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"The Bear and the Bow" is the sixth episode of Season Five of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Andrew Chambliss & Tze Chun, and directed by Ralph Hemecker. It is the ninety-fourth episode of the series overall, and premiered on November 1, 2015.
Synopsis
In a Camelot flashback, a chance encounter with Merlin, David, Hook and Belle gives Merida new hope in her quest to save her brothers from the usurping clans of DunBroch. Unwilling to leave anything up to fate, Merida brings Belle along on a dangerous journey that culminates with an invaluable lesson in bravery. In Storybrooke, Regina, Mary Margaret and David discover the spell that would allow one of Merlin’s chosen to communicate with him, but when Arthur fails to reach the missing sorcerer the heroes grow suspicious. Meanwhile, Emma commands Merida to kill Belle in hopes of forcing Mr. Gold’s heroic transformation. With Merida unable to disobey Emma’s orders, Gold must find the courage to fight for Belle’s life or risk losing her forever.[2]
Recap
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Cast[2]
Starring
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Guest Starring
Co-Starring
Uncredited
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Note:
*: Only in archive footage
Trivia
Title
- The title card features a shooting arrow.[3]
- The title of this episode was announced by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on September 2, 2015.[4]
- The title of this episode was the original title of Brave.[5]
Production Notes
- The flashback scene where Merida is rowing the boat with Belle present through the Ivory Sea was filmed on Amy Manson's birthday.[6]
- A segment with Merida outside the pawnshop as she shoots the arrow through the door before she proceeds to enter the building, was deleted from the scene where she first attacks Belle and Mr. Gold.[7]
- A scene with Belle, Henry and Merlin was either not filmed or deleted in post-production. The scene involved the two men talking about the jukebox at Granny's Diner and Merlin wandering about the fuss around Pet Sounds. Belle eventually walks in and asks if anybody was worried about her whereabouts. Merlin reveals he knew Merida would need her help and assured everyone Belle was fine.[8]
- A piece of concept art by Neil Westlake reveals an unused page of instructions on how to communicate through magical barriers:[9]
the
Crimson Crown
There is a Forme of
true Divination, for
speaking through
barriers, of both
material and that of
the spirit worlde.
For the workings, the adept will need the
Crimson Crowne toadstool which is then
renderede down into complete morsels.
The Nine Woods in the Cauldron go, burn them
fast and burn them slow. When is ebullient and
steaming, add some comfrey horsetail yarrow
and the umbilicus of a mooncalf. Mix well in a
deosil fashion.
Into theis [sic] melange the mushroom should be
thrown and soon thereafter a portal cloud will
start to forme. It is in [unknown word] of the cloud that
the adept will speke [sic] and communicate with
those as according to her will.
- "Nine Woods in the Cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow" is taken directly from the Wiccan Rede,[10] an official statement that provides the key moral system of Wicca.
Event Chronology
- The Camelot flashbacks take place after "Dreamcatcher" and before "Nimue". (For more details, see the Camelot timeline)
- The DunBroch flashbacks take place 2 years after "The Bear King", and before the events surrounding Merida's coronation in the same episode.
- The Enchanted Forest flashbacks at Granny's Diner take place after "Dreamcatcher" and before "Nimue". (For more details, see the Enchanted Forest timeline)
- The Storybrooke events take place after "Dreamcatcher" and before "Nimue". (For more details, see the Land Without Magic timeline)
Episode Connections
- This is not the first time Merlin predicts something. He prophesied that Arthur would pull Excalibur out of the stone and be king in "The Broken Kingdom".
- Mary Margaret and David came under the effects of Sands of Avalon in "The Broken Kingdom", were still under Arthur's control in "Dreamcatcher" and were fixed by Merlin in the same episode.
- Merida recalls the events of what Emma did to her in "The Dark Swan".
- Merida says Arthur took her wisp, a magical being that was first seen in "The Dark Swan".
- Merida has been looking for her brothers since "The Dark Swan".
- Regina recalls Emma's and her speech about freeing Merlin back in Camelot which takes place in "Dreamcatcher".
- David and Arthur acquired the crimson crown back in Camelot, and then David found it in Storybrooke. Both events took place in "Siege Perilous".
- Emma ripped Violet Morgan's heart from her chest in "Dreamcatcher".
- Merida used the chipped cup to make Mr. Gold brave in "Dreamcatcher".
- This is the second time the chipped cup has been shattered. The first time was in "In the Name of the Brother", where Belle smashed it by hurling it against a wall.
- The chipped cup has been repaired by the time of "Beauty". Ironically, it is smashed to pieces once again in the same episode.
- Mr. Gold uses the shards of a broken tea cup to cut himself loose, just like Emma did when she was Jefferson's prisoner in "Hat Trick".
- Merida was forced by Emma to help her with her "dirty" work in "The Broken Kingdom".
- Merida recalls the clans not wanting a woman to be queen, which was first mentioned in "The Dark Swan".
- Merida mentioned her father's death in "The Dark Swan".
- Mr. Gold fell into a coma in "Operation Mongoose Part 2" and Emma woke him up in "Siege Perilous".
- A pregnant Zelena is reading What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff in her cell.[11] Belle is reading the same book while pregnant in "The Other Shoe".[12]
- Emma tells Zelena that she knows what it's like to be pregnant behind bars; referring to events in "Tallahassee".
- What Emma really wants from Zelena, and the real reason why she gives her onion rings, is revealed in "Birth".
- Zelena wielded the Apprentice's wand in "The Dark Swan".
- Zelena says that she's been on the receiving end of a mother's betrayal; referring to how Cora gave her up in "Bleeding Through".
- Zelena indirectly killed Neal in "Quiet Minds".
- Mr. Gold escapes by going through the mines, before using the elevator to get inside the library. The tunnels beneath the library are connected to the mines, something that was previously established in "Fall".
- Mr. Gold talks about how he broke his foot and fled the Ogre Wars, an event shown in "Manhattan". Belle recalls Mr. Gold telling her that he did this so that his son wouldn't grow up fatherless; the same excuse that Rumplestiltskin told his first wife, Milah. In this episode, however, Mr. Gold admits that he ran away from the war because he was frightened of dying.
- Belle complains about her father being not supportive of her adventures, which was seen in "Family Business".
- Mr. Gold gave up his old cane stick in "The New Neverland".
- Belle mentions how she lost her mother in the Ogre Wars in "Family Business".
- The story surrounding King Fergus's death, and the identity of his killer, is revealed in "The Bear King".
- This is the second time that Belle and Mr. Gold argue at the town line about his cowardice. The first one happened in "Heroes and Villains".
- Merida says, "You're lucky someone once taught me the value of mercy", which she learned from Emma in "The Dark Swan".
- Emma remembers when the Usher told her to leave the sword alone, which happened in "The Dark Swan".
- Emma mentions a time when Belle was Rumplestiltskin's maid, which was shown in "Skin Deep", "Lacey", "Going Home" and "Heroes and Villains".
- Emma tells Belle, "Then you will be sweeping his remains", if Mr. Gold can't pull the sword out of the stone. The first time someone died after attempting and failing to pull out the sword was in "The Dark Swan".
- Henry was chosen to be the Author by the Apprentice and the Sorcerer in "Operation Mongoose Part 2".
- Merlin's message was recorded in "Broken Heart".
- How Nimue (inadvertently and indirectly) "helps" defeat the Dark One is revealed in "Swan Song".
Biblical
- When Mr. Gold takes Excalibur, a cross pattée can be seen on the hilt.[13]
Disney
- This episode features Merida, young Macintosh, young Macguffin, Wee Dingwall and Merida's Brothers, as well as their homeland DunBroch, from the movie Brave.
- Merida is transformed into a bear, just like her mother was in the movie.
- This episode contains a number of other references to Disney works. See the list of Disney references for more.
Lost
- Merlin picks up an Apollo bar in Granny's Diner.[14]
- 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 features the ugly duckling from the titular fairytale, King Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot from the Arthurian legend, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, and the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz story.
- Zelena affectionately refers to her unborn baby as her little Munchkin, a reference to the natives of Munchkin Country from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Popular Culture
- Zelena is reading Heidi Murkoff's bestselling pregnancy guide What to Expect When You're Expecting in her cell at the psychiatric ward.[11]
- Zelena makes a reference to "that patient with a mop" (who is actually the Chief from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) and says that he actually loves to talk. In the novel, the Chief opens up to the main character late one night and reveals that he can actually speak.
Props Notes
- The spell book that Belle and Merida bring to DunBroch and use to perform magic[15] is the same book that Regina was seen closing in the beginning of the scene where she talks to Zelena in "Siege Perilous".[16]
- The sword Lord MacGuffin uses when Merida confronts the United Clans[17] is the same sword David is wielding when confronting Mr. Gold in his shop in the Season Six episode "Awake".[18][19] Lord MacGuffin also continues to use the sword in "The Bear King".[20]
- The ax an United Clan member is wielding during the execution of Merida's brothers[21] is the same prop Smee is wielding in the Season Three episode "The Jolly Roger".[22][23]
Costume Notes
- Belle is wearing[24] a Zara Crepe Blazer[25] (no longer available).
- The tartan worn by Lord Dingwall[26] and some of the clansmen,[27] with a yellow field, black squares and a red stripe, is the tartan worn by the real Scottish Clan MacLeod of Lewis.[28]
- Regina is wearing[29] an Alexander Wang Fitted Tank Zip Dress[30] (no longer available).
- A red version of the dress was worn by the character Felicity Smoak on the Arrow episode "Dark Waters".[31]
- David is wearing[32] an AllSaints 'Hough' Jacket[33] (no longer available).
- Mary Margaret is wearing[34] a Sanna Blouse from Anthropologie[35] (no longer available).
Filming Locations
- Robert Burnaby Park in East Burnaby doubles as Camelot for the scene where the heroes are strolling through the woods after freeing the prisoners from Arthur's dungeon.[40] It also doubles as DunBroch for the scenes outside the Witch's cottage and as the Storybrooke graveyard for the scene outside the heart vault.[41]
- The scene where Belle wakes up in Merida's rowing boat, and the rowing boat scene where Merida says goodbye to Belle, were filmed in British Columbia's Golden Ears Provincial Park.[8]
International Titles
| International Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Title | Translation |
| Finnish | "Karhunpalvelus[42]" | "The Disservice" |
| French | "La Quête de Merida" | "Merida's Quest" |
| German | "Der Bär und der Bogen" | "The Bear and the Bow" |
| Italian | "L'orso e l'arco" | "The Bear and the Bow" |
| Portuguese | "O urso e o arco" | "The bear and the bow" |
| Spanish | "El Oso y el Arco" | "The Bear and the Bow" |
Videos
5x06 - The Bear and the Bow - Promo
5x06 - The Bear and the Bow - Sneak Peek 1
5x06 - The Bear and the Bow - Sneak Peek 2
Once Upon A Time - Mr. Gold Becomes A Hero
Once Upon A Time - What Did Emma Do To Merlin?
References
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