Favorite Characters
In this version, Captain Hook is far younger and charismatic than ever before. He’s also attractive and has a depth to his character that we don’t get in other versions of him. Colin O’Donoghue really took this role and made it his own. If there’s one thing that this show got right, it was casting. It’s hard to now think of anyone else but Colin portraying this character.
Who would have thought that the Evil Queen would end up being something that we love so much and want the best for. When certain story arcs happened (Robin anyone??), I found myself crying for her. Lana’s ability to share such a different part of Regina’s emotions in a way that If I’m being honest, I don’t think that she got the happy ending she deserved. That’s to be discussed in my thoughts on the story arcs post.
That’s the crux of his character: finding the balance of what he wants and what he needs and being able to tell the difference between the two. He was the Beast in Beauty and the Beast (my favorite Disney money) and I loved how this was the story that led him to truly change his life. He found his soulmate and had to battle himself in terms of what he needed to do to have his happily ever after.
Along the same lines, I loved watching her grow and develop as a character. There are some storylines that Emma goes through that I wasn’t the biggest fan of but boy were there others that I loved so much. For one, her the loves in her life has led to some extremely tumultuous moments. And I don’t mean just romantic love. As a child who grew up in the foster care system, she always looked for the love of her parents and family. She also wanted romantic love which led to some very different paths (for example, her having and giving up Henry for adoption). Captain Swan, as you can tell from above, was my number one ship for this show from the very beginning and I have never been more satisfied with how a show wrapped up the story line of a beloved character.
Honorable Mentions
Zelena aka The Wicked Witch of the West
If there was one character death I was not expecting and was absolutely devastated by, it had to be Robin Hood. He was the perfect foil for Regina and their love story was so sweet. I really wanted them to be end game because he’s so kind and patient with Regina. Even when people don’t expect much from Regina, Robin does. He’s able to match wits with her and really show her that she’s capable of love. But he’s also very honorable (even though I hated that story line) and does the best that he can.
Mulan
I really hated how her character was done in this show. Did I love that she was included? Of course! Did I love Jamie Chung’s portrayal? Yes, I did. But boy did I end up always wanting more from Mulan. As one of the few non-white characters in the entire show and such a badass woman warrior, I felt like there were so many avenues the creators and writers could have taken with her.
Yet another surprise on this list but I had to include her. She’s so incredibly flawed and layered that it was hard not to love her. While so many aspects of her character stayed true to what we know about Snow White, there were other aspects of her character that were more fleshed out in the show. As someone who considers Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs one of my least favorite Disney Princess movies, I found myself loving her in this story.
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