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1* AbilityOverAppearance:
2** Creators said as much about Creator/MerrinDungey's casting as Ursula from ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'', as she does not resemble the character much. But they were inspired to cast her because of her performance in ''{{Series/Alias}}''.
3** Likewise Creator/JoAnnaGarciaSwisher is a full eighteen years older than Disney's Ariel, being 33 when she first played her. But it's hard to imagine an actress who can capture Ariel's optimism, clumsiness and quirky attitude in live-action better than she can.
4** To a lesser extent, Creator/SarahBolger looks nothing like Disney's [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Princess Aurora]] but her performance was very well received.
5** Caroline Morahan is far too [[AbsurdlyYouthfulMother young and pretty]] to be ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'''s Queen Elinor but turns in a spirited and heartwarming performance nonetheless.
6** According to Creator/RebeccaMader, she expected to do an American accent to play Zelena -- since the Wicked Witch comes from an American fairy tale. But the creators insisted on using her natural accent (although this may be an example of [[EvilBrit another trope]]), and she was the first choice for the role. Conversely, Bo Beep (who appears in Season 4's "White Out") has an English accent but was played by American actress Robin Weigert.
7* ActingInTheDark:
8** Creator/ChristieLaing, who plays Marian, didn't know that [[spoiler:Marian was actually Zelena in disguise in Season 4]] until "Heart of Gold".
9** Creator/EionBailey auditioned for August pretty much knowing only what was in the script for his first appearance. He joked that the creators went to great lengths to hide the twist [[spoiler:that he was really Pinocchio]] for as long as they could from him.
10** Creator/ColinODonoghue had no idea [[spoiler:Hook was a second Dark One]] for the first half of Season 5. Quite justified in this case as Hook didn't know either.
11** According to Creator/RobertCarlyle in a DVD commentary, he and [[spoiler:Creator/RobbieKay]] were the only actors told that [[spoiler:Peter Pan was Rumple's father]] until the episode when it was revealed. [[spoiler:Robbie Kay]] said in a panel in 2020 that he didn't know until the third episode he appeared in either.
12** The casting call for Tinker Bell was under the name 'Violet', so Creator/RoseMcIver didn't know she was auditioning for Tinker Bell until she was cast.
13* ActorInspiredElement:
14** Creator/JoshDallas has a real scar on his chin that the writers included in his and Snow's backstory. In the original timeline, she gives it to him by hitting him in the face with a rock; in the post-Season 3 finale timeline, she hits him with a jewelry box.
15** Creator/ElizabethMitchell suggested that Ingrid be barefoot, as she found it hard to walk in the woods while wearing high heels.
16** Creator/JamieChung claims that she and Creator/SarahBolger read Mulan and Aurora's scenes as if they were lovers, picking up on the LesYay between them. [[spoiler:The show then revealed that Mulan nursed an unrequited crush for Aurora.]]
17** Cruella's habit of flirting with everyone was Creator/VictoriaSmurfit's idea.
18** Creator/DavidAnders used an [[TheQueensLatin English sounding accent for his true identity]] [[spoiler:Dr. Frankenstein]] -- feeling the character's dialogue didn't work with his normal voice.
19* ActorInspiredHeroism:
20** Regina is presented as a straight-up WickedStepmother in the first season -- who gets the occasional PetTheDog moment with Henry. Creator/LanaParrilla pushed for Henry to become a proper MoralityPet for Regina, which led to her HeelFaceTurn in the third season.
21** Zelena too was one villain presented as irredeemably evil. But Creator/RebeccaMader and her geeky {{Adorkable}} nature -- and sheer love of being on the show -- led to Zelena eventually getting redeemed too.
22* AscendedFanon:
23** Due to how little the final film bore to the source material, many fans of ''Frozen'' had theorized that Andersen's Snow Queen existed in the ''Frozen''-verse as a separate entity than Elsa, another fan theory being that Elsa's powers were tied back to the former. ''Once'' appears to be going with an idea similar to this, with Creator/ElizabethMitchell portraying the Snow Queen as a separate character from Creator/{{Georgina Haig}}'s Elsa. Both theories were ultimately used, with the Snow Queen turning out to be Elsa's aunt.
24** Since Season 2, a lot of fans speculated that if Rumplestiltskin had stood up for himself and dueled Hook for Milah back in the day, Hook would have given Milah back and not run off with her. It wasn't until the mid-Season 5 episode "Broken Heart" that the writers finally turned fan speculation into canon by having Dark Hook admit that if Gold had actually fought him back in the day, he would have given him his wife back.
25* AuthorsSavingThrow: Fans were hugely upset over how Robin Hood became [[spoiler: DeaderThanDead while in the same episode, Hook was revived through a literal DeusExMachina]]. In an interview afterwords, the WordOfGod stated that they choose to believe that [[spoiler: Hades was lying about what the Olympian Crystal does to your soul and that Robin Hood is in the better place now, hinting he wasn't truly DeaderThanDead]]. The premiere of Series 6 has Henry and Regina decide to believe the same thing, [[spoiler:and the mid-season premiere heavily hints at them being correct, with the implication that Wish-Realm!Robin contains some portion of Real!Robin's soul. The series finale would flat-out confirm that Robin's soul survived, as we see it visit Regina in a vision that leaves his trademark red feather behind afterward]].
26* AwesomeDearBoy:
27** Creator/DavidAnders signed on when he was told [[spoiler:he was actually playing Dr. Frankenstein.]]
28** Creator/RebeccaMader was a huge fan of the show and claims she screamed in public when she was offered a role. She agreed before she even knew which role it was.
29** Creator/MerrinDungey likewise immediately agreed to move to Vancouver to film and dye her hair blonde, as she had been a big fan of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'' -- and jumped at the chance to play Ursula.
30** Creator/GeorginaHaig had a reaction like this to being cast as Elsa. She describes walking around in the costume as "like being Santa Claus".
31* BillingDisplacement:
32** Although Creator/RaphaelSbarge as Archie/Jiminy is credited among the regular cast in Season 1, he actually appears in less than half of the first season's 22 episodes (9 in all, sometimes briefly and in one episode only as a VoiceActor). He's demoted in Season 2.
33** In Season 2, there are several episodes in which lead cast members are credited, yet either do not appear or, if they do turn up, only do so for a few moments. This is most notable with Creator/MeghanOry, who plays Red/Ruby, whose character was promoted to main cast for the second series, but [[spoiler:after completing a major backstory arc mid-season]] is reduced to cameo appearances in occasional episodes thereafter and ultimately disappears from the series, without fanfare, several episodes prior to the season finale. Despite this, Ory remains credited among the main cast to the end of the season; in real life, the writers wrote Red/Ruby out of the series in part, according to interviews with Ory, due to them deciding to focus on other characters and in part due to Ory being cast in [[Series/{{Intelligence2014}} another series.]]
34** Season 3 has Creator/MichaelRaymondJames (Neal). After the first half, his appearances became significantly more scarce, culminating in [[spoiler:his character's death]], and yet he remained part of the main cast all the way to the end of the season.
35** Creator/MichaelSocha in Season 4. Though he appears in just barely enough episodes to qualify putting his name in the credits, his screentime is drastically limited to the point that Creator/EmilieDeRavin looks downright punctual by comparison. Will has no storyline of his own, almost no role in anybody else's storyline ''whatsoever'', no centric episodes, and even the barest minimum role in the long-awaited flashback episode for Robin Hood, the character most directly tied to his backstory.
36** Creator/SeanMaguire in Season 5, particularly 5B where Robin Hood barely showed up or had any lines. [[spoiler:And just like Neal, he died.]] He is also the only person credited as a main cast member to not get a centric episode or character arc in either half of the season. (While it would have awkward to say the least, considering his relationship with Regina and that the real one never got to find out about this, at the very least Marian could have appeared there--surely she had UnfinishedBusiness?)
37** Creator/EmilieDeRavin spends most of Season 5B not appearing or [[spoiler:under a Sleeping Curse.]] There is a reason though; she was pregnant.
38* CaliforniaDoubling: This show is set in Maine, on the East Coast, but is filmed in Steveston, British Columbia, with principal photography in Vancouver. The ocean is all too often on the wrong side of town.
39* CelebrityVoiceActor: The Shadow, for his one speaking appearance, is voiced by Music/MarilynManson.
40** [[Music/TheWho Roger Daltrey]] as The Caterpillar- largely so he can say, "[[CastingGag Who are you?]]"
41* {{Corpsing}}: Eion Bailey (August) is seen visibly laughing during Ruby's and Granny's spat. The writers cut to him in the final shot as a ThrowItIn.
42* CreatorBacklash:
43** Creator/RobertCarlyle hated that [[spoiler:Neal was killed off]], feeling Rumple's character lost his main motivations afterwards.
44** Creator/AmyManson not-so-subtly retweeted a couple of fan tweets complaining about the Season 5 winter finale where all her scenes were cut.
45** Creator/ElliotKnight also retweeted fan tweets that expressed disappointment in his character being so abruptly and unceremoniously killed off.
46** Creator/GinniferGoodwin has also subtly hinted on more than one occasion that she's not happy with the direction Snow's character went.
47** Creator/JenniferMorrison has publicly disagreed with the producers' character interpretations on several occasions, most notably saying that Emma taking the darkness into herself was about saving the whole town, rather than just Regina.
48** Creator/MichaelSocha has been quite vocal that he didn't enjoy his time on the show because even though he was contracted for a full season he really didn't do anything while he was on set.
49** Creator/SeanMaguire also expressed his frustration with the lack of closure following [[spoiler:Robin Hood being unceremoniously killed off. However, after talks with the creators, Sean felt content enough to return to the show and wrap things up.]]
50* CreatorChosenCasting: Creator/GinniferGoodwin, Creator/RobertCarlyle and Creator/MerrinDungey (and probably others) were Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz's first choices for their respective roles.
51* CreatorsFavorite: Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz reportedly said that Regina was their favorite character.
52* TheDanza: Young Princess Eva is played by Eva Allen (credited as Eva Bourne).
53* DawsonCasting: Common where the younger versions of characters in the flashback sequences are played by the same actor, but there are also some completely straight examples.
54** Especially notable in "Tallahassee" which features Creator/JenniferMorrison and Creator/MichaelRaymondJames as the teenaged versions of Emma and Neal. By the time Season 3 came around, Jennifer Morrison was too old to convincingly play Emma as a teen, and so Abby Ross was cast to make this slightly better.
55** Elsa is 23 years old and is portrayed by 29-year-old Creator/GeorginaHaig. This is just slightly less egregious than ''Frozen'', where a 21-year-old Elsa is voiced by 42-year-old Creator/IdinaMenzel.
56** Whilst played straight in ''Frozen'' (where a then-18 years old Anna is voiced by a 33-year-old Creator/KristenBell), ''OUAT'' makes it a minor trope, since Anna is 20 years old and is played by a 22-year-old Creator/ElizabethLail.
57** Kristoff is 23 and portrayed by a 29-year-old Creator/ScottMichaelFoster.
58** Creator/NicoleMunoz was twenty when she played Lily at 16. And since the show is a little vague on how much time has passed since the first episode, the adult Lily is this too. There's a six-year age gap between Creator/AgnesBruckner and Creator/JenniferMorrison, despite their characters supposedly being the same age.
59** Ruby is implied to be late teens or early twenties. Creator/MeghanOry was nearly thirty when she first played her.
60** Peter Pan's age is vague, but he's meant to be an eternal little boy. Creator/RobbieKay was eighteen.
61** Creator/FreyaTingley was nineteen when she played Wendy Darling, who is supposed to be around 12-14.
62** Cora's younger self is played by Creator/RoseMcGowan, who had just turned forty. Her age isn't stated in the flashbacks but is implied to be very early twenties at the latest.
63* {{Defictionalization}}: The exterior shots of Storybrooke's main street are filmed on a real road in British Columbia. The signs on certain shops are covered with a Storybrooke equivalent during filming and removed afterwards. However, some shop owners let the production company keep the signs up permanently, partially due to this trope and partially to make less work for the film crew (to erect and tear down the signs every week). The producers also leased two units just for the storefronts. These are kept the same year-round since they were never real shops in the first place.
64* DeletedScene: The Season 5 winter finale featured a scene wrapping up the loose ends of the Camelot storyline, but it was ultimately cut from the episode.
65* DevelopmentGag: In "Snow Falls", Mary Margaret tells Emma, "I'm a teacher, not a nun." In the original pilot script, Mary Margaret ''was'' actually a nun.
66* DirectedByCastMember: Creator/LanaParrilla (Regina) directed Season 7 episode "Chosen".
67* DuelingShows: Was initially this with ''Series/{{Grimm}}'', an NBC show that debuted around the same time that also focuses on fairytale characters existing in the real world. It soon became clear both shows were going in different directions. ''Grimm'' focuses on more obscure characters and creatures from the many, ''many'' lesser-known Grimm fairytales, as opposed to the more famous and iconic ones in ''Once'', and ''Grimm'' is a MonsterOfTheWeek horror-procedural show while ''Once'' is a SupernaturalSoapOpera.
68* DyeingForYourArt:
69** For Belle's three Season 1 appearances, blonde Creator/EmilieDeRavin just wore a wig. When she was upgraded to regular in Season 2, she dyed her hair brown. When she became pregnant in Season 5, she reverted to blonde and just wore wigs.
70** Creator/JenniferMorrison had been dyeing her hair brown for ''{{Series/House}}''. Fed up at having to spend so much time getting it dyed, she reverted to blonde to play Emma.
71** Creator/ElizabethLail darkened her blonde hair to red to play Anna.
72** Creator/AgnesBruckner darkened her blonde hair to brown to play Lily.
73** Creator/MerrinDungey dyed her hair blonde for Ursula.
74* FakeAmerican:
75** Creator/SarahBolger (Princess Aurora) is Irish. Ironically Mary Costa, who voiced the Disney version, was American as a FakeBrit.
76** Creator/GeorginaHaig (Elsa) is Australian.
77** Tim Phillips (Prince Thomas) is Australian.
78** Creator/AlanDale (King George) is from New Zealand.
79** Creator/NicoleMunoz (Young Lily) is Canadian. Notably her adult self Creator/AgnesBruckner is American.
80** Creator/AdelaideKane (Ivy Belfrey/[[spoiler:Drizella]]) is Australian.
81** Dorothy Gale is a Kansas native played by Creator/MatreyaScarrwener -- who is Canadian. Her second actress Teri Reeves is American however.
82** Creator/NathanParsons (Jack/Nick Branson) is Australian.
83* FakeBrit:
84** Cruella and Hook are both played by Irish actors -- Creator/VictoriaSmurfit and Creator/ColinODonoghue -- doing English accents.
85** Cruella's mother and Hook's brother are played by Australians -- Creator/AnnaGalvin and Bernard Curry -- doing English accents.
86** Creator/JamesImmekus (American) as Michael, and Creator/FreyaTingley (Australian) as Wendy.
87** Creator/RobinWeigert (American) as Bo Peep.
88** Creator/KarenDavid (Jasmine) is borderline, as she's Indian-born but raised in Canada and has been based in the UK for several years.
89** Creator/ElizabethBlackmore (Australian) as Mary Lydgate.
90** Hank Harris (American) as Dr. Jekyll.
91** Creator/SamWitwer (American) as Dr. Hyde.
92* FakeMixedRace: Creator/LanaParrilla's father is Puerto Rican and her mother is Italian, and she identifies as Latina. Her character Regina has a Latino father (played by Creator/TonyPerez) and white mother (played by Creator/BarbaraHershey).
93* FakeNationality:
94** Mulan is ([[FantasyCounterpartCulture kinda-sorta]]) Chinese, but Creator/JamieChung is of Korean descent.
95** The Genie is from Arabian folklore but played by the half-black, half-Italian Creator/GiancarloEsposito.
96** Belle is from a French fairy tale played by Creator/EmilieDeRavin, who is Australian, albeit of French descent but keeping her Australian accent. Belle was also voiced by the American Creator/PaigeOHara in the [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Disney movie]].
97* FakeScot:
98** Merida's parents are both played by Irish actors. The other people from Dun Broch are likewise played by local Canadian actors. Averted only with Merida -- played by Scottish actress Creator/AmyManson -- and with Macintosh -- played by Scottish actor Creator/PaulTelfer.
99** English actor Creator/StephenLord puts on a Scottish accent to play Rumple's father Malcolm.
100** Likewise, young Rumple is played by American Wyatt Oleff.
101* FanCommunityNicknames:
102** Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold's fans are called [[CatchPhrase Dearie]]s. So named by [[https://twitter.com/#!/robertcarlyle_/status/173902407380631552 Robert Carlyle himself]].
103** The Queen's fans are called Evil Regals, Snow White's are the Fairest, the Seven Dwarves' are Team 7, Prince Charming's are Charmers, Ruby's are Little Reds, Belle's are Beauties, and Emma's fans are called "Ugly Ducklings".
104** Captain Hook's fans are named "Hookers".
105** In terms of shipping. Those who ship the popular fanon ship, [[FanPreferredCouple Emma/Regina]], are often referred to by the themselves and others as "Swen".
106** "Rumbellers" are fans of the Rumplestiltskin/Belle {{ship|ping}}.
107** "Snowings" are fans of the Snow White/Charming ship.
108** "Mad Swanners" are fans of the Emma/Jefferson ship.
109* FridayNightDeathSlot Season 7 had some of the lowest ratings and it’s not that hard to see why. There are some in the fandom who continue to be utterly baffled as to why ABC decided to air Season 7 on Friday nights instead of the Sunday night time slot the first six seasons held.
110* FriendshipOnTheSet:
111** Creator/JenniferMorrison became good friends with the people who played her parents on the show, Creator/GinniferGoodwin and Creator/JoshDallas, to the point that the three even jointly dressed as the main trio from ''Harry Potter'' one Halloween. Jennifer also became incredibly close friends with Creator/ColinODonoghue, which helped their chemistry as lovers on-screen.
112** Creator/LanaParrilla and Creator/JaredSGilmore became incredibly close during the filming of the show. Jared even once described their off-screen dynamic as very similar to their characters' on-screen one and said that Lana was a second mother to him. Lana also grew close to the actress who plays her sister, Creator/RebeccaMader, and the two often call each other their best friend.
113** Creator/SeanMaguire and Creator/RobbieKay ironically didn't appear on-screen together, but they ended up becoming close friends simply through doing convention panels together. At one point, the former announced that he was adopting him as a joke. He also became close with Rebecca Mader, and the two did a podcast together during the COVID-19 pandemic.
114* HideYourPregnancy:
115** Snow White becomes pregnant midway through Season 3 to accommodate Creator/GinniferGoodwin's real-life pregnancy. But in the episodes before this is revealed, you can see the familiar tricks of her wearing big coats and loose tops. The Season 3 finale, after she's given birth, features time travel to the events of a Season 1 episode. It's obvious when they switch from archive footage to newly shot stuff, as Snow gains a double chin. Luckily she was already wearing a long black cloak in the episode.
116** Creator/EmilieDeRavin's pregnancy was also written into Season 5. But flashbacks in Belle's episodes shoot her from the chest up. She also [[spoiler:willingly undergoes a sleeping curse]] to allow Emilie to hide the bump and allow for a TimeSkip.
117** Ginnifer Goodwin was also pregnant a second time in Season 5. They kept Snow in big coats and wrote her out of the storyline temporarily to hide it.
118* IronyAsSheIsCast: Creator/JoAnnaGarciaSwisher (Ariel) cannot swim in real life. Which probably explains why Ariel is only seen in the water and not actually swimming.
119* TheOtherDarrin:
120** [[CastAsAMask It seems to be intentional.]] In Season 1, the Queen of Hearts is played (under a veil) by Jennifer Koenig. In Season 2, she's played by [[spoiler:Creator/BarbaraHershey]] when she's revealed to be [[spoiler:Cora.]] It should be noted that [[spoiler:even when she was played by Jennifer Koenig, Barbara Hershey supplied the voice, which was hard to make out due to her speaking only in whispers.]]
121** In his first appearance, "Skin Deep" in Season 1, Gaston is played by Creator/SageBrocklebank. In his second, "Her Handsome Hero" in Season 5, he's played by Wes Brown, and the "previously on" flashbacks have Brown inserted into the scenes from "Skin Deep".
122** In Season 3, Creator/SeanMaguire replaces Creator/TomEllis in the role of Robin Hood. It's later justified when a flashback taking place before his first appearance shows Robin stealing a glamour charm from Zelena and using it to hide from Rumple, whom he double-crossed. He says that the charm will make him appear to be someone else in the eyes of his enemies, so Rumple doesn't recognize him when they meet next.
123** In Season 4, Creator/MerrinDungey replaces Creator/YvetteNicoleBrown in the role of Ursula after the latter had voiced her in one episode of Season 3. [[spoiler:Possibly subverted when the episode [[Recap/OnceUponATimeS4E15PoorUnfortunateSoul "Poor Unfortunate Soul"]] reveals that the sea witch Ursula is a separate character from and was named after the goddess Ursula. It's unclear whether Brown's character was really the goddess or just the sea witch acting through her statue]].
124** In Season 6, Creator/OdedFehr replaces Creator/NaveenAndrews (who portrayed the character in ''Series/OnceUponATimeInWonderland''; scheduling conflicts with ''Series/Sense8'' prevented him from reprising the role) as Jafar.
125* TheOtherMarty: Creator/PaulaMarshall was first cast as Maleficent, but was later replaced by Creator/KristinBauer.
126* ThePeteBest: Creator/SeanMaguire is best remembered as Robin Hood than Creator/TomEllis.
127* PlayingAgainstType:
128** Creator/JamieChung is normally known for playing AsianAirhead roles. Mulan is TheStoic in this version, making it a very different role for her. Notably Mulan's characterization in the movie would have been within type for her.
129** Graham was retroactively this for Creator/JamieDornan -- who tends to be a VillainProtagonist or at least a morally questionable character. Graham is probably the most heroic role he's ever played.
130** It's quite a change for Creator/RoseMcGowan -- who is synonymous with {{Perky Goth}}s and {{Deadpan Snarker}}s -- to play Cora's younger self.
131** Considering that Creator/RichardSchiff is probably most famous for playing the eternally frustrated, HairTriggerTemper, JerkWithAHeartOfGold speechwriter Toby Ziegler on ''Series/TheWestWing'', watching him act as a benevolent, soft-voiced king is jarring, to say the least.
132* PlayingWithCharacterType:
133** Creator/RoseMcIver usually plays women with tragic backstories, or who have gone through BreakTheCutie in some way. Tinker Bell is similar but recovers from her damage and reverts to TheCutie pretty quickly.
134** Creator/RobertCarlyle often plays the ButtMonkey of the story. Rumple starts out like that, but grows to resent his status as such, and becomes the Dark One to pull off a WhosLaughingNow.
135* PostScriptSeason: The show had a wonderful plot conclusion at the end of Season 6, with all the plot threads closed -- [[spoiler:Rumplestitskin/Mr Gold preferring his family over his Dark One powers, Regina finally being recognized and loved as Queen/Mayor, Mary Margaret and David finally living together on a farm, Emma and Hook happily married and raising Henry with Regina, everybody resuming their normal lives and dining at Granny's every night]] -- but opening a new story ''TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture'' with [[spoiler:Henry's daughter looking for an adult Henry who doesn't remember anything about Storybrooke.]] Thus we got Season 7, which turned out to be the show's last season and as a consequence has very little connection to anything that came before it.
136* PromotedFanboy:
137** Creator/GinniferGoodwin has said that ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' was her favourite Creator/{{Disney}} film as a child. Other cast members have said just how much like Snow White she is in real life too. She even shows off her Disney knowledge in the DVD audio commentary.
138** Creator/RebeccaMader was a huge fan of the show and had hoped to be asked to play Ariel. She claims she screamed in public when she was offered the part of Zelena.
139** In the Season 7 Cast Goodbyes special, Creator/DaniaRamirez called herself "a huge fan of the show" prior to being cast as Cinderella.
140* PropRecycling:
141** The Jolly Roger is also the ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl Interceptor]]'' and the ''[[Film/StarTrekGenerations Enterprise]]''.
142** The compass that Hook and Emma steal from the giants' castle is the same one that Gretel gets from her father in "True North".
143** A costume example would be the dress that Violet wears to her date with Henry in "Dreamcatcher". It's an altered version of one that teenage Emma wears in Snow's vision in "Best Laid Plans".
144*** There's actually a lot of costumes that are recycled within the series. [[http://recycledmoviecostumes.tumblr.com/tagged/once-upon-a-time Here's what people have noticed so far.]]
145* RealLifeRelative: Sort of. Sunny Mabrey (Glinda) was married to Creator/EthanEmbry (Greg) but they were separated while the show was airing. They rekindled their romance in 2015.
146** Alissa Skovbye, who plays Jefferson's daughter Grace, is the little sister of Creator/TieraSkovbye, who plays the adult Robin in Season 7.
147** Raphael Alejandro (Roland) is the younger brother of Delila Bela (Young Guinevere).
148* RealLifeWritesTheHairstyle:
149** Emma's hair being blonde partly came about because Jennifer Morrison, a natural blonde, had grown tired of dyeing it brown for ''{{Series/House}}'' and saw the show as an opportunity to go back blonde. She also cut it to shoulder length around Season 5, and wore wigs and extensions for the show, which is why Emma wears her hair up a lot more in Season 6.
150** Mary Margaret having short hair in Storybrooke while Snow White has long hair in the Enchanted Forest is because Ginnifer Goodwin hated having to maintain long hair and had it written into her contract that, if a role requires long hair, she'll just wear a wig. When Snow returns in Season 7, they don't have her wear a wig because Ginnifer had decided to grow her hair out a little.
151** Emilie de Ravin is wearing a wig from Season 5 onward because she didn't want to keep dyeing her hair brown while pregnant.
152** Dr Whale has white-blonde hair when he makes a cameo in Season 5, which Zelena mocks him for, because David Anders had dyed it for ''Series/{{iZombie}}
153** During Season 6, Creator/RobertCarlyle was also filming ''Film/T2Trainspotting''. As a result, his hair and goatee were incorporated into Rumplestiltskin.
154* RomanceOnTheSet:
155** Creator/GinniferGoodwin and Creator/JoshDallas married in real life. Yes, that's right, [[LifeImitatesArt Snow White and Prince Charming fell in love]].
156** Creator/JenniferMorrison and Creator/SebastianStan, which is creepier than the above example when their characters' interactions are considered. They broke up in 2013.
157* RoleReprise: In the Latin American Spanish dub [[DuelingDubs done by Disney]], Romina Marroquín Payró, Carmen Sarahí and Héctor Lama Yazbek reprised their roles as Anna, Elsa and Pabbie from their [[Franchise/{{Frozen}} original franchise they came from]].
158* SeparatedAtBirthCasting:
159** As has been widely publicised, Creator/GinniferGoodwin and Creator/JenniferMorrison have frequently been mistaken for each other so many times. So they're a perfect fit to play mother and daughter Snow White and Emma Swan. Creator/JenniferMorrison also shares some features with her on-screen father Creator/JoshDallas.
160** Abby Ross, who plays Emma as a teen, has a strong resemblance to Creator/JenniferMorrison too. As does Creator/MckennaGrace, who plays Emma's child self.
161** There's also a very good resemblance between Creator/LanaParrilla and Creator/BarbaraHershey, who play mother and daughter. Creator/RoseMcGowan was also praised for looking uncannily like Hershey's younger self when she played the young Cora.
162** The resemblance between Creator/GinniferGoodwin and Creator/BaileeMadison, who plays young Snow, is also uncanny.
163** Creator/AndrewJWest makes a convincing grown up version of Creator/JaredSGilmore's Henry.
164* ShipperOnSet:
165** Creator/GinniferGoodwin (Snow White), Creator/EmilieDeRavin (Belle), and Michael Raymond-James (Neal/ [[spoiler:Baelfire]]) all ship Swan Thief (Emma/Neal).
166** Creator/JenniferMorrison (Emma) and Creator/ColinODonoghue (Hook) both ship Captain Swan (Emma/Hook).
167* SpoiledByTheCastList: In the episode "[[Recap/OnceUponATimeS1E8DesperateSouls Desperate Souls]]", there is talk of a Dark One before Rumpelstiltskin, and Creator/BradDourif is a guest star. It wasn't too hard to guess what his role would turn out to be.
168* StarMakingRole:
169** Creator/LanaParrilla was virtually unknown before the series. Her profile was significantly raised when she starred as Regina.
170** Creator/MerrinDungey appears to have done quite well after starring in the show. Beforehand her credits were mostly guest spots in various TV shows. Afterwards she was part of the ensemble cast of ''{{Series/Conviction}}'' and got a prominent role in the high profile ''Literature/BigLittleLies''.
171** Playing Hook gave a boost to Creator/ColinODonoghue's career.
172** Creator/RebeccaMader had been part of [[{{Series/Lost}} two]] [[{{Series/Fringe}} hit]] shows beforehand, but getting cast as Zelena seems to have resulted in a breakthrough for her.
173* ThrowItIn:
174** During the Ruby/Granny fight in "Red Handed" August can be seen barely containing himself from laughing. Creator/EionBailey really was trying not to crack, but it was so funny the scene was added.
175** Rumple's ImportantHaircut in Season 6 was because Creator/RobertCarlyle had cut his hair short for ''Trainspotting 2''.
176** Creator/DavidAnders had to have his hair bleached platinum blond for ''Series/{{iZombie}}'', so Zelena makes a snide comment about his "dye job" when he reappears in Season 5.
177* VindicatedByReruns:
178** A common occurrence through DVR ratings. Example: the first half of Season 3's Neverland arc (episodes 1-6) was a ratings success on all fronts, but the second half not so much. A rerun of its final episode, however, brought its ratings score up to standard.
179** Similarly, even though the live ratings have plummeted recently, it became one of the top shows that people rent and binge-watch on Netflix (prior to its move to Disney+.)
180* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
181** Apparently they wanted Music/LadyGaga as the Blue Fairy.
182** The Sheriff was meant to be Sherlock Holmes, and his curse in Storybrooke was that there was no mystery to solve. The plan fell through due to an issue with acquiring the rights. Not to mention the fact that there were already [[Series/{{Elementary}} two]] [[Series/{{Sherlock}} Sherlocks]] on TV at that point in time.
183** Speaking of the Sheriff, they wanted him to [[http://www.ew.com/article/2014/09/22/once-upon-a-time-jamie-dornan-return return in Season 3]], which fell through because Creator/JamieDornan was filming ''Film/FiftyShadesOfGrey''. If they'd gotten to do it, he'd have appeared in what was described as a ''Film/PeggySueGotMarried'' moment [[BackForTheFinale in the season finale]] -- Emma would have seen him while trapped in the past, but been unable to reach out because doing so would have wrecked the timeline.
184** [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Ariel]] and WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} were planned for the second season, but their appearances got "pushed back" for unknown reasons. Ariel showed up in Season 3 and Aladdin in Season 6.
185** Early drafts of the pilot episode had Charming killed off. This was changed after Creator/JoshDallas auditioned and "blew them away" with his performance, prompting the creators to expand his role, although they later claimed that ExecutiveMeddling made them spare him (and that they [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools agreed with the meddling, saying the executives were right.]])
186** Early drafts also had Regina with three children instead of just Henry, but the identities of the other two are not yet known.
187** [[http://www.zen134237.zen.co.uk/Once_Upon_A_Time_1x01_-_Pilot.pdf The final draft of the pilot as it was sold]], before the show was picked up and more changes were made, has many differences, most notably Emma being named Anna.
188** Hook was supposed to have a larger role in the second half of Season 2, but it had to undergo a major rewrite due to Creator/ColinODonoghue breaking his leg. The writers had to cut almost all of Hook's scenes.
189** Regina and Henry's more positive mother-son relationship from Season 2 onward is only a result of Creator/LanaParrilla (Regina) pushing the writers for it. The same is true for Regina and Robin's relationship, somewhat... she only pushed for a romance for Regina, the choice of Robin Hood for the love interest is the writers' doing.
190** Belle was originally intended for only one episode, but she was brought back by popular demand. Similarly, Anton the Giant was originally going to only be in his nameless debut, "Tallahassee", but the staff liked him enough to bring him back and expand upon him in "Tiny" and "Lacey". Another similar case is Blackbeard, whose death in his debut, "The Jolly Roger", was later retconned because the writers really enjoyed what Charles Mesure brought to the role and thus wanted to use the character in more stories.
191** Captain Hook was originally supposed to appear in Season 1, but the writers were unable to acquire the rights to Neverland in time.
192** Dracula was considered as a character for Season 1, but they went with Dr. Frankenstein instead.
193** Ruby had more plots planned but the ever-increasing character load in Season 2 left them no way to feature her. [[spoiler:Season 5 reintroduces her.]]
194** Creator/AmyManson claims she was offered to make Merida a series regular. She declined, not wanting to move to Canada to work exclusively there.
195** Creator/SeanMaguire stated that if Season 5 had been the final season and the show not been renewed, then [[spoiler:Robin Hood wouldn't have been killed off, since that was done to kick off a plot for Season 6.]]
196** Season 6 would have had an episode of Henry narrating stories from the book that tied up dangling plot threads of Mulan, Maleficent and Lily, Will Scarlet and others. Sadly, the producers couldn't get as many of the actors as they wanted and it was dropped.
197** Creator/JenniferMorrison claims she was offered the chance to remain a series regular for Season 7. She turned it down but agreed to make a guest appearance in its second episode and then later BackForTheFinale.
198** Originally, Maleficent and Lily's story was to reveal Lily's father as Franchise/{{Zorro}}. Unfortunately, the writers couldn't obtain the rights to the Zorro character, despite him appearing in [[Series/Zorro1957 a Disney TV show in the late 1950s]], so, instead, Regina mentions it in passing in the series finale.
199* WordOfGod: Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz confirmed that Regina and Emma (who make up the popular fan ship "Swan Queen") are never going to get together and that the possibility of it was never even considered when asked at San Diego Comic-Con 2013.

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