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Once Upon a Time scoop from the Comic-Con pressroom

In the Comic-Con 2012 Pressroom with Once Upon a Time

The Once Upon a Time cast and showrunners Eddie Kitses and Adam Horowitz met with entertainment journalists at Comic-Con Saturday after a packed fan panel to talk about season two. Lana Parrilla, also known as the Evil Queen, celebrated her birthday as more than 4,000 fans sang “Happy Birthday” to her during the panel, overwhelming her.

As last season ended, the curse had broken, but Mr. Gold managed to bring magic into the world of Storybrooke, and there it will reside as season two begins. What effect will the presence of magic have on the town and its fairy-tale inhabitants? That’s something we’re all waiting to find out.

Although, understandably, no one said very much about the plot for season two, some juicy tidbits were shared by the actors and creators, as they were during an exclusive interview I conducted Friday with Once Upon a Time writer/producer Jane Espenson. I’ve embedded a few pressroom clips and photos, as well as my full interview with Jane at the end of this article.

Josh Dallas, Lana Parrilla, Ginnifer Goodwin, Emilie de Ravin, Adam and Eddie were kind enough to sign my official Comic-Con press badge. The badge and photos of Emilie and Josh signing it will be auctioned off for charity by the Once Upon a Fan site. The proceeds will be donated to With Kids, a U.K.-based charity very near and dear to Robert Carlyle. More details will be forthcoming on that soon.

Highlights From the Pressroom:

According to Ginnifer, one of the most important challenges for both her and Emma will be in their very changed relationship. Emma and Snow have missed their first 28 years together as mother and daughter. But equally importantly, Emma and Mary Margaret had become best friends, perhaps the first best friend either of them have ever had. That will all change as they now have to forge this new relationship and adjust to the weirdness of it.

And speaking of weirdness, Emma will also have to come to terms with the fact that her parents are very famous fairy tale characters!

The presence of magic in Storybrooke, with fairy-tale characters living in modern-day New England, opens up all sorts of new storyline possibilities. Anything is possible, explained Ginnifer. And that, she said, will be more fun for the cast. They are now tasked with creating yet a third character—an amalgamation of their Fairy Tale Land and Storybrooke personas. Ginnifer also said that she will get to “kick more ass—and maybe in the present.” She revealed that stunt rehearsals are forthcoming for her.

Emilie de Ravin (Belle) talked about her character’s relationship with Rumple/Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle, unfortunately, was unable to attend Comic-Con this year). She said that Belle will not likely “presume to change this guy who obviously has a lot of problems.” Instead she will try to bring out the light side of Rumple—the part that is “hidden away.”

Emilie explained that Belle fell very hard for Rumple. What Belle sees in him is a wounded soul. (I think we can all relate to that!)

Lana Parrilla told us that she believes Regina is an “unlucky soul” with a good heart at her core and would like to see her character redeemed at some point—but not too quickly. Perhaps in season seven, as she suggested. Although she added that by then either Regina will have a halo round her head or be six feet under. But right now Regina’s main focus will be on how to redeem her relationship with Henry, whom she truly loves—despite everything that’s happened.

Lana also talked about Regina’s relationship with Mr. Gold. There’s a lot of history, she revealed, and we will get to see a lot of it this season. “It’s juicy and it’s fun,” she said.

Finally, Once Upon a Time creators Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitses explained that the second season is really a new chapter. Although the curse has now been broken, the characters have not returned to the enchanted forest. They are stuck in Storybrooke, but now with magic. “What has that cost them?” the show’s creators asked intriguingly. Does the Enchanted Forest even exist anymore?

We will learn the identity of Henry’s father. Although they’re not saying who it is, or even if we’ve already met him, the show’s creators do know the identity of Rumple’s son. They reminded us that Rumple has gone through a lot of machinations to find Baelfire, and he’s unlikely to stop searching for him. The loss of Baelfire is Rumple’s biggest regret and in a sense, believe Adam and Eddie, the moment he lost his heart.

Jane Espenson talks about Once Upon a Time from barbara barnett on Vimeo.

One Upon a Time in the Press Room at Comic-Con from barbara barnett on Vimeo.

About Barbara Barnett

A Jewish mother and (young 🙃) grandmother, Barbara Barnett is an author and professional Hazzan (Cantor). A member of the Conservative Movement's Cantors Assembly and the Jewish Renewal movement's clergy association OHALAH, the clergy association of the Jewish Renewal movement. In her other life, she is a critically acclaimed fantasy/science fiction author as well as the author of a non-fiction exploration of the TV series House, M.D. and contributor to the book Spiritual Pregnancy. She Publisher/Executive Editor of Blogcritics, (blogcritics.org).

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