While I saw none of the fairy tale world filming of last night’s Once Upon a Time episode eighteen “The Stable Boy”, I did catch some scenes of August and Emma teaming up to try to prove Mary Margaret’s innocence in the apparent murder of her lover David’s wife Kathryn Nolan in Storybrooke.
Out on the docks in the village of Steveston near Vancouver on a wet, grey February morning, Eion Bailey’s August approached Jennifer Morrison’s Emma sitting on a bench reading her newly-found son Henry’s fairy tale book. August handed her the copy of the day’s Storybrooke Daily Mirror with a photo of Ginnifer Goodwin’s Mary Margaret on the front page and the headline: HEARTLESS – School teacher jailed on murder charge. They discuss what they can do to prove Mary Margaret’s innocence, deciding to revisit the scene of the crime at the Toll Bridge, where Kathryn’s heart was discovered in a buried box belonging to Mary Margaret.
At the Toll (with r grafitti-ed in to read Troll) Bridge, Emma unexpectedly finds a shard from a shovel. She and August break into Mayor Regina’s garage, with Henry’s help, to find the shovel the shard came from. But when Emma returns with a warrant, the shovel is gone. Emma confronts August, suspecting he’s betrayed her. Later she discovers a bug in her Sheriff’s office and goes to apologize to August for doubting him outside Granny’s Diner on Moncton Street, carrying the bug in a bag. “Well don’t beat yourself about it,” August says, interrupted by a loud scream from Meghan Ory’s Ruby. Emma and August rush around to the back of Granny’s Dinner to see what’s wrong. I watched them film this scene in take after take, with Morrison usually laughing on her way back to reset to do it again, and Meghan Ory’s scream seeming to increase in volume with each take.
Later that day, they filmed the scene behind Granny’s Diner with Emma and August reaching Ruby, who points to the ground where we see a dishevelled but very much alive Kathryn.
The big reveal. Or it would have been if Anastasia Griffith, who plays Kathryn, had not been spotted on set that day (not by me). But those are the hazards of going to see the filming of a TV series: you might be spoiled for some of the best moments.
UPDATE: Once Upon a Time wrapped filming its first season here in Vancouver on Saturday night (March 31st). And cast and crew celebrated their magical first season with the wrap party last night (April 1st). Meantime, we’ll have to wait until Sunday, April 22nd, for the next new episode, The Return.
Very cool since I just saw that last night!