For the Season Seven episode, see "The Girl in the Tower." For the building, see the both iterations: Rapunzel's tower and Gothel's tower. |
"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
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
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Guest Starring
Co-Starring
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Trivia
Title
- The title card features Rapunzel's tower.[4]
- The title of this episode was announced by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on December 20, 2013.[5]
Production Notes
- During rehearsals for their dance scene, Jennifer Morrison and Josh Dallas were coached by choreographer, Paul Becker.[6]
- REAL WORLD FACTS: Zelena serves Mary Margaret some chamomile tea, saying that it's "excellent for the nerves." Chamomile, an old medical herb, can actually be used to reduce stress, and has been stated to have a soothing and calming effect.[7]
Event Chronology
- The Enchanted Forest flashbacks occur in various places of the overall timeline.
- The first part of the story where Prince Charming finds out that Snow White is pregnant occur after "The Jolly Roger" and before Belle returns to the others in "A Curious Thing."
- The second part of the story occur after Belle returns to the others in "A Curious Thing"[8] and 8 months before the casting of the Dark Curse in "A Curious Thing."
- The Storybrooke events take place after "Witch Hunt" and before "Quiet Minds." (For more details, see the Land Without Magic timeline)
Episode Connections
- The Royal Castle and the magic wardrobe first appeared in "Pilot."
- How Zelena came to possess the Dark One Dagger and the reason for the voices in Mr. Gold's head is revealed in "Quiet Minds."
- Zelena tells Mr. Gold about her relationship with her adoptive father, which is shown in "It's Not Easy Being Green."
- Emma mentions the Wicked Witch breaking into Regina's office, which occurred in "Witch Hunt."
- Both Regina and Hook allude to the events in "Witch Hunt," in which town residents began turning into flying monkeys.
- Emma recalls the lie she told Henry that their trip to Storybrooke is work-related, which occurred in "New York City Serenade."
- Belle states that Mr. Gold died, which happened in "Going Home."
- Zelena mentions meeting Mary Margaret at Granny's Diner in "Witch Hunt."
- David mentions his time working at the pet shelter, which began in "Desperate Souls."
- Robin Hood receives gold-tipped arrows for helping Regina break into her palace, which occurred in "Witch Hunt."
- Robin Hood references the death of Roland's mother, Marian, which was first mentioned in "The Heart of the Truest Believer."
- Mary Margaret mentions, during her life as Snow White, how she robbed Prince Charming's carriage and he later entrapped her in a net, which occurred in "Snow Falls."
- Zelena states Mary Margaret has already been in labor once, which occurred in "Pilot."
- Zelena brings up to David the matter in which he lost his first child the day the Dark Curse was cast, an event shown in "Pilot."
- chamomile tea is used to make someone ingest a magical substance, again, in "Changelings."
- What Hook is hiding from Emma, is revealed in "The Jolly Roger."
- Hook references Emma's ex-boyfriend, Walsh, who was introduced in "New York City Serenade."
- Hook speaks of Walsh proposing to Emma and her discovery of his true identity in "New York City Serenade."
- Snow White remembers losing Emma twice, once during the day the Dark Curse was cast in "Pilot," and when they were sent back to the Enchanted Forest in "Going Home."
- Mary Margaret's desire for a second child was first mentioned in "Ariel."
Disney
- When Rapunzel's doppelganger enters the tower, the doppelganger ties up Prince Charming with Rapunzel's hair, just like Disney's Rapunzel does with Flynn Rider in the movie Tangled.
- This episode contains a number of other references to Disney works. See the list of Disney references for more.
Lost
- There are close-ups of Zelena's[9] and Mr. Gold's eyes[10] as she shaves him, a recurring theme on Lost.
Fairytales and Folklore
- This episode is a rendition of the "Rapunzel" fairytale, focusing on Rapunzel's entrapment in her tower.
- Also featured are Rapunzel's parents from the same story, while Prince Charming takes the place of the prince.
- This episode features the ugly duckling from the titular fairytale, the evil queen, the prince and Snow White from the "Snow White" fairytale, Robin Hood from the ballads, and Beauty from the "Beauty and the Beast" fairytale.
- 🍎 APPLES: A bowl of red apples is sitting on the table in Regina's office,[11] a reference to the evil queen's weapon of choice in the "Snow White" story.
- When Emma finds Zelena's farmhouse, she says that people have to appreciate the irony; a reference to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, where the Wicked Witch's adversary, Dorothy Gale, lives in a farmhouse.
Popular Culture
- Regina says to David, "If you want to waste your time playing Nancy Drew, be my guest," a reference to the titular character of the book series of the same name.
- In the Season Seven episode "A Pirate's Life," Weaver finds the Nancy Drew book The Secret of the Golden Pavilion in Henry's apartment.[12]
- Henry mentions that Emma used to buy him gelato in Little Italy, a neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City.
- Henry also mentions that Emma "wouldn't take a job in Queens if it meant I'd miss school"; a reference to one of the five boroughs of New York City.
- There is a bicycle with a basket on Zelena's porch, which references Miss Gulch, the Wicked Witch of the West's Kansas counterpart from the 1939 The Wizard of Oz film, who has a similar bicycle.
Prop Notes
- REUSED PROPS: The dagger Prince Charming is wielding during his quest for night root[13] is the same dagger his cursed counterpart is using in the Season Six episode "Murder Most Foul."[14] The weapon is also used by Belle in the Season Two episode "The Outsider"[15][16] and by Alice in several episodes of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.[17][18]
Costume Notes
- HIDDEN DETAILS: The dress Emma wears in Prince Charming's nightmare has swan-like feathers.[19]
- Emma's tiara[20] is the same one worn by Emma at King Midas' ball in "Snow Drifts."[21]
- SECONDHAND CLOTHING: The brown doublet and white undershirt worn by Prince Charming in this episode[22] (and several others) was later worn by Robert in the Season Seven episode "Greenbacks."[23] Robert's west[23] is closely modeled on the west Charming wears over the doublet in the same episodes.[24]
- BRAND INFO: Belle is wearing[25] an alternatively colored Bow-Appliqued Lace Jersey Tee by RED Valentino[26] (no longer available).
- BRAND INFO: Emma is wearing[27] a Coach Cashmere Solid Knit Hat in Gray[28] (no longer available). She wears the same headgear in the next episode, "Quiet Minds."[29]
- SECONDHAND CLOTHING: Rapunzel's yellow dress[30] is the same outfit that Guinevere wears for her birthday celebration in the Season Five episode "The Broken Kingdom."[31]
- The dress is also worn by an attendee of the ball held at the Camelot castle in the Season Five episode "The Price."[32]
- SECONDHAND CLOTHING: The pink cloak worn by Rapunzel when she escapes the tower[33] is the same cloak worn by Isla in the scene where she pours mud on Gothel in the Season Seven episode "Flower Child."[34] 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.[35]
- The scenes at the bottom of Rapunzel's tower were filmed in Burnaby's Central Park.[36] The bottom of the tower was a real set set, while the rest was added digitally in post-production.[37] In addition, a tower set was built in studio,[38] presumably for the scenes where the characters are scaling the walls.
- RECYCLED SET: The set used to film the interior of Rapunzel's tower also doubles as the dungeon where Rumplestiltskin tortures Robin Hood in the Season Two episode "Lacey," and the Arendelle castle tower where Anna tries on the wedding dress in the Season Four premiere "A Tale of Two Sisters."[39]
- Central Park also doubles as Storybrooke for the scene with Henry and Regina by the duck pond, the scene with Emma and Hook in the forest, and the scene where Emma, Hook, Regina and David walk through the forest at the end of the episode.[36]
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.[40]
International Titles
International Titles | ||
---|---|---|
Language | Title | Translation |
Finnish | "Torni" | "The Tower" |
French | "Le Fantôme de la Peur" | "The Ghost of Fear" |
German | "Rapunzels Turm der Angst" | "Rapunzel's Tower of Fear" |
Hungarian | "A torony" | "The Tower" |
Italian | "La torre" | "The Tower" |
Portuguese | "A Torre" | "The Tower" |
Spanish | "La Torre" | "The Tower" |
Videos
References
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