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For the items, see Her Handsome Hero (book). |
"Her Handsome Hero" is the seventeenth episode of Season Five of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Jerome Schwartz, and directed by Romeo Tirone. It is the one hundred and fifth episode of the series overall, and premiered on April 10, 2016.
Synopsis
Belle turns to Rumplestiltskin with hope of finding a way to protect their child from Hades. However, they disagree over whether to use dark magic, as Belle forbids Rumplestiltskin from using his powers for evil. Meanwhile, Hades secretly meets with Gaston in the Underworld and encourages him to seek revenge on Rumplestiltskin. As the heroes try to find a way to defeat Hades, Emma has a terrifying nightmare that she realizes is beginning to come true. And in flashbacks, Belle and Gaston meet for the first time, but their blossoming romance comes to a halt on the eve of the Ogre wars.[2]
Recap
In the Enchanted Forest, Belle bursts into the stables asking her father why her riding lesson has been cancelled. Maurice tells her a suitor is visiting, Gaston. Belle has heard of him, and refuses to meet him, telling her father that Gaston is the vainest man in the world and she considers him a hunter of both animals and women. She turns to leave but her father stops her telling her there is a lot at stake. Ogres have began attacking the northern border. Gaston's father has a strong army, and if Belle were to marry Gaston, he would help them.
She rejects the idea, only Maurice then asks her to give Gaston a chance. Just then, Gaston walks in, and much to Belle's surprise he is sweet and understanding. He tells her he has heard much about her (all good things), but he also says that she obviously doesn't think very highly of him and he is okay with that, implying he heard everything. He turns to walk away when she stops him and says that "one walk couldn't hurt anyone."
Back in the Underworld, Emma wakes up from a nightmare where she was with Hook and Snow White trying to erase the names from the tombstones that Hades has created. Hook says he thinks something is wrong when a tornado appears. They seek shelter where Hook then says he senses a large creature nearby. Snow decides to fight the creature only to be taken. Emma then woke up. Emma tells Hook about the dream and wonders if they are visions of the future.
Regina spent the night in the library preparing a spell to break Hades' protection spell on the elevator by drawing runes all over the elevator door. Emma and Regina use their magic to open the door, which opens and reveals a brick wall instead of a way down to Hades' lair. Emma states that she believes she may be able to erase the names from the tombstone by using her magic.
Hades is waiting to see Zelena when he notices a daisy growing in the broken road and realizes the visitors have brough hope. Regina decides to talk to Zelena, who knows more about Hades rather than the others. When Regina visits Zelena, she realizes that she and Hades are in love. Zelena believes she may be Hades' only weakness.
Emma goes to the headstones to try cast the spell from her dream, only to suddenly realize that her nightmare was coming true when the same storm appears. She, Hook and Snow go to Regina's vault, where Hook, Snow, and even Regina tell Emma not to give up. Emma failed everyone but she saved Hook's life. Snow White tells Emma that love is worth it.
Meanwhile, Belle walks into Mr. Gold's shop, telling him she won't be separated from her unborn child and demands his help. He asks if this means that she accepts him as he is, she says she accepts that nobody fights for a child like a father. She does however, set down guidelines, such as no dark magic. He counters that dark and light magic are a matter of perspective. She tells him that if he wants any sort of future with her that he better do things her way.
Back in the Enchanted Forest, Belle and Gaston go for a walk. They find a young ogre trapped. Belle believes it will not hurt them and wants to let it go. Gaston agrees to leave it until they know it's okay to let it go. They return home and go to the library where they search for books.
Belle finds "An Alphabetic Inventory of Magical Antiquities," which lists all of the magical items in the kingdom. Belle reads about a mirror which reveals the evil in a person's soul. She hopes to use the mirror on the ogre to see if it means the kingdom any harm. Belle also shows Gaston her favorite book, Her Handsome Hero, and she says the story defines how a hero is supposed to act; with compassion and forgiveness. They nearly kiss, until Belle turns him down. Belle leaves to fetch the mirror and Gaston agrees to watch over the ogre.
Moments after picking up the flower in the Underworld, Hades enlist Gaston, who was working at Storybrooke Pet Shelter. Hades wanted Gaston to take down everyone, starting with Gold to try and stop hope returning to the Underworld. He gives Gaston a set of lethal arrows, which were forged in the River of Lost Souls.
When Gold and Belle attempt to look up a spell to save their child, they end up leaving in an argument over his use of Dark Magic. They are met by an arrow fired by Gaston which misses them. Gold catches the next one, even as Belle tries to mediate. Gaston tells Belle that Gold was the one who killed him as he aims another arrow. However, Gold uses magic to take him and Belle to the docks.
Belle is shocked to learn about how Gaston died. Gold hopes to use Dark Magic to defeat Gaston. Belle refuses to allow him, believing that she's meant to help Gaston move on which would solve the conflict and weaken Hades. While looking through Gaston's locker, Belle finds the book "Her Handsome Hero" and figures out that she was Gaston's unfinished business. Belle then asked Gold to leave.
However, Belle is then surprised by Hades, who showed up to give her a deal: he will destroy the contract about her child if she allows either Gaston and Gold to through the other into the River of Lost Souls.
Gaston goes to the pawnshop, to find Gold only to be confronted by Belle. She believes he still has feelings for her, only to learn that the book was only a constant reminder of why he died. Belle tells him she is Gold's wife which upsets Gaston who leaves. Belle then finds Gold and asks him to promise not to hurt Gaston.
Back in the Enchanted Forest, Maurice reveals that the ogres are now advancing on their kingdom and believes Belle's actions are to blame. He says that they cannot win - they need the help of Gaston's kingdom so Belle will have to marry Gaston to get their help. Gaston arrives and proposes to Belle, and Belle reluctantly agrees, as she believes it is the only way to save the kingdom.
At the docks, Gold uses magic to choke Gaston by the throat and was ready to send him to the River of Lost Souls until Belle gets the dagger and commands him not to hurt Gaston. He drops Gaston on the ground. However, Gaston is unable to let his vendetta against Gold go, and when he goes for his arrow, Belle accidentally knocks Gaston into the River of Lost Souls.
Unfortunately, Belle discovers that because she saved Gold, the contract allowing Hades to take their baby was still in effect, as it had to be Gold to knock Gaston into the River of Lost Souls, not Belle. He then looks at a withering daisy flower that he picks up and is delighted that it means hope was fading away. The flower later shows up at Granny's Diner, as a gift to Zelena from Hades.
Emma, Regina, Hook, and Snow decide to return to the tombstone and see where Emma's dream leads. They chase down the beast in the woods that Emma believes to be the same one from the dream, and uses her magic to stop it. When they reach the creature, they are shocked to find a wolf, only to learn from Snow as she put Ruby's cloak on a big bad wolf; it's actually Ruby, who has shown up in the Underworld. She does not know whether she is still alive. Snow tells Emma that her dream was actually a vision pointing them to Ruby.
Cast[2]
Starring
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Guest Starring
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Trivia
Title
- The title card features an ogre running in the woods.[3]
- The title of this episode was announced by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on January 20, 2016.[4]
- This episode is named after the book that Colette read to Belle when she was young. The book first appears in "Skin Deep,"[5] and is first seen in close-up in "Family Business."[6]
Production Notes
- CAST NOTES: This episode is one of seven episodes of the entire series to not feature a co-starring cast member. The other are "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree," "Red-Handed," "The Stable Boy," "Into the Deep," "A Curious Thing" and "Poor Unfortunate Soul."
- CAST NOTES: Wes Brown replaced Sage Brocklebank as Gaston for this episode.
- ADDED RECAP FOOTAGE: The "Skin Deep" shots of Gaston in the recap were re-filmed with Wes Brown.
- The line, "I am Sir Gaston, and you, beast, have taken..." was changed to "I am Sir Gaston, and you, beast, have taken my love."
- The new line is based on the version that was originally scripted for the Season One episode "Skin Deep," where Gaston says, "I am sir Gaston. I fight for honor. For freedom. For love. And you, Beast, have taken my love. That shall not stand. For now you will taste the cold steel of my blade ––."[7]
- REUSED FOOTAGE: The same establishing shot of Maurice's castle is used in the Season One episode "Skin Deep,"[8] the Season Four episode "Family Business"[9] and "Her Handsome Hero,"[10] but with different color hues and clouds.
- The CGI model for the library in Maurice's castle, which was also briefly seen in the Season Four episode "Family Business," is modeled on the Clementinum library in Prague. The curved ceiling with frescoes and the Solomonic columns (characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew) have the same shape and design.[11]
- RECYCLED CGI SET: The same CGI model is later recycled and re-used for the interior of the Count of Monte Cristo's estate in "A Bitter Draught," which feature the same kind of columns,[12] ceiling[13] and windows[14] as Maurice's library.
- Emilie de Ravin wished to perform the horse-riding scene herself, since she is an animal lover and "everyone else" was riding horses. However, since the actor was seven months pregnant when the episode was filmed, most of the horse riding was written out and a riding double was used to film the scene.[15]
Event Chronology
- The Enchanted Forest flashbacks take place before "Family Business." (For more details, see the Enchanted Forest timeline)
- The Underworld events take place after "Our Decay" and before "Ruby Slippers."
Episode Connections
- Gaston was killed by Rumplestiltskin in "Skin Deep."
- Belle and Zelena arrived in the Underworld in "Our Decay."
- Zelena's relationship with Hades was explored in "Our Decay."
- Mr. Gold uses his Dark One powers to catch an arrow in flight, just like the two previous Dark Ones, Emma and Hook, did in "The Dark Swan" and "Broken Heart" respectively.
- Gaston claims the best way to kill an ogre is by shooting at its eye. This is seen to work in "Lady of the Lake" when Mary Margaret saves Emma from an ogre attack.
- The repercussions of the Ogre War between the Ogres and Maurice's kingdom is shown in "Family Business" and "Skin Deep."
Disney
- Belle, Gaston and Maurice are characters of the same names as in Disney's 1991 film Beauty and the Beast. LeFou, the man who likes to spread tall tales to embarrass Gaston, is a reference to Gaston's sidekick from the movie.
- This episode contains a number of other references to Disney works. See the list of Disney references for more.
Fairy Tales and Folklore
- This episode features the ugly duckling from the titular fairy tale, Beauty and the merchant from the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale, Hades from Greek mythology, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz story, and Red Riding Hood from the "Little Red Riding Hood" fairy tale.
- The Underworld from Greek mythology also appears.
- HIDDEN DETAILS: A statue of a griffin can be seen on top of the grave that Hook, Emma and Mary Margaret are hiding behind.[16] A griffin is a legendary creature which has the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a lion.
- Also featured is an ogre (a species that Belle's people is at war with), which are creatures from European mythology.[17]
- When Belle is talking to Gaston in the backroom of the Underbrooke pawnshop, a rose arrangement in a metal vase is sitting on a table;[18] a reference to the rose that Beauty's father steals from the Beasts's garden in the fairy tale of "Beauty and the Beast."
- The Mirror of Souls is a reference to the mirror from the fairy tale of "Beauty and the Beast." On Once Upon a Time, it shows whether someone has evil in their soul. In the fairy tale, it allows Beauty to see the Beast while she's away.
- HIDDEN DETAILS: In order to secure the kingdom's future during the Ogre War, Belle accepts her betrothal to Gaston even though it is an arranged marriage and she learns that he has evil in his soul. According to some people, the original version of "Beauty and the Beast" by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve can be read as a tale intended to prepare young brides of eighteenth century France for an arranged marriage. At the time, women in France had few legal rights and arranged marriages were common, with young girls being married off around the ages of fourteen or fifteen, often to men who were decades older than them. The Beast can be read as representing a young girl's fear of their future married prospect: Would the man abuse her, would he be a monster? Or could she learn to love her husband and accept her fate. Alternatively, the story can be read as critique of arranged marriages and women's lack of freedom in the arranged marriage system.[19]
- Ruby is transported to the Underworld by a cyclone, similar to the way Dorothy Gale was transported to Oz in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
- Ruby is a werewolf, a creature from European mythology.[20]
Props Notes
- REUSED PROPS: The sword Gaston is using during the ogre skirmishes[21] is the same sword King Fergus is using during the Battle for DunBroch in "The Bear King."[22][23]
- REUSED PROPS: A statue of a griffin can be seen on top of the grave that Hook, Emma and Mary Margaret are hiding behind.[24] The same statue can be seen on Pleasure Island in the Season Six episode "Murder Most Foul," among the gargoyles that children throw bottles at.[25] It can also be seen, painted in a different color, in Gothel's garden in the Season Seven episode "Eloise Gardener."[26]
- MYSTERIOUS WRITINGS: Most of the symbols that Regina draw on the Underbrooke library elevator, are Elder Futhark runes:[27]
- The top symbols, ᛈᛟᚱᛏᚨᛚ (with a pentacle between them), translate as "portal."
- The ones in the middle, around the locks, ᚨᛋ ᚨᛒᛟᚹᛖ ᛋᛟ ᛒᛖᛚᛟᚹ, translate as "as above, so below." This is a well-known occult maxim from the Emerald Tablet, an ancient, mysterious tablet which is one of the pillars of Western alchemy, and is said to be inscribed with the secrets of the universe. This tablet is one of the texts that form the basis of Hermeticism. In Fulcanelli's translation, the full maxim reads: " As below, so above; and as above so below. With this knowledge alone you may work miracles."[28]
- The ones going down the right side of the door, next to the door frame, spell out "ᛒᛖ ᛁᛏ ᚹᛖ ᚹᛁᛚᛚ," meaning "be it we will."
- The symbols at the bottom right, ᛋᛟ ᛒᛖ ᛁᛏ, translate as "so be it."
- The word that Regina is writing when Hook and Emma come in, is ᛞᛟᛗᚢᛋ, which translates as "domus," which is Latin for house, home.
- A pentacle (a pentagram with a circle around it) is inscribed at the top of the door. The pentagram and the pentacle have historically been used by occult faiths and magicians,[29] and today, the pentagram is used as a symbol for Wicca, Witchcraft, and Paganism.[30]
- PAUSE AND READ: The text in Mr. Gold's spell book[31] is adapted from excerpts from the online article "Magic Circles & Spells on the website TheSmartWitch.com[32] (note that most of the text has been shrunken down to fit within the table):
| Once you are ready to use your magical energy, you must be able to concentrate. You must be able to focus intently and visualize the magic. What you want to happen must be perfectly clear in your mind. |
You are ready to use your own magical ability. You must be able to concentrate. You must be able to focus intensity and visualize the magic. What you want to happen must be perfectly clear in your mind. |
| When you perform a magical act, you will build up a massive amount of energy with your powers of concentration, then, when that energy is most intense, you will send it out to work for you. (...) |
In performing a magical act, you will build up a massive cone of energy with your powers at intention, then when that energy is at its zenith, you will send it out to work for you and effect physical changes in the material realm. |
| I will continually remind you of the basic witches' principle: whatever energy or action is sent out, whether it be negative or positive, will be returned to you in kind. If you send out positive energies, you will get positive energies in return. It's akin to tossing a pebble into a pond – every positive ripple you send out has the potential to affect many and much. In this way, your life will continually expand and improve. |
I feel the need to remind you of the [two illegible words] principle: whatever energy or intention is sent out, whether it be ill or good, it will be returned to you in kind, three-fold. If you send out positive energies you will will get positive energies in return. It's akin to [illegible word] a rock into a pool of water. Energy positive [two illegible words] send out has the potential [three illegible words] and [two illegible words] this way, your life will [illegible word] expand and [illegible word]. |
- The "cone of energy" is a reference to the cone of power, a method of raising energy in ritual magic. Traditionally, this is done by a group, although it can also be done without the assistance of other people. As energy is raised, a cone forms above the wielder(s). When the magic reaches its apex, that energy is sent out en masse, directed towards whatever magical purpose is being worked on.[33]
- The principle of magic energies being returned to the wielder three-fold, is a reference to the Rule of Three, a tenet held by people in some magical traditions, primarily Wiccans. It states that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times.[34]
- ARTWORKS: The accompanying illustration[35] is from an eighteenth century demonology book called Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros (link to page), which roughly translates as A rare summary of the entire Magical Art by the most famous Masters of this Art. The book is dated to around 1775 and is written in German and Latin by an unknown author.[36] The picture is one of the book's many watercolor illustrations of grotesque demonic figures up to all sorts of appropriately demonic activities,[36] which is rather ironic, as Mr. Gold's book is supposed to be a spell book about light magic. Note that the illustration has been modified for the show: For example, the skulls and crossbones that adorn the table in the original illustration, have been removed, and the partially topless demon from the original is now fully dressed.
- USE IT AGAIN: The same illustration can be seen when Mr. Gold flips through the spell book in "Ruby Slippers."[37]
- Another page contains text from Lorem ipsum,[38] a filler text commonly used as mock-content when testing a given page layout or font. Lorem ipsum consists of badly garbled Latin, based on sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of De finibus bonorum et malorum ("On the ends of good and evil"), a philosophical work by the Roman philosopher Cicero. Lorem isum is often used when previewing the layout of a document, as the use of more understandable text could easily distract the user from the layout being examined.[39] While many forms of Lorem ipsum exists, the show uses a version that can be found on several online websites, including this French page about typography.
- USE IT AGAIN: The exact same text can be seen in the book Her Handsome Hero when Belle is flipping through it in "Ruby Slippers."[40]
- PAUSE AND READ: A page in An Alphabetized Inventory of Magical Antiquities says:[41]
can unleash written words
to become real objects
- 3″ x 7″
Simply place the glass over any text
and by saying the lines,
"Abracadabra.. Abracadabr.. A"
Mirror of Souls: If
someone has evil in their
souls, it will be revealed
in this mirror's gaze
Their eyes will glow
with demonic fire
- Size: Approx. 17″ x 19″
Set Dressing
- HIDDEN DETAILS: A map of the United States of America, listing animal shelter spending by state, is pinned to a board at the Underbrooke pet shelter.[42]
- USE IT AGAIN: A tall drinking glass with thin branches twisting around it is sitting on the table in the corner of the Underbrooke Mills mausoleum.[43] It is the Underworld version of a drinking glass sitting on the table next to the daybed in the Evil Queen's chambers in several episodes.[44]
- USE IT AGAIN: When Belle is talking to Gaston in the backroom of the Underbrooke pawnshop, a rose arrangement in a metal vase is sitting on a table.[18] It is an Underworld duplicate of a decoration in the foyer in Rumplestiltskin's castle in the Season One episode "Heart of Darkness"[45] and the Season Six premiere "The Savior."[46]
Filming Locations
- The scene where Maurice and Belle find an "injured" Gaston was filmed in Lynn Canyon Park in the District of North Vancouver.[47]
Goofs
- When Belle is riding through the forest, you can see the face of Emilie de Ravin's riding double.[48]
International Titles
| International Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Title | Translation |
| Finnish | "Hänen komea sankarinsa" | "Her Handsome Hero" |
| French | "La Rivière des Âmes Perdues" | "The River of Lost Souls" |
| German | "Die Oger und allerhand Helden" | "The Ogre and all sorts of Heroes" |
| Italian | "Il suo aitante eroe" | "Her Handsome Hero" |
| Polish | "Jej przystojny bohater" | "Her Handsome Hero" |
| Portuguese | "Seu belo herói" | "Her handsome hero" |
| Spanish | "Su apuesto héroe" | "Her Handsome Hero" |
Videos
References
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