co-Starring
Uncredited
|
Note:
*: Only in archive footage
Trivia
Title
- The title card features the Evil Queen's palace.[3]
- The title of this episode was revealed by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on November 30, 2016.[4]
- The title of this episode is a reference to the alternate Page XXIII of Henry's book, which represents another version of Regina and Robin's first meeting. It was created by Isaac Heller, and first appears in the Season Four episode "Smash the Mirror."[5]
Production Notes
- CAST NOTES: This episode marks the return of the actor Edward Foy as the Lead Knight after one-hundred and eight episodes, a gap longer than that of any other cast member.
- This is Lana Parrilla's favorite episode on the show.[6]
- Writer Brigitte Hales described this episode as "emotional" and said that it "took a lot out of [her] -- in the best possible way."[7]
- REUSED FOOTAGE: The establishing shot of Regina's house[8] is stock footage from the filming of the first scene where Emma takes Henry home in the Season One premiere.[9] The identical position of the curtains in the windows and the lighting behind them, the shadows on the walls and the open window on the second floor, are a dead giveaway.
- The same shot is used for the scene where Henry receives a phone call from his older self in the Season Seven episode "Is This Henry Mills?"[10]
- Mary Margaret's line "It's so cold out here," from the dock scene with Hook, was written by Brigitte Hales after she spoke to an assistant director about how cold night shooting always is. The falling snow during the scene was a happy coincidence.[11]
- According to Brigitte Hales, she had to write the "break-up scene" between Emma and Hook the day after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and "spent all day crying and writing."[12] She later adds that writing this episode was "cathartic."[13]
- REUSED ACTOR: Hesham Hammoud, who plays the Crewman, also plays Ghazi in the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland episode "Who's Alice."
- ABANDONED IDEAS: In the episode script, Hook says to Captain Nemo, "I hope you're right. Thank you, old friend," and he and Nemo hug as Nemo answers, "Goodbye."[14] This exchange is not in the final episode.
- ABANDONED IDEAS: A broken set of the Shears of Destiny were made for this episode but were never used on-screen.[15]
Event Chronology
- The Enchanted Forest flashbacks occur after "Heart of Darkness" (where the Lead Knight, who is killed by the Evil Queen in this episode, is still alive).
- They also seem to take place during the time of the War (between "Lost Girl" and "The Cricket Game") as Regina wants to kill Snow White rather than put her under a sleeping curse. (For more details, see the Enchanted Forest timeline)
- The Storybrooke events take place after "Ill-Boding Patterns" and before "A Wondrous Place." (For more details, see the Land Without Magic timeline)
Episode Connections
- The Lead Knight, who is killed by the Evil Queen, is the same Black Knight that got his armor stolen by Snow White in "Heart of Darkness."
- Regina talks about how the mysterious page 23 magically appeared to her, an event that took place in "Smash the Mirror."
- The Evil Queen says to Tinker Bell, "Shouldn't you be living in a tulip somewhere?," and wonders what happened to her. Tinker Bell's former home, and what happened to her, is shown in "Quite a Common Fairy."
- Tinker Bell talks about how she showed the Evil Queen the future with Pixie Dust, an event that took place in "Quite a Common Fairy."
- When Hook is using the dreamcatcher, he's watching a scene from "Murder Most Foul."
- Emma and Hook's engagement, which Emma breaks off in this episode, is renewed in "Awake."
- Hook says that he once destroyed his own family, referring to how he killed his own father and left his young brother an orphan, an event that took place in "Swan Song."
- Regina conjures a black sword to duel the serum queen, just like she did when she dueled Mary Margaret in "Shattered Sight."
- Regina makes the branches of the wallpaper come to life and trap the Evil Queen, just like she did with David in "Broken."
- The Wish Realm tavern where the Evil Queen meets Robin of Locksley at the end of the episode is the same tavern where Regina found him in "Wish You Were Here." Fittingly enough, this tavern is the Wish Realm version of the Enchanted Forest tavern where Queen Regina and Tinker Bell found the real Robin Hood in "Quite a Common Fairy."[16]
- What happened to the Evil Queen and Robin in the Wish Realm after the episode ends is revealed in "The Final Battle Part 1."
- Hook is transported out of the Land Without Magic in the next episode, "A Wondrous Place," and comes back in "Awake."
Lost
Fairytales and Folklore
- This episode features the ugly duckling from the titular fairytale, the evil queen from the "Snow White" fairytale, Captain Nemo from the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Robin Hood from the ballads, Captain Hook and Tinker Bell from the Peter Pan story, and the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz novel.
- STORYBOOK CONTENT: Excerpts from the fairytale of "The Golden Bird" can be seen on the back of the storybook page that the serum queen gives to Henry,[17] and in Henry's storybook.[18]
- The same excerpt appears in dozens of episodes; read the trivia section in the article for Henry's storybook for more information and a transcript.
- Cupid's arrow from Roman mythology appears, while Cupid himself is mentioned.
- 🍎 APPLES: As Regina duels with her serum counterpart, she takes a fruit bowl and empties out the red apples, a reference to the evil queen's weapon of choice from the "Snow White" fairytale.
- Regina looks into the shards of a broken mirror, a reference to the magic mirror from "Snow White."
Popular Culture
- ARTWORKS: Among the numerous fairy tale illustrations pinned to the wall in Henry's room is the famous painting The Lady of Shalott (1888), by the English Pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse.[19] It depicts Elaine of Astolat in a scene from Alfred Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shallot" from 1832.
Props Notes
- REUSED PROPS: The design of the swords used by Regina and the serum queen[20] are the same swords used by:
- King George's army in the Season One episode "Heart of Darkness"[21]
- Prince Charming and Snow White's guards in the Season Two episode "The Cricket Game"[22]
- The Prince's guards in the Season Seven episode "Hyperion Heights"[23]
- The Evil Queen's Black Knights in several episodes over the series[24]
Set Dressing
- ARTWORKS: An illustration of a group of stonecrops (plants of the Sedum genus) by the nineteenth century British botanical illustrator Anne Pratt appears in the corridor outside Henry's room.[25] The picture is from volume 2 of Pratt's work The Flowering Plants, Grasses, Sedges, and Ferns of Great Britain and Their Allies the Club Mosses, Pepperworts, and Horsetails, published in six volumes between 1855 and 1873.
Costume Notes
- USE IT AGAIN: The coat the Evil Queen is wearing[26] is the same coat worn by her Storybrooke counterpart in the Season Seven episode "The Eighth Witch."[27]
- BRAND INFO: Emma is wearing a Veronica Beard Alma Lace Blouse[28] (no longer available).
- BRAND INFO: Mary Margaret is wearing[29] a 3.1 Phillip Lim Plaid Wool Bomber Jacket[30] (no longer available).
- BRAND INFO: Regina is wearing[31] a Rag & Bone Archer Blazer[32] (no longer available).
- The blazer was also worn by the character Steffy Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful,[33] Hope Williams on Days of Our Lives[34] and Phyllis Summers on The Young and the Restless,[35] with the latter also wearing a red color of the blazer as well.[36]
- A red version was worn by the character Vanessa Baxter on the Last Man Standing episode "Where There's Smoke, There's Ire."[37]
- A grey version was worn by the character Spencer Hastings on the Pretty Little Liars episode "Hit and Run, Run, Run."[38]
Filming Locations
- A forest in North Vancouver doubles as the Enchanted Forest for this episode.[39]
- Vancouver's Stanley Park doubles as Cupid's sanctuary.[40]
International Titles
| International Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Title | Translation |
| French | "La Flèche de Cupidon" | "The Cupid's Arrow" |
| German | "Als das schwarze Herz die Liebe traf" | "When the Black Heart Met Love" |
| Italian | "Pagina 23" | "Page 23" |
| Portuguese | "Página 23" | "Page 23" |
Videos
_(8515096841).jpg){kind=link}
