Once Upon a Time is an American fantasy drama television series that aired for seven seasons on ABC from October 23, 2011, to May 18, 2018. The action alternates between two main settings: a fantastical world where fairy tales happen and a fictional seaside town in Maine called Storybrooke. The "real world" part of the story unfolds with the characters of Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) and her 10-year-old son, Henry Mills (Jared S. Gilmore). Henry discovers the other people of the town are fairy-tale characters. The audience is shown the backstory of the town's people as fairy-tale characters, in conjunction with their unfolding stories in the "real-world". In the seventh and final season, the "real-world" portion of the story takes place in Seattle, Washington, in the fictitious neighborhood of "Hyperion Heights", with a new main narrative led by adult Henry (Andrew J. West), and his wife and daughter.
Once Upon a Time was created by Lost and Tron: Legacy writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Horowitz told The Hollywood Reporter that they had a conscious purpose to "do a show that had optimism at its heart", as they "felt like there was so much darkness in the world". Kitsis said: "We are guys who like to see the world as half-full, not half-empty", and it's about "seeing that among all the trials and tribulations of life, you can persevere and find light among the darkness"; "it's that ability to think your life will get better". Star Jennifer Morrison told the Calgary Herald that it's a show about hope and positivity and connectivity, which "encourages people to believe in themselves and believe in the best versions of themselves and to have hope to have the life that they have."
A spin-off series, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, consisting of 13 episodes featuring the title character of the 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, premiered on October 10, 2013, and concluded on April 3, 2014.
Premise Once Upon a Time is primarily set in the fictional seaside town of Storybrooke, Maine, in which the residents are fairy tale characters that were transported to the real world town and robbed of their memories by Regina, the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla), who used a powerful dark curse obtained from Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle). The residents of Storybrooke, where Regina is mayor, have lived an unchanging existence for 28 years, unaware of their agelessness and their past lives. The town's only hope lies with a bail bond agent named Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), who is the daughter of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas). Emma was transported from the Enchanted Forest to the real world via a magic wardrobe as an infant before the curse was cast. As such, she is the Savior, the only person who can break the curse and restore everyone's lost memories. Emma is aided by her ten-year-old son, Henry Mills (Jared S. Gilmore), who she had given up for adoption upon his birth, and his Once Upon a Time book of fairy tales that holds the key to breaking the curse. Henry is also Regina's adopted son, providing a source of both conflict and common interest between the two women.
Episodes usually have one segment that details the characters' past lives which, when serialized, adds a piece to the puzzle about the characters and their connection to the events that preceded the curse. The other segment, set in the present day, follows a similar pattern with a different outcome, but also offers similar insights.
Series overview In the first season, the Evil Queen interrupts the wedding of Snow White and Prince Charming to announce that she will cast a curse on everyone that will leave her with the only happy ending. As a result, the majority of characters are transported to the town of Storybrooke, Maine, where most of them have been stripped of their memories and identities. On her 28th birthday, Emma Swan, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, is brought to Storybrooke by her biological son Henry Mills in the hopes of breaking the curse cast by his adoptive mother, Regina Mills–the Evil Queen.
In the second season, despite Emma having broken the curse, the characters are not returned to the fairy tale world and must deal with their own dual identities. With the introduction of magic into Storybrooke by Rumplestiltskin, the fates of the two worlds become intertwined, and new threats emerge in the form of Killian Jones / Captain Hook (Colin O'Donoghue), Regina's mother Cora (Barbara Hershey), and sinister operatives Greg Mendell (Ethan Embry) and Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green) from the real world with an agenda to destroy magic.
In the third season, the main characters travel to Neverland to rescue Henry, who has been kidnapped by Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) as part of a plan to obtain the "Heart of the Truest Believer" from him. Their increasing power struggle with Pan continues in Storybrooke, which results in the reversal of the original curse. All the characters are returned to their original worlds, leaving Emma and Henry to escape to New York City. The characters are brought back to a recreated Storybrooke with their memories of the previous year removed, and the envious Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West (Rebecca Mader) from Oz, appears with a plan to change the past, prompting Emma and Henry to return.
In the fourth season, Emma and Hook's time travel adventures lead to the accidental arrival of Elsa (Georgina Haig) from the Enchanted Forest of the past to present-day Storybrooke. In the search for her younger sister Anna (Elizabeth Lail) with the aid of the town's residents, Elsa encounter her and Anna's aunt Ingrid, the Snow Queen (Elizabeth Mitchell). Meanwhile, Regina seeks the author of Henry's Once Upon a Time book so that she can have her happy ending. Later on, a banished Rumplestiltskin returns with the help of Cruella de Vil (Victoria Smurfit), Maleficent (Kristin Bauer van Straten), and Ursula (Merrin Dungey), carrying out his plans to rewrite the rules governing the fates of all heroes and villains. Henry and Emma race to restore reality and the truth before the twisted inversion becomes permanent.
In the fifth season, the characters embark on a quest to Camelot to find Merlin (Elliot Knight) and free Emma from the powers of an ancient darkness. To complicate matters, King Arthur (Liam Garrigan) sets out to alter the balance between light and darkness using Excalibur and the help of a vengeful Zelena. A tragic loss forces Emma to lead a rescue party to the Underworld, where they encounters souls of those with unfinished business and face the conniving Hades (Greg Germann). The characters' dangerous manipulations of magic lead to the separation of Regina and her Evil Queen persona, as well as the arrival of Dr. Jekyll (Hank Harris) and Mr. Hyde (Sam Witwer).
In the sixth season, the residents of Storybrooke set out to protect the town from the combined threat of Mr. Hyde and an unleashed Evil Queen, as well as dealing with new arrivals from the Land of Untold Stories. Emma's destiny as the Savior weighs heavily on her, and her desperation to alter her fate leads to revelations about a mysterious new arrival, Aladdin (Deniz Akdeniz). The war between light and darkness leads to the arrival of the Black Fairy (Jaime Murray) as well as the final battle that was prophesied before the casting of the original curse.
In the seventh and final season, years after the final battle, Lucy (Alison Fernandez) arrives in the fictional neighborhood of Hyperion Heights in Seattle, Washington with her Once Upon a Time book to find her now-adult father Henry (Andrew J. West), who is needed by his family. Henry, along with characters from the New Enchanted Forest, have been brought to the neighborhood under a new curse and are caught in a rising conflict involving Cinderella (Dania Ramirez), Lady Tremaine (Gabrielle Anwar), and Drizella (Adelaide Kane). Their dangerous history with Mother Gothel (Emma Booth) is revealed as do the agendas of Dr. Facilier (Daniel Francis). Lucy must try to break this new curse and free her parents with the help of the now-cursed Regina, Wish Realm Hook, Rumplestiltskin and Zelena. As they succeed in breaking the curse, the arrival of Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin with a plot to condemn every hero into eternal unhappiness leads to an ultimate sacrifice to save their happily ever after.
Episodes
Cast
Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard (seasons 1–6; special guest season 7) Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan (seasons 1–6; special guest season 7) Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen / Regina Mills / Roni Josh Dallas as Prince Charming / David Nolan (seasons 1–6; special guest season 7) Jared S. Gilmore (seasons 1–6; recurring season 7) and Andrew J. West (season 7; guest season 6) as Henry Mills Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket / Dr. Archibald Hopper (season 1; recurring seasons 2–3 and 6; guest seasons 4 and 7) Jamie Dornan as the Huntsman / Sheriff Graham Humbert (season 1; guest season 2) Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin / Mr. Gold / Weaver Eion Bailey as Pinocchio / August Wayne Booth (season 1; recurring season 4; guest seasons 2 and 6) Emilie de Ravin as Belle / Lacey (seasons 2–6; recurring season 1; special guest season 7) Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood / Ruby (season 2; recurring seasons 1, 3 and 5) Colin O'Donoghue as Killian Jones / Captain Hook / Rogers (season 2–7) Michael Raymond-James as Baelfire / Neal Cassidy (season 3; recurring season 2; guest season 5) Michael Socha as Will Scarlet / Knave of Hearts / White King (season 4) Rebecca Mader as Zelena / the Wicked Witch of the West / Kelly West (seasons 5–6; recurring seasons 3–4 and 7) Sean Maguire as Robin Hood (season 5; recurring seasons 3–4 and 6; guest season 7) Dania Ramirez as Cinderella / Jacinda Vidrio (season 7) Gabrielle Anwar as Rapunzel / Lady Tremaine / Victoria Belfrey (season 7) Alison Fernandez as Lucy (season 7; guest season 6) Mekia Cox as Tiana / Sabine (season 7)
Development and production Conception Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis conceived Once Upon a Time in 2004 before joining the writing staff of Lost but wanted to wait until that series was over to focus on this project.
Eight years before the pilot began development (the two had just completed their work on Felicity, in 2002), Kitsis and Horowitz became inspired to write fairy tales out of a love of "mystery and excitement of exploring lots of different worlds." They presented the premise to numerous networks, but were refused due to its fantastical nature. From their time on Lost, the writers learned to look at the story differently, namely that "character has to trump mythology." They explained, As people, you've got to see what the void in their heart or their lives is to care about them ... For us, this was as much about the character journeys and seeing what was ripped from them in coming to Storybrooke – going at it that way as opposed to making it the 'break-the-curse show.'
Despite the comparisons and similarities to Lost, the writers intend them to be very different shows. To them, Lost concerned itself with redemption, while Once Upon a Time is about "hope". Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof aided in the development of the series as an uncredited consultant. Kitsis and Horowitz called him a "godfather" to the series. To differentiate the storytelling from what the audience already knew, the writing staff decided to begin the pilot with the end of the typical Snow White fairytale. Themes concerning family and motherhood were emphasized, in contrast to the focus on fatherhood in Lost. Kitsis and Horowitz sought to write strong female characters, rather than the classic damsel in distress. Horowitz stated their desire to approach each character the same way, asking themselves, "How do we make these icons real, make them relatable?"