Trigger

The Trigger
General Information
Current Location:	Storybrooke
Physical Description
Type:	Magical gem
Color:	Dark brown
Usage Information
Possessed by:	Maleficent (formerly) Regina Mills Tamara † (formerly)
Used for:	Total destruction of Storybrooke and its inhabitants (disabled)
Show Information
First appearance:	"The Evil Queen"
Latest appearance:	"And Straight On 'Til Morning"
Latest mention:	"Dark Hollow"
Relevant Pages

“

Greg and Tamara, they took something from Regina: a magical trigger. A fail-safe in the curse that could destroy Storybrooke.

”

—David to Mr. Gold ^src

The Trigger is a magical item featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It first appears in the twentieth episode of the second season.

History

After First Curse

Due to the Dark Curse's effects, Maleficent becomes entrapped in dragon form after being sent to Storybrooke, where she is imprisoned in a cave beneath the library and forced to guard a trigger from intruders. The trigger, capable of wiping out the town and its inhabitants, is hidden in the remnants of Snow White's coffin within the cave. ("The Evil Queen")

Finding out about the magic beans in town, Regina steals some of them with intentions of escaping town with Henry. Believing she cannot be with her son if everyone is still alive, Regina teams up with Hook to recover the trigger from Maleficent's cave. As they walk through a tunnel after taking the elevator, she makes him return a bracelet that her mother once owned. Unbeknownst to her, he is working with Greg and Tamara, who previously altered the bracelet to absorb magic. Once Regina clasps it on her own wrist, it begins taking away her magic, without her notice. At the cave, Regina deliberately pushes Hook into a pit so Maleficent will be distracted with him while she fetches the trigger. Leaving the pirate to die, she then takes the elevator up to the library floor, although Hook is already there since Greg and Tamara rescued him. Once Regina is taken hostage by them, Tamara takes the trigger from her. ("The Evil Queen")

At the dock's cannery storeroom, Tamara shows Greg the trigger, which resembles a palm shaped black diamond gem, although neither of them know what it is Some time later, after Greg finds his father's body buried in their old campsite, Tamara reveals she has learned, from the Home Office, that the gem can be used to destroy Storybrooke from this world forever, which is exactly what they want to do. ("Second Star to the Right")

Using a dwarf pick ax, Greg and Tamara activate the trigger to begin Storybrooke's destruction. Hook, out of self preservation, switches sides and lets the townspeople know about what is going on. Using her magic, Regina tries to absorb the trigger's powers for as long as she can stall. Later, Emma, Henry, Mary Margaret and David rush to the mines, intending to use the last magic bean to absorb the trigger into it, only to discover Hook duped them earlier by taking the bean for himself. Regina, in her struggle to contain the trigger, expresses frustration that she can't do more to stop it from destroying Storybrooke. From these words, Emma realizes they can disable the trigger by combining powers. Lending aid to Regina, they join magical forces and successfully deactivate the trigger. ("And Straight On 'Til Morning")

Trivia

• Set Notes

Props Notes

• For the scenes where the trigger is active in "And Straight On 'Til Morning," the trigger's on-set replacement was a small ball on a stick.

Appearances

Once Upon a Time: Season Two
"Broken":	"We Are Both":	"Lady of the Lake":	"The Crocodile":	"The Doctor":	"Tallahassee":	"Child of the Moon":	"Into the Deep":	"Queen of Hearts":	"The Cricket Game":	"The Outsider":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"In the Name of the Brother":	"Tiny":	"Manhattan":	"The Queen Is Dead":	"The Miller's Daughter":	"Welcome to Storybrooke":	"Selfless, Brave and True":	"Lacey":	"The Evil Queen":	"Second Star to the Right":	"And Straight On 'Til Morning":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Appears	Appears

Once Upon a Time: Season Three
"The Heart of the Truest Believer":	"Lost Girl":	"Quite a Common Fairy":	"Nasty Habits":	"Good Form":	"Ariel":	"Dark Hollow":	"Think Lovely Thoughts":	"Save Henry":	"The New Neverland":	"Going Home":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Mentioned	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"New York City Serenade":	"Witch Hunt":	"The Tower":	"Quiet Minds":	"It's Not Easy Being Green":	"The Jolly Roger":	"Bleeding Through":	"A Curious Thing":	"Kansas":	"Snow Drifts":	"There's No Place Like Home":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Specials
"Magic is Coming":	"The Price of Magic":	"Journey to Neverland":	"Wicked is Coming":	"Storybrooke Has Frozen Over":
Absent	Absent	Archive	Absent	Absent
"Secrets of Storybrooke":	"Dark Swan Rises":	"Evil Reigns Once More":	"The Final Battle Begins":
Archive	Absent	Absent	Absent

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.