Once Upon a Time (season 3)


The third season of the American ABC fantasy-drama Once Upon a Time was announced on May 10, 2013. Executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis also noted that the season would be split into two volumes, with the first premiering on September 29, 2013 through December 15, 2013, and the second from March 9, 2014 through May 11, 2014.
The first volume's plot revolved around the main characters traveling to Neverland from Storybrooke to retrieve a kidnapped Henry Mills from the possession of Peter Pan. After successfully retrieving Henry, the characters returned to Storybrooke, only to be returned to their original worlds following Pan's new Curse, leaving Emma Swan and Henry to escape to New York City. The second plot followed the characters' past journey in the Enchanted Forest and how they were brought back to Storybrooke by the Wicked Witch of the West, while also documenting Emma's mission to break the new Curse and save her family. New characters introduced in the season include the main antagonists of the two volumes: Peter Pan and the Wicked Witch of the West, in addition to Tinker Bell, Ariel, Prince Eric, Ursula, Medusa, Rapunzel, Lumiere, the Wizard of Oz, Glinda the Good Witch, the Good Witch of the North, the Witch of the East, Dorothy Gale, Blackbeard, and Elsa.
The season premiere was watched by 8.52 million viewers, achieving an adult 18-49 rating/share of 2.6/7. The mid-season finale received critical acclaim from critics with many praising the episode's ending, Mr. Gold's fate, and the flash-forward technique used. The spring premiere brought in the highest viewing figures since the season's second episode, earning the highest weekly viewership rank for the series since the second episode of the second season in October 2012. The episode was met with positive reviews, with critics complimenting the unpredictable nature of the new story lines created by the writers and producers. The 2-hour season finale was watched by 6.8 million viewers, with an adult rating/share of 2.3/7, becoming the least-viewed season finale yet, despite the improved ratings.
On May 8, 2014, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered in September 28, 2014.

Premise

After Henry is kidnapped, Emma, Regina, David, Mary Margaret, Mr. Gold, and Hook travel to Neverland to save him. New allies are made while in Neverland such as Tinker Bell and the heroes attempt to defeat Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, who are trying to restore Neverland’s magic with Henry’s heart. As they attempt to work with one another as heroes and villains, secrets are revealed, including the identity of Mr. Gold’s father, who is none other than Peter Pan. Their time in Neverland results in Peter Pan returning with them to Storybrooke, where he unleashes Regina’s original curse with hopes to make Storybrooke the new Neverland. As the heroes and Peter Pan collide, a sacrifice is made, with everyone returning to the Enchanted Forest but Emma and Henry. However, a year later, everyone is returned to Storybrooke via another curse as the Wicked Witch of the West has plans of her own. Emma and Henry are brought back to Storybrooke to help break the latest curse to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West, which leads to a trip to the past with dire consequences.

Cast and characters

Regular

Production

Development

On May 10, 2013, after the success of Disney's 2013 film Oz the Great and Powerful, ABC renewed Once Upon a Time for a third season, which premiered on September 29, 2013. The same month, it was revealed that the season will feature crossover episodes connecting with the upcoming spin-off series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. In August 2013, it was announced that the season would be split into two parts, with the first eleven episodes premiering from September 29 to December 2013, while the second half would broadcast from March 9 to May 2014.
The first eleven episodes were set primarily in Neverland; co-creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis spoke about the setting of the third season stating, "Neverland is a land of belief, a land of imagination, and a land where all our main characters are being stripped down to their core. It’s really allowing us, as writers, to dig deep into who they are and to push them forward to new places. I think being in Neverland is going to have a profound effect on each of the characters. It’s really fun to see these characters and dig deep this year and explore what it’s like for Emma to her parents. Neverland is really a place where we can sit down and think about that." The two also noted that Peter Pan will feature in the season but will be a more "complicated" version of the character, with Kitsis saying, "We have not yet met Peter Pan and we have not yet seen Neverland, and that is where we're going!" In a further interview, Horowitz stated, "Well for us, Neverland is kind of a place that makes you confront your past. It's sort of the heart of darkness and to be a 200-year-old person, you know because you don't grow up there, you have to keep yourself amused. However long Peter Pan has been there and for whatever reason he has been there, we intend to reveal our take on that and on the legend of Peter Pan. We have a way that it intertwines with our Once Upon a Time mythology that we're really excited to unveil." At Disney's D23 Expo event, the creators hinted at romantic sparks between Emma Swan and Captain Hook, and revelations about how Hook became a pirate. On March 10, 2014, the producers revealed that they may look ahead at incorporating characters from the films The Princess and the Frog, Brave, and Frozen in future episodes, possibly towards the end of the third season if they get the green light from Disney. Later that month, it was announced that the season finale will air on May 11, 2014 and have a duration of two hours.

Casting

In May 2013, it was revealed that season two regular Meghan Ory would be departing the show to star in CBS's upcoming sci-fi drama Intelligence. However, Ory stated that she would still be open for more episodes on the show as a guest member. Ory later made appearances in episodes twelve and thirteen of the season. The same month, it was announced that Michael Raymond-James had been promoted from a recurring cast member to a series regular for the season. In July 2013, it was reported that Giancarlo Esposito would be returning to the series, following his absence from season two. In the same month, it was announced that the role of Robin Hood had been recast from Tom Ellis to Sean Maguire. Adam Horowitz stated, "Although we love Tom Ellis, unfortunately he wasn’t available. We remain huge fans of his, but because we have an arc planned for the character, we had to move forward." British actor Robbie Kay played the role of the villain for the first half of the season: Peter Pan. On July 29, it was reported that Rose McIver had been cast as Tinker Bell. Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis teased an unexpected introduction for the well-known character, saying, "It's taking the icon and putting our spin on it. How we introduce her, and who she is, is hopefully going to be surprising because we're going to find she has a surprising connection to someone." For episode five, Bernard Curry played a guest role as Captain Hook's brother Liam, while a member of the Lost Boys called Devin was portrayed by Skyler Gisondo. Joanna Garcia was cast as Ariel from The Little Mermaid. On September 3, 2013, Gil McKinney was cast in the recurring role of Prince Eric. On October 18, 2013, it was revealed that the American musician Marilyn Manson would voice the character of The Shadow. On October 21, British actor Stephen Lord was announced to be playing Rumplestiltskin's father, Malcolm. He featured in the eighth and eleventh episodes of the season.
For the second half of the season, Rebecca Mader was cast as the major villain, Zelena, The Wicked Witch of the West. Alexandra Metz was cast as Rapunzel, who will be rescued by Prince Charming. Rose McGowan will return as a young Cora for the season's eighteenth episode, while the introduction of a young King Leopold as a Prince played by Eric Lange, and the return of Princess Eva will also be featured. Charles Mesure was cast as Blackbeard in January 2014, to appear in one episode as an enemy of Captain Hook. In February 2014, a casting call was opened for an actress in her mid to late twenties to recur as Glinda the Good Witch, who is described as elegant, warm and benevolent, as well as wise, clever and shrewd. However, years of isolation have made her lonely and cautious — though at her core, she is a steadfastly filled with optimism. It was later announced that Sunny Mabrey was cast as the character.
After Once Upon a Time in Wonderland was canceled, it was reported that Michael Socha, who plays the Knave of Hearts, was in talks to join the main cast in Season 4. On April 2014, it was confirmed that Michael Socha will become a regular for Once Upon a Time's fourth season.

Promotion

On September 12, 2013, ABC released the original cast promotional photos for the season. However, due to fan backlash, the photos were removed. Instead, new photos were promoted via social networking outlets with the tag-line '#SaveHenry'. The second half of the season used the tag-line "#WickedIsComing" for promotion pre-release and "#WickedVsEvil" during its run from March – May 2014.

Filming

Set in Neverland, filming of the first half of season three was shot in a versatile set inside a Vancouver soundstage, re-dressed to represent up to twelve different tropical locales, including the camps of Peter Pan, Mr. Gold and the other residents of Storybrooke. The expensive set took a month to construct and was inspired by both Disney's animated Peter Pan movie and the Ewok village from Return of the Jedi. Foliage wrangler Sarah McCulloch spoke of the set-up saying, "It took us five days to assemble all the plants. We have 200 real plants that have to be watered and pruned every day and heated at night, 30 actual tree stumps and 450 fake branches" to which silk leaves were added. The Storybrooke scenes were again shot in Steveston, British Columbia, Canada.

Ratings