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Mary Margaret: When we went to rescue Regina, we found a room full of new storybooks.
David: And let's just say for each and every one of us, he's crafted a terrible fate. One that's designed to pierce our hearts and break our spirits.

Mary Margaret and David src

Wish Rumplestiltskin's Once Upon a Time Books are magical items featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. They appear in the twenty-second episode of the seventh season.

History

After Fifth Curse

Wish Rumplestiltskin makes a new spell, one which allows him to create storybooks for "every hero in every realm" to entrap each of them in alternate realms where they live out unhappy endings. Since potent darkness within the Author is needed to open the portals to the realms, the Dark One has the Wish Blue Fairy brought in as a test subject for the spell. Rumplestiltskin carefully guides Sir Henry into reliving how satisfying it was for him when he cut Roni earlier with his knife, to which a vortex opens and pulls the Blue Fairy into it. He explains to Henry how the books will condemn the others to the same fate and says that once Henry kills Roni, their faiths will be sealed.

When David and Mary Margaret rescue Roni from Sir Henry's dungeon, they find the storybooks and bring them to the castle. Regrouping with the other heroes in the castle's war council room, Mary Margaret and David explain that the storybooks will condemn each person to alternate realms where they will live out their unhappy endings. As everyone has a chance to look through their own storybooks, David explains that although the stories are complete, they can still work to prevent Rumplestiltskin from making the realms real. While everyone else works on preventing the realms from becoming real, Roni attempts to steer Sir Henry away from the path of vengeance by telling him about the family he still has in her realm who can help him heal from his pain. Henry refuses as he believes only her death can satisfy him. As Roni reluctantly duels with him, the darkness in Henry's blood reaches a boiling point, enabling Wish Rumplestiltskin to open Weaver, Tilly, Margot, Rogers, and Henry's prison portals. The storybook pages turn in the wind as everyone hangs onto a table to prevent themselves from being sucked into the portals. When Alice loses her grip, Rogers grabs onto his daughter's hand to prevent her from being sucked in, although this gives him excruciating pain. The portals close without absorbing any of them after Roni persuades Sir Henry to turn away from his darkness. ("Leaving Storybrooke")


Trivia

On-Screen Notes

[image begins] tiger? Snow
[image begins] Cave of Wonders?
[image begins] with a deep, rumbling,
[image begins]bs my slumber?" the
[image begins]ow faced him uncertain-
[image begins] is not treasure that I
[image begins]" The Tiger con-
[image begins] allow you to pass.
[image begins] [two illegible words] never see the open
[image begins]ought. It seemed
[image begins] [two illegible words] jaws of this
[image begins] [illegible word]? Perhaps if she
[image begins] should be clear again
[image begins] her way out of
[image begins] thanked the
[image begins] she walked into
[obscured]
  • Fittingly enough, the illustration shows Snow White in the middle of a desert, presumably Agrabah as the Cave of Wonders is located there. The caption beneath the illustration reads, "The shifting sands had Snow disorientated and heartsick with yearning."[8]
  • The story is based on Disney's Aladdin, where the Cave of Wonders is guarded by a spirit with the shape of a tiger's head. The cave can only be entered by a chosen individual and anyone else who makes attempts to enter are given a warning by the tiger. If they try to enter the cave anyway, they are killed by the spirit.
  • When Roni opens her own book, a micro-excerpt from the "Cinderella" fairy tale can be glimpsed.[9]
  • The illustration of Roni shows her sitting alone on a rock by the ocean, with a shipwreck in the background. The caption reads "Regina knew the most important thing was not to lose hope. She would see her son again.[1]
  • Kelly's book contains an illustration of Zelena looking out the porthole of the Nautilus. The caption reads "“I hate fish and I have no desire to live like one,” Zelena thought as she looked out the porthole."[10]
  • When the portals to the storybook realms are open and everyone hangs on to prevent themselves from being sucked in, pages from the storybooks are turning in the wind: ("Leaving Storybrooke")
    WishRumplesPrisonBooksArthurRackham

    "The Sleeping Princess"

    • One page contains a blurred illustration of Sleeping Beauty lying on a bed.[11] It is called "The Sleeping Princess" and is from the 1916 fairy tale collection The Allies' Fairy Book, illustrated by the famous book English book illustrator Arthur Rackham.
    • One book contains an excerpt from the Grimm fairy tale "Little Sister and Little Brother".[12]
      • The opposite page contains another excerpt from "The Pink".[12] The same excerpt can also be seen in the storybook lying next to Weaver.[13]
    • Another page contains a blurred excerpt from the "Cinderella" fairytale.[14]
      • The opposite page contains another excerpt from "Little Brother and Little Sister".[14]
    • A third excerpt from "The Pink" can be glimpsed on another page.[15]
    • Yet another excerpt from "The Pink" is printed in the storybook next to Rogers.[16]

Props Notes

  • For David, Rogers and Lucy's prison books, green fields were used so that the illustrations could be digitally added in post-production. According to a prop photograph from an online auction, the captions read:[17]
  • "Charming knew exactly where he was, and yet had never felt so lost."
  • "Captain Hook climbed atop a large mushroom and surveyed the land around him."
  • "“My hair will never grow long enough. Not in a thousand years,” thought Lucy."
  • Another prop photograph from the online auction offers a glimpse of Lucy's story:[18]
Lucy looked out the window one more
time. That makes about a thousand
[obscured] despon-
[obscured]
[…]
pacing the room and exploring every inch of it for a way
out. She wondered if she'd cry herself to sleep tonight
and wowed that she would not. She wouldn't give
[obscured]
  • It also contains an excerpt from Rogers' story:[18]
Captain Hook had fought his way out of a hundred
of skirmishes. He was quite experienced in the common
tavern brawl. And the Jolly Roger had been boarded by
enemy pirates more times than he liked [obscured]
[obscured]
[…]
Bread-and-Butterflies large enough to swallow a grown
man whole. But with his cutlass by his side, this seemed
like a fight that he [obscured]
[obscured]
  • A behind the scenes photograph posted by Keegan Connor Tracy on Twitter reveals that the Wish Blue Fairy's prison book from "Leaving Storybrooke" shows Blue crying in a forest. The caption reads "The Blue Fairy soon realized she wasn't in her home anymore".[19]

Appearances

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 File:722ReginaMillsPage.png
  2. File:401HaveHappiness.png
  3. File:722SnowPrison2.png
  4. File:115ThroughTheBrush.png
  5. File:722ZelenaPrison.png
  6. File:3Promo3.jpg
  7. File:722SnowOpensBook.png
    Notice how the second page opens with the beginning of the fairy tale; "A long time ago there was a Queen, who had not been blessed with children. As she walked in her garden (...)", while the first page contains a different excerpt
  8. 8.0 8.1 File:722SnowPrison.png
    File:722SnowPrison2.png
    File:722SnowPrison3.png
    File:722SnowPrison4.png
    File:722SnowPrison5.png
    File:722SnowPrison6.png
    File:722SnowPrison7.png
  9. File:722RoniOpensBook.png
    This is the excerpt in its entirety, with the words that can be glimpsed in the book set in bold:

    "the step-mother said, "If thou canst pick two dishes of*
    lentils out of the ashes for me in one hour, thou shalt go with us." And she
    thought to herself, "That she most certainly cannot do."
    When the step-mother had emptied the two dishes of lentils
    amongst the ashes, the maiden went through the"

    *Note that the book contains a misprint: Between row one and two, the words "went through the" appear, even though they are supposed to appear – and do appear – later in the excerpt
  10. File:722ZelenaPrison.png
    Picture of the Nautilus for comparison: File:606Underwater.png
  11. File:722PagesTurn.png
    File:722PagesTurn2.png
  12. 12.0 12.1 File:722PagesTurn3.png
    File:722PagesTurn4.png
    "Little Sister and Little Brother": Notice how the page on the left opens with "The little sister said, “Oh, I pray you, dear little brother, do not drink, or you will become a roe, and run away from me.” But the little brother had knelt by the brook, and had bent down and drunk some of the water, and as soon as the first drops touched his lips he lay there a young roe."
    "The Pink": Notice how the opposite page opens with the beginning of the fairy tale; "There was once a Queen, who had not been blessed with children. As she walked in her garden, she prayed every morning that a son or a daughter might be given to her."
  13. File:722WeaverHoldingOn.png
    File:722WeaverHoldingOn2.png
  14. 14.0 14.1 File:722PagesTurn5.png
    "Cinderella": Look for the words "pick, pick" and and a slightly re-worded version of "Then the girl took the dish to her step-mother, and was glad, and believed that now she would be allowed to go with them to the festival. But the step-mother said, “No, Cinderella, you have no clothes and you can not dance. You would only be laughed at.”
    "Little Sister and Little Brother": Notice how the opposite page starts with the opening of the fairy tale: "Little brother took his little sister by the hand and said, “Since our mother died we have had no happiness. Our step-mother beats us every day, and if we come near her she kicks us away with her foot. Our meals are the hard crusts of bread that are left over. And the little dog under the table is better off, for she often throws it a choice morsel. God pity us, if our mother only knew. Come, we will go forth together into the wide world.”"
  15. File:722PagesTurn6.png
    Notice how the text in the upper right hand corner on page 2 begins with "the idea came to him one day that the Prince might wish to go to his father some time, and he would thereby be placed in a very awkward position. So he took the maiden aside, and said to her, “Tonight, when the boy is asleep, go and drive this knife into his heart. Then bring me his heart and his tongue. If you fail to do it, you will lose your own life.”
  16. File:722RogersHoldingOn.png
    File:722RogersHoldingOn2.png
    File:722RogersHoldingOn3.png
    First page: Look for "The Prince stayed on at the castle for a time, thinking of his mother, and wondering if she was still alive. At last he said to the maiden, “I am going into my own country. If you like you can go with me; I will take you.” She answered, “Alas! it is so far off, and what should I do in a strange country where I know no one?”.
    Second page: Opens with (note that many of the words are off-screen; this is the text in its entirety) "The King was furious when he saw him, and ordered him to be thrown into the deepest dungeon. Then the huntsman said further, “My father, would you like to see the maiden who so tenderly saved my life when she was ordered to kill me, although by so doing she might have lost her own life?” The King answered, “Yes, I will gladly see her.” Then his son said, “Gracious father, I will show her to you first in the guise of a beautiful flower.” He put his hand into his pocket, and brought out the pink. It was a finer one than the King had ever seen before. Then his son said, “Now, I will show her to you in her true form.”"
  17. "Rumplestiltskin" Storybook pages written for "Snow White", "Regina", and "Zelena"".. icollector.com. Retrieved on December 1, 2018. (Photograph)
  18. 18.0 18.1 Storybook pages from Once Upon a Time.. iCollector. Retrieved on December 8, 2018. (Photograph)
  19. TwitterLogo @keegolicious (Keegan Connor Tracy) on X, formerly Twitter. "You would cry too if you got sucked into a vortex. AGAIN" (archive screenshot) (photograph)
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