OUAT S&S 450: "Even villains get second chances, and hopefully even third ones." ~ Hook
Spoilers &Speculations
Season 6
Welcome to Storybrooke, a small town in Maine that you won’t find on any map. This town is full of magic, populated by fairytale characters once cursed by the Evil Queen Regina to live in our world—deprived of their memories and happy endings. Until Emma Swan came to town and changed everything. With the help of her son, Henry, Emma embraced her true identity as the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming—the Savior destined to break the Curse. But even after returning everyone’s memories, Emma’s mission was far from over. With the Curse broken, Mr. Gold (aka Rumplestiltskin) was free to bring magic to Storybrooke. And magic ALWAYS comes with a price…
When Regina split herself in an attempt to eliminate her evil half, she unwittingly released the Evil Queen. Now the Evil Queen is back and ready to leave a trail of destruction in her wake. Meanwhile, Regina is quickly learning that destroying her dark side won’t be that easy, especially when dealing with the consequences of having unleashed the Queen on Storybrooke. Emma learns a life-altering secret that could have serious consequences for her family and loved ones. While the heroes grapple with what Emma is confronting, Henry welcomes the new arrivals from the Land of Untold Stories by pledging to help them complete their tales. But when Snow White, Prince Charming, Regina, Captain Hook and Zelena become entwined in these untold tales, they find themselves haunted by their own unfinished pasts. Meanwhile, after handing Storybrooke over to Mr. Hyde, Mr. Gold continues his quest to wake Belle from her self-induced sleeping curse, in hopes of reuniting with both her and their unborn child.
“Once Upon a Time” stars Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret, Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan, Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen/Regina, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David, Emilie de Ravin as Belle, Colin O’Donoghue as Hook, Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills, Rebecca Mader as Wicked Witch/Zelena and Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold.
Next Episode TV Promo
Sneak Peeks
Script Teases
Upcoming Episodes
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6.17 - "Awake" written by Andrew Chambliss & Leah Fong, directed by Sharat Raju | Airdate: April 16, 2017
Still trapped in Neverland, Hook aligns himself with Tiger Lily, hoping to find a way back to Emma. Back in Storybook, Regina works to break the sleeping curse that David and Snow are under, and Gold denies The Black Fairy, which brings the two of them to a fearsome impasse. In flashbacks, we learn what Snow and Charming sacrificed in order for Emma to fulfill her destiny as the Savior.
Guest starring are Lee Arenberg as Leroy/Grumpy, Beverley Elliott as Granny, Raphael Sbarge as Archie Hopper/Jiminy Cricket, Tony Amendola as Marco/Gepetto, Jaime Murray as Black Fairy, Giles Matthey as Gideon, Mckenna Grace as Young Emma, Sara Tomko as Native American Woman/Tiger Lily, Eric Keenleyside as Sir Maurice/Moe French, Gabe Khouth as Mr. Clark/Sneezy, David-Paul Grove as Doc and Faustino Di Bauda as Sleepy.
6.21 - "The Final Battle Part 1 written by E. Kitsis & A. Horowitz Directed by Steve Pearlman | Airdate: May 14, 2017
Casting news:
a “strong yet vulnerable” leading man in his late 20s to mid-30s, a gent who was once optimistic and hopeful but now is a friendless, cynical recluse. That said, he still possesses a dormant, deep-seated speak of hope that waits for the right person to reignite it.
The other role being cast is a precocious 10-year-old with a “constant twinkle of mischief in her eye.” And though this girl comes from a broken home, those struggles have only made her stronger — something which will come in handy when darkness threatens “everything she holds dear.”
Question: Will Emma and Regina sing together in Once Upon a Time‘s musical episode? —SwanQueenCreative
Hmm, it depends on what you mean by “together.” What we can say is that Regina, in the form of the Evil Queen, has a rousing solo in which she at one point slides on her knees à la Freddie Mercury. “The Queen has moves,” Lana Parrilla said with a smile during Matt Mitovich’s visit to the set. “She’s a rock star.” | TVLine 3/22/2017
Will we see any more Wizard of Oz-inspired storylines on Once Upon a Time this season? —Angelo
Episode 18 is one to watch for, Angelo. “What I love about my episode — besides the fact that they’re ‘my episodes’ — is that they are like little mini Wizard of Oz movies,” a beaming Rebecca Mader told me on set last week. “The Wizard of Oz fans should be really happy, because we introduce the Tin Man for the first time (played recent Flash guest star Alex Desert), we get monkeys, and we’ll meet the [Cowardly] Lion as well. It’s a really, really cool episode for my character.” (Bex then sneaked me a peek of her solo from the musical episode, and it looks wonderfully wicked.) My heart breaks for Once Upon a Time‘s Regina. What will she do now that Robin has let her down? —E.J.
I asked Lana Parrilla if Regina will blame herself for bringing the Wish Realm’s Robin of Locksley to Storybrooke, or if she will look sideways at Emma, who encouraged her to do so. “She blames herself to a degree,” Parrilla answered, “but she definitely blames another person — who I won’t mention.” TVLine - 3/14/2017
Do you have more scoop on Robin’s return to Storybrooke on Once Upon a Time? — Jameson
As you may have noticed in photos from Sunday’s episode, Robin looks very, ahem, familiar. “Regina puts him in Robin Hood’s clothes, and that does something to her,” Lana Parrilla teases. “She’s completely overwhelmed and emotional over that because now he aesthetically looks exactly like the Robin Hood she was in love with, or is still in love with, and yet he’s not the same person.” However, Robin of Locksley isn’t quite who she thinks he is. “There are several things that he does that leads her to believe that he isn’t the Robin Hood that she knows, and that he is a different Robin,” Parrilla adds. EW - 3/10/17
What can you tease about Once Upon a Time? — Harley
There’s an upcoming flashback that offers up what’s sure to be the most heartbreaking piece of information this show has dealt with throughout the entire series. Can’t say more than that, but you may find a hint in this week’s Hot Seat. EW - 3/3/17
Can you tease anything for Henry on Once Upon a Time? I feel like he gets overlooked in spoilers… — Katherine
Yes. In fact, you could say that Henry’s gig as the author kicks into overdrive, which makes some residents of Storybrooke nervous about what that means. EW - 2/24/2017
Can you reveal when Snow and Charming will both be awake on Once Upon a Time? — Miley
I cannot reveal when, but I can give you a tease about how. “The manner by which they are brought out of the sleeping curse is moving,” Ginnifer Goodwin tells me. “I became emotional every time I read the script and it has nothing really to do with David or me.” EW - 1/10/2017
Anything that can be teased on what Rumple and Belle will have to do in order to save Gideon on Once Upon a Time? — AshMarie
Remember when Rumple said that time works wonky in the Dark Realm? The question then becomes: Can Rumple and Belle actually prevent Gideon’s future if they find his younger self? “That is the question of the second half of the season,” EP Edward Kitsis says. “That is exactly what we are going to explore.” EW - 1/6/17
Is it me or is Once Upon a Time visiting far too many realms this year? — Sarah
Yes, the show will be jumping around between the wish realm, Storybrooke, Agrabah, and the dark realm in the back half of the season, but the frequent flyer miles that OUAT is going to rack up aren’t what you’re expecting. “The second half of the season isn’t like ‘We’re all in the wish realm, we’re all in Agrabah, we’re all in this dark realm,‘” EP Adam Horowitz says. “It’s a bunch of different things as the story crescendos. We’re trying to change things up a little bit where it’s not just ‘We’re going to be in one place for half a season and just explore that.’ There’s a unifying theme at play in the second half, but it’s not about location, it’s about this story and the conflict between characters.” EW - 12/23/16
Question: How long will the Snow and Charming curse last on Once Upon a Time? —Shelly
Ausiello: The sleeping curse that afflicts the marrieds one at a time “is not something that stretches out for the rest of the season,” says co-creator Eddy Kitsis. But until it is lifted, “We’re going to see that toll that it takes on Charming, who toward the end of the [fall] run looked sleep-deprived, going dark and off the rails. Without his ‘calming center’ around, and without much sleep, he can get into some real trouble!” TVLine - 12/20/16
On Once Upon a Time, how many episodes will the Snowing curse last? — SnowingFan
Unfortunately, it’s going to be a while. The pressure of the curse paired with Charming being ready to kill the Evil Queen and the lingering question of what really happened to his father means David is not doing OK. “What we’re seeing through David is somebody who is at his wits end,” EP Edward Kitsis says. “This curse with his wife, I think that what we’re seeing is that he’s staying up too late. Without Snow, you’re seeing him starting to give into darker impulses. We’re going to see him have to confront his own demons.” EW - 12/16/16
Why doesOnce Upon a Time Once Upon a Time‘s Gideon wants to kill Emma? Is it because she’s the Savior, or does he have his own reasons? —Rebecca
“‘Why does he need to kill her?’ is the real question,” says co-creator Eddy Kitsis — but we will have to wait (many weeks) for the answer. Until then, Adam Horowitz previews, “We pick up with that [pawn shop] scene, and Gold and Belle will articulate some of the questions that our viewers have” — including: “What happened to Gideon? Why is he seemingly after Emma? And in her vision, what is motivating him?” — “and most of that stuff gets answered pretty quickly.” (For more on Once, I teased Episode 12 in this week’s Ask Ausiello Live.) TVLine - 12/13/16the 6x12 tease was that the mystery of who killed David's father will wrap up around Easter
Question: Will we see Once Upon a Time‘s Black Fairy again? Will we also get an explanation as to why she steals babies and what happens to them afterwards? —Rebecca
Ausiello: Coming out of that fall finale, this comes as little surprise: “We are going to see a lot more of the Black Fairy (played by Jaime Murray),” series cocreator Adam Horowitz assures, “exploring her both in the past and present and learning more about Rumple’s relationship to his mother and the strange land from which she hails.” Question: I know I’m not the only one who caught The Dragon mentioning a daughter in Once Upon a Time Episode 8. Have the showrunners said anything lately about when Lily and Maleficent will be back? Or whether Emma will keep her promise to help Lily find her father? —Sabrina
Ausiello: In a word, “No,” that Dragon (played by Tzi Ma) has nothing to do with the mystery of Lily’s father, the series cocreators confirmed for Matt Mitovich. “We had high hopes” to revisit that story in Season 6, Eddy Kitsis shared, “but we just won’t get to it.” TVLine - 12/7/16
I’m bummed Once Upon a Timeabout the Once Upon a Time winter finale (airing this Sunday), because it looks like Emma and Hook won’t be together in the fairytale world. Got any good CaptainSwan scoop? —Alison
“Whether Emma and Hook are together in the winter finale isn’t the question to be asking,” responds co-creator Adam Horowitz. “The real question to ask is: Will the two of them be embarking on an epic adventure filled with romance, danger and passion in the second half of the season? And the answer is… yes.” TVLine - 12/1/16
Pretty pretty please, something about Once Upon a Time? Particularly about Rumbelle? —Valeria
As relayed by yours truly in this week’s Facebook Live edition of “Ask Ausiello,” Onceco-creator Adam Horowitz had this to say about the piece I did juxtaposing Disney’s Beauty and the Beast trailer with the sad, sad state of their Storybrooke iterations: “The audience doesn’t know where we’re headed with Belle and Rumple, but no matter how dark things get, the show doesn’t go bleak. It’s still about hope, and it’s always darkest before the dawn.” If you are now thinking, as I am, “Gee, ‘dawn’ then must be right around the corner,” I am hearing the next episode, airing Nov. 27, is in fact quite a game changer for Rumple and/or Belle. TVLine - 11/15/16
Question: Any hints about who’s in the hood on Once Upon a Time, killing Emma? —Courtney
Ausiello: Well, if you re-watch that fleeting vision very, very carefully, and take note of the hooded character’s height and build… you will glean nothing, actually. “It was a stand-in used for that scene,” and not the actual actor that will eventually be revealed as wearing the hood, Colin O’Donoghue confirms. As for whether he or any other cast members know the identity of Emma’s killer, if only becayse the Once bosses have made it pretty clear they had someone locked in from go, “We might have an idea…,” O’Donoghue teased, “but we’re not gonna tell you!” TVLine ~ 11/4/16
Is Charming really going down a dark path of vengeance on Once Upon a Time? — Brett
There’s potential, but OUAT won’t pick up that story immediately. “We know he’s tempted,” EP Edward Kitsis tells me. “It’s not something that’s going to come to the forefront right away. It’s something he is clearly thinking about. I would be really disappointed if we didn’t pick it up and at least find out the answer by the end of the season.” EP Adam Horowitz concurs: “That story is not over. David has made a decision by not burning [the evidence] to pursue it. How he pursues it and when he pursues it, we’ll see as the season progresses. But he’s certainly wrestling with something, and how it impacts inversely in his relationships with Snow and his family is part of the story, as well as the ultimate answer to the mystery.” EW ~ 10/28/16
Is anything coming up for Once Upon a Time‘s Snow and Charming? —Camilla
And how! With the Evil Queen poised to make a move on the person she hates most, “the shared heart between Snow and Charming comes into play,” series co-creator Adam Horowitz teases, “as they are bonded in this new battle.” Might we see Belle’s mother again on Once Upon a Time? —Betsy
I presented your Q to the show bosses, and there are “no immediate plans” to revisit that character. TVLine ~ 10/27/16
Question: Do you have any Once Upon a Time spoilers that concern “Snowing”? —Lyss
Ausiello: In addition to the well-reported drama to be drummed up by the Evil Queen, Snow and David will at least attempt to get a better bead on their own “happily ever after,” now that Neverland, memory wipes and Hell are behind them. In Season 6, “They’re back in Storybrooke, trying to make a life for themselves there,” says co-creator Adam Horowitz, “so we’re trying to dig more into what daily life is, what normal is.” And as that regards the princess and prince, “In an early episode, you’re going to see Snow White ask the question, ‘What is normal? And how do we get back to it?’ That’s something that she and Charming strive toward.” TVLine ~ 9/26/2016
What other news characters are we going to meet on Once Upon a Time besides the Count, Aladdin, Jasmine and Captain Nemo? — Jose
When Cinderella returns in season 6, we’re going to meet her evil stepmom and stepsisters. Much like the first time she appeared on the show, Cinderella’s story will be a reflection of what’s going on with Emma. “That was Emma’s first happy ending she actually returned,” EP Edward Kitsis says. “That was the very first time that Emma, at the end of it, decided to stay in Storybrooke. She saw herself through Cinderella. Now we’re in a situation where what if someone could undo all the happiness you’ve done, would your life matter? [She’s] faced with somebody out there that’s trying to undo the ones [she has] done.” EW ~ 9/23/2016
What’s next for Once Upon a Time‘s Hook and Emma? —Allison
In the Season 6 premiere, “We pick up pretty directly from where we left them at the end of last season, where for the first time Emma professed her love without the duress of a life-or-death situation,” co-creator Adam Horowitz reminds. “Of course, life-or-death situations come pretty quickly on our show, so that will change.” As EP Eddy Kitsis in turn notes, “No relationship is a fairytale. So if people are expecting no drama, we hope that they will enjoy what we are showing.” TVLINE ~ 9/14/2016
Anything on the Regina-Emma-Snow relationship on Once Upon a Time? — Mara
It certainly won’t be easy with the Evil Queen waging war on Storybrooke. “You get to see that this really is a family that has come together,” EP Edward Kitsis says. “Henry’s dream in the beginning was to bring everyone together, and in a lot of ways he has, but this year they’re going to be tested from their past. If there’s one thing the Evil Queen hates it’s Snow White — Snow White and other people’s happiness.” EW ~ 9/16/16
Anything Once Upon a Time related? If you can give me CaptainSwan info, I’ll be grateful. — Shannon
The show will be diving more into Hook’s past as his relationship with Emma moves forward. “Last year we saw Emma saying I love you to him when they weren’t in any sort of danger,” EP Adam Horowitz says. “Hook is excited to progress that relationship. At the same time, he is on his path of redemption, and we are going to see Hook doing his best to be heroic this year.” TVLine ~ 8/31/2016
Do you have any scoop about Snow White and Prince Charming from Once Upon a Time? — SnowingFan
Would it make you happy if I told you that the OUAT bosses say they want to see a lot of Snow and Charming this year? “Charming has always had questions about his family and his father that he thought were answered,” EP Adam Horowitz says. “Charming’s past becomes something very important to his future. We’re going to see him and Snow embarking on some adventure related to that past, and what that’s going to create for them moving forward, which is some unexpected obstacles to that happy ending they’re all trying to live.” EW ~ 9/02/2016
Is there anything Adam Horowitz can tell us about Rumbelle during season 6 of Once Upon a Time? — rumbelletrueluv
What if I let Emilie de Ravin tell you about Belle getting out of the box? “The way she is extracted, how it happens and the characters that are involved is really cool, and it reveals a lot about her relationship and her past/future,” de Ravin says, noting that the show will explore more of Belle’s independence this season. “It’s been a long time coming. Now that she’s pregnant, and now that she knows that it’s not really just about her anymore, she has to take responsibility for this other little person. That’s making her head spin a little bit with regard to, ‘Okay, I can spend my life trying to fix this person, whether it’s for me or for him, but if it’s affecting someone else now, it’s a game changer.’ It puts a little bit of spanner in the works for their marriage for a bit. There’s some alone time to be had.” EW ~ 7/29/16
I’d like some Once Upon a Time spoilers please. — Jane
The introduction of the Land of Untold Stories basically opens up storytelling avenues to, well, “everyone,” according to Edward Kitsis. “What’s funny is in the pilot if you watch when Emma sees the wolf that stops her from leaving town, the book flips open and we see all these worlds,” Kitsis says. “It’s time to tell new stories, broaden the show and move forward.” As for why these stories have not yet been told, Kitsis points to something Hyde said in the finale: “As he said, I need a place where these stories can play out, which would make me think for some reason they weren’t being played out, they were pushed on pause.” EW ~ 7/8/16
Thanks for the Evil Queen scoop! Anything more you can share on Once Upon a Time? — Virginia
The Land of Untold Stories will provide a new avenue into the characters we’ve come to know and love over the last five seasons. “The intent is that these new characters and new stories are really a reflection on what’s going on inside of our characters,” says EP Adam Horowitz. “With Lana and the Evil Queen, that’s the starkest example, which we’ve already teased. We’re literally going inside her and pulling her apart. There are elements of that that we’re planning to do for each and everyone of the characters.” EW ~ 7/1/16
Do you have any scoop on what’s going to happen to Once Upon a Time‘s Belle and Rumple? Will they be going on an adventure for the first time together? —Rebecca
They will be going on an adventure together… or as “together” as they can be with Belle still stashed inside a decorative container. “Belle is with Rumple — she’s in Pandora’s Box, in the sleeping curse,” says Once co-creator Eddy Kitsis. And as the Season 6 premiere will make clear, Rumple did get said box back, as part of his deal with Mr. Hyde. As for where the “information” Hyde delivered in return will lead the couple, “That will be the mystery that we show you,” Kitsis says. Adds co-creator Adam Horowitz: “What we really focus on at the start is: ‘How the heck does he get her out of the box and wake her?'” TVLine ~ 6/30/16
Will any of the untold stories on Once Upon a Time hold a connection to any of the characters? — lennyukpirate1
That’s TBD, but the arrival of characters from the Land of Untold stories will certainly affect those in Storybrooke. “The condition of life in Storybrooke is very important,” EP Adam Horowitz says. “Hyde’s arrival impacts that. We’re planning to explore a lot of what that’s going to mean for the day-to-day life in Storybrooke.” Adds EP Edward Kitsis: “One of the things that we really want to get back to this year is that season 1 and 2 vibe of small town stories, being in Storybrooke and getting back to Mary Margaret as the teacher, Emma as the sheriff, Grumpy as the janitor.” EW - 6/24/16
What will happen to Emma and Hook in season 6 of Once Upon a Time? — Niamh
If you recall, when Emma and Hook reunited in the finale, there was a wedding dress in the background. Ahead of the Dead of Summerpanel at ATX, I asked the guys point-blank if this means wedding bells will ring in season 6. They stayed very coy on the subject. “I would say you’ll have to watch season 6, you never know what’s going to happen,” EP Edward Kitsis replied. “You never know what’s going to happen with those two.” Fear not, they answered a few other season 6 questions, so check Spoiler Room next week for more! EW - 6/17/16
Any news on Once Upon a Time season 6? — Carole
Aside from the fact that we’ll be getting a double dose of Regina next season, Lana Parrilla has a number of questions about season 6: “Will Baby Robin be magical?” she tells me. “Will Zelena and Regina continue to have a healthy relationship now that they’ve reconciled? Or will Regina end up hating Zelena for being the mother to Robin’s baby? I’m curious to see what’s going to end up happening in that regard. Will she end up growing resentful that she can’t have children, but yet her sister has her boyfriend’s baby? I feel like that’s a story to be told. Are they going to stand side-by-side in a sisterhood or is Regina going to grow resentful overtime?” EW - 6/10/16
Adam Horowitz, executive producer and writer | twitter
Andrew Chambliss, writer | twitter
Tze Chun, writer | twitter
Jane Espenson, writer | twitter
Leah Fong, writer| twitter
David H. Goodman, writer
Brigitte Hales, writer | twitter
Dana Horgan, writer | twitter
Robert Hull, writer
Paul Karp, writer | twitter | sdcc
Daniel T. Thomsen, writer
Bill Wolkoff, writer | twitter
Mark Isham, composer | twitter
Sarah McCulloch, production Leaf Lady | twitter
Jerome Schwartz, production | twitter
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Geoffrey Hildrew, post-production | twitter
"We're going to switch to water." ~Emma "What, for drinking?" ~Hook
“Guilt can be as corrosive to the soul as revenge.“ ~ Captain Nemo
"Seek forgiveness. Because whatever happened, it will always stay with you." ~ Captain Nemo
Once Upon a Time: Ultimate villain arrives as Final Battle begins
Gideon’s true plans for Storybrooke spilled out during Sunday’s episode of Once Upon a Time — and all signs point to the end as we know it.
Though Gideon (Giles Matthey) claimed he banished Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) to force Emma (Jennifer Morrison) to help him kill the Black Fairy (Jaime Murray), in actuality he was working for the Black Fairy because she has his heart. Nearly killing Emma via giant spider powered the infamous sword, allowing Gideon to create a breach in which the Black Fairy arrived — and with her comes the beginning of the Final Battle, as hinted at since the very beginning of the series.
“As we showed in the pilot, Emma was prophesied to come back and break the curse and the Final Battle would begin,” executive producer Edward Kitsis tells EW. “It appears we thought we had taken care of that, but it turns out that was not true.”
Though the residents of Storybrooke thought Emma had fulfilled her destiny as Savior many times over, this confrontation truly marks the end. “It’s all about the Final Battle, the final battle that Emma is clearly involved with and it’s life or death,” Josh Dallas says. “It’s a thing where Charming’s going to lose his daughter maybe, and so they’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen. [They’re] extremely worried. That’s what we’re pushing through, trying to get out of this sleeping curse, and trying to save her.”
Recalling that pilot prophecy, in which Rumple tells Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming their daughter will return 28 years later as the Savior and will have to fight the Final Battle, Dallas says: “At the time, they assumed that meant breaking the original curse. They didn’t realize that it meant this, and I think that’s something that Snow and Charming are struggling with. If they would have known that it was going to lead to this, maybe they wouldn’t have put her through that wardrobe.”
They’re not the only ones dealing with fear about Emma’s well-being. “Regina, Emma, the Charmings, Hook, and even Zelena, they’re all a family, and they’re all very protective of one another,” Lana Parrilla says. “No one wants anything to happen to Emma, and if we hear that she’s going to face the most powerful evil fairy sorceress, everyone’s a bit terrified of what that outcome is going to look like, especially with Emma’s visions. She always saw herself getting killed, so everyone’s going to band together to really prevent that from happening. It’s really about strategic planning. How and when is this going to happen? When is the Final Battle beginning, and what do we need to do in order to prepare ourselves and save the people we love?”
With Once Upon a Time charging full speed toward the Final Battle, all involved say the danger is even more heightened than we’ve ever seen on the show before. That’s all thanks to the Black Fairy, the personification of evil, who is the true architect of the Dark Curse. “We always have high stakes, but I feel that the stakes are a little higher because this particular villain is the creator of the Dark Curse,” Goodwin says. “I don’t think any of us had really contemplated its origins until this storyline was interwoven. It does kind of give you that Oh sh— feeling.”
The larger problem is that the Black Fairy is very much an unknown entity — even Rumple (Robert Carlyle) doesn’t know much about her since she abandoned her son at a young age. “She is, by far, the most powerful force of evil we’ve ever encountered,” Parrilla says. “We know that she is Rumple’s mom, so we can only imagine how much darkness she possesses, and she probably taught him everything he knows somehow, but I think she’s also unknown, and she’s a new character for us to experience. So the residents of Storybrooke, especially our heroes, are a bit taken back, and not quite sure how to stop her.”
“She is way more powerful [than past villains],” Kitsis concurs. “Also, she’s Rumple’s mother, so there’s an emotional connection. The Black Fairy is almost a different level because she is almost no longer human; she’s part fairy. She’s the only fairy that’s fallen from fairyland. In a lot of ways, we look at her as the devil, in a sense.”
The Black Fairy’s impending arrival also caused Henry’s (Jared Gilmore) authoring power to go into overdrive during Sunday’s episode. Regina was therefore forced to turn to previous author Isaac (Patrick Fischler), who revealed Henry’s powers are taking over because there’s only one more chapter left in the book. “It means that we’ve reached the end of the very first book,” Kitsis says. “At a certain point, people say, ‘When are they going to get their happy endings?’ By the end of this year, some people’s stories are going to be completed — whether they’re good or bad, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Interjects EP Adam Horowitz: “‘Completed’ is a loaded term.”
“Yeah, you completed high school and that was the end of [your] high school, but then there was the next chapter,” Kitsis adds. “For us, we feel like after six seasons, there’s a chapter of people’s lives that we’re ready to wrap up, but there’s a big future, like with anybody, and a transition. We’re excited if we get an opportunity, and a season 7, to show everyone that.”
Suffice it to say, the end being nigh doesn’t sit well with our heroes. “Everyone’s a bit baffled by the whole concept because we don’t really know what that means,” Parrilla says. “And us actors don’t really know what that means. We know that this story is coming to an end, but we don’t know how it’s ending, and I think what’s unknown is also what’s so scary about it.”
But the prospect of a true happy ending is not necessarily scary to everyone in Storybrooke. “Something Snow has been contemplating this entire season is a return to normalcy,” Goodwin says. “Despite the way it may seem, she doesn’t crave drama in her life, and I think that she’s really, really ready to have a daily routine, and some peace and quiet, and she’s prepared for a bit of boredom. I think it would do her some good.” Hence, Snow doesn’t have any fear in terms of what this could mean. “But there is, maybe in some people’s regard, a little bit of delusion about how much she focuses on the silver lining,” Goodwin notes.
For his part, Charming has been too busy dealing with the potential impending doom that he hasn’t considered the silver lining. “He’s so wrapped up in the fact that this Final Battle is imminent,” Dallas says. “He’s so focused on that, and trying to deal with his own guilt of knowing that this was going to happen, and maybe not taking steps before to prevent it for Emma’s life. But then also realizing, at the same time, that if none of this happened, Emma wouldn’t be who she is, so I think he’s just super focused on that. I don’t think he’s actually really thought about that or let that sink in.”
Ultimately, though, it’s Emma who the pressure is on as the end nears. “Emma is going to go through every emotion that you would,” Kitsis says. “There’s the warrior part of her that wants to save her family, there’s the human part of her that doesn’t want to be the Savior and just wants a normal life, and doesn’t understand why she has to be the one to deal with it — and I think she’s going to run the gamut of all those emotions.”
“The final battle has been this threat that’s loomed over us for six seasons now,” Morrison says. “Everyone has a heightened sense of concern because this feels like a very dire situation, and it’s starting to feel more and more like Emma’s going to have to do this by herself, because Snow and Charming are still in this sleeping curse, and they’re realizing that they’re at the end of the book. They’re like, ‘What does that mean, the end of the book? Does the end of the book mean a happy ending? Does the end of the book mean she dies?'”
