Recap / Once Upon A Time S6 E10 "Wish You Were Here"

Season 6, Episode 10:

Wish You Were Here

Emma's offhand wish to have never become the Savior is granted by the Evil Queen, sending her back to the Enchanted Forest, where Regina must remind her of who she is. Belle and Rumplestiltskin desperately try to seek out their missing son, while David makes a wish that also comes with a steep price.

Tropes

• Age Lift: For just about everyone who isn't magical in the Enchanted Forest (such as Granny and the Dwarves) but done especially superbly for Snow and Charming.
• Alternate Universe: Because truly undoing everything that's occurred since she became the Savior would be incredibly epic and difficult (and, per the episode, impossible to undo with another wish), Emma's "life without being the Savior" is constructed as one of these back in the Enchanted Forest. Also, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland already established that actually changing the past is one of the things genies can't do.
• Back from the Dead: Robin via the fantasy world. Also Stealthy!
• Bad "Bad Acting": When Regina does her impersonation of the Evil Queen at court to wake Emma up, she does quite a good job at sounding and acting menacing… in between bursts of frustration, expectant or exasperated looks and long, awkward pauses due to Emma's unresponsiveness. Even when she confronts Emma alone, her charade soon turns into a motivational speech rather than a threat.
• Bait-and-Switch:
  • After Regina kidnaps Wish Snow and Charming, Henry appeals to Emma as to what to do and she responds, as of old, "Don't worry, I've got this, kid." But when she shows up to face Regina later, all she does is offer her the key to the kingdom and beg mercy, showing she has not yet remembered the truth and regained her Savior status.
  • The hooded figure appears right after Regina lets Wish Rumple out of his cell in exchange for a magic bean implying that the figure is him. Then the figure turns the Evil Queen into a cobra making us think he's Jafar... but he turns out to be Gideon.
  • When Gold tries to find his son only for him to have vanished, the viewer would be forgiven for thinking this has something to do with what's happened to Emma (i.e. history changing) or that Blue protected him, but it turns out to be completely unrelated.
• Balance Between Good and Evil: Implied by Wish Rumple when he tells Regina how Emma became the Savior in the first place: that there cannot be a hero without a villain.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: All over the place. Emma's thoughtless wish-phrasing to Aladdin back in episode six comes back to haunt her; the Evil Queen gets everything she wants, but because she is Regina, Regina can too; David's wish does give the Evil Queen what she deserved (delayed) but also results in Gideon appearing in town as the Hooded Figure to kill Emma; and Regina finding a chance to be with Robin again traps her and Emma in an alternate reality.
• Berserk Button:
  • Seeing the Evil Queen at Robin's grave boasting that his death was "the best thing to free me" is enough for Regina to ignite a fireball.
  • The Evil Queen mocking the Charming's current predicament causes Emma to charge at her.
• Beware the Nice Ones: We're not exactly sure where Rumple comes on the scale of 'good' and 'bad' at this point, but his threat to the Evil Queen is something we know he'll carry out.
• Bling of War: Wish Henry has some rather awesome armor for his knighting ceremony.
• Brain Bleach: Both Regina herself and Aladdin are disgusted with the Evil Queen's attempts to make use of the "master-slave" relationship. Aladdin actually says "eww" when she touches him.
• Can't Live Without You: Subverted as the Evil Queen snaps nothing can be done to her without hurting Regina. However, when Emma's sword cuts her cheek and nothing happens to Regina, it turns out the sword can kill her.
• Cliffhanger: This episode does a triple.
  • Regina and Emma miss their chance to escape the alternate world (where Henry is out to kill Regina and Rumple is on the loose) because of encountering a living Robin Hood.
  • The Hooded Figure has appeared in Storybrooke to kill Emma and revealed itself to be Gideon, grown and turned to evil by the Black Fairy.
  • Because Jasmine and Aladdin went to Agrabah, the residents of Storybrooke have no real defense against Gideon except Gold (or possibly Zelena or Maleficent).
• Cloudcuckoolander: Twenty eight years of imprisonment has made Rumple topple off the deep end and go skidding down the very large cliff on a sledge.
• Continuity Nod:
  • The Evil Queen uses Emma's own wish made to Aladdin four episodes ago to not be the savior against her.
  • Just as in Season 4B, an alternate universe in the Enchanted Forest is created in which Emma is trapped. Inverted in that she's the only one trapped rather than all the heroes; that where before she was the only one (other than Henry) who remembered reality, here it's Regina; and that rather than Emma (and Henry) having to save Regina, Regina must save Emma.
  • Even in this "dream" Enchanted Kingdom, Emma ended up with Baelfire, who died later on.
  • Posing as the Evil Queen, Regina crashes Henry's knighthood ceremony just as she crashed Snow and Charming's wedding in the pilot.
  • Emma blows out a blue star candle, just as she did in the pilot.
  • Regina goes to visit Rumpelstiltskin in his cell for advice, just as she did in "The Thing You Love Most".
  • To find Gideon, Gold uses not only hair from himself and Belle, but the tracking globe given him by Cora back in Season 2.
  • This isn't the first time the Evil Queen has made advances on an attractive male who's in her power. She raped Graham repeatedly, and briefly hit on Charming when he was her prisoner.
  • Before leaving for Agrabah, Aladdin gives Henry the royal scarab to give to Emma "as one Savior to another".
• Costume Porn: In the wish reality, since Emma is a princess from the beginning, she wears poofy dresses and fine robes trimmed with ermine.
• Couch Gag: The title card features the monument to Snow and Charming.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: All offscreen, but if there was any doubt as to whether the Black Fairy is stronger than Blue...
• Enemy Mine: In a sense, this is Belle and Gold working together to find their son, and based on what they discover, this partnership may have to last quite a while longer.
• Evil All Along: Gideon.
• Eviler than Thou: The hooded figure turns the Evil Queen into a cobra in a cage with a wave of its hand.
• Expendable Alternate Universe: Although not truly wishing to do it, and showing clear shock and regret on her face when she accidentally crushed their hearts, in the end Regina has no problem with having killed Wish Charming and Snow, seeing the wish universe as not real.^note Turns out subverted as Word of God is that Regina's actions cause this universe to become more real.
• Foreshadowing: Not only was Gideon's warning to Belle that he would fall to darkness a case of this, but all the talk between Regina and Henry of Robin not really being gone foreshadowed Regina getting a second (or third?) chance with him in the Alternate Universe. The Evil Queen telling Henry he's a prince in "I'll Be Your Mirror" foreshadowed him being one in the alternate reality. And the fact the Black Fairy steals children is in hindsight a very good clue as to what Gideon's fate would be.
• Genre Savvy:
  • The Evil Queen is fully aware that using a genie for selfish wishes will inevitably backfire, so instead she wishes for one of Emma's desires to be granted on the theory it'll backfire on her.
  • Likewise, when David gets the lamp, he decides not to wish for anything for himself, Emma, Snow or anyone else he cares for. When Jasmine offers to use the lamp to help Snow's curse, David refuses as it's too dangerous to mix such magics.
  • Regina knows that even if this world isn't real, letting out any version of Rumplestiltskin is a bad idea. She's right.
    Regina: I know better than to take one of your deals in any realm.
• Gone Horribly Right:
  • Regina tries to push Emma to become the savior by tearing out the hearts of Snow and Charming and then crushing them. It's not enough however... and Henry shows up to kill Regina instead.
  • Also, as they're now stuck in this reality, Regina now has to be known as the murderer of the king and queen which will make it a lot harder for her and Emma to get around. And there's now a revenge-seeking Henry hunting down his grandparents' murderer and "rescuing" his mother.
• Greater-Scope Villain: The Black Fairy who kidnapped Gideon to turn him evil.
• He Who Fights Monsters: David has a moment of worry about this, when after the wish seems to have no effect on the Evil Queen, he goes to execute her with his sword — since as he pointed out, he had wanted to execute her before but Snow had stopped him, but now without her there he seemed willing to go through with it himself. It also makes him worry this makes him like James. Foreshadowed by the grin he gave when about to make his wish being very James-like.
• Humiliation Conga: The Evil Queen gets this. Starting when the heroes find a sword that can kill her which Emma uses to cut her cheek (which she can't heal), Rumple puts a magic bracelet on her so he'll always know where she is, Regina outsmarts her by using Aladdin to go to the Wish Realm, Charming steals the lamp from her which makes him Aladdin's new master, and finally she gets turned into a snake by Gideon.
• I Gave My Word: Surprisingly, Wish Rumple does indeed show up to give Regina the magic bean. While it's unlikely he knew Robin Hood would appear (or caused it) since in this world he'd have no knowledge of their romance, the fact helping her and Emma leave would give him free rein to wreak havoc is probably why he did this.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Played with; Regina believes thanks to Rumple that the real Emma is inside and can just be snapped back into hero-Savior mode by her playing the villainous Evil Queen role to the hilt. This fails, since Emma's insecurity makes her want so strongly to be safe and happy that she's willing to simper and surrender to save her family... but when this and the deaths of the Wish Charmings inspires Henry to try and kill Regina, Emma does come back to herself — because seeing Henry become a killer while Regina refuses to hurt him so completely goes against what she believes and wants that the illusion can't survive.
• Idiot Ball: Regina grabs it the final minutes as she lets herself get distracted by Robin even though she knows the alternate Enchanted Forest is only an illusion, which means she and Emma miss their chance to go home via the magic bean.
• In Spite of a Nail: Wish Henry is still named "Henry" even though in this reality there's no reason he'd be named after the Evil Queen's father.
• Irony:
  • In the last episode, Belle wanted Mother Superior to read "Her Handsome Hero" to Gideon to help him become the greatest hero ever. Come this episode and thanks to the Black Fairy, Gideon is now set up to be one of the worst villains yet.
  • Belle was afraid using the Shears to cut Gideon off from his fate would lead him to evil. Turns out his fate was to be evil the whole time.
  • It's an alternate reality and she didn't even mean to (or want to) yet Regina did finally achieve the goal she'd once long wanted by killing Snow and David.
  • Regina spent years trying to kill Snow's dwarves. Now, she's actually happy to see them.
• I Shall Taunt You: Unlike the Evil Queen, who spends much of the episode genuinely doing this to Regina, Emma, and David, Regina is accused of this by Wish Snow and Charming when she is only amusedly marveling at their Age Lift.
• It's All About Me: The Evil Queen openly says this to the group.
• It's a Wonderful Plot: The episode looks at what Emma's life would have been like had she grown up the normal daughter of Charming and Snow in a world without the curse.
• Knighting: Regina interrupts the ceremony where Wish Henry is being knighted.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Wish Henry is a knight, as his father was in this reality, and does his best to bring justice to the kingdom, even if he doesn't know the real circumstances of what happened to his mother and grandparents.
• Make Way for the New Villains: Gideon introduces himself by turning the Evil Queen into a snake.
• Meaningful Name: Despite Belle's best intentions, it turns out Gideon's name is this as well as Foreshadowing, since it means "he that bruises or breaks; a destroyer; one who cuts down." While this could have applied to a great hero who would destroy evil, it also strongly applies to him being the villain to take out Emma — specifically because of the vision of him and her swordfighting, as well as what is at stake in the Final Battle if Emma loses/dies as revealed in the season finale.
• Midseason Twist: The Reveal at the ending that the Hooded Figure who has been haunting Emma's visions of her death for all of this season is actually a grown Gideon turned to evil by the Black Fairy, after he had appeared to them in the dream world, pleading not to let their conflicts lead him to a dark future. Also, Emma and Regina ending up in the Wish Realm so that Regina may have another chance with Robin Hood.
• Misery Builds Character: What Emma ends up concluding after she remembers herself as the Savior — that as much as the Wish Realm was a "good dream" where she was happy and had everything she ever dreamed of, the person she was there wasn't really her; that "the fighting and the pain" made her stronger and a better person.
• Mythology Gag: As they're about to depart for Agrabah, Jasmine uses Aladdin's line from the movie, asking if he trusts her.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • According to Word of God, because of her actions, Regina transformed this "wish" world into a real one. Which means she is now known as the murderer of Snow and Charming, Henry is leading forces to hunt her down, and this world's Rumple is free to work his various plans. Lampshaded by Emma noting that what Regina did, as necessary as it was, was "rather dark."
  • It is implied that the wish that David used to give the Evil Queen what she deserved is what brought Gideon to Storybrooke.
  • Also, Belle and Gold's struggles regarding their son ended up leading to the very fate for him they were trying to avoid.
• No-Sell: David wishes for the Evil Queen to "get what she deserves." As it turns out, according to her, she already has it by tearing the Charmings apart. But she does receive a punishment when the mysterious cloaked figure turns her into a snake, just delayed.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • The Evil Queen when the sword cuts her cheek but nothing happens to Regina and she (and Emma) realize the sword can kill her for real.
  • Also, her reaction when she realizes too late that because they're basically the same person, Regina is also the master of the Genie.
  • The Dwarves of the fantasy Enchanted Kingdom when they see Regina.
  • Gold, when he learns the Black Fairy took his son.
  • The gang when Grumpy reports what the Hooded Figure did to the Evil Queen.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: Grumpy runs when he sees a flash of light from Granny's.
  Grumpy: Portal! We've been portaled!
• Our Founder: Wish Snow and Charming have a statue in the woods commemorating their defeat of the Evil Queen, which is also in the episode's title card.
• Out-Gambitted: The Evil Queen boasts that she controls the Genie and Regina can't stop her. Regina, however, points out that because she and the Evil Queen are the same person, that means the Genie obeys her commands too.
• Pimped-Out Dress: Emma and Snow in the wish world have fancy ballgowns fitting their positions.
• Plot Device: The sword from Emma's visions is somehow able to circumvent the Synchronization between Regina and the Evil Queen.
• Princess Classic: This is what Emma is like in this reality. It's why she won't try to hurt Regina, no matter how far Regina tries to drive her.
• The Reveal: The Hooded Figure is Gold and Belle's grown son — Gideon.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: What Gideon warned Belle and Gold of his fate turns out to be this.
• Shout-Out:
  • The dwarves are seen humming "Heigh-Ho".
  • While still living her princess life in the Wish Realm, Emma is humming "Someday My Prince Will Come".
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: Emma's response to Regina referring to her amnesiac self as a "singing princess":
  Emma: I didn't sing... [Beat] ...that you saw.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: A variation. Realizing that the only way to wake Emma from this world is to have her embrace her destiny as the Savior, Regina takes up the act of the Evil Queen once more.
• Trapped in Another World: Because Robin Hood shows up to rob them and Regina can't resist lingering, she and Emma end up missing the magic bean portal and are now stuck in Wish Enchanted Forest.
• Wham Shot:
  • A very-much-alive Robin showing up to confront Regina and Emma.
  • The hooded figure dropping the hood and revealing himself to be an adult Gideon.
• Wistful Amnesia: Emma seems to suffer from this in the alternate reality, since her dreams indicate some part of her does still remember her real life, and the entirety of her memory comes back after Regina is nearly killed by Henry.
• The Worf Effect: The Hooded Figure quickly shows that they are large and in charge by sending the Evil Queen flying and then turning her into a cobra, all within moments of arriving in Storybrooke.
• Year Inside, Hour Outside: Time in the Black Fairy's realm is faster than the real world, so Gideon returns to Storybrooke as a grown man.
• You Can't Fight Fate: "Morpheus" warned both Belle and Gold that he would become dark if they stayed together, on the same path of hate and deceit and manipulation. But in Belle trying to keep their son away from him, and Gold struggling to get him back and change his fate with the Shears, they ended up making it come true anyway via the Black Fairy.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Regina's reaction to most of the aspects of the Enchanted Kingdom.
  • She says "seriously" when she sees the statue of Charming and Snow.
  • When she finds Rumple in the ruins of her palace, she remarks "no..."
  • Her reaction when Emma surrenders is also "seriously?"
• You Have to Believe Me!:
  • Regina pressing Emma about remembering Storybrooke.
  • Subverted with Gold; he knows Belle won't believe him, so to prove he's telling the truth he both removes the tracking bracelet and gives her his phone to call the convent and check that Mother Superior and their son are really gone.

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