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Prince Charming's Swords

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Mary Margaret: You like the holster, huh?
David: I miss carrying a sword.

—Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan src

Prince Charming's Swords are items featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. They first appear in the first episode of the first season.

One of Prince Charming's swords is an allusion to the Sword of Truth from the Disney film Sleeping Beauty. Another sword is an allusion to the Cowardly Lion's courage from the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.


History

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Before First Curse

At the bequest of a magic dealer named Rumplestiltskin, a shepherd boy, David, impersonates his dead twin brother, James, with the name Prince Charming, and takes on the role of prince and heir to King George. Prince Charming desires to gain the monetary rewards that come along with this offer so he can better his mother's life. He must slay a dragon in King Midas' neighboring kingdom, so King George can also reap the benefits of a gold supply bargain between the two royals. However, while preparing for the ascent up to the dragon's lair, Prince Charming discovers his accompanying soldiers will be killing the beast while he himself will take all the credit. Nearing the dragon's cave, nearly everyone is wiped out by the beast. Prince Charming manages to pull to safety the only surviving soldier and grab a fallen sword, which he then uses to goad the dragon into poking its head into a narrow cave and slicing its head off. This sword becomes Prince Charming's trusty blade that he keeps with him at all times. To the fraudulent prince's dismay, King Midas is so impressed by Prince Charming's skills that he offers up his own daughter, Princess Abigail, to him in marriage. King George publicly accepts the proposal in his stead, and privately threatens Prince Charming's mother and farm if he does not comply. ("The Shepherd")

Despite being resigned to his fate, Prince Charming is motivated to run away from the impending wedding once he meets and falls in love with a princess-turned-thief named Snow White. Despite that she rejects him, he flees to go find and convince her that they belong together. While hiding from King George, Abigail willingly gives him shelter and protection because she, too, does not wish to marry him. She shows him the statue of her true love, Frederick, who was accidentally turned to gold by her father, King Midas. Abigail has heard of a lake that harbors waters with magical powers to restore what was once lost, but a powerful Siren guards it from intruders. Prince Charming goes to the lake and is nearly tricked by the Siren's illusion in assuming the form of Snow White, but he manages to slay her and retrieve some of the water for Abigail. Frederick is saved by the water's magical properties, and the two have a happy reunion while Prince Charming continues his journey towards Snow White. ("Snow Falls," "What Happened to Frederick")

After a brief reunion with Snow White, Prince Charming is kidnapped by King George's men, and in turn, the monarch hands him over to the Evil Queen. While Charming is held prisoner in the Evil Queen's palace, he escapes to rescue Snow but ends up stuck in a forest due to the Evil Queen's magic entrapping him. Rumplestiltskin appears in the forest and takes Prince Charming's ring, a keepsake from his mother, and enchants it so the closer he is to Snow White, the brighter it will glow. Prince Charming attempts to take it back, but Rumplestiltskin refuses to return it unless he strikes a deal with him. Charming refuses and instead starts a sword duel with him. He cuts Rumplestiltskin's cheek with his blade, but the latter magically heals the wound. Only after Rumplesetiltskin bests him in the duel, Prince Charming finally agrees to a deal: hide a true love potion in a great beast, and in return, he can have the ring. Prince Charming goes into a castle of a witch, Maleficent, who unexpectedly shape shifts into a dragon, revealing herself as the beast he is seeking. His sword does not do much for him, and he hides behind a pillar to throw the potion into the dragon's ear before jumping out of a window to safety. In turn, Rumplestiltskin returns the ring and Prince Charming reunites with his beloved after awakening her from a Sleeping Curse with true love's kiss. ("A Land Without Magic")

Following Snow White's awakening, she also sets a clear-minded goal to take back the kingdom from the Evil Queen. While making a speech to rally some townspeople to her side, the Evil Queen makes an unprecedented appearance that sends the villagers running. Snow White and Prince Charming unsheathe their swords as she approaches, but instead, the Evil Queen is more interested in having a discussion. The Evil Queen demands Snow White relinquish herself from the throne, and threatens to take it by force by murdering one of the princess's subjects for every day she refuses. Snow White begins to doubt herself as a leader for the kingdom's people and decides it would be better to bow down quietly to the Evil Queen's invitation. Prince Charming knows Snow White has what it takes, but forms a plan to help her utilize confidence. He forges the Excalibur sword and has her pull it out as the legend states only the kingdom's true ruler can wield it. The next day, Snow White turns down the Evil Queen's offering and even wounds her nemesis with a cut on the cheek. The princess declares that the throne is hers and they agree to face off by waging war. Afterward, Snow White discovers Prince Charming's lies. Though upset at being fooled, Snow White realizes he always believed in her courage and strength, and simply wanted to draw it out so she could show the Evil Queen. ("Lost Girl")

While assembling battle plans in the war, Red Riding Hood informs Prince Charming and Snow White that King George's forces are closing in. Prince Charming stays behind to fight, telling Snow White to head for his mother's hideout, so they can regroup there. Instead, she is captured by King George's general, Lancelot, and poisoned with barrenness. Prince Charming makes it to his mother's home, but orders Ruth to take cover inside when soldiers attack. He takes all of them out with his trusty sword, but Ruth, in concern for her son's safety, rushes out and is shot with a poisoned arrow. Snow White and a realigned Lancelot come upon the situation and they head to extract some of Lake Nostos' healing water. Since the Siren was killed, the lake has dried up except for a few remaining droplets. While Ruth wants to give it to Snow White so she can be cured of barrenness, the princess refuses. Ruth secretly switches the liquid out to be placed in a cup Snow White later drinks from as she watches their impromptu marriage ceremony. Shortly after, Ruth perishes to her wound. ("Lady of the Lake")

At Prince Charming and Snow White's wedding, the Evil Queen makes an unexpected entrance and frightens everyone into silence. However, Snow White is not fazed and unsheathes her husband's sword threateningly at the Queen. The Evil Queen announces an intention to destroy everyone's happiness by taking away everything they love. As she departs, Prince Charming throws his sword at her just as she teleports away in a puff of dark smoke back to her palace. ("Pilot," "The Thing You Love Most")

As prophesied by Rumplestiltskin, Prince Charming and a pregnant Snow White learn the Evil Queen intends to cast a curse to send all of them to another land, but their unborn child will save them from this fate in twenty-eight years time. The Blue Fairy procures the last enchanted tree in the world for Geppetto to carve into a wardrobe, which is enough to send one person to another place and be unaffected by the curse. Snow White is tasked with traveling through the wardrobe while still pregnant, but on the day the curse is cast, she goes into labor early and births a daughter, Emma. The new-found parents have no choice but to give up their child to the wardrobe in the hopes she will come back to rescue all of them. On his way to the wardrobe, Prince Charming cradles Emma in one end while fighting off the Evil Queen's knights with his sword arm. Only after tucking his daughter into the wardrobe, he sustains life-threatening stab wounds. As Prince Charming passes out, he sees, much to his own relief, that the knights break open the wardrobe, and Emma is no longer inside. Shortly after, the Dark Curse engulfs everyone in the Enchanted Forest. ("Pilot")

During First Curse
Emma and Regina comes to Mr. Gold looking for a way to save Henry, who has fallen under a Sleeping Curse after ingesting a bite of poisoned apple turnover. Mr. Gold tells them to save Henry by retrieving a true love potion hidden in the belly of a beast and then presents Emma with her father Prince Charming's sword. With Regina operating the manual switch, Emma travels down an elevator in the abandoned Storybrooke library to the dungeon where the beast awaits. She quickly throws down the sword and pulls out her gun; preferring to rely on modern weapons she is more familiar with. Realizing the futility of bullets against the dragon, she sees the discarded sword on the ground and lunges for it. She makes a brave move of throwing the sword at the dragon, which impales its glowing chest and explodes the creature into dust as the potion is left behind for her to take. Emma heads back up the elevator shaft with both the sword and potion, but her ride stalls halfway up due to Mr. Gold's machinations. He tricks her into throwing the potion up and uses it to bring magic to Storybrooke while Emma and Regina are called to the hospital as Henry is pronounced dead. Miraculously, Emma unintentionally gives Henry a kiss of true love and restores him to life as well as breaking the curse. ("A Land Without Magic")

Trivia

Production Notes

  • The blade of the sword used in Season One is made of bamboo laminate to make it light in weight and easy to use during sparring scenes.[1]
  • The case Mr. Gold opened to unveil the sword to Emma and Regina in "A Land Without Magic" was a guitar case that the show's property master Bill Burd had owned. It was his idea to use the case as an in-show prop for storing the sword.[1]

Disney

Fairytales and Folklore

Props Notes

Appearances

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You can help out the Once Upon a Time Wiki by adding or updating to the article, correcting grammar and spelling issues, and taking other steps to make the article great. If you need any help, please see our policies.
Reason: S7 appearances

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.

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