For the Season Five episode with a similar name, see "Broken Heart". For the Season Two episode, see "Broken". For the locations known as "The Broken Kingdom", see Camelot or the Underworld. |
"The Broken Kingdom" is the fourth episode of Season Five of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by David H. Goodman & Jerome Schwartz, and directed by Alrick Riley. It is the ninety-second episode of the series overall, and premiered on October 18, 2015.
Synopsis
After receiving a cryptic warning from Lancelot about Arthur’s intentions, Mary Margaret realizes Arthur may be the heroes’ biggest threat, but when she is unable to convince David of the danger, she takes matters into her own hands. Meanwhile, Hook’s unwavering love for Emma provides a glimmer of hope in her struggle against the unrelenting voice of Rumplestiltskin. In a Camelot flashback, Guinevere senses that Arthur is losing his way, consumed by his obsession with making Excalibur whole, so she sets out with Lancelot on her own quest into the heart of darkness. In Storybrooke, Dark Emma unleashes a secret weapon in the next phase of her plan to find the brave soul she needs to draw Excalibur from the stone.[2]
Recap
In the Characters' Past
In the early years before Camelot, we meet the stable boy who would later become the once and future King, Arthur, who was motivated to fulfill his prophecy of finding Excalibur at a very early age, which he would follow through as an adult years later (33 years before the Storybrooke residents' arrival, including 28 years of Regina's Curse), when he pulled the sword out the stone.
While he proclaimed to his kingdom that he had found the entire sword, Arthur, like Merlin, only spoke in half-truths, as the King left out the part about the sword being split in half, after he shows a portion from the case. He even tells Guinevere that he has studied the translations of the Carmarthen Scroll, which contain the three elements: the star, the eye, and the sun, but he can't decipher the clues. Arthur's quest to reunite Excalibur has led to his long running obsession to seek out the missing sword piece, which in turn leads to shutting Guinevere out of his life, which in turn leads to her turning to Lancelot, who plans a party for her and makes her feel loved and would stay behind to watch Guinevere as Arthur began his search for the missing dagger.
With Arthur out on his mission, Lancelot and Guinevere decided to seek out the dagger themselves, by using Merlin’s gauntlet that leads the two to a magical passageway that was located in the Vault of the Dark One. However, the passageway was also a deadly trap, as the Dark One emerges as pure darkness, and almost kills Lancelot, but he eventually survives, after Guinevere uses a torch to repel the Darkness. This would lead to a kiss between Lancelot and Guinevere. The two walk through the doorway and discover the Dagger but couldn't grab it thanks to a protection spell placed on it by Rumplestiltskin, who in exchange for the gauntlet, offered the magical sands of Avalon, which can be used to fix anything that appears to be "broken" at their choosing.
Unfortunately, despite Lancelot's warning not to accept it, Guinevere decided to accept the deal and goes back to Arthur. However, when she returns to Camelot, she is confronted by Arthur, who knew about her and Lancelot, and threw the enchanted sand of Avalon on her, making his wife obedient with whatever he wanted, and used more of the sand to create his Camelot empire.
In Camelot and the Enchanted Forest
King Arthur showed David the broken Excalibur after reading books on how to make it whole, and when he asked David to help him find the other half, David realized where the portion of the dagger came from. As for the dagger itself Emma is being drawn to it with each passing day but is repelled by a protection spell put in place by Regina.
The manifestation of Rumplestiltskin continues to consume Emma's mind to the point of her inadvertently nearly hurting Hook. The effects are starting a toll on Emma, prompting an intervention from Hook, Henry, Mary Margaret, David, and Regina, but before they can come up with a solution, Mary Margaret asks David for a moment alone to talk to her husband, and as expected, was to tell him about King Arthur. However, when she told him about Lancelot being alive and the message he gave her, David ended up defending Arthur, believing that he is being very trustworthy. Mary Margaret on the other hand, believes David has become friends with Arthur because he misses the life he enjoyed back in the Enchanted Forest and that fulfilling it as a Knight in the Round Table will make him important again.
David told Arthur they were going to restore Excalibur right this second and revealed that Emma was the Dark One and that Lancelot was back. David believed that he had brought the dagger to hand over, but Mary Margaret brought it to Lancelot to hide, who then took her to the place that he and Guinevere had discovered.
Mary Margaret realized that she has been here before in a vision where Emma pulled her heart out and crushed it, but before they can carry out their plan a deranged Arthur arrived and pulled a sword on them and demanded Mary Margaret hand over the dagger. Arthur reveals that he was planning to use the Dagger to have Emma restore Excalibur, and then, he planned to kill Merlin with Excalibur and become the most powerful king in all the realms.
Arthur then uses the dagger to try to command Emma to come to him, only to realize that he was fooled by Mary Margaret, as the dagger she gave him was a fake, and David was on to this plan all along. The threesome took Arthur to Granny’s Diner, where Guinevere arrives and uncuffs him. Aware that Guinevere was still under a spell, she broke Lancelot's heart by telling him that she loved Arthur. Arthur also had a plan up his sleeves, as Guinevere blows a kiss out the sands on David and Mary Margaret, then tosses Lancelot in jail, where he was joined by another cellmate, Merida.
With Mary Margaret and David now under Arthur's powers, they go to Regina and deceive her, with Mary Margaret saying "Making Excalibur whole is our best chance to help Emma."
Meanwhile, Henry brings Emma & Hook to the stables, but he really just wanted to see Violet, even though he didn't tell her about his birth mother being the Dark One. Hook makes Emma forget all about Rumple's manifestation with a romantic horseback riding. She needed to trust someone, and afterwards the two kiss in a field of Middlemist flowers.
In Storybrooke
In Storybrooke, Emma still had a pink rose called middlemist from Hook. As for Gold however, he was still locked up saying he is not ready to be a hero. Emma wasn't convinced, telling Gold that she could turn him into one with a little time. It also turned out that Emma has another person working for her as her minion, which is revealed to be Merida, since she has her heart. Emma wants the archer to carry out her plan, telling Merida, "I need you to make him brave."
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Cast[2]
Starring
|
Guest Starring
Co-Starring
Uncredited |
Note:
*: Only in archive footage
Trivia
Title
- The title card features Merlin's tower.[4]
- The title of this episode was announced by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on August 11, 2015.[5]
Production Notes
- CAST CONNECTIONS: Dalila Bela, who plays young Guinevere, is the sister of Raphael Alejandro, who portrays Roland on Once Upon a Time. The makers of the show didn't know about their connection until after Dalila started filming.[6]
- REUSED ACTOR: Sarah Hayward, who plays the Villager, also plays the Villager in the episode "Operation Mongoose Part 1", and Townsperson #1 in the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland episode "Trust Me".
- REAL WORLD FACTS: The middlemist flower shares its name with the rose-like flower known as middlemist red. It is the rarest flower in the world, and it is believed there are only two middlemist reds left in the world; one in the Duke of Devonshire's conservatory at Chiswick, West London, and another in Waitangi, New Zealand. The middlemist flower originates from China, and was first brought overseas in 1804 by John Middlemist, from Shepherd's Bush, west London, who gave it to Kew Gardens.[7]
- HIDDEN DETAILS: The waterfall in the pocket dimension inside the vault is liquid darkness.[8]
- HIDDEN DETAILS: The words "gemini" and "cancer", the third and fourth astrological signs in the zodiac respectively, are written on the wall inside Merlin's tower,[9] with accompanying illustrations.[10] An illustration for the fifth sign, Leo, can also be seen.[10] In addition, astrological symbols for Cancer (♋︎) and Leo (♌︎) can be glimpsed beneath the illustrations.[10] Curiously, the symbol for Leo is upside down.
Event Chronology
- The Enchanted Forest and Camelot flashbacks occur in various places of the overall timeline.
- The events that feature young Arthur and young Guinevere occur a little bit less than 1000 years after "Nimue" and years before "The Dark Swan".
- The events of Arthur showing Excalibur to his subjects occur immediately after "The Dark Swan".
- The events of hunting of the Dark one dagger occur after Arthur shows Excalibur to his subjects and 3 years before the casting of the Dark Curse.
- They also occur 33 years before the events with the group from Storybrooke.[12]
- The scenes at the Vault of the Dark One occur immediately before "Heroes and Villains".
- Lancelot's banishment occurs the year before "Lady of the Lake".
- The Camelot events with the group from Storybrooke take place after "Siege Perilous" and before "Dreamcatcher". (For more details, see the Camelot timeline)
- The episode places these event 5 years after the scenes focusing on the hunt for the dagger, meaning the time period is from the point of view of Camelot people and does not include the Dark Curse's duration.
- The Enchanted Forest events at Granny's Diner take place after "The Dark Swan" and before "Dreamcatcher". (For more details, see the Enchanted Forest timeline)
- The Storybrooke events occur after "Siege Perilous" and before "Dreamcatcher". (For more details, see the Land Without Magic timeline)
Episode Connections
- Young Arthur shows young Guinevere a tree that contains a powerful sorcerer, which was first established in "The Price".
- Arthur tells Guinevere of Merlin's prophecy, which was mentioned in "The Dark Swan".
- The story behind the middlemist flower is explored in "Nimue".
- The scene of Arthur pulling out the sword from the stone is from "The Dark Swan".
- Arthur mentions that David is now part of the Round Table, which was established in "Siege Perilous".
- Arthur's discovery of the Dark One dagger was mentioned in "The Price".
- Emma first saw Rumplestiltskin's manifestation in "The Dark Swan".
- Mary Margaret tells David that they cannot trust Arthur, something Lancelot told her in "Siege Perilous".
- David recalls that Cora said Lancelot was dead, which was mentioned in Lady of the Lake.
- Mary Margaret recalls Lancelot marrying her and David, which occurred in "Lady of the Lake".
- Mary Margaret asks why David had to become a member of the Knights of the Round Table, which occurred in "Siege Perilous".
- David tells Arthur that the Darkness is threatening his daughter Emma, which first began in "Operation Mongoose Part 2".
- Guinevere uses a magic gauntlet to find the true location of the dagger, which was first seen in "Heroes and Villains".
- Guinevere and Lancelot travel to the Vault of the Dark One, which was first seen in "Quiet Minds".
- The Darkness attacks Lancelot, a dark force first seen in "Operation Mongoose Part 2".
- Henry first met Violet in "The Price".
- Rumplestiltskin says that he knows what happens when a woman's heart is torn between duty and desire, and adds that it never ends well; a reference to Milah's story from "The Crocodile".
- Rumplestiltskin makes a deal with Guinevere, by trading a vial of enchanted sand from the Isle of Avalon in exchange for the gauntlet. His journey to Camelot and acquisition of the gauntlet was mentioned in "Heroes and Villains".
- Mary Margaret and Lancelot travel to the Vault of the Dark One and emerge through a magical door to a jungle, where Mary Margaret recalls her vision of Emma ripping out her heart. This was first seen in "Best Laid Plans".
- When Arthur gets his hands on the (fake) dagger, he expresses his desire to become "the greatest king in all the realms". Sir Kay says the same thing in "The Dark Swan".
- Arthur uses the Sands of Avalon to build the castle of Camelot, first seen in "The Dark Swan".
- The horse that Hook "borrows" is scared of the Dark One. Violet's horse reacts in the same way in "Dreamcatcher".
- David and Mary Margaret are freed from the effects of the Sands of Avalon in "Dreamcatcher".
- Emma kidnapped Gold in "Siege Perilous".
- Emma and Merida recall their first encounter, which first occurred in "The Dark Swan".
- The tunnel where Emma unchains Merida is the same tunnel where Emma and Sidney Glass talked about how to beat Regina in "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree".
- Emma's plan to make Mr. Gold pull Excalibur from the stone succeeds in "The Bear and the Bow".
- Merida is freed from captivity, and gets her heart back, in "The Bear and the Bow".
Biblical
- Violet's horse is named Nicodemus, a reference to a Christian saint mentioned in the Gospel of John, who is most notable for assisting in the burial of Jesus.
Disney
- Young Kay makes fun of and bullies Arthur, similar to Disney's The Sword in the Stone.
- This episode features Merida from Brave. Emma orders her to make Mr. Gold "brave", a not so subtle reference to the movie.
Fairytales and Folklore
- This episode is a rendition of the Arthurian legend, with King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Sir Kay, and Percival.
- This episode also features the ugly duckling from the titular fairytale, Rumplestiltskin from the "Rumpelstiltskin" fairytale, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, Robin Hood from the ballads, and Hank's daughter from the novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
- Rumplestiltskin offers Guinevere a vial of sand from the "mystical Isle of Avalon", the legendary island from the Arthurian legend, in which King Arthur was conveyed for the healing of his wounds after his final battle.
- The sands can be used to make Excalibur seem whole again. In the legend, the island of Avalon is where Excalibur was forged.
- The scroll that Arthur translates is called the Carmarthen Scroll. In some versions of the legend, Carmarthen is supposed to be the place where Merlin was born. Merlin is also said to have made a prophecy regarding Merlin's Oak, a famous oak tree that once stood in the town.
- There is also a medieval manuscript called the Black Book of Carmarthen, the earliest surviving medieval manuscript written solely in Welsh. The book contains some of the earliest references to King Arthur and Merlin.[13] Interestingly, the show's version of also written in Welsh.
Props Notes
- MYSTERIOUS WRITINGS: The Carmarthen Scroll,[14] which Arthur struggles to translate, is written in Welsh. For example, the words "Bydd yr haul", under the illustration of the sun, means "the sun will". (Note that a lot of the text is too faded to read.)
- REUSED PROPS: The sword Guinevere is using when searching for the Dark One[15] is the same sword Snow White is using when meeting the Queens of Darkness in the Season Four episode "Unforgiven"[16] and when Cinderella joins the Resistance in the Season Seven episodes "The Garden of Forking Paths",[17] "Wake Up Call",[18] "Pretty in Blue",[19] "The Eighth Witch",[20] "Taste of the Heights"[21] and "Breadcrumbs".[22]
- REUSED PROPS: The torches in the Vault of the Dark One[23] are reused in the Acheron temple in "Last Rites".[24][25]
- HIDDEN DETAILS: The altar where the Dark One Dagger is resting is shaped like black strands of Darkness (like the ones that attacked Lancelot earlier) enveloping a miniature version of the door to the Vault of the Dark One.[26]
- USE IT AGAIN: The sheath and sword Mary Margaret is wielding in Camelot[27] was previously used by her original counterpart in the Season Six episode "A Bitter Draught".[28] She continues wielding the sheath and sword in "Dreamcatcher",[29] "Nimue"[30] and "Broken Heart".[31]
Set Dressing
- REUSED PROPS: The Storybrooke wishing well prop[32] doubles as the well in Arthur's village.[33] This can also be seen in "Nimue".[34]
- Before becoming the wishing well, the same well prop[32] was used for the well where Prince Thomas disappears in the Season One episode "The Price of Gold"[35] and the well in Rumplestiltskin's Frontlands village in the Season One episode "Desperate Souls".[36] The supporting structure for the pulley, and the pulley itself, were replaced for the wishing well prop, and a roof was added to the top.
- The wishing well prop also doubles as many other wells throughout the series:
- It was used for the well outside Granny's cottage, the one where Red Riding Hood goes to collect water with Snow White and sees that the water is full of blood, in the Season One episode "Red-Handed".[37]
- It appears outside the Mad Hatter's cottage in "Hat Trick".[38]
- It is seen outside Ruth's cabin in the Season Two episode "Lady of the Lake".[39]
- It was used for the well where Zelena reads the Book of Records and Dorothy collects water in Oz in the Season Three episode "Kansas".[40] The roof over the wishing well was removed and a different supporting structure for the pulley was added for this episode, while protruding stone carvings were added to the bottom of the well.
- It appears in the village that was attacked by the Evil Queen in the Season Six episode "A Bitter Draught.[41] The roof over the wishing well was removed for this episode.
- The main section of the well with the roof and supports removed was used as the Community Gardens wishing well in Seattle in Season Seven.[42]
- A duplicate of the wishing well appears on Mount Olympus in the series finale "Leaving Storybrooke".[43]
- HIDDEN DETAILS: When Arthur is translating the Carmarthen Scroll, a drawing of the Dark One dagger is lying on the table.[44] Years later, the same drawing is lying in front of him on the Round Table as Arthur is talking to David.[45]
Costume Notes
- SECONDHAND CLOTHING: The blue dress Guinevere wears for the scene where Arthur becomes king[46] is the same dress that Milah wore when Rumplestiltskin returned home from the front in the Season Two episode "Manhattan".[47]
- The same outfit was worn by an extra for the filming of the scene where Henry is riding through the United Realms in the Season Seven finale "Leaving Storybrooke".[48] However, it does not appear on-screen.
- SECONDHAND CLOTHING: The outfit Guinevere wears for her birthday celebration[49] is the same outfit that Rapunzel wore in the Season Three episode "The Tower".[50]
- The dress is also worn by an attendee of the ball held at the Camelot castle in the episode "The Price".[51]
- SECONDHAND CLOTHING: The doublet worn by Lancelot on Guinevere's birthday[52] is the same garment worn by the Sheriff of Nottingham in the Season Four episode "Mother",[53] and the sheriff's Wish Realm counterpart in the Season Six episode "Tougher Than the Rest".[54]
- SECONDHAND CLOTHING: The dress that Violet is wearing[55] was originally worn by Kristen Stewart in the 2012 fantasy film Snow White and the Huntsman.[56] Violet wears the same dress in the following episode, "Dreamcatcher".[57]
- The same dress is worn by Drizella in the Season Seven episodes "Wake Up Call",[58] "The Eighth Witch"[59] and "Sisterhood".[60]
- SECONDHAND CLOTHING: The outfit Guinevere wears for the quest for the dagger[61] is the same outfit that Jack wore in the Season Two episode "Tiny".[62]
- BRAND INFO: Emma is wearing[63] a pair of Prada Women's Black Pointed Toe 'Vitello Lux' Ankle Zip Leather Booties[64] (no longer available).
- USE IT AGAIN: She wears the same boots in the next episode, "Dreamcatcher".[65]
- SECONDHAND CLOTHING: The cape Guinevere is wearing when she frees Arthur from Granny's Diner[66] is the same cape that Belle wore when returning to the Evil Queen's palace in the Season Three episode "A Curious Thing".[67]
Filming Locations
- The Camelot village scenes, and the horseback/middlemist field scene with Hook and Emma, were filmed in Burnaby's Central Park.[68]
- RECYCLED SET: The Apprentice's Cottage from Season Four[69] doubles as one of the village cottages.[70] This can easily be seen from the identical architecture and window panes and the identical pattern of the brick stones (the ones around the window are easiest to compare).
- A redressed version of the cottage was used for the exterior of Brennan's cottage in "Swan Song".[71] The wooden floor on the Apprentice's front porch was replaced by a stone floor and climbing plants were added to the walls to make the cottage look different.
- The same set doubles as the exterior of the Wooodcutter's cottage in "Sisters".[72] Although the cottage was heavily redressed to double as the Woodcutter's home (most noticeably, the roof of his cottage has a completely different shape and the chimney is in a different position), the door, the window panes and the pattern of the brick stones (again, the ones around the window are easiest to compare) are the same.
- The cottage was once again reused, for Malcolm and Fiona's cottage, in the Season Six episode "The Black Fairy".[73] This can be seen from the identical pattern of the brick stones (the ones on the right hand side of the lower half of the door are easiest to compare). The Apprentice's roof tiles were replaced with a thatched roof for this episode.
- The idyllic garden scenes were filmed on a set built at The Bridge Studios.[74] Parts of the garden were real, while the rest was added digitally in post-production.
- The Makin Lands at Britannia Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia doubles as the tunnel where Emma holds Merida captive at the end of the episode.[75] The same area also doubles as Lake Nostos in "Lady of the Lake" and "Queen of Hearts".[76]
- The Makin Lands also doubles as the Sector Four Tunnel in The 100 episode "Wanheda: Part 1" (a show which features Once Upon a Time guest star Jarod Joseph and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland guest star Leah Gibson), a field in Redmond in the Legends of Tomorrow episode "Invasion!", a quarry in the Siren episode "Entrapment" (an episode which features Once Upon a Time guest stars Chad Rook and David Cubitt) and a North Korean Nuclear Silos in the 2014 action comedy film The Interview (a movie which features Once Upon a Time guest star Geoff Gustafson).[75]
International Titles
International Titles | ||
---|---|---|
Language | Title | Translation |
Finnish | "Rikkinäinen valtakunta" | "The Broken Kingdom" |
French | "Le Royaume Brisé" | "The Broken Kingdom" |
German | "Ränke um Exkalibur" | "Intrigues around Excalibur" |
Italian | "Il regno spezzato" | "The Broken Kingdom" |
Polish | "Rozbite królestwo" | "The Broken Kingdom" |
Portuguese | "O reino partido" | "The broken kingdom" |
Spanish | "El Reino Roto" | "The Broken Kingdom" |