Fruit of the Poisonous Tree (Once Upon a Time)

Lore & Background

In the Enchanted Forest past, King Leopold finds a lamp and releases a Genie, who grants him three wishes. The King uses his first wish to free the Genie and his second to give away the third wish. The Genie meets the Queen and falls in love, giving her a mirror that shows her as the fairest. The King discovers the Queen's diary and orders the Genie to find the man who stole her heart. The Queen's father gives the Genie a box of deadly snakes; the Queen feigns suicide, but the Genie instead uses the snakes to kill the King. The Queen reveals she manipulated him, and the Genie uses his wish to stay at her side forever, becoming trapped in the mirror as the Magic Mirror.

In Storybrooke, Sidney Glass tells Emma Swan that Regina fired him and embezzled $50,000. Emma and Sidney follow Regina, but Emma's brakes fail. They break into Regina's house and find plans for a building and photos of Henry with Emma. At a city council meeting, Emma accuses Regina of building a second home, but Regina reveals it is a playground. Regina then warns Emma she will file a restraining order. It is revealed that Sidney is Regina's accomplice and cut Emma's brakes. Henry, after losing his book, tries to write down the stories; the Stranger has the book.

Reader's Guide

The episode is significant for providing the origin story of the Magic Mirror, a recurring character in the series. It deepens the backstory of Regina (the Evil Queen) by showing her manipulative nature even before the curse. The episode also advances the present-day conflict between Emma and Regina, with Sidney Glass acting as a double agent. Reviews were mixed: Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club gave it a B, praising Giancarlo Esposito's performance and the emotional depth given to Regina. IGN's Amy Ratcliffe rated it 5/10, criticizing the script as going through the motions. Laura Prudom of The Huffington Post noted that the episode ended narratively where it started. The episode saw a ratings increase, scoring a 3.5/9 among 18-49s and 10.91 million viewers, making it the most watched episode in eleven weeks.

Did You Know?

• The episode was co-written by Andrew Chambliss and Ian B. Goldberg, and directed by Bryan Spicer.
• Giancarlo Esposito plays three roles in the episode: the Genie, the Magic Mirror, and Sidney Glass.
• The episode contains a reference to One Thousand and One Nights with the line, 'In my time I have granted a thousand and one wishes.'
• In Canada, the episode finished in ninth place for the week with an estimated 1.58 million viewers.

The Magic Mirror's Tragic Genesis

The episode's most consequential narrative contribution is exposing how the Magic Mirror came into existence. In the Enchanted Forest, King Leopold stumbles upon a lamp and releases the Genie dwelling within, who offers three wishes. The King, feeling he already has everything, spends his first wish freeing the Genie and his second gifting the third wish to the Genie himself. When the Genie meets the Queen, he is immediately captivated. At Snow's birthday celebration, the King proclaims Snow the fairest in the land, leaving the Queen feeling rejected. The Genie follows her outside and presents a mirror that reflects her as he perceives her—the most beautiful of all. The King discovers the mirror alongside the Queen's diary, which reveals her feelings for the man who gave it. He orders the Genie to locate this rival. The Queen's father Henry supplies deadly snakes, and the Genie sets them upon the sleeping King. As the venom takes hold, the Genie confesses his love and pleads for forgiveness. The dying King remarks that he should never have made a wish. The Queen then reveals the entire scheme was her design. Betrayed, the Genie spends his wish to remain at the Queen's side forever, trapping himself inside the mirror and becoming the Magic Mirror.

Regina's Calculated Web in Storybrooke

The Storybrooke storyline showcases Regina's extraordinary capacity for manipulation. Sidney Glass approaches Emma, claiming Regina fired him from the local paper and embezzled fifty thousand dollars in municipal funds. He begs her help to expose the mayor's corruption. Emma agrees after Henry's book is lost during the demolition of his sand castle. Sidney and Emma tail Regina into the woods, but Emma's brakes inexplicably fail, forcing them to crash into Mr. Gold, who confesses he sold Regina a parcel of land. Breaking into the mayor's residence, they uncover building plans and photographs of Henry with Emma, implying Regina had her surveilled. At a city council session, Emma presents the documents, accusing Regina of constructing a hidden second home. Regina calmly counters by unveiling the plans as a new playground for Henry and every child in town, then threatens a restraining order against Emma. In the episode's final beat, Regina congratulates Sidney for convincing Emma he was a genuine ally and for sabotaging her brakes, confirming he was her accomplice from the start.

Creative Vision and Literary Lineage

The installment was co-written by co-producers Andrew Chambliss and Ian B. Goldberg, with Bryan Spicer at the helm as director. The narrative draws a deliberate thread from the classic anthology One Thousand and One Nights, as the Genie remarks that in his time he has granted a thousand and one wishes and watched them all end poorly the same number of times. This reference underscores the Genie's deep weariness and foreshadows his tragic arc. Giancarlo Esposito, widely recognized for his work on Breaking Bad, carried the episode's dual roles as both Sidney Glass in Storybrooke and the Genie in the Enchanted Forest, lending the story a distinctive performance anchor. Richard Schiff portrayed King Leopold, Tony Perez appeared as the Queen's father Henry, and Eion Bailey played the Stranger, who is ultimately revealed to be the one holding Henry's missing book. The title card features the Genie of the Lamp emerging in the Enchanted Forest, signaling that the episode's central focus is the origin of one of the series' most iconic artifacts.

Audience Response and Critical Divide

The episode attracted strong viewership, registering a 3.5/9 rating among the 18-to-49 demographic and a 5.9/10 overall, with 10.91 million viewers tuning in across the United States. It marked the most-watched installment in eleven weeks. In Canada, the broadcast finished ninth for the week with an estimated 1.58 million viewers. Critical reception proved divided. Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club awarded a B, highlighting that the episode finally delivered genuine emotional depth and motivation for Regina, allowing audiences to glimpse her softer side in the fairyback beyond her act of patricide. He singled out Esposito's performance as a standout, noting that anyone familiar with his work on Breaking Bad would recognize his remarkable talent. In contrast, IGN's Amy Ratcliffe rated the episode a mediocre five out of ten, expressing dissatisfaction with its central ideas. The split in reviews reflects the episode's ambitious attempt to weave a layered origin myth alongside ongoing procedural plotlines in Storybrooke.