Once Upon a Time‘s Season 7 ‘Reset’: Seven Burning Questions Answered
Once Upon a Time‘s mysterious Season 7 “reset” is a liiiitle bit less mysterious now, after the ABC series held court on Saturday at the D23 Expo in Anaheim.
Coming out of the May finale, all viewers knew was that everyone in Storybrooke (as well as the Evil Queen and Robin Hood) received a happy ending — after which the action leaped forward to “years later.” There, a storybook-toting young girl named Lucy trekked to Seattle to introduce herself to her father, a grown-up Henry, and urgently inform him, “Your family needs you.”
In the immediate wake of that jaw-dropper, the head of ABC teased at Upfronts that in Season 7, Hook, the Evil Queen and Rumplestiltskin — played by the only returning series regulars, Colin O’Donoghue, Lana Parrilla and Robert Carlyle — “return but with new identities in a new city, facing a new curse” (plus, this bevy of cast additions.)
New identities? A new curse? And original series lead Jennifer Morrison back for just one episode? Did the happy endings not stick?? Here’s what series co-creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis, plus cast member O’Donoghue, shared about Season 7, which will air this fall, Fridays at 8/7c.
* When asked if departing series regulars other than Morrison — who is set to reprise her role for one episode next season — would return, Kitsis remarked “I would be disappointed if we didn’t” have them back, to which Horowitz said, “That means yes.”
* Addressing concerns that the show’s revamp will erase the happy endings that many of the characters got, Horowitz noted that “they weren’t so much happy endings as they were happy beginnings.” Season 7 is not “a complete reset or reboot. It’s a new chapter.” Kitsis then emphasized that they’re “not interested in erasing those six years or [making] people feel like they wasted six years.”
* New series regular Dania Ramirez is playing a “new” version of Cinderella, as shown in photos opposite Adult Henry (played by Andrew J. West). More on that here.
* Might Henry have a half-sibling? “We can’t say whether or not [Emma and Hook] have a child, but we can tell you we will answer that question in the beginning of the season,” Kitsis replied.
* “We meet [Hook] in new circumstances [in Seattle] in the premiere. In the second episode, we really delve into what happened to him,” Horowitz said, adding that “there’s a flashback story that explains a lot.”
* Although Hook is without his love, don’t expect him to embrace a new lady. “I think that Emma is absolutely Hook’s soulmate, as we saw,” Kitsis said. “The Hook that we all know and love, his eyes are only for Emma.” Added Horowitz: “How could he look elsewhere?”
* As for whether Hook will go bad without Emma, “There’s always the danger of Hook returning to his villainous ways, but I think his good heart [stops] him from going all the way,” Kitsis reassured the audience.
I don’t get it, they’ve done Cinderella, Jesus Shram’s version was lovely, why do the character again when there are others they’ve not done?
As much as I liked CaptainSwan, I was hoping that if Killian had a “new identity” we might see some of his pirate ways return, they just put the kibosh on that.
Uh.. I’m not thrilled yet 🤔
Jessy!!! no idea why that happened 🙈
Agreed. If Jessy is out. I am out.
To be honest…. being a pirate doesnt have to be anything bad or villiany. The man has grown and developed so much, so i am hoping that taken into consideration. I know how Hook was in the past and so on… i know his backstory and the man he is today… i dont need to really rehash that again. And i really like the Emma and Hook story, i just hope they keep that intact and the essence.
Agree with that first part. But going further I confess I’d like to see a little of something in the middle. I like the hero-pirate, but I loathed “Emma’s boyfriend”. It seemed that Hook did grow & develop…….right into nothing more than Emma’s boyfriend. He’s a good guy now & I don’t believe he needs Emma to maintain that. However, the man he is today is the man he turned himself into because he believed that’s the one Emma would accept & allow to stay. Honestly, I miss the wise-cracking, swashbuckling, flirtatious & brash pirate. There’s no reason, especially now that he won’t have to maintain a certain persona for Emma, that he can’t find a place in the middle. Being a good guy to honor their relationship (it’s what Emma would want) but bringing back more of the funny & irreverent pirate. It’d be nice to see that he hasn’t completely & irreversibly lost himself to that relationship.
I agree with all that you said & that was my point in the original post 😊
Heck yeah, I agree with your post too. My concern stems from CS fans worried about the show preserving the relationship or feeling/essence of their relationship. Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want the show to abandon anything from S1-6, just to give Hook the opportunity to, what, find a life independent of Emma? Come back to himself a little? I don’t know. I felt in the last 2 seasons Hook lost himself in becoming Emma’s boyfriend. I want the smart-a$$ back. So yeah, I agree with you too.
I attended this D23 panel. They were very careful to say “the Hook we know” would only have eyes for Emma. It sounded like they left room for the “new” Hook we don’t know yet to possibly have a different love interest.
That’s a little provocative, so maybe interesting too. If he doesn’t have a new love interest, I hope at least Hook makes some friends. If they’re under a curse than most likely the big three don’t know/recognize each other just yet.
TPTB never really took the time on any kind of real basis to emphasize that Hook didn’t really have anyone in life except for Emma. It would suck for him to be alone & friendless simply because Emma was no longer in the picture.It would be cool to see him have a life independent of Emma.
I got that impression too, this isn’t the Hook we know, that’s their loophole 🤔
Loopholes……Slippery little tools. I missed that “the Hook we know”. Hmm, that leaves the window open doesn’t it? This could be interesting. Poor bast@rd. What happens if he falls in love while under the curse, then his memories return once it’s broken?! Dunn, duhn, duhn!
But they also said there is no tinder here and he’ll always love.her.I’m guessing he turns bad for awhile
Nah, I doubt they’d have the character regress, regarding badness & evil. Although a “dirty cop” storyline might be interesting. Hunh.
I expect it’s closer to a SB-type curse, or the NYC for Emma & Henry. These three probably have fake histories & memories. A&E have confirmed that Hook & Emma are TL. But they’ve also confirmed that these are not the same characters, under this curse. Hook is not the same Hook we’ve come to know. Considering this is a show where happy ending = true love, but Hook already has his TL, there may be romance afoot but he is not the Hook that knows Emma as his TL. If this comes to pass, it will create much drama, as this time around they are living under a curse in a town not solely filled with fairy tale characters. If Hook finds himself in a romantic relationship with a non-FT character, well, heartbreaks all around when the curse is broken.
Me too! Would love to see a little of the swashbuckler return!
They so are going to give him someone new. this won’t be the hook we know and love when he’s cursed. I hate they think that’s ok and something fans want to see. Also they don’t want to throw away last 6 seasons yet that is what they are doing.
I’m hoping it only lasts as long as the curse. If they’re telling the truth, it won’t last through too many episodes. But that raises the question: Then what? They’re out there in the “real world” now, the land without magic. Or is this Washington town of Hyperion Heights a conjured town like Storybrook, where magic exists? This could be interesting.
I find it interesting that they say they don’t want to “erase” the previous six seasons, but still recast roles. It starts with Cinderella, who knows who they’ll recast next.
It’s a recast, they’re introducing new versions of characters who are separate from the ones we already met. This is a different Cinderella.
I meant to say it is NOT a recast.
They have had different versions of the same characters before. They did a similar thing with Ursula character
Yeah but with Ursula, the casting choice was because it was a flashback. They needed to cast a different actress because in the flashbacks she was younger. Am I remembering this wrong?
Not sure what to think about season 7.
I hope they keep the love and essence of Emma and Hook, and their true love and in any version and time they have met and been connected. I do hope we see Emma more then in just one episode
Are Colin, Lana and Bobby playing the same versions of there characters or are these different versions of those characters too?
Umm…Henry with a version of Cinderella…No! Just, no! And Killian without Emma, also no. I can’t see this working out very neatly. I’ll watch season 7 but I’m not going to throughly enjoy it!
The husband has been the biggest fan, all these years. However he is hung up on the town’s name being Storybrooke, and he might have something, there. That town name is magical to the viewers, just the sound of it. They should just have a Storybrooke, Washington, which would make sense, being on the opposite northern coast to Maine’s east coast. Afterall, there are 37 states that have a Springfield.
“they weren’t so much happy endings as they were happy beginnings.” Dude, I hate to be a negative nancy here but…that is stupid. The end result is what counts, so why even bother saying in the story book, “and they lived happily ever after”? This reboot is sounding more and more completely redundant.
Well said.
Dania a main actress is playing a older Cinderella talk about a character heading to a big promotion!
I absolutely love OUAT it’s my fav drama series. I started watching it about a year ago on Netflix and Hulu. And watched every episode and loved it. I was sad taht it was the end but now SEASON 7!!
These people seem incapable of doing anything new. Seriously, what is this, the fifth “reset”? Sixth? I’ve heard of riding a cliche into the ground, but damn, this cliche is bloody dead. DO SOMETHING ORIGINAL. Or, I dunno, hire competent writers.
amen.
Lame. Not worth watching t
The series is caput and not because of its reboot, oops I’m supposed to say next chapter, but because the show is moved to Friday nights. Which youngster stays home Friday nights? 🤔😜
Live viewing is less important now than it was. We are stifting to on demand and that happens everywhere. We consume the same amount of video/film content (and more) than before, but in new ways through DVR and streaming.
I haven’t watched a show linear in years, and this move actually made it more practical for me watching my favourite show.
A “different version” of Cinderella? Are they really so creatively bankrupt that they have to go back to characters we’ve already seen on the show and do their stories again? The more I hear about this new season, the less interesting it becomes. Sigh.
I’m inclined to agree with you.
I don’t mind them doing different versions of characters that they have already done. They’ve long since established that there are multiple lands out there. So why not another version of the Enchanted Forrest with a different Cinderella and who knows who else? I love stories with a multiverse, probably why I love comic books so much. It seems like they’re making this version of Cinderella their core story instead of Snow White which could be fun. I for one, think seeing a grownup Henry being a Prince Charming like character could be fun. I’m excited to see what other new versions of characters they’ve done before. I am concerned about the ‘new identities’ of The Evil Queen/Regina, Hook and Rumplestiltskin thing. I hope it’s due to a curse and not that they are whole new characters. I get introducing a new Enchanted Forrest like place and making the inhabitants characters we know but with different stories and actors. But, these are the same characters/actors that we’ve watched grow and have loved or hated or loved to hate for six years. I do think people are prejudging the reboot or whatever it is. I get being concerned for old favorites, as am I, but at least wait for the premiere or even a promo. I am being cautiously optimistic. It may not end up having the same magic or charm as the original run but it could and either way it’ll probably still be fun.
Well said. I like your take on all of that.
From what I read from other sites as there are different written versions of the fairy tales for example in Cinderella did the prince have 3 balls or 1 ball , did Cinderella wear glass slippers or a golden slippers, was it a fairy godmother or the spirit of her actual mother. Henry, in the past, went to a different Enchanted Forest, where the stories unfold differently. I think Henry wants to find his own story or something.
That’s exactly how they explained it at D23. Different versions of Cinderella already exist — Disney has the animated Cinderella and the live-action Cinderella, not to mention the original tale or the Rogers and Hammerstein musical. When they explained it that way, the idea of a “new” Cinderella made sense.
There’s also the Into The Woods Cinderella (ITW is the original OUAT, mashing up & twisting fairytales). She intentionally ran away from the prince night after night, but he finally caught her by covering the stairs in pitch so she’d get stuck. They end up in a loveless marriage and he cheats on her. Different from the Disney version but still an established portrayal of the Cinderella character.
Speculation about Regina, Rumple, and Hook in flash forward . If they are under a spell maybe Regina and Rumple are married, probably not happily. Will Hook still have his hook? Would seem an odd thing to have in Seattle where presumably not everyone is a fairy tale character.
I wanted someone to ask about the hook but it never came up (not that they would’ve answered it anyway).
I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just direct you to Google, where you can see shooting stills that will explain the hook/hand question.
Trying to avoid set spoilers but thanks.
I think this show ended with season six for me. I feel like season seven is just going to be a carbon copy of season one. Henry had to find Emma and convince her that fairy tale characters were real to stop the curse, and now Henry’s daughter has to convince Henry of the same thing. I was with this show for six years. I’m not going to start all over.
Totally agree with you Heather.
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This show really should have been cancelled at the end of last season. It was a good place to stop…. no need for this reboot.
I really don’t get it, the reboot I guess, ok, if they want to carry on the show but why redo previous characters? If they wanted to do Cinderella differently, why didn’t they in the first place, could the network behind this? could it be the current PTB don’t like what has gone before? 🤔
It might as well be a whole spin off show instead of a seventh season. It’s completely changed, what Regina going to be a mortgage broker or the mayor of seattle,so many exodus of former main characters will kill it.northern exposure was killed when dr joel left. Season six should have been brighter and happy ending ish than it was I think the last episode was at night time or at least cloudy, and not very fleshed out. Snow and charming should have finally made it home to their castle with emma…
Well,I was ready to give the reboot a try but I changed my mind!
Once has ended last year!
Everything I am learning about the new season seem to be a fake, cheapier of what I once loved!
Sad! That the creative integrity once again don’t matter much just the mighty dollars!
Sad way to terminate the show!
I still don’t understand how you can have Hook without Emma. It doesn’t make sense. And I didn’t even ship them.
Also, a new Cinderella? No. Just no. Jessy Schram was awesome and let’s be honest, she got unceremoniously relegated to background character, really early on in the series. Why not do Tiana? She was a princess, I do believe.
“Might Henry have a half-sibling? “We can’t say whether or not [Emma and Hook] have a child, but we can tell you we will answer that question in the beginning of the season,” Kitsis replied.” ~ translation, Emma and Hook had a child together. It is the only way to emotionally tether Hook to the storyline, now that Emma is gone.
Oh wow, I agree with you 100%. And it’s this fact that makes the situation so sad. I’ve been saying it for a while now, but Hook is nothing without Emma and that is a wretched situation. They sacrificed the entire character when they turned him into nothing more than Emma’s boyfriend. (I sound like a broken record…..) TPTB stripped Hook of everything that made him interesting to put him in service to Emma; he had nothing independent of Emma. He was her back-and-call guy – always there to support her, take care of her, stroke her mentally & emotionally, all to the detriment of himself. I’m hoping that the character can come back to himself a little bit, not just living to be Emma’s better half. It’d be pretty cool to get the funny guy back! JMO.