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"Where Bluebirds Fly" is the eighteenth episode of Season Six of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by David H. Goodman & Brigitte Hales, and directed by Michael Schultz. It is the one hundred and twenty-ninth episode of the series overall, and premiered on April 23, 2017.
Synopsis
In flashback, Zelena befriends a young woodcutter who has been cursed and turns to her for help finding a new heart. Zelena is forced to choose between keeping her powers and her friendship with him. Meanwhile, in Storybrooke, Zelena decides to take on the Black Fairy and put a stop to her, once and for all, against Regina’s wishes, and the Charmings disagree over Emma and Hook’s wedding plans.[2]
Recap
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Deleted Scenes
"Wedding Lasagna" (Scene 7)
This scene is included on Once Upon a Time: The Complete Sixth Season.
An extended version of the scene where Emma and her family check out Granny's Diner as a potential location for Emma and Hook's wedding. The extended version features additional dialogue with Granny, which was cut from the episode.
Cast[2]
Starring |
Guest Starring
Co-Starring
Uncredited
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Trivia
Title
- The title card features the Emerald City.[3]
- The title of this episode was revealed by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on February 3, 2017.[4]
- MUSICAL INSPIRATION: The title of this episode is an allusion to "Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly", a lyric from Judy Garland's song "Over the Rainbow" from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
Production Notes
- PRESS RELEASE: The press release misspells Isabella Blake-Thomas's name as Isabella Black-Thomas.[2]
- The pancake scene was a late addition to the episode. According to Brigitte Hales, they "actually hadn't planned anything like that".[5]
- ABANDONED IDEAS: When Emma is making pancakes, Hook comes over and says, "Something smells delicious." In the episode script, he simply says, "Mmm... delicious."[6]
- ABANDONED IDEAS: In the episode script, Regina says, "Emma? "What are you thinking?", and Emma answers, "Maybe we can."[7] This exchange is not in the final episode.
- A segment where Mary Margaret says, "So where do we look? And is anyone else surprised Tiger Lily was a fairy?", and Zelena replies, "You can all drop dead from shock for all I care"[8] is also not in the final episode.
- ABANDONED IDEAS: When Belle and Mr. Gold are talking about their son, Belle says, "You know, this means he can be saved." In the episode script, Mr. Gold answers, "Yes. But that's not all it means."[9] This line is not in the final episode.
- For unknown reasons, the beginning scene with Emma, Hook and Mary Margaret at the Swan house was shot or reshot on the final day of filming for Season Six.[10]
- Furthermore, Emma's wrist tattoo appears and disappears continuously throughout this scene.
Event Chronology
- The Oz flashbacks occur in various places of the overall timeline.
- The first flashback take place after "Sisters", and before "It's Not Easy Being Green".
- The rest of the events take place sometimes after "Our Decay" and before "Chosen". (For more details, see the Oz timeline)
- The Storybrooke events take place after "Awake" and before "The Black Fairy". (For more details, see the Land Without Magic timeline)
Episode Connections
- Emma makes pancakes for Hook, which David suggested as something she could do in "Strange Case".
- Hook and Emma got engaged in "Awake".
- David mentions Mary Margaret's first date with Dr. Whale, an event that took place in "Snow Falls".
- David talks about how the Evil Queen crashed his and Snow White's wedding, which was shown in "Pilot", "The Thing You Love Most" and "The New Neverland".
- Mr. Gold took Mother Superior's magic to save Gideon's soul in "Ill-Boding Patterns".
- Zelena mentions how she killed Hades to save Regina in "Last Rites".
- Zelena talks about how she banished Walsh by turning him into a Flying Monkey, referring to events in "It's Not Easy Being Green".
- Zelena briefly mentions Dorothy return to Oz. which took place in "Our Decay".
- Zelena gets her magic back in "Secret Garden".
- When Zelena attacks the Black Fairy, she says, "Wicked always wins", just like she said in the final scene of "New York City Serenade".
Disney
- The fairy crystals are based on the diamonds mined by the seven dwarves in the animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (in the "Snow White" fairytale, they mine for ore and gold[11]).
Fairytales and Folklore
- This episode is rendition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz story, focusing on the Tin Man's quest for a heart and the adventures in Oz.
- Also featured is the Wicked Witch of the West, the Royal Palace Guards and the Cowardly Lion from the same story.
- This episode also features the ugly duckling from the titular fairytale, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story and the wicked fairy from the Villeneuve version of the fairytale of "Beauty and the Beast" (who is also the Beast's mother from the same story).
- The Wicked Witch of the North from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz's sequel, The Marvelous Land of Oz, is mentioned as being the one who cursed the Tin Man.
- According to the Tin Man, he chopped down a tree belonging to the Wicked Witch of the North and as punishment, she cursed him to slowly turn into a tin statue. In the novel, the character turned to tin after the Wicked Witch of the East cursed his axe to chop him up piece by piece, forcing him to replace each amputated body part with a new one made of tin, until eventually his entire body was made of metal.
- Zelena summons a cyclone to go back to Oz. In the novel, Dorothy Gale was transported to Oz by a cyclone.
- This episode features fairy dust, a substance originating in the Peter Pan story.
Set Dressing
Costume Notes
- The coat was also worn by the character Mandy Baxter on the Last Man Standing episode "The Force".[15]
- BRAND INFO: Belle is wearing[16] a Lace Trim Floral Print Silk Shirt by The Kooples[17] (no longer available).
- The uniforms worn by the guards of the Emerald Castle are inspired by the design created by Adrian Greenburg for the winkie guards in The Wizard of Oz.[20]
Filming Locations
- Parts of this episode were filmed in Everett Crowley Park in Vancouver.[21]
International Titles
International Titles | ||
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Language | Title | Translation |
French | "Plus Jamais Seule" | "Never Alone Anymore" |
German | "Zelenas Geschichte" | "Zelena's Story" |
Italian | "La magia di Zelena" | "Zelena's Magic" |
Portuguese | "Onde os Pássaros Azuis Voam" | "Where the Bluebirds Fly" |
Videos
References
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