Season 7, Episode 12:
A Taste of the Heights
On the day of Tiana’s coronation, a confrontation with Dr. Facilier compels her to take a trip through the Bayou, where a surprising encounter changes her life and the hunt for an alligator takes a dark turn. In Hyperion Heights, Sabine reconnects with an old friend whose plans could jeopardize her culinary dreams. Meanwhile, Rogers and Weaver investigate a Blind Witch, leading them to a shocking discovery about The Coven.
Tropes
- An Aesop: Being strong and independent is good, but there is no shame in asking for help, and having those you can trust to support you is essential. Although somewhat broken by the fact the example of this in Hyperion Heights is enforced via Facilier, and thus means Drew actually can't be trusted.
- Affably Evil: Facilier is all over this trope, even more than in his first appearance.
- Arc Symbol: The symbol of the Coven of the Eight. Not only does it turn out all members of the cult have it as a tattoo (or used to), it's used to identify them both for Weaver and Rogers, and for the audience. So far we've learned of Dr. Sage and the blind baker.
- Big Bad Ensemble: With Victoria dead, Facilier in his cursed persona makes a move on Hyperion Heights, both via Sabine and Drew and through Roni and Kelly's bar; just what he wants and why he wants it are unclear, but he's as manipulative and dark as ever, and with Rumple's theory that his appearance coinciding with Gothel and the Coven's activities being on the rise is no accident, he may be planning to use them for his own ends.
- Call-Back: The mixtape Jacinda tried to leave for Henry (but which never got delivered thanks to him and Regina going to San Francisco) comes up again once Henry learns of its existence, as part of the continued development of their relationship.
- Continuity Nod: The necklace Facilier shows Regina is the exact same necklace she was wearing when she crashed Snow and Charming's wedding, meaning he, like Regina, is from the original Enchanted Forest.
- Control Freak: Tiana/Sabine, at least according to Naveen/Drew. Though Jacinda and to a lesser extent even Lucy seem to agree with the characterization, so it isn't just his pride or cockiness talking.
- Couch Gag: The title card features Sabine's food truck.
- Dating Catwoman: Regina with Dr. Facilier.
- Deal with the Devil: Somewhat downplayed; thanks to having helped him get back the necklace he wanted (albeit inadvertently), Tiana claims to Facilier he owes her and thus demands he save Naveen's life. He does, but then claims Naveen's life and service as his own, so while the deal she made was bad, it was on someone else's behalf and it's they who paid the price, not her and her kingdom. Also see Exact Words below.
- Double-Meaning Title: The episode title is the name of the local fair where Sabine wants to set up her food truck business (itself a Meaningful Name since it plays on both the food being sold at the fair and — of course — it being held in Hyperion Heights), but it also references heights as in leadership/the elite life. This suggests Tiana being crowned queen and her dedication to employing her new status to help her people vs. her mockery of Naveen's supposed Glory Hound status; and her lashing out at Drew for taking advantage of others better than he is while having a rich family to fall back on, unlike she who had to work hard for everything only to keep failing and having her hopes dashed right when she was about to achieve her dreams.
- Exact Words: Tiana makes a deal with Facilier to save Naveen's life, and succeeds in doing so without paying a price by pointing out that by helping him regain the lost necklace from the alligator, she's already paid him. He surprisingly, and affably, agrees... but then teleports Naveen away to be his servant, while justifying it as she had paid the price, but Naveen had not, and it was his life that had been saved.
- Glory Hound: Naveen at first appears to be (and is accused as) this, but it turns out he isn't hunting the alligator simply to look heroic, but as revenge for it having killed his brother.
- Internal Reveal:
- Thanks to a page detailing how this Dark Curse was cast falling out of the storybook, Lucy finds out that if her parents share True Love's Kiss, Henry will die. After she'd just arranged things to make said kiss happen. Naturally she rushes to intervene Just in Time.
- Weaver reveals to Zelena and Regina that he is awake. When called on his previously concealing this fact, he protests that he was working for Victoria at the time and thus couldn't reveal what he knew about her (including what he received from his recovered memories). But now that she's dead, and Gothel, the Coven, and Facilier have revealed themselves, he can. Or as Zelena snarkily puts it, he needs their help.
- Manipulative Bastard: Facilier, in both the Enchanted Forest and Hyperion Heights.
- In the forest, he arranges a situation where Tiana and her kingdom are in danger from a rampaging beast, sends Naveen to kill it (this seems the most likely explanation for how he got an enchanted spear, though whether Facilier also caused the death of his brother to motivate him is unknown), and then places something of his among Naveen's belongings to turn Tiana against him. Then, after Naveen is fatally wounded, he makes a deal with Tiana to save his life... which results in Naveen owing his life and service to him. And all of this was simply to get back a necklace he had once given... to Regina.
- In Hyperion Heights, he compels Drew to go into the food truck business just to be a rival to Sabine (though what he has on him is yet to be revealed), reports Sabine's lack of a food safety license to the police via anonymous tip (in the process framing Drew for it), and then allows him to give up his own license so the two of them can run her truck together, all to earn Sabine's trust so he can get to her through Drew. Also, he uses the electrical problem at the bar (which he caused!) to get close to Roni and Kelly, and reveals he didn't fall for their switch as well as knowing Regina is awake.
- Mythology Gag:
- When appearing at Tiana's coronation, Facilier employs his Tarot cards to read her future, just as he did in The Princess and the Frog, particularly for Naveen and Lawrence. Except here the future he reads is one he made happen as part of his scheming, while what he read in the Disney film seemed to be a genuine divination (if one he then made come true after the fact).
- The beast which threatens the kingdom, and which Tiana must face if she is to be crowned? An alligator. Except unlike Louis, he neither can play the trumpet nor is he harmless and friendly to humans. Also the island where she and Naveen have to travel to hunt him down is Firefly Island.
- The alligator has swallowed something which identifies it to a villain. Except instead of a clock that lets him know it's coming, it's a necklace which once belonged to someone he loved.
- Sabine reveals that Drew went to culinary school with her, so that he too knows how to cook, and that he (supposedly) dropped out to go work at his parents' fancy celebrated restaurant. This partakes of some elements of Tiana's own backstory in the Disney film.
- The blind witch, though different from the one in the original Enchanted Forest (and the Underworld), is clearly still inspired by Hansel and Gretel since her "biggest seller" at her bakery is gingerbread houses. But see also the subversion under Red Herring.
- Red Herring:
- Tiana believes Naveen is just hunting down the alligator for the glory, but he reveals it is actually to avenge the death of his beloved brother. Then she identifies something in his bag as having belonged to Facilier, making her believe the two are working together. (Naveen claims it was his brother's, though whether this means his brother was the one actually working for Facilier is unknown.) Ironically, her attacking him for this leads to his fatal injury which, when Facilier heals him, leads to him actually working for Facilier after all, albeit under compulsion.
- In Hyperion Heights, Sabine thinks Drew was the one to report her lack of a food safety license in order to shut down his rival's business. Turns out it was his investing benefactor, Samdi (Facilier), who did it. Double Subverted when it turns out Drew really did do it, but only under orders from Samdi to get close to Sabine and make her trust him.
- The Blind Witch is made out to be a creepy and possibly villainous character who might know too much about Dr. Sage's death, but it turns out she was a member of the Coven of the Eight and was nearly murdered for reasons unknown. Also Dr. Sage herself turns out to have been a member of the cult too, so that her death was related to this, and not necessarily the paternity test results for Lucy.
- Something or someone appears to be watching Lucy from her closet... but when she goes to shut the door, she finds nothing inside. The whole incident seems geared only to lead to The Reveal from the storybook about Henry, True Love's Kiss, and the curse.
- The Reveal:
- The victims of murder (Dr. Sage) or attempted murder (the baker)? Not innocent victims, but members of the Coven of the Eight, as identified by the eight-spoked wheel of fate tattoo.
- Regina and Facilier knew each other once... very well. And now, for reasons unknown, she seems willing to renew their relationship.
- Also, Facilier didn't fall for her and Zelena's switch, he's awake, and he knows she is too.
- And finally, not only did Facilier obtain Naveen's service in the Enchanted Forest thanks to Tiana's deal, but he's still working for him in Hyperion Heights under duress, to let Facilier get close to Sabine.
- Shout-Out: Facilier's cursed pseudonym in Hyperion Heights is Baron Samdi, as in Baron Samedi
, the Voudoun loa. Not only is Samedi's look the one employed both here and in The Princess and the Frog for Facilier's costume, but the deal Tiana makes with him in the Enchanted Forest is explicitly the sort Samedi is known for (healing those near or approaching death), and he specifically makes note of the fact that Naveen is on the edge between worlds and already approaching the realm of the dead. The afterlife is within his purview, and accepting individuals into it is one of his roles. - Sympathetic Magic: While this was already implied from the previous episode, Weaver makes it clear here that those dying are all witches from the Coven, and the reason seems to have something to do with killing them for a lock of their hair.
- True Love's Kiss: Whether it would have happened yet is unknown, but Henry and Jacinda are interrupted before they can share it, thanks to Lucy finding out what will happen to her father if they do.
- Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Naveen and Tiana have something of a relationship like this, which is ironic since Naveen is royalty himself. This also carries through to their cursed personas, where he gets after her for what she was like in culinary school and her controlling nature.
