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For the Season Seven episode, see "The Girl in the Tower."
For the first iteration of the building, see Rapunzel's tower.
For the second iteration of the building, see Gothel's tower.

You can leave this tower!

Prince Charming to Rapunzel


"The Tower" is the fourteenth episode of Season Three of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Robert Hull and directed by Ralph Hemecker. It is the fifty-eighth episode of the series overall, and premiered on March 23, 2014.

Synopsis

While Emma, David, Regina and Hook continue their search for the Wicked Witch, she, in turn, is planning a dark surprise for David, and Zelena's prisoner is powerless under her watch as she plots her next course of action against the townspeople. Meanwhile, in the Fairy Tale Land that was in the previous year, Prince Charming stumbles upon Rapunzel, who is trapped inside a tower, and must help her confront her fears in order for her to be free.[2]

Recap

In the Enchanted Forest, Prince Charming dashes inside the Dark Palace. Following the sound of a baby crying, he finds himself in Emma’s nursery. Prince Charming looks around and says this shouldn’t be here. He sees Emma’s crib. He says it’s all wrong. Emma enters and says it’s all wrong because she’s a full-grown princess. Emma confesses she’s looking for a place to practice for the ball and asks her dad to teach her. Charming is confused but can’t resist dancing with his daughter. Charming tells her she’s a natural. Emma says he’s the best teacher. He twirls her and says it’s everything he wanted for her. Emma tells him she never got it and was never there because he failed her. The nursery falls apart and the wardrobe sucks Emma away. She says goodbye and warns him not to fail the next one.

In the Dark Palace, Charming awakens and realizes it was a nightmare. He calls to Snow White, who tells him to come look at the view. Snow White reveals her good news that she is pregnant. Shaken, Charming says he’s thrilled. Snow hugs him but he is stressed.

Nine months later in Storybrooke, David Nolan and Captain Hook talk about how they can find the Wicked Witch. Regina Mills says she’s not green so she’ll look like the rest of them. Regina wants to protect Henry from the witch and flying monkeys. Hook reminds them Neal could be one of the winged apes. Regina offers to protect Henry. Emma reminds her not to slip up since Henry thinks they are there for her case. Regina doesn’t like it but agrees to stick to it. Hook says they need to get busy searching.

In Zelena’s cellar, Gold, clearly mad, chants and spins straw. Zelena heads down. She tells him he looks and sounds awful. She asks if he wants to hurt her and tells him to try it. She unlocks his cage but then shows him she has the dagger so she can control him and he can’t do anything to her. She tells him to be a good boy and sit back down. He does. Gold tells her to go ahead and do it. He tells her all the voices in his head will be quiet when he’s dead. Zelena tells him she’s not there to kill him and that he needs to keep up appearances. He starts spinning again and she tells him to stop because it’s making him crazy. She looks closely at him and then shaves him with the Dagger. She asks if she ever told him about her father. She says his hands would shake when he drank and she had to learn to shave him. Zelena says he told her that no matter what, you had to keep up your looks. She says back in her land, the outsides always showed that you were rotting on the inside. She nicks Gold and he gasps and she tells him he’s handsome as ever. He tells her she doesn’t care about his appearance and asks what he wants. She says she wants what he’s spent a lifetime seeking that goes against his nature. She tells him she won’t have to wait and flips the lights out.

Zelena enters the Pawnshop. She asks Belle if she’s Mrs Gold and then when Belle says she’s not, she asks for Mr Gold. Belle tells her he died and Zelena tells her she’s sorry for her loss. She says she wants a baby gift for someone she met at the diner – Mary – and that she’s helping her with her baby. Belle tells her she has just the thing and when Belle turns her back, Zelena freezes her and goes into Gold’s safe – she uses the drop of blood she got from nicking him and takes a dark object.

In Regina’s office, David, Hook and Emma search the mess left behind. David sees a partial footprint. Emma notices blood. But David says it’s berry like from a bush. He says he saw them on some of the dogs when he worked at the animal hospital. He tells them where the berry bushes are. David gets a text to go home and meet the midwife and Emma sends him off to meet them and tells him to meet them later. He agrees and goes.

Back in the Enchanted Forest, Charming sneaks to the stables and secretly drinks. Robin Hood finds him and says he used to keep his secret stash in his quiver. He notes Robin has gold-tipped arrows – a reward the Queen gave him. Charming thinks Regina likes him but Robin isn’t sure. Robin suggests that Charming needs sleep. Charming says he can’t and shares his flask. Robin asks if he needs to talk and Charming says he’s always been an optimist and has always had confidence but can’t escape a feeling of dread he has now and he needs to be there for Snow now without being distracted by fear.

Robin tells him after his wife died that Friar Tuck told him about a root that could make you impervious to fear. Robin tells him to look for the plant called nightroot that’s flecked by crystal and in the Dark Forest. He tells Charming to be careful and he heads off.

Zelena and Mary Margaret chat and she tells the midwife about how she and David met. He’s impatient and Snow wants him to chill. Zelena offers to make them tea and switches on the stove. David says she seems perfect but isn’t sure if they can trust her. Snow says they could have been friends in the lost year. She makes them tea and then pulls something out of her purse and sprinkles it into one of the cups. She hands the spiked cup of tea to David.

In the forest, David finds the nightroot as described and it looks like the same stuff Zelena put into his tea 9 months later. He hears a woman crying out for help and goes to assist. He sees a tall, tall tower and a girl high up yelling for help. She has slung a braid down the side of the tower and David climbs up the ivy and then up the braid to the tower window. He climbs in and sees the hair goes all the way to a woman who says he’s the first person she’s seen in a long time. She tells him she’s lost sight of the years and asks if he’s a prince. He asks if she’s a princess and she tells him to call her Rapunzel.

She tells them her parents are the leaders of her kingdom and says she also came to this area for the nightroot. She says she needed it to be brave to help lead her land. She says her brother died and after that she had overwhelming fear but the nightroot didn’t help her. She tells him a witch attacked her and chased her into the tower. He says he’ll take her away but she says she can’t leave because the witch will stop her. He looks out the window and sees a figure coming for the tower. It climbs up her hair and Rapunzel says the creature knows he’s there.

Zelena talks to Mary Margaret and David about how fast a second pregnancy can progress. She asks how he’s doing and he says he’s fine. Zelena tells him Mary Margaret has some anxiety about the lost year and the baby that’s about to come. Zelena says it’s best to get everything out so it won’t affect the pregnancy. She says if they have any fears at all, it’s best to get it out in the open. David says he has none and they’ll get through it. She says cheers to that and they drink down their tea. Zelena tells her that she’s lucky to have such a brave husband and tells him he can go back to his important business. He leaves her there with Mary Margaret and goes back to work.

Charming pulls up at the woodside with his sword. In the side mirror, we see the same witch from Rapunzel’s tower but then a second later, it’s gone.

Regina and Henry walk by the pond and he tells her the ice cream she got him is good. She tells him she knows Storybrooke must be quaint after NYC and he says he likes the small-town feel. She says a small town is like a big family. He tells her he thinks they are there for more than just the case and that his mom wanted to get out of New York. Henry tells her about Walsh proposing to her and that the next day she pulled him out of school. He says she never likes him to miss school. Regina asks if he liked Walsh and he says it would be nice to have more than two at the table and she tells him one day he’ll have more family than he knows what to do with.

Hook and Emma walk in the woods and he tells her he’s always off courting danger with her. She asks what he was doing the year on his ship and he refuses to tell her. He tells her just to say thanks and he reminds her she was about to be in a loveless marriage. He asks if she would have married him and she says yes. She says as usual, the guy wasn’t who he said he was and her heart was broken. Hook says he’s glad and even if she got her heartbroken, that means it still works. He steps closer to say this, but then she turns away.

They walk on and then come to a farmhouse. David finds the berries and treks on through the woods. The mystery witch seems to be stalking him. He hears a noise and turns. He finally spots it lurking and pulls out his phone. He gets Emma’s voicemail and tells her that he thinks he’s found the witch and is going after her. He pursues.

Back at the tower, the witch climbs up and Rapunzel begs him to go. She tells him there’s nothing he can do and he says he can and will save her. He pulls his sword and gestures her back. He slashes at the creature but it’s above him on the roof and pounces on him. Back in the present, he slashes at it and then it’s there in front of him and it throws David into a tree knocking him out cold.

Emma and Hook prowl around the house peeking in windows. She says it looks like there is someone living there. She whispers and he asks why and she says people hiding out can be there. She notices a bicycle with a basket on the porch and then a storm cellar. She goes to open it but Hook stops her -she asks if he’s scared and he says fear and strategy are two different things. He tells her they need magical backup and she agrees to call Regina. She sees the voice mail and checks the message.

David wakes and stabs the sword into the creature. He rips back the hood and sees his own face! Back in the tower, the creature is coming for Rapunzel and he tells it to get away from her but it says she is her and he sees they share the same face. He tells Rapunzel the root allows her to overcome her fear by facing them. He tells her only she can defeat her fear. Back in the now, his doppelganger challenges him to a fight to overcome his fear. They go at it with swords and evil David gets the edge.

Back in the tower, he grabs Rapunzel’s bad side and jumps out the window with it. They both cling to her hair. He tells her to cut away the hair and let it go and she can leave the tower. She says she doesn’t want to leave and he says he understand fear of the future but she will die there alone if she doesn’t cut it. The creature is almost back to the window when she chops off her braid. The hair and the thing fall and dissolve in a puff of smoke.

Now, bad David cuts off good David’s sword and tells him his fear makes him weak and he says he will die to protect his family. His other-self chokes him and he sees Emma’s car and he says he’s afraid he won’t be a good father but that won’t stop him. He murders his doppelganger who disappears in a puff of smoke. The broken sword disappears in a puff of green smoke.

Regina, Hook and Emma show up. David explains he was fighting with himself. Regina says it was the witch doing it. David says it’s time to finish her and send her back to Oz.

In the Enchanted Forest, Rapunzel is free from the tower. She tells Chrming she was in the river and got caught in the rapids where her parents told her not to play. Her brother died saving her. She says she didn’t know if she could lead and be queen and he tells her they’ll forgive her. He comes into the castle with her and her parents rush to her. They embrace her warmly.

Back at the castle, Snow asks why Charming was out all night and he tells her he was afraid. He says they lost Emma twice – once as a baby and once as an adult. He says he never got to be Emma’s father and the new child scares him. He says he doesn’t know if he’ll be a good father. Snow says they’ll do it the way they do everything – together. They leave to go work on the nursery for the new baby.

David tells Regina the creature knew all his deepest fears and then tells her he had to speak his fears and then when he killed his fears, his courage went into it and then she stole it away. Zelena checks her purse and is pleased to see the broken sword’s handle there. She tells Snow she feels so lucky to meet her and that she’s there to help her.

Emma sees the lock on the cellar is busted now but wasn’t before. They open the door and Emma heads down into the space. Regina says there’s dark magic there. She asks if Emma can feel it and they see the cage. David flips the light on and they see the wheel and a piece of straw. He asks them who they know who can spin straw into gold. Emma says Rumplestilskin.

Deleted Scenes

Granny's Diner

A scene with Archie, Regina and Henry with the storybook in Granny's Diner was cut from the episode. However, Raphael Sbarge is still listed in the episode's press release.[2] The scene can be seen in promotional photos for the episode.[3]

Cast[2]

Starring

Guest Starring

Co-Starring


Trivia

Title

Production Notes

Event Chronology

Episode Connections

Disney

Lost

Fairy Tales and Folklore

Popular Culture

  • When David calls Emma's phone, he receives her voice mail, in which she names her work business as "Big Apple Bails Bond." The Big Apple is a popular nickname for New York City.

Prop Notes

Costume Notes

  • SECONDHAND CLOTHING: The brown doublet and white undershirt worn by Prince Charming in this episode[23] (and several others) was later worn by Robert in the Season Seven episode "Greenbacks."[24] Robert's west[24] is closely modeled on the west Charming wears over the doublet in the same episodes.[25]
  • BRAND INFO: Belle is wearing[26] an alternatively colored Bow-Appliqued Lace Jersey Tee by RED Valentino[27] (no longer available).
  • BRAND INFO: Emma is wearing[28] a Coach Cashmere Solid Knit Hat in Gray[29] (no longer available). She wears the same headgear in the next episode, "Quiet Minds."[30]
  • SECONDHAND CLOTHING: Rapunzel's yellow dress[31] is the same outfit that Guinevere wears for her birthday celebration in the Season Five episode "The Broken Kingdom."[32]
  • SECONDHAND CLOTHING: The pink cloak worn by Rapunzel when she escapes the tower[34] is the same cloak worn by Isla in the scene where she pours mud on Gothel in the Season Seven episode "Flower Child."[35] For Isla's scene, the white fur trimming on Rapunzel's cloak was replaced with golden fabric and the golden clasp was replaced with a similar but different clasp.

Filming Locations

  • Some of the outdoor scenes with Josh Dallas were filmed on a foresty mountaintop in mud and snow over the course of a week.[36]
  • The scenes at the bottom of Rapunzel's tower were filmed in Burnaby's Central Park.[37] The bottom of the tower was a real set set, while the rest was added digitally in post-production.[38] In addition, a tower set was built in studio,[39] presumably for the scenes where the characters are scaling the walls.

Goofs

  • David explains gaining knowledge about holly berries from previously working in the animal shelter and frequently seeing dogs track them. However, that appears to be unlikely to happen in a real life scenario, as holly berries are poisonous to dogs.[41]

International Titles


Videos

References

  1. Sunday Final Ratings: 'America's Funniest Home Videos', 'Once Upon a Time', 'American Dad' & 'The Mentalist' Adjusted Up; '60 Minutes', 'Revenge' & 'The Good Wife' Adjusted Down. TV by the Numbers (March 25, 2014). "Once Upon A Time (...) 6.91"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 LISTINGS: ONCE UPON A TIME. The Futon Critic. "Air Date: Sunday, March 23, 2014. Time Slot: 8:00 PM-9:00 PM EST on ABC. Episode Title: (#314) "The Tower""
  3. File:316Promo17.jpg
    File:316Promo18.jpg
    File:316Promo19.jpg
    File:316Promo20.jpg
  4. File:314Title.png
  5. Adam Horowitz (@AdamHorowitzLA) on X, formerly Twitter: Here's a #OnceUponATime #titlespoiler ! Happy holidays! (December 20, 2013). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  6. Paul Becker shows rehearsal clips from ABC's Once Upon a time with Jennifer Morrison & Josh Dallas. Pinterest. Retrieved on September 6, 2018. (screenshot)
    Editor's note: The post links to a YouTube video (original link) which used to be the source for this info, but it has since been deleted.
  7. Adams, Case (August 13, 2013). Chamomile Treats Clinical Depression and Anxiety. Realnatural. "This effect of chamomile to soothe and calm the system was also showed in a 2012 study from the Eulji University Hospital in South Korea."
  8. When Rapunzel is reunited with her parents, Belle is with the others at the queen's palace (File:314BelleEvilQueen.png) meaning that this part of "The Tower" takes place after Belle returns to the others in "A Curious Thing"
  9. File:314TheNextOne.png
  10. File:314Rotting.png
  11. File:314WhenImDead.png
  12. File:314YouKnowWhere.png
  13. File:702Book.png
  14. File:314CutRoot.png
  15. File:612FightForYourLife.png
  16. File:211BelleDagger.png
  17. Once Upon a Time - Prince Charming's Dagger Prop (Hero) also used by Belle (0163). iCollector. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved on July 5, 2020. "Aluminum hero dagger prop with brass guard and pommel. Also used by Belle."
  18. File:W102StepOne.png
    File:W103YouDontNeedMe.png
  19. Once Upon a Time - Prince Charming's (Josh Dallas) Hero Dagger Prop, also Belle and Alice (0041). iCollector. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved on October 14, 2020. "This style of dagger saw repeated use by many different characters including Belle French and Alice (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland)."
  20. File:314TheBall.png
  21. File:314MeToo.png
  22. File:321NotGoingAnywhere.png
  23. File:314MyQuiver.png
  24. 24.0 24.1 Doublet:
    File:705Yes.png
    File:705AfterTheWar.png
    Shirt:
    File:705UpASword.png
    File:705IsAFrog.png
  25. File:314EnteringStables.png
  26. File:314CanIHelpYou.png
  27. BELLE'S GREY TOP WITH POLKA DOT MESH AND BOWS ON ONCE UPON A TIME. WornOnTV. Retrieved on September 6, 2018.
  28. File:314IsntShe.png
  29. CASHMERE SOLID KNIT HAT (COACH F85318) GRAY. Tingtingchen.com. Retrieved on September 6, 2018.
  30. File:315TheEnchantedForest.png
  31. File:314WitchIsNear.png
  32. File:504GuinevereSad.png
  33. File:502Dancing.png
  34. File:314CouldBeQueen.png
  35. File:719SuchAPity.png
  36. Ginnifer Goodwin (@ginnygoodwin) on X, formerly Twitter: @joshdallas has been up on a forest-y mountaintop in mud & snow 4 a wk! Must be a big Prince Charming #OnceUponaATme ep. Hm... (December 13, 2013). (backup link; the user's account and the original post have been deleted) (archive screenshot)
  37. 37.0 37.1 Once Upon a Time: Lana Parrilla at Central Park. Vancity Filming (December 16, 2013). Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. "On what was a wet and miserable day, Lana Parrilla was on location in Central Park, Burnaby to film scenes for the fourteenth episode of the hit ABC TV Show. Lana had a cold and wasn't feeling too good, so the handful of fans who were waiting to meet her, didn't get the opportunity. But we did get to see her in some funky headwear again. It was mainly Josh Dallas filming scenes throughout the day with Colin O'Donoghue, Jennifer Morrison and new addition to the show, Alexandra Metz."
  38. Picture of deleted tweet
  39. Photograph of tower set
  40. Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis on the Season Four Blu-ray Audio Commentary for "A Tale of Two Sisters"
  41. Holly. Pet Poison Helpline. Retrieved on September 6, 2018. "Certain types of yuletide plants (e.g., mistletoe, rosemary, holly berries, etc.) can be toxic to pets. Varieties of English, Japanese, and Chinese Holly contain toxic saponins. When Christmas or English holly is ingested, it can result in severe gastrointestinal upset (e.g., vomiting, diarrhea) thanks to the spiny leaves and the potentially toxic substances (including saponins, methylxanthines, and cyanogens). If ingested, most pets lip smack, drool, and head shake excessively due to the mechanical injury from the spiny leaves. To be on the safe side, keep your yuletide plants out of reach of your dogs and cats during the holidays. If you suspect your pet has ingested holly, contact your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline for treatment recommendations."