EW 7/11 – Bosses tease Dark Swan, Rumple's Fate and More

Since you scaled back on Michael Socha’s role as a series regular, does that mean we won’t be getting the story of him and Anastasia this year? HOROWITZ: We hope to get to it. We hope to see Michael more. He’s not a regular anymore, but he’s still a part of the Once Upon a Time family and universe. We’d love to get to it. KITSIS: We remain big fans. It is a large cast with a lot of people that are front and center.

In other words, most likely not.

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In other words, NOPE.

How is Henry (Jared Gilmore) dealing with Emma being the Dark One?
KITSIS: Henry starts out the way he always has. Henry’s has the heart of the truest believer. He believes in his mom, believes she will fight it and stop it, and he will save her like always.

In other words, Henry will spout some overly cliche lines about how he has faith in his mother (and in his other mother to save Emma) and then not be seen for the rest of the season except when Emma is saved so they can have a family hug.

Who possesses Emma’s dagger at the moment?
HOROWITZ: That’s an excellent question. The possession of the dagger, who has it, where it remains and how that works is something we get into pretty quickly.
KITSIS: In the premiere we do.

It’ll be Hook.

How is Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) dealing after Emma finally said she loves him and then became the Dark One and disappeared?
KITSIS: We’re picking up with him in a state of, “I’ve come too far to not be happy now.” He’s going to go and save Emma come hell or high water.

In other words, we all know how this season will end.

Is Emma your villain for the first half of the season or will someone else have that mantle?
HOROWITZ: I would say it’s not as simple as that, but she certainly is villainous. There’s certainly her darkness to contend with.
KITSIS: There will be new characters that come in and out. One of the things we really love is that Emma becoming the Dark One has really focused it back on that family dynamic again.

LOL Eddy. I’ve heard that one before. Like….last season and how you were “getting back to basics” (then proceeded to insert 3 villains, Zelena, and the Author)

Now that Emma has taken his place, how does not having the darkness inside of Rumple change him?
KITSIS: Well, the last we left him, he was doing his Han Solo Carbonite impression, so the real question is: Will he ever wake up? That’s what we’re going to explore.

He won’t wake up in present day until the plot absolutely needs him (read: until the heroes are at a loss on how to save Emma and then Google–I mean Belle–magically discovers some plot device that will wake Rumple up, hiding in the back of the pawn shop)

You do have Rumple’s mother coming in. Is there anything you can tell us about her or what side she brings out in Rumple?
KITSIS: I would say people will see very clearly in the premiere what we intend to do with that character.

She’s Morgana

The Wicked Witch (Rebecca Mader) and Robin Hood (Sean Maguire) are sticking around! Is there anything you can tease about the love triangle and what Regina is facing as Zelena and Robin’s baby is due to arrive?
HOROWITZ: I wouldn’t call it a love triangle. It’s a—
KITSIS: —love obstacle. It’s the annoying guest that won’t leave your house. They say they just need a place until they find an apartment, but they never find an apartment.
HOROWITZ: Obviously, Zelena’s presence presents many issues.
KITSIS: I would say it’s the guest who won’t leave, but instead of just eating your ramen, they’re trying to kill you

An annoying house guest who RAPED him and then planned to use the baby conceived from said RAPE against him. Yeah, i hate when house guests do that to me as well.

Is Lily’s father somebody we might recognize?
HOROWITZ: We don’t want to comment on his identity right now. It is a thread we left open for a reason. We look forward to exploring it

It’s Arthur.

How is Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) dealing after Emma finally said she loves him and then became the Dark One and disappeared?
KITSIS: We’re picking up with him in a state of, “I’ve come too far to not be happy now.” He’s going to go and save Emma come hell or high water.

In other words, we all know how this season will end.

Eddy makes Hook sound really quite selfish. He makes it seem like Hook isn’t concerned about Emma outside of the fact that he considers her his happy ending. He’s going to save Emma, not for Emma’s sake, but so that he can get his happy ending because he’s “come too far to not be happy”.

Bit of a contradiction there on Rumple’s mother. Eddy says we’ll see what they intend to do with that character whereas according to Natalie Abrams:

#OUAT scoop: Per E&A, Merida is not Rumple's mom. Casting sides were a red herring. Won't be seeing Rumple mom. At least for now. @OnceABC

— Natalie Abrams (@NatalieAbrams) July 11, 2015

He’s going to go and save Emma come hell or high water.

Heh. I wonder if this pun was intentional.

HOROWITZ: I wouldn’t call it a love triangle. It’s a— KITSIS: —love obstacle.

Thank the stars for this direct quote from them. It was so absolutely needed.

(This story still sucks)

Of course he won the battle by giving her a cold… could LILY be that cold?
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