In the beginning of episode 3×07 Dark Hollow, Wendy’s brothers sped into Storybrooke just as the cloaking spell was coming down to seal off the town and keep them out. The brothers made it in just in the nick of time, but the spell sliced off their back fender, including their license plate.
The camera zoomed in on the plate, which we could see was Minnesota plate number 0920 EAW, with an expiration date of February 2014. The plate also said “100000 Lakes,” which is the normal slogan printed on Minnesota plates. Here’s a screenshot (click on it for a larger image):
License plate from car driven by Wendy’s brothers in 3×07 Dark Hollow
More after the jump.
Those of us who were LOST fans have been conditioned to think that all numbers are significant. And it seems like the numbers on the plate should mean something because the camera did linger on the plate for several seconds right before the credits started.
But last season, there was a similar moment where the camera focused on a license plate, this one driven by a mysterious stranger (who we now know was Greg Mendell), and so far, there doesn’t seem to have been any significance to that plate except to show that the driver was coming from outside of Storybrooke.
Pennsylvania license plate number 2KFL 138 from car driven by Greg Mendell in 2×11 “The Outsider”
So, what do you think? Does the license plate number on Wendy’s brothers’ car mean anything? Do the TWO license plate numbers considered TOGETHER — Pennsylvania 2KFL 138 and Minnesota 0920 EAW — mean anything? Are the plates simply signals that the drivers are from outside the town, with the numbers themselves being meaningless? Or are the producers and writers pulling our collective leg, knowing that many fans will see this as a puzzle and try to solve it even if there is nothing to be solved?
Well, besides my ridiculous theory that the three letters (EAW) stand for Eeyore, of Winnie-the-Pooh fame, I’ve got nothing. Oh, and I’m still willing to believe that Greg’s licence meant ‘TOOK FLIGHT’, foreshadowing his connection to Neverland, even though it wasn’t as obvious a connection as many of us first believed.
Also, LOVED John and Michael’s hipster clothes. Just sayin’.
Hipster John and Michael were pretty cool, I agree. I too noticed the Minnesota plates and they stuck out to me like I should be making a connection. But perhaps that’s just where they picked up the car, since they seem to have been searching for Storybrooke.
I’m sure there’s some sort if significance just I can’t figure it out.
I can think of two “mystical” connections to Minnesota: Babe the Blue Ox and Paul Bunyan. Maybe they’ll come to help? LOL
Also: Vikings…?
Whelp, this is a bit dead but rewatching since its on Netflix got me wondering about this. Especially as I LIVE in Minnesota, and our plates usually have 3 numbers then 3 letters, or 3 letters then 3 numbers. So that is an abnormal plate for the state. I have a couple ideas…
EAW some reason makes me think of “East and West”, though I have no idea what that could be referencing. Possibly dealing with the way people often state the directions as “North, South, East, and West”…?
No clue what the 0920 could be about though.
As for Minnesota, Kitsis at least was born in Minneapolis, so maybe that’s why that plate was there? Or perhaps the entire zoom in on this plate was purely for Kitsis was from MN? Though I don’t know why if that was the case they’d add an extra number.
I’m watching the show on Netflix, and decided to google “0920eaw”. This blog was the first thing to pop up. I figured that I’d go ahead and give MY answer.
Just like xxadverbxx, EAW appeared as “East and West” in my mind. From there, I thought of the witches from Wizard of Oz. So, I looked at the 0920. Went to Google again, and I looked up “september 20 wizard of oz” to see if there was a connection.
I didn’t read too much into it, but it said something about a 75th anniversary re-release of the Wizard of Oz via IMAX on September 20th, 2013 – the same year as this episode of Once Upon A Time was first aired.
I guess that, at the time of this episode first coming out, any die-hard WizOfOz fan would have 09-20 fresh in their head. That, plus the East And West (EAW).. Maybe the show’s developers were trying to give a nice Easter Egg and hint to the true Wizard of Oz fans! Other than that, I don’t know what it could be.