Emma Swan

"The only one who saves me is me."

Emma Swan is one of the main characters of Once Upon a Time, as well as the series' main protagonist. At the wedding of Snow White and Prince Charming, a scorned Evil Queen threatened the entire realm with a powerful curse that would rip them from this land and send them to one without magic; however, soon after Snow became pregnant, it was prophesied by Rumplestiltskin that her unborn daughter would be the savior that broke the curse and brought back all the happy endings. This baby, Emma, was born at the most inconvenient of times and had to be sent to our world via magic wardrobe in order to escape the curse, where she had a tough life growing up in foster care and subsequently stealing on the streets. After a stint in prison, she cleaned up her act and made success as a bail bonds collector, but still she felt as though something was missing from her life... that is, until Henry Mills - the son she gave up for adoption ten years prior - showed up at her door on her 28th birthday in order to bring her home to Storybrooke, where all the cursed victims were trapped in time and he believed her to be the only one who could save them.

Before the Curse
"Her name is Emma..."

- Snow White

Snow White and Prince Charming's royal council is at a loss with the regularity of King George's attacks to retrieve the prince, the army is soon close and must be battled off, Snow is captured and taken to King George, who drugs her with a curse made to prevent her from ever having children, she leaves and manages to see a stray rider speeding past her, she knocks him from his steed, pins him to the floor and threatens him with a staff, he assures her that he still has honor and introduces himself as Lancelot, of the round table, Snow trusts him a little more. Snow and Lancelot realize that Charming's in danger as the soldiers are heading to the cabin, where his mother is. When Snow and Lancelot arrive, Ruth has already been attacked and has a poison arrow in her chest. Charming suggests that they use the water from Lake Nostos. They journey there, and, on their way, Ruth shows Snow a necklace that is used to determine the sex of your first born, however, it detects nothing for Snow, she admits to having the curse that George afflicted and Ruth tells her to use the lake water for herself. However, when they arrive, the lake is empty. However, Lancelot finally manages to find a morsel of magic water and it is given to Ruth, but it does not work, her final wish is to see her son's wedding, which is then performed by Lancelot and involves sipping from a cup, Ruth dies. Charming later dangles the necklace over Snow's hand and it begins to show indication of a child, Snow realizes that Ruth never drank the water as it was really put in her wedding cup. Snow tells Lancelot that it'll be a girl.

Snow is livid after Regina makes a threat at her and Charming's wedding, scared that the Queen wasn't bluffing, and Charming tells her that the way to defeat Regina is to go on their honeymoon and be happy, as that way she'll realize that she can't take their happiness away. Snow suggests going to the summer palace where her mother and father honeymooned, but it is soon revealed that she only wants to go here as she will be able to find something able to defeat Regina. Upon arrival, Snow sneakily begins trekking through the woods but is immediately caught by Charming, who decides to accompany her in her quest to find Medusa, a gorgon who is able to turn people to stone with one look of her eyes (Snow plans to use the immortal beast's head against the Evil Queen). But when they find Medusa, she turns Charming to stone when a sneak attack goes wrong, and Regina, through the reflection on an old shield, watches Snow and mocks her, pointing out that the princess is destroying her own happiness. Realizing that she can use this reflection to her advantage, she holds the shield up and makes Medusa look at herself, which turns the beast to stone. This then causes Charming to return to his normal state, and Snow apologizes for letting that happen, assuring him that he's the most important thing in the world to her. Back at the summer palace, Snow decides that her husband is right and that they need to be happy, and so she decides to start trying for a baby with him despite living in fear of Regina's threat.

Snow White and Prince Charming return from their honeymoon to find everyone in their castle under some sort of sleeping curse, and the culprit is soon revealed as Maleficent, who's come to make a deal with the two royals along with Ursula and Cruella De Vil: they want to go with them to the Tree of Wisdom, which only answers the questions of the most valiant heroes, so that they can figure out a way to stop Regina's Dark Curse. Snow and Charming agree to go with them, begrudgingly, but begin to have their doubts when Maleficent slaughters good soldiers who stand in their way; as such, they take off in the middle of the night when the self-named "Queens of Darkness" are sleeping, and they find the tree by themselves. However, when they ask it a question, it repels them, and the three villains soon catch up and realize that the reason it didn't answer them is because Snow is pregnant and, being a product of true love, their baby has potential for great darkness as well as a great good. The trip is deemed useless and the separate parties part ways, but Maleficent later revisits Snow in the middle of the night and reveals to her that she's pregnant as well, which is why it's so important to her that this curse be stopped. She wishes to join forces with Snow, but Snow declines, refusing to delve into darkness while trying to protect her child for she believes that there is a better way of doing things. She vows that she will never be like Maleficent.

Snow and Charming race to find a unicorn so that its magic horn will give them a vision of their unborn child's future; Charming sees a future where their baby is safe and happy, but Snow sees a future where their daughter is a villain, and she knows that something must be done to change it. They hear from a peddler who they give some brandy to that Maleficent has taken dragon form in a cave and laid an egg, and he advises them to go into the Infinite Forest and seek out an old hermit who might be able to help them with their problem. The royal couple find the Sorcerer's apprentice, and he explains how everyone is born a blank slate with the potential for both good and darkness; if they want their baby's potential for darkness to be eradicated, they must find another blank slate for that potential to be siphoned off into. As such, they head to Maleficent's cave and steal her egg from her, promising to bring it back once they're done with it. They take the egg to the apprentice and he performs the spell, but this also involves sending the egg to another world. Snow and Charming are appalled, especially once the egg starts to hatch and they see that a baby is inside. Cruella and Ursula try their best to stop the so-called heroes, but they merely end up being sucked into the portal as well, banished to an unknown realm. Snow and Charming are left to deal with the gravity of what they have just caused. ("Best Laid Plans"/"The Broken Kingdom")

Prince Thomas marries a girl named Cinderella and Snow White - who's in the early stages of pregnancy at the time - and Prince Charming are attendees of the royal wedding. When there, Snow dances with Ella playfully, breaking the formality of the event, and assures her that it truly is a day of celebration. Ella points out that all she did was get married, but Snow assures the new princess that she did more than that: she proved that it's possible for anyone to change their life. As the time comes to switch partners again, Snow tells her friend that she's proud of her whilst they part ways, and Ella is forced to start dancing with the dreaded Rumplestiltskin. Due to the fact that Rumple is the one who granted Ella's wish and made her life as a royal possible, he demands her first born in return, and when Ella falls pregnant, she tells this to her husband. Snow White and Prince Charming are soon alerted and the latter and Grumpy help Ella devise a plan to trap the dark wizard. Ella makes Rumple sign a new contract and the ink in the pen he signs with causes him to become ensnared, meaning that he's able to be captured and thrown into a jail cell at the old mines. However, when Prince Thomas disappears suddenly, Ella believes that Rumple is to blame, and the Dark One continues to promise that he will take her baby.

A heavily pregnant Snow is horrified to see that Cinderella has sent her a unicorn-decorated mobile for the baby, because she sees it as a reminder of what she and Charming did to Maleficent's child. She reveals to her husband that she's been unable to sleep without what they did haunting her dreams, and he reveals in turn that he's been going through the same thing, but points out that maybe Maleficent deserves what happened to her, theorizing that she lied about this Dark Curse for Regina hasn't yet acted upon the threat she made at their wedding. Snow doesn't care, for all that matters to her is what they did; she thought they were doing something brave for their child, and they were brave... but they weren't kind. They were selfish, and they don't deserve to be called heroes anymore. Charming wonders how they're going to fix it, not wanting to raise their child in a guilt-ridden manner, and Snow says that she doesn't want that either, asking her husband if he really believes they have a chance at redemption. He does, but to get there, they have to be the best people they can, and spread hope with them wherever they go, especially if it is to rub off on their child, who is the very person they fought so hard to protect. Snow starts to think maybe the unicorns aren't such a bad thing; maybe they're there to remind them how easy it can be to lose their way. Charming adds that they can make sure to be the best version of themselves; it won't be easy, but they can take the hard path together.

Snow White continues to be pregnant with Prince Charming's child but is unable to celebrate as she still believes that Regina - the Evil Queen - is going to act upon the threats she made at their wedding. Despite Charming assuring her otherwise, Snow wants to visit Rumplestiltskin as he's able to tell the future, and so the two of them go to see him in his cell. He tells the royal couple that Regina shall enact a Dark Curse strong enough to rip everyone from the land, however, Snow and Charming's baby will be the people's savior who breaks the curse when she reaches the age of twenty-eight. In exchange for this information, Snow White gives up her unborn child's name to the Dark One: Emma. A meeting of the royal council is held at which the Blue Fairy tells Snow and the prince of an enchanted tree which, if fashioned into a vessel, should be able to take Emma into the new world safely, but the tree only has enough magic to carry one. Geppetto and Pinocchio are asked to build such a vessel and so create a wardrobe which is ready for the day of the curse. ("Pilot"/"The Stranger")

Snow asks the Blue Fairy what will happen should the wardrobe fail, and she tells the princess that they will become slaves in the Evil Queen's curse and just have to wait for the savior to rescue them. Snow wonders how her daughter will know to be the savior if no one is around to tell her, and Blue assures her that their story will be revealed to the child in some way. Snow remains skeptical, but the fairy assures her that she has hope, before flying away. Charming attempts to calm his wife, who's bent on the idea that this curse will destroy their future and all the plans they made, by telling her that life is full of twists and turns one never sees coming, and this curse is just another turn. Snow says that all she ever wanted was for them to raise their child, as that was supposed to be their happy ending, but Charming tells her that, where that future may now be impossible, another, different one can still take its place, and it can be just as filled with happiness. Snow decides to choose hope, sadly staring at what will never be Emma's mobile and assuring her husband that she can believe in their child.

Emma is born in the Enchanted Forest to her birth parents, Snow White and Prince Charming. Shortly after her birth, the Evil Queen's Dark Curse arrives, meaning that everyone shall be ripped from the land and taken to one without magic, where the only happy ending is that of the Queen's, who wants Emma dead because she was prophesied by Rumplestiltskin to be the savior who breaks the curse and saves everyone from their currently inevitable fate. As such, Emma is placed into a magical wardrobe, made by Geppetto and Pinocchio, that sends her to the land without magic separate from the curse. It is hoped that she will return to her family on the day of the 28th birthday and act as the people's salvation, as was further specified by the Dark One's prophecy. However, before being sent to the this land, Pinocchio traveled there too, via the same wardrobe. He was sworn by his father, who was worried his son would revert to his wooden form if he were to fall victim to the curse, to protect her until she was ready to save the Enchanted Forest's former residents, now residents of the brand new town in Maine known as Storybrooke.

Early Life
"I'm sorry, Emma."

- Pinocchio

When Emma came into the real world, wrapped in the blanket with the word "Emma" embroidered on it, through the tree that was turned into the magical wardrobe in fairytale land, young Pinocchio picked her up and took her to the side of a nearby road. They were both then placed in a foster home. Pinocchio was persuaded by some fellow orphans to leave the home, and he therefore abandoned Emma and his mission to make her believe in the curse, which was instilled on him by his father, to pursue a better, more liberated life for himself.

A six-year-old Emma heads into a movie theater in Minneapolis to view a screening of The Sword in the Stone, however, because she can't afford her own snacks, she ends up stealing an Apollo bar from some woman's coat pocket. When she takes a seat and begins to unwrap it, Merlin, disguised as an usher, tells her, "Don't." She wonders what he means and he repeats himself, going on to say that, one day, she's going to have the opportunity to pull Excalibur from the stone, just like the young man Arthur is doing in the movie. However, she shouldn't, because if she does then bad things are sure to happen. She heads this warning before Merlin is shushed by some little girl in front of them, and then he disappears suddenly, leaving Emma mightily confused as she watches the cartoon boy pull the sword free. ("The Dark Swan"/"The Bear and the Bow"/"Nimue")

Over the years, Emma was placed with many adoptive families, most of which only used her as a means to get financial support, and who all gave up on her. She was also placed with a family that gave her up when they had a biological child. On one occasion, Emma stands outside with the rest of the kids from her orphanage, being the oldest one there, and witnesses a little girl, Cecilia, get adopted by a loving family. The girl seems overjoyed, and when she leaves, Emma cries, wanting that for herself. The group mother of the orphans beckons everyone inside, saying it's almost dinner time, but Emma stays where she is, almost catatonic. The group mother tells Emma not to worry, assuring her that she'll find a home of her own one day, but Emma is incapable of uttering a reply.

Following Cecilia's adoption, Emma hops a bus to Hopkins, Minnesota where she tries to steal a box of Pop-Tarts by stuffing it under her coat, only to be caught immediately. However, a girl named Lily soon provides her with an alibi, telling the blonde afterwards that she should really get herself a credit card. They then go shopping together, only to be chased by who Lily says is her social worker when the two girls have a picnic together. Lily tells Emma that she plans to squat in a summer mansion for a while, for they'll be empty now that it's fall, and suggests that Emma come with her; Emma agrees happily. They then break in and take advantage of the house's possessions, playing on its games console and fooling around with a video camera they find. When Emma notices a star-like mark on Lily's wrist, Lily explains that she likes to think it makes her special, and so she draws a similar mark on Emma's wrist to make her special too; the two girls then promise to be friends forever. As Emma and Lily sleep, the man who earlier chased them breaks in, revealing himself to be Lily's adoptive father. Emma is shocked and appalled to learn that Lily has a family, despite Lily claiming that she feels invisible in her home. She tries giving Emma her address so that they can run away together, but Emma walks away from her, wiping away the star mark on her wrist as she does so. She goes back into the foster system and ends up in a home whereat Ingrid, a woman from the same land of fairytales as Emma, is the foster mother - not that she knows that.

The video camera Emma stole from the mansion she once squatted in is taken by Kevin, an obnoxious boy in her new home, but soon returned to her by her foster mother Ingrid. However, Kevin threatens to make her life a living hell if she does not give him the camera the next day, and so she tries running away that night. She is caught by Ingrid, who heavily hints how frightened Kevin is of spiders, and so Emma decides to stay a little longer, able to use this information against him. A while later, Emma and Ingrid are seen at an amusement park together, and the former is having trouble with the claw machine. Ingrid teaches her how to utilize her concentration and, eventually, Emma is able to receive a toy. She soon spots a suspicious envelope in Ingrid's bag and suspects that she's to be moving home soon, but Ingrid quickly reveals that the envelope in fact contains adoption papers, much to Emma's delight. Ingrid realizes that it might be hard for Emma to see her as a mother, but promises to be the best big sister ever, and later, the two are seen strolling together when Ingrid suddenly pulls Emma in front of a car and orders her to stop it with magic. Emma is stunned, only just able to get out of the way in time, and demands to know what Ingrid was thinking. She explains that a traumatic experience when she was a child unlocked her magical powers, and she thought the same could happen for Emma, but Emma simply thinks that Ingrid is crazy, and she runs away. Aggravated, Ingrid transports herself to the town of Storybrooke in order to wait for Emma, who, according to prophecy, should arrive on her 28th birthday.

Emma tries settling down with a new foster family, but as they're preparing to leave on a camping trip, she discovers Lily hiding out in the garage, realizing that she's in need of help and swiftly telling her new parents that she's an old friend from a care home. Lily is invited to eat with the family, but Emma is annoyed when she lies to them about how they met, pulling her out of the room to berate her. She then sees a news report on the television which reveals that Lily, along with her boyfriend, was involved in an armed robbery, and she's currently on the lam. She employs Emma to go to the house she and her boyfriend were squatting in to get her necklace - the only thing she has left of her birth mother - because she can't face him, and once the blonde does this for her she'll be out of her life forever. Emma holds up her end of the deal, but when she returns from stealing back Lily's necklace her foster parents are waiting for her, revealing both that Lily stole their vacation fund and left and that, after calling the police, they phoned Emma's social worker who revealed to them that she and Lily were never in a home together - they met as criminal runaways. Once they learn that Lily was involved in an armed robbery, they are shocked that Emma would endanger their children in such a way, leading her to realize that they don't view her in the same way. As such, she storms out, heading to a bus stop where Lily approaches her with the money she stole, wanting to run away with her again. Emma refuses, hating Lily for what she did, and Lily professes that her life has been a spiral of bad luck ever since Emma wondered out of it - it's as though her life is darkness, and the two girls are connected through fate. Which, of course, is true. ("Lily")

Emma Swan, at age 17, steals her famed yellow car, not realizing that there was a man sleeping in the back seat. The man, who introduces himself as Neal Cassidy, flirts with her, seemingly not minding the fact that she stole the car at all, and when she fails to pay attention to the road, they are stopped by a police officer. Neal quickly tells her to remove the screwdriver from the ignition, which is how she managed to drive away in it, and puts the keys to the car in its stead to avoid suspicion. He then tells the cop that Emma is his girlfriend and he was just teaching her how to drive, making a sexist comment about women drivers which convinces the cop to let them go with a warning. When Neal expresses relief, Emma realizes that the car she's stolen had already been stolen by Neal, meaning he too is a thief.

That night, Neal offers to take Emma out and teaches her how to pick locks as he breaks into an abandoned amusement park. He turns on the power, lighting up the rides and making the place look beautiful, and Emma is forced to admit that it's pretty cool. The two of the bond amidst the park when Emma asks Neal what his story is; he tells her that he's living the life he is now because of his father, who Emma takes to be a bad guy. Neal reveals that he wasn't always, but he changed, making it so he no longer felt at home. He tells his new partner in crime that home is the place that, when you leave, you just miss it, which is how he feels about how his dad used to be; she finds this comment highly philosophical.

Emma and Neal then become a couple, and start a life of drifting and shoplifting, which includes Emma posing as an expectant mother whose waters break inside a convenience store once they're caught stealing by a customer. The couple rests in a motel room, where they one day start planning their future together. They eventually settle on the idea of starting anew in Tallahassee. However, Neal is eventually wanted for arrest after he is caught by the security tapes of a jewelry store stealing a case full of expensive wristwatches. He keeps the watches locked up in a safe at a nearby train station, and Emma volunteers to retrieve them so that they can sell the watches and go on with their lives. However, once she does so, successfully, Neal is tracked down by August - none other than the grown-up Pinocchio - who tells him that Emma is destined for a greater future than sharing a life with a robber. August shows Neal something that makes the latter believe in his words, and thus Emma is then set up to take a fall: the police is tipped off about her and she is caught and arrested. Neal then meets with August and feels bad over setting up his own girlfriend, and leaves the car and some money for her when she gets out. August then agrees to send him a postcard once the curse is lifted. In jail, Emma finds out that she is pregnant...

Nine months later, Emma Swan is seen lying down on a delivery bed, giving birth to her child. Her left foot is shackled to the stirrup, for she is still serving time in prison, and a female police escort is waiting by the door. The doctor has his hands between Emma's legs as she shrieks in agony, and he and the assisting nurse encourage her to push further and further. Eventually, Emma is able to push the baby out, and when she does the lights that surround her start to flicker and burst, but this apparently goes unnoticed by the attendants. The doctor holds the baby in his arms and tells Emma that it's a boy, but the blonde, who is recuperating from the laboring process, looks away. The doctor calls out to her, but Emma starts shaking her head, looking as though she is about to cry. The nurse whispers something in the doctor's ear, apparently telling him that Emma has no intention of keeping the baby. The doctor addresses her again, reminding her that she can change her mind, and Emma responds that she can't be a mother. The doctor walks away with the baby and Emma looks up at the ceiling and cries. ("The Heart of the Truest Believer"/"Going Home") Emma insists on a closed adoption, agreeing to have no further contact with the child because she believes she's giving him his best chance. She moves around a lot after that, never staying anywhere very long except for Tallahassee, where she lives for four years.

In 2009, Emma heads to the diner where she was brought by Pinocchio after he found her as a baby; however, no one there knows anything about the event in question, and she's left at another dead end regarding her family. It is then that she meets Cleo Fox, a bail bondsperson looking to haul Emma in for the convenience stores she robbed in Phoenix. Emma tries running, but there's a boot on her car and she's taken to Cleo's apartment in handcuffs. She manages to escape the cuffs but grows distracted by Cleo's search engine technology, using it to discover that there's a government office with a file on her. Understanding the need to find out where one comes from, Cleo agrees to give up a day to take Emma to this office on the condition that she comes quietly after. However, when Emma receives the file, she sees that it merely contains the same old article that she herself already has about the diner she was brought to. She breaks in later that night, needing to know if there's more, but Cleo finds her, convincing her to focus on what she has now and give up on the search for her parents. Just as she's beginning to break ground with the blonde, police begin to chase them for breaking into government property and they jump out a window. A shard of glass finds its way into Cleo's gut and she dies in an alley, admitting that she gave up a daughter of her own while convincing Emma to keep running. Cleo's death inspires Emma to become a bail bondsperson herself the following year, but first she tracks down Cleo's daughter Tasha and tells her of her mother's demise. Tasha is grateful, and, while she's in the store where Tasha works, Emma decides to follow another example of Cleo's and buy some "armor" in the form of a jacket - a red leather jacket that goes on to become her signature look.

Season 1
"You're saying that I am responsible for everyone's happiness?! That is crap! I didn't ask for that, I don't want it!"

After being placed in the magic wardrobe by her birth father, Emma is introduced to us in the real world on the day of her 28th birthday, when she meets with a handsome man whom she was supposed to track down. When she gets home, she wishes for something to brighten her day, make her feel less lonely, and then Henry Mills shows up on her door: her son, the child she gave up when she was 18. He explains to her that he comes from a town, Storybrooke, near Boston, where Emma lives, where the people are all trapped in a curse: they used to be fairytale characters, but the Evil Queen forced them all to live in the real world. Emma doesn't believe Henry, but when she drives him back home and meets his adoptive mother, the Mayor, Regina Mills, she picks up on a weird vibe and decides to stay in the town for a while, per Henry's request. When she settles in, the tower's clock moves for the first time in a long time - a sign that things are about to change.

The following day, after Regina notices that the clock has started moving and that Emma's still in town, she pays her a visit, bringing apples with her, from her very own tree, and subtly threatens her. Emma, refusing to leave, as she plans on making sure Henry is okay, and he fills her in on the details: the townspeople were all fairytale characters, and for the last few years they have been frozen in time, with hazy memories, oblivious to their background. Emma, according to Henry, is the only one who could stop the curse, because she is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Emma, worried, consults with Dr. Archie Hopper, Henry's therapist, who gives her the little boy's files. However, this was all a set-up by Regina, who has Emma arrested for 'stealing' the aforementioned files. Emma is bailed out by Henry's teacher, Mary Margaret, and she fires back at Regina by chopping down some branches off her favorite apple tree with a chainsaw. Regina then calls Emma in for a 'private talk', in which they discuss how Henry is troubled... only for Emma to find that Henry had been listening to their talk, and now believes her birth mom thinks he's crazy. Another move by Regina. Later, Emma makes it up with Henry by telling him, during therapy, that he was throwing Regina off, telling her she doesn't believe him, and it's all part of their stint to bring her down: "Operation Cobra".

One night, Mary Margaret finds Emma in her car, looking for a place to stay, and offers up her own home, but Emma declines, saying she's not the 'roommate type'. Later, Henry finds an unidentified comatose patient at the hospital and recognizes him as being Prince Charming. He tries to convince Emma and Mary Margaret into trying to help him wake up, and thus his teacher reads to the man, and gets a response that is later denied by Dr. Whale. However, the man does wake up and wanders off into the woods, and Mary Margaret and the rest of a small rescue team are able to wake him up. Regina comes through with the identification of the man, as David Nolan... and introduces his wife, Kathryn. Emma is suspicious of Regina, for not finding out about the man's background earlier. Later, she has a change of heart and does move in with Mary Margaret.

When Emma is walking Henry to his school bus, he tells her that he'd like for them to have code names, so he could have something to call her, but she tells him to just call her 'Emma' for the time being. Afterwards, Sheriff Graham shows up and offers her a job as deputy, which she turns down. Later, at Granny's coffee shop, Emma is having a cocoa when Regina shows up and claims to know that Emma is always on the move, never creating roots anywhere. So she knows she will be gone soon. She leaves, and Emma decides to go after her, but she accidentally spills the cocoa on herself, and is forced to use the laundry room, where she meets Ashley Boyd, a 19-year-old pregnant woman, who is considering giving up her child, based on people telling her she can't do it alone. Emma gives her a pep talk, telling her she can't do what others think, she must do what she feels is right... and this prompts Ashley to break into Mr. Gold's pawn shop and steal something, as well as attack him. Emma is hired by Gold to track and bring her down, and Emma finds Ashley, just outside of Storybrooke, about to give birth. Later, at the hospital, Emma finds out that Gold made a deal with Ashley... wanting her child. Ashley had stolen the contract. Emma won't let him take the baby, and makes another deal with him: Ashley keeps her daughter, and Gold can ask Emma for a favor in the future. Gold agrees, and Boyd is thankful towards Emma, though Henry is concerned regarding the 'favor' Gold might ask for. Later, Emma decides to stay for longer, and tells Henry she wants the code name 'Pumpkin' (based on Cinderella's story), but her son isn't too thrilled. Emma accepts the deputy position.

Emma walks into Ingrid's ice cream shop, Any Given Sundae, wanting to buy a couple pints of ice cream for Henry; however, she immediately recognizes her old foster mother and is shocked, wondering such things as what she's doing there and why she doesn't appear to have aged in a decade. Ingrid explains that she came to Storybrooke soon after Emma ran away in order to wait for her, and time works differently there than anywhere else. She tries convincing her that everything Henry has been telling her about magic and fairytales is true, but Emma simply believes that Ingrid is insane, and tries calling Sheriff Graham. Before Emma can dial, however, Ingrid takes out a purple rock and uses it to harvest the blonde's memories, making it so that she is unable to recall any encounter that she's had with Ingrid in the past. Emma then happily accepts those pints of ice cream, as well as some rocky road on the house. She tastes it first and finds it delicious, at which Ingrid reveals that her secret is a lot of patience and a lot of love. This instance is photographed by Sidney Glass from afar, having been hired by Mayor Mills to spy on Emma.

Emma reluctantly accepts to wear the badge of deputy, and as soon as she puts it on her belt, the earth quakes and a roaring sound is heard. She and Sheriff Graham are alarmed, and it is soon revealed that the commotion was provoked by a mine collapsing. The Mayor urges the two of them to seal the area, and Henry's attention is caught by his foster mother picking up a shard of glass and storing it in her pocket. Some time later, Henry goes down into the mine to find out what's inside, and his therapist, Dr. Archie Hopper, follows him in. Emma later rushes to the site to rescue them, but the mine collapses even further, sealing the entrance shut. Regina freaks out and blames Emma for encouraging Henry to pursue a quest to unmask her. However, Regina later begs Emma to save her son. With the aid of Pongo, Emma is able to find a hatch that leads to the mine, and she climbs down the hatch with a rope to get her child. She manages to get to him, and thankfully Archie can grab a hold of her too before the elevator they were on falls to the ground. On the surface, Regina distances Emma from Henry, telling her to clear the crowd that's gathered. That night, Emma and Henry sit together, near the mine, and Henry tells his biological mother that the friendship between Archie and Marco is due to the fact that their fairytale counterparts are Jiminy Cricket and Geppetto. Shortly afterwards, Henry notices that the crickets have started singing again in Storybrooke, something that didn't use to happen. Henry takes this as yet another sign that things are changing. Later, away from everyone's sight, Regina drops the piece of glass she found into the mine and it falls right back onto its origins... Snow White's glass coffin.

Emma and Henry attend the homecoming party thrown for former comatose patient David Nolan, who's come back to the house he shared with his wife Kathryn. Henry, confident that David is the real world alter-ego of Prince Charming, tells his birth mother that they must jog his memory by getting him together with Miss Blanchard. He reminds her that the last time they tried that, it woke David up. David shows up and recognizes them as the ones who saved him, and as the only ones he actually knows at the party. David seems disappointed to learn that Mary Margaret couldn't make it that night. Later, Emma has some drinks with her roomie, Mary Margaret, and they talk about David and Emma tells her friend that usually when she thinks something she wants to do is wrong, it is. However, some time later, Mary Margaret shows up at the station and tells Emma that David left his wife and asked her to mett him that night. Emma advises Mary Margaret to go. That night, Emma, who is covering Sheriff Graham's shift, catches him coming out of Regina's house, and realizes they've been sleeping with each other. Emma is disgusted and seems to take this more personally than she should, and angrily tells him that she is done working nights. She then walks away, frustrated.

Emma runs into an inebriated Graham at Granny's coffee shop, and avoids having a conversation with him about how she caught him leaving the Mayor's house. However, he follows her out, trying to explain himself and trying to understand why she is so upset. He tells her that he doesn't feel anything when he's with Regina, and she just wonders why he tried to keep it a secret. He explains that it was because he didn't want her to look at him the way she is now, and she asks him why he cares about what she thinks of him. This said, he kisses her on the lips, and when he does, he has flashes of his previous life as the Huntsman, envisioning a wolf. She breaks off the kiss, angry with him, and he explains that he just wanted to feel something. However, she tells him that whatever he's looking to feel, he won't get it from her. The following day, Emma learns that Mary Margaret slept with Dr. Whale. Regina stops by the station to confront Emma about her relationship with Graham. Emma explains that she doesn't have that with him, but Regina tells her to stay away from Graham nonetheless. Meanwhile, Graham sets off on a quest to find the wolf from his visions, who also showed up in the real world, and Emma encounters and joins him. Graham is convinced that he doesn't have a heart, because Henry told him he is the alter-ego of the Huntsman, whose heart was taken by the Evil Queen. Emma tries to get him to see that he has a heart, but he isn't convinced. His quest leads him to the mausoleum where Regina keeps her father's tomb, and the latter shows up and finds them. Regina wants Graham to come with her, but he refuses to, and tells her that he doesn't feel anything for her, but it's not because of him, it's because of her. Regina asks Emma what she ever did to her to deserve having her steal everything she holds dear, and Emma provokes Regina by telling her that maybe she is to blame for people running from her. This prompts Regina to punch Emma in the face. Emma fires back and a full-on fight almost ensues, but Graham is able to break them up. Emma tells Regina "Not worth it.", and walks away. So does Graham. Later, at the station, Graham bandages up Emma's wound from the punch she got. They then kiss, and Graham sees further flashes from his past, and is then able to remember it. Meanwhile, Regina, who we learn did in fact take the huntsman's heart, retrieves it from the box where she originally stored it, and destroys it with her bare hand. This leads Graham to suffer a heart attack right when he's about to kiss Emma for the second time. He then dies in her arms as she sobs painfully.

Following Graham's death, Emma is called over to Mr. Gold's pawn shop, so that he can extend his condolences to her. He tells her that, two weeks having passed since the sheriff perished, the job should now be hers. He tells her she should use the sheriff's badge, and then urges her to take a keepsake of Graham's. She takes with her a pair of walkie-talkies, one for her, one for her son. She soon learns that the child is blue over the sheriff's death, for he believes that the Evil Queen had something to do with it. Later, Regina stops by the station to tell Emma that she has appointed Sidney Glass to be the new sheriff, and that Emma is fired. However, Mr. Gold then stops by Emma's apartment to tell her that she has the right to run for the position of sheriff, so Emma starts her campaign, benefited by Gold. A discouraged Henry, however, tells his birth mother that Regina will always win because evil doesn't fight fair. This follows the publishing of an article by Sidney in the local newspaper about how Emma gave birth to Henry behind prison bars. Emma confronts Regina about it and learns that there will soon be a debate. Suddenly, when Regina opens a door, there is an explosion and she is injured, and thus Emma saves her from the fire. She is then applauded by the populous, who start rallying in her favor. This all lifts up Henry's spirits... but then Emma finds out that the explosion was set up by Mr. Gold, in order to boost Emma's chances. During the debate, Emma, with a guilty conscience, tells everyone the truth, and explains to them that she feels bad for letting everyone think her rescue of Regina wasn't premeditated. Everything works out right in the end when Regina and Sidney announce that Emma won the race, because people saw bravery in her when she stood up and spoke out against Mr. Gold, the most feared person in town.

Emma is called over to a local store where Henry was accused of shoplifting, even though it was really the work of two twins, Ava and Nicholas Zimmer. Emma gets the twins back to what they claim to be their house, but outsmarts them and learns that they are practically homeless orphans. Emma then takes the children to her apartment, and Mary Margaret learns that she didn't report them, because Emma herself was a part of the system for orphaned children, and it was a horrible experience. Emma says that she wants to look for their father, so she begins her little quest. However, Regina becomes the wiser, and puts a crimp on her plan, as she devises a plan of her own to get the twins sent to Boston, where they will be put into separate shelters. Later, Henry asks his birth mother to share with him the story of his father, and Emma explains to him that he was a firefighter who died during one of his rescues. This story triggers something in Emma, who has the idea to use a keepsake of the twins' father to track him down. They give her a compass, and Mr. Gold gives Emma the name of the person whom the compass belonged to. Emma therefore finds the kids' dad, a mechanic, but he doesn't want to own up to them. Regina then forces Emma to do her job and get the kids to Boston, and Emma confesses to Mary Margaret that the story she told Henry was a lie, because his father was no hero. That night, however, just as they are about to leave Storybrooke, Emma acts as though her car broke down and calls the kids' father. He arrives and can't help but be moved by the sight of his children, so he takes them with him. Some time later, Henry and Emma are both surprised by the arrival of a stranger on Storybrooke, because supposedly no one from outside could come into the town...

Emma catches on to the fact that her roomie, Mary Margaret, has been leaving earlier in the morning everyday so that she can 'coincidentally' run into David at Granny's coffee shop. Emma advises her against pursuing a relationship with the married man. Regina, having noticed the presence of a mysterious man in town, asks Emma to look into him, because he's developed an interest in Henry. She agrees to do this. Emma later encounters the man at the coffee shop, and Emma tells him they need to talk because he is suspicious. The man tells her that his bike broke down by Regina's house and Henry came up to him asking questions. Emma is curious about the box he carries around. The man taunts her by saying that he is going to make her wait a long time to find out what is in the box, and in the meantime she will have to watch him carry it around. Or, he says, she can let him buy her a drink sometime and he'll tell her right then. She agrees, and he opens the box before her, to reveal an old typewriter inside: he's a writer. He's there because that place provides inspiration. She asks if he's been there before, and he neither denies nor confirms this, he just leaves. She asks him about the drink, and he reminds her that he said 'sometime'.

Henry is devastated to learn that the castle where he hangs out has been damaged by the recent storm. Emma learns that he kept his fairytale book buried in the sand, and it's still there. The young man tells his birth mother that Regina doesn't know about the castle, but the latter has tracked them down, because Henry had a session with Archie. Regina scolds Emma for letting Henry play in an unsafe area. Later, Mary Margaret and Emma discuss the situation, and Emma says she wishes everyone could see the effect Regina has on Henry. Sidney Glass, having been fired, hears this and offers to partner up with Emma to bring Regina down. When Regina orders the castle to be teared down, and the book goes missing, an irate Emma does team up with Sidney, and he tells her that he found out Regina moved thousands of the taxpayers' dollars to work on a secret project. They tap her office and learn she's meeting with someone to pay off something, and they follow her, but it turns out Emma's brakes have been cut. After they crash, they learn Mr. Gold was the person Regina was meeting with: she bought some land from him. They break into Regina's office and discover some documents that seem to indicate that she's building herself a second house. They try to shame her during a public assembly, but wind up embarrassed themselves when Regina reveals that those plans are to build a public playground for the children of Storybrooke. Regina then tells Emma she wants her away from their son. Meanwhile, it is revealed that August, the new man in town, has the book...

One morning, Emma meets with Mary Margaret at Granny's Diner to ask about Henry. Ruby suggests that they all have a girls' night out for Valentine's Day, but Emma passes on it, claiming not to be in the party mood. Emma then gets a call from the station and she rushes there to find Mr. Gold, who's complaining about a local man who stole from him, a man who was in debt with Mr. Gold. Emma is able to find everything the man stole, but Gold claims that something is missing, and becomes mad. He then decides to take justice into his own hands, and sets out to find Moe, the stealer. He does so, and tortures the poor man, trying in vain to get from him what he wants and thinks he's stolen. However, Moe has no idea what he is talking about. Emma is able to find them and rescue the middle-aged victim, and she is thus forced to arrest Mr. Gold. Regina later visits him in prison and we learn that she had what Gold wanted all along: the mug that Belle chipped in the fairytale world...

Emma arrives at Granny's Diner to find the stranger, who tells her he'd like to take her out for that drink he promised her once. She teases him about not going out with men who refuse to tell her their names, and he reveals himself to be August W. Booth (the 'W' standing for 'Wayne'). Emma then meets with Mary Margaret inside, and tells her that she knows Mary's been seeing David, even though he is still with Kathryn. Mary Margaret says he will be telling his wife everything. Later, August shows up on his motorcycle, outside the diner, and asks Emma to hop on, because he knows a good 'watering hole' where they can go. She does so, reluctantly, and he takes her to an actual watering hole: a well in the middle of nowhere. He starts telling her that there is a legend around that well, which claims that the water from the well originates from an underground lake that has magical properties. If someone drinks the water from the well, something lost will return to them. Emma comments that he knows a lot about the town for being a stranger, and he fires back that she knows very little for being the sheriff. Emma asks if he's been there before to know all of this, and he replies that he simply read the well's plaque. He tells her that water spreads throughout the entire world, connecting everything, so if something were to have mystical properties, it'd be water. They then drink up. Later, Emma notices a familiar red box next to her parked car, inside a small puddle near the sidewalk, and she opens it to find Henry's book inside. Unbeknownst to her, August is watching from a distance. She then returns it to her son. The kid takes this as a sign that their luck is changing. Later, Emma lies down with her roomie, Mary Margaret, after the latter has been shunned by the community because David didn't come clean about their liaison.

Emma feels terrible when her friend Mary Margaret is ignored by everyone at Granny's Diner when she tries to request some help for the Miners Day fair. Emma tries to console her, but it isn't to much avail. Later, Emma learns that Kathryn Nolan, David's wife, disappeared mysteriously. She investigates the scene, and Sidney shows up and makes up a story in his head. He then offers to help Emma pull Kathryn's phone records. David shows up and it's up to Emma to break the news to him. Later, Regina, having been informed by Sidney, forges fake phone records under Kathryn's name. During the party, Emma tells Sidney that Kathryn never showed up for registration at the law school in Boston she applied for. Sidney brings Emma the phone records, which include an 8-minute call between Kathryn and David within an hour of the accident. Emma recalls that David said he didn't speak with Kathryn that day, but Sidney points out that David's lying, which is something he seems to do constantly. Regina visits Emma and tells her to do her job rather than sit on valuable information because she refuses to believe the 'truth', and thus Emma is forced to take David with her into further questioning during the fair, under everyone's eyes.

Emma lets David go, convinced that he has nothing to do with Kathryn's disappearance. Later, she and Mary Margaret run into Ruby at a bus stop. The young woman has just quit her job following a fight she had with Granny, and is stranded without a plan. She is invited to stay with her two friends, and the following day, when she is at the station with young Henry trying to help her figure out what she wants to do for a living, Emma notices her answering the phone and hires her as an assistant. Ruby goes to fetch them some lunch, excitedly so, but her grandmother tears her down, rather effortlessly. Henry, meanwhile, convinces Emma to let Ruby tackle some heavy lifting because her alter-ego is Red Riding Hood. Emma, though still a non-believer, obliges, by having Ruby tag along in the search for David in the woods, whom Mary Margaret found to be disorientated and weird. Ruby is able to track him down very easily, much to Emma's surprise. At the hospital, Dr. Whale explains that David might still be experiencing some confusion and memory loss as effects from his previous comatose state, and a question then hovers over his head: could David have truly called Kathryn and maybe even dealt away with her, and he simply doesn't remember? Emma then urges Ruby to get back into the woods, near the Toll Bridge, where David was headed, and find something that doesn't belong. Ruby does this, and finds a small chest... with a human heart inside. Emma breaks the news to David and Mary Margaret, and the former, worried sick, tells Emma to arrest him... but Emma says that fingerprints were found inside the chest and they match Mary Margaret's.

Emma takes mugshots of Mary Margaret, and comforts her friend by declaring that she believes in her innocence, but she has to play the part of the sheriff convincingly so that it doesn't come across to others as though Emma's playing favorites. Mary Margaret is questioned by Emma, with Regina witnessing the interrogation. Emma shows her friend the chest in which the heart was found, and Mary Margaret recognizes it as her jewelry box. She claims that someone must've stolen it from their apartment, and Regina asks Emma if there signs of a break-in. Emma searches around the apartment, with the aid of Henry, but they find nothing... except for a hunter knife. One that could had been used to cut out the heart. Mary Margaret is shocked to hear about this, and Emma realizes now that her friend is being framed. Mr. Gold offers his services as an attorney to Mary Margaret, despite Emma's fears that he might not be looking after their the young teacher's best interests. Henry then gives Emma the Mayor's set of skeleton keys, and Emma learns that one of the keys opens the door to their apartment. This makes her believe that Regina is the one framing Mary Margaret, and thus she reaches out to Mr. Gold, requesting his help in taking down the Mayor, because the only time Emma got an upper hand with Regina was when Gold was her ally. Gold tells Emma that Regina is powerful, but Emma is more special than she can see...

Emma comes to the station one night to find that her friend Mary Margaret has escaped from jail. Worried about the arraignment coming up, one Regina is certain to attend, Emma sets out to find Mary Margaret, because if she isn't in jail when the time comes, she will be screwed, whether or not she actually killed Kathryn. During her drive, Emma accidentally knocks a man out of his path. She gives him a ride to his house because he has a limp, and the man, Jefferson, offers her some tea... laced with something to make her sleep. When Emma wakes up, tied up and gagged, she manages to set herself free, and inside the house she finds her friend Mary Margaret, also tied to a chair and gagged. The man, however, finds them before they can escape. He makes Emma tie up Mary Margaret again, and forces her to build him a magic hat. Jefferson, the alter-ego of the Mad Hatter, tries to explain to Emma that he comes from the fairytale land, and that she just refuses to see the truth. Emma therefore makes him a top hat, and he eventually tells her his story, of how he was torn from his daughter. In this world, she belongs to a different family, and thus he is driven to madness not only by the curse's effects, but by his memory of his previous life, and the fact that he can't be with his daughter, for he refuses to instill in her the memories that he has, to keep her from being harmed herself. Emma tells the man that she can understand what he is going through, for she has a similar situation because of Henry, but it turns out she is merely pretending to sympathize. Emma knocks him out and tries to rescue Mary Margaret, but Jefferson gets to them and a struggle ensues. Mary Margaret is able to kick him through the window, and he falls to his apparent death, hat and all... but then only the top hat is found. Emma then gives her friend the choice to either leave town or go with her and trust her to make this framing problem go away. Mary Margaret goes with Emma, and the Mayor is horrified to find her in prison, for the key she used to escape had been planted there as part of Regina's plan. Later, Emma, at the elementary school, recognizes Paige, a classmate of Henry's, as Jefferson's 'daughter'. She then skims through his fairytale book and comes upon the story of the Mad Hatter, only to realize that the Hatter and Grace do look a lot like Jefferson and Paige...

Mr. Gold advises Mary Margaret to allow herself to be interviewed by the prosecutor in her case, so that she can show off her best asset: her innocent look. People are less likely to view an innocent-looking elementary school teacher as a murderer. Mary Margaret agrees, even though Emma isn't too sure that this is a good idea. Meanwhile, Sidney Glass brings some flowers to the station and tells Emma that he couldn't find anything they could use against Regina, but that he will keep trying. Later, August encounters a beaten-down Emma reading Henry's book, and advises her to go about her investigation from the beginning, which is a technique he uses when he has writer's block. Emma takes his advice and goes back to the place where Ruby found the box with the heart. There she finds a broken piece of a shovel. That night, she enters the garage of the Mayor, and finds a shovel with a piece missing... a perfect match. Emma is confident that she finally caught the Mayor, but the following morning, when she shows up with a warrant, the shovel has apparently been replaced. She blames August for telling the Mayor, but then, when Mary Margaret is taken to trial, Emma confronts Mr. Gold, reminding him that she came to him for help but he wasn't any. Mr. Gold says the case isn't over, and that there's still time for him to work his magic. Then, an angry Emma smashes the vase with the flowers Sidney brought and finds a bug in them. She apologizes to August, and shortly afterwards they hear a scream. It's Ruby, who has just stumbled upon none other than an alive and disoriented Kathryn Nolan.

Emma visits Kathryn in the hospital to ask her some questions about her abduction. Kathryn remembers next to nothing, except that she was in some darkened basement, where there was food and water. She didn't see or feel anyone, and she was then taken to the edge of town someday and started walking to where she was found. Emma explains to Kathryn that she thinks someone wanted people to think she was dead so that Mary Margaret could be framed. Later, Emma attends a party in her own apartment, thrown by the townspeople to welcome Mary Margaret back home. David shows up, but Emma keeps him from entering, per her best friend's wishes. Mr. Gold then has a little chat with Emma, in which the latter asks him if he made Kathryn materialize, as the 'magic' he was going to work. He doesn't give a proper answer, and instead asks her who 'August' (whom he'd found lurking about his office that day). Emma tells him what she knows and wonders why he asks. Mr. Gold comments that he obviously has a fake name, and asks Emma if she trusts him, to which she replies that she does, more than she trusts Gold. The following day, Emma sits with Sidney Glass at Granny's and reveals that she knows about the bug. She gives him the option to either join her team in taking down Regina, or going down with the Mayor instead. Emma also realizes in the meantime that Sidney loves Regina. Later, the scheming Mayor shows up at the station with Sidney, who confesses to the crimes of kidnapping Kathryn and framing Mary Margaret. He claims that he wanted to fabricate the perfect story for the local newspaper, and that he later wanted to play the part of the hero when pretending to rescue Kathryn. Emma doesn't buy a single word of this, knowing that he is merely taking the fall for Regina. However, she has no choice but to arrest him, but not before she gives her nemesis an ultimatum: she is taking back Henry for herself.

August comes over to change the locks in Mary Margaret and Emma's apartment. The teacher then asks Emma if she is ready to take care of Henry should she win her battle for custody, and Emma says that she is. Henry then calls her, but before she meets with him August tells her to meet with him later so he can show her a way to beat Regina, but she isn't interested. She then meets with Henry at Granny's Diner, where he tells her that someone added a new story to the book: that of Pinocchio. However, the ending isn't included. Emma then meets with Mr. Gold to get him to defend her in the battle for custody, but he doesn't accept the case. Emma then sees August, and tells him to show her how to beat Regina. August then takes Emma to the place where he, as young Pinocchio, found her when she came into that world, protected by the magical wardrobe. He tells her the truth, but she doesn't believe a word he says, and refuses to listen to him anymore. He then goes on about the curse and Emma's role in it, and says that it is all true. He says that the both of them came into that world through a tree they're standing by. He is still unable to get through to her, no matter how hard he tries, and when he is unable to chase after her because something is wrong with his leg, he tells her that he failed his mission, getting her to believe. He then shows her his wooden leg, to make her understand that he is Pinocchio... but all Emma sees is a normal human leg, because her denial is even worse than he thought. He tells her that it is her job to save everyone, and she gets emotional and says she doesn't want that burden, and that everyone is therefore screwed. Later, Emma gets a hold of Henry and asks him if he wants to live with her; when he answers positively, Emma kidnaps him.

When Henry catches on to what his birth mother is doing, he stops her by messing with the steering wheel and thus getting the car off of the road. He begs her not to go because her family is in Storybrooke and needs her. Emma comes back home and Mary Margaret scolds her for leaving without saying a word, and Emma tells her that she doesn't want to be sheriff and to have people relying on her. She then confesses that she took Henry with her, and her teacher friend is shocked. Mary Margaret tells her that running is not what is best for him, and comments that Emma is reverting to her old self. Emma then meets with Archie to get his opinion, and he tells her that she doesn't have a case for custody, because she can't prove the bad things that Regina's done, and Henry's behavior hasn't exactly been immaculate ever since Emma came into the picture, even though he's been happier. Archie reassures her that Regina would never hurt Henry, and says that this war between Emma and the Mayor has to end, because if they're both gonna be in Henry's life, they have to figure out a way to do so, in order for the child to be spared of getting hurt. Emma then plans to reach out to Regina and tell her that she is leaving, and will only be seeing Henry occasionally, but the Mayor has a different plan of her own: to put Emma in a state of permanent sleep with a poisoned turnover made from the apple that cursed Snow White. Henry visits Emma and she tells him that she is going. Henry goes on about the curse and her role in the story, and she tells him this isn't a story, and that he can't believe in curses. He realizes that she still doesn't believe, and is left brokenhearted. He then notices the apple turnover, and she tells him that Regina gave her. Henry tells her that it is poisoned, and Regina's deal with her was only a coy to get her to eat the turnover. Henry tells her that even if she doesn't believe in him, he believes in her, and then he eats the turnover to prove it to her... and falls unconscious to the floor before her eyes.

Emma rushes Henry to the hospital, and tells Dr. Whale that the apple turnover poisoned him, but the doctor is unable to tell what is wrong with the young man because he has no signs of having been poisoned. Emma then touches Henry's fairytale book and this triggers something in her, and she is finally able to believe in the curse. When Regina gets to the hospital, Emma confronts her, violently so, and Regina comes clean. They are then forced to team up to try and save Henry, and so they meet with Mr. Gold... or Rumplestiltskin, as Emma soon learns. Gold tells Emma to retrieve something that they will need to cure Henry, and sends her off on a quest to meet a 'friend' that Regina has hidden somewhere else, in a form different from other people that she cursed. Emma then learns that the friend in question is a dragon: Maleficent, trapped in a dragon form. Emma slays the dragon and retrieves the item Gold wanted: a love potion hidden in an egg case. Gold, however, steals the potion for his own purposes, therefore double-crossing Emma. She and Regina are then called to the hospital where they learn that Henry's condition worsened and he perished. They are both left broken-hearted. Emma then tells the apparently deceased Henry that she loves him, and gives a him a kiss on the forehead... a kiss that breaks the curse. Suddenly, everyone in Storybrooke remembers their true identities and past. Henry is awakened from the sleeping curse, and tells his birth mother that he loves her too. Regina then goes into hiding, and Mr. Gold uses the love potion to bring magic into town...

Season 2
"You found us..."

- Snow White

Soon after the curse is broken, Emma meets with Mary Margaret and David, who now remember their past as Snow White and Prince Charming, and learns that they truly are her parents. The Charming family, including Henry, is therefore reunited at last, but Emma is less than anxious to deal with the complexities of her situation. She first plans on confronting Gold about having double-crossed her, but she is urged to save Regina from an angry mob thirsty for blood. When Emma confronts Gold, he tells her that he brought magic into town, for reasons undisclosed. He then reminds Emma that she still owes him a favor, and the blonde and her parents then leave to go and try to save Regina from a new threat Gold's brought to town: a deadly Wraith. Regina comes up with the idea to send the Wraith back to fairytale land, whatever is left of it, through Jefferson's magical top hat. She is unable to get it to work, until Emma touches her and somehow transmits magic to her. The hat then opens a portal to fairytale land, and the Wraith gets sucked into it, but its soul-sucking ray grabs Emma's leg and pulls her inside as well. Mary Margaret, unwilling to lose her daughter again, jumps in after her. David tries to do so as well but the portal closes under him. Henry then begs his foster mother to bring his birth mother and teacher back. Later, in the fairytale land, which is now an arid place, Emma and Mary Margaret are found, unconscious, by none other than Aurora and Mulan...

After Regina tells Henry that she wants to redeem herself, David demands that she prove it, and asks her if the fairytale land still exists. Regina says that it does, but that she doesn't know how to get back to it. Henry starts to lose all hope that they are ever going to see Mary Margaret and Emma again, especially seeing as how they don't even know if the two of them survived or not. However, David comforts him, saying that he has a feeling they did. It is then revealed to us that Emma and Mary Margaret have been taken prisoner by Mulan and Aurora, who bring them to their safe haven. There, Mary Margaret attacks the princess and makes a run for it, along with Emma, but the teacher is knocked out by Mulan. Emma comes back to her aid and the warrior tells her peers to throw the two prisoners into a pit. Emma and Mary Margaret, the latter still unconscious, are thus thrown into a caved jail, and there Emma tries to bring her mother back to consciousness... and is met by someone the survivors have locked up as well: Cora - none other than Regina's mother...

Emma finds out that Cora is the mother of Regina, but the middle-aged woman reassures her that she is nothing like her daughter. However, Mary Margaret wakes up, and tells Emma otherwise. Emma lets out that they need to get back to Henry in Storybrooke, and Cora thus learns of the existence of a grandson. The two new prisoners of the pit are then brought to meet the leader of the safe haven, and Snow is delighted to find that it's Lancelot, an old friend of hers. Snow begs Lancelot to let her and Emma leave so they can find a portal back to their other world, but she refuses to tell him what the portal might be because Cora is in the area. Lancelot reassures her that Cora was stripped of her powers, but lets them go, and begs that they take Mulan with them for protection. Emma and her mother therefore pack up with artillery for the road, all the while not knowing that Aurora is following them, hoping to get revenge on them for the death of Prince Phillip. Snow is able to overpower the princess when she strikes, but Emma, believing her mother to be in danger, fires her gun into the air to scare off Aurora and Mulan, and winds up attracting the attention of an ogre. Snow is able to kill it, and begs her child to trust her directions, because this is her land. They finally make it to the castle once owned by Snow and Prince Charming, where the portal - the wardrobe - lies. There, Emma realizes that her mother had a nursery all set up for her. Lancelot shows up, showing interest in helping them, but when he mentions Henry, Snow immediately realizes that Lancelot is really Cora in disguise, for Emma hadn't mentioned her son's name to anyone else. The four women are able to scare Cora away, but not before Emma uses her gun powder and bullets to burn down the wardrobe and prevent Cora from passing through it and into Storybrooke. Mulan and Aurora agree to join forces with the mother and daughter, to help them get back to their town, and Emma then tears up to Snow, realizing now that she too was robbed of a life in the company of her daughter, and she didn't deserve that. The two women hug in understanding. They then leave the castle... and Cora materializes from the thin air and bottles up some dust from the wardrobe, revealing to us that there's still magic left in it.

Emma, Mary Margaret, Mulan and Aurora return to the safe haven to find that Cora has murdered all of its inhabitants, by ripping their hearts out. However, they find a man - Killian Jones - alive, hiding beneath the corpses, who claims to have survived the attack. Emma is suspicious of the man and uses her perceptive gift to try and see if he is lying to them, and is able to tell that he is. Therefore, the women tie him to a tree and demand that he tell them his true intentions, under the threat of leaving him to be eaten by the ogres. Killian comes clean: he reveals himself to be the famed Captain Hook, and tells them that Cora requested his help, by having him earn the ladies' trust and find out everything he could about Storybrooke, so that she didn't have any surprises when she finally got there. He then reveals that the magic of the burnt wardrobe remains, and with the use of a magical compass that Cora seeks, they might just be able to make it to Emma's land. Hook then offers his assistance, the same way he did to Cora: he'll help them get the compass. Emma asks why he'd want to go to Storybrooke, and he explains that he wants to exact revenge on the man who took his hand: Rumplestiltskin. They untie him, and let him tag along. Emma and Mary Margaret acknowledge that he is probably setting them up to take a fall, but this way they can stay one step ahead at all times. Killian brings them to a gigantic beanstalk that leads all the way to the clouds, and reveals that the compass is up there, much to Emma's surprise.

The four ladies are stunned at the sight of the giant beanstalk leading all the way to the clouds. Killian explains to them that once they have the compass, they can steal the ashes from Cora and make their way to Storybrooke. He then tells them that the beanstalk is enchanted to repel intruders, and he has two bracelets that counter the spell. The women are therefore forced to decide which one of them goes up with Killian, and Emma is ultimately chosen. She tells Mulan before she goes, however, that if she isn't back in ten hours, she can cut down the beanstalk. Mulan gives Emma a powder to put the giant to sleep, and then creates a sun clock, and she and the two remaining ladies take turns sleeping while Emma goes to the giant's castle. On the climb up, Killian takes the opportunity to psycho-analyze Emma, realizing that she's always keeping a barrier up to protect herself. Once they reach the castle, Emma realizes that Rumple killed Killian's lover, and Killian learns that Emma has been in love once, despite denying it before. They are able to draw the giant out of the castle, and Emma uses the powder to put him to sleep. Inside, amidst the many treasures, they look for the compass, but the giant awakens suddenly and grabs Emma. He tries to squeeze her to death, but she bites down on his finger and he drops her. Emma is able to lure him to one of his own traps, and she then learns from the giant that his kind was slayed by the humans, which is why he despises them. Emma tells him not all humans are the same, and therefore spares his life, claiming that she only wants the compass in order to get home to her son. The giant sets himself free, however, but rather than getting back at her, he allows her to escape... and keeps Hook there so that she can get a head start. Back on the ground, Mulan starts chopping down the beanstalk, which horrifies Snow, but Emma gets down safe and sound and they are able to resume their adventure.

Leroy finally finds diamonds in the old mines, and the Blue Fairy is relieved to learn that the magic did indeed bring them back. She tells the group that all they have to do is refine them and make fairy dust, and soon enough they will be able to combine the dust and Jefferson's hat and bring Emma and Mary Margaret back. She advises Charming to protect the hat, and Henry and everyone else are excited that they might soon be bringing back their beloved princess and her daughter. However, the vengeful King George gets a hold of the hat and tosses it into a fire, shattering the prince's hopes of being reunited with his family. He is then troubled with the thought of having to break the bad news to Henry, despite Ruby's encouragement that things will turn out alright. Unbeknownst to them, Henry himself has stumbled upon a way of communicating with Emma and Mary Margaret... In his recurring nightmares, Henry finds himself trapped in a room on fire, where another presence can be seen: Aurora. Back in the fairytale land, Mary Margaret is lost in a trail of thought about her distanced loved ones, and Emma tells her to come with her, for Mulan has some ideas about where Cora might be hiding. While the three brave women gather to discuss what to do next, their protegee, Aurora, is seen sleeping. In her dream, she finds herself trapped in the red room again, but there she finally meets Henry, who, thanks to Mr. Gold's necklace, is able to put out the fire and reach out to her. Aurora wakes up and calls out for Snow, and she and Emma come to her. Aurora tells them of her dream and of how it was different this time, thanks to the boy in it... the boy named 'Henry'. Emma and Mary Margaret are surprised and confused.

Emma is surprised and confused that Aurora spoke with her son in her dreams, but Mary Margaret theorizes that maybe the dreams aren't dreams after all, but the same netherworld she traveled to after she woke up from the sleeping curse. Emma remembers that Henry went through the same curse because she wouldn't believe him. Snow then has an idea: they can use Aurora to communicate with Henry and get information from Rumplestiltskin on how to defeat Cora. Aurora and Henry meet again in the fire room, and the princess tells him that his mother and grandmother are alive and they want to go back home. When Aurora and Henry meet again in the fire room, to discuss the plan, the princess is violently woken up by Mulan when their campsite is attacked by a horde of Cora's undead victims. Emma and Mary Margaret fight them off as best they can and make a run for it, and in the meantime Aurora is taken hostage, and Cora threatens to kill her should the other three not give her the compass. Emma keeps Mulan from taking it right away, and Snow then plans to put herself in a deep state of sleep with the aid of magical sleeping powder, and she and Emma have a talk in which they discuss the guilt they feel over the bad choices they've made, like Emma not believing Henry's claims about the curse. Emma then comes to a realization that they really should just blame Regina. After Mary Margaret wakes up, horrified to have learnt that David put himself under a sleeping curse as well, Emma is forced to comfort her and get her to calm down... until they realize that Mulan's run off with the compass. They intercept her and Snow fights Mulan for it, much to Emma's surprise, until Aurora shows up and stops the violence, telling them that Hook set her free because he likes Emma. Unbeknownst to them, however, Hook actually took out Aurora's heart and Cora now has the power to control the princess...

Emma, Mary Margaret, Mulan and Aurora make it to the cell that once contained Rumplestiltskin, and search for the squid ink they need. There, Snow reveals to Emma that Rumple knew she would be the savior; it was prophesied. Emma wonders how Rumple could keep from going crazy, without anyone to talk to, and Aurora claims that he didn't, and shows her a scroll in which he wrote Emma's name over and over again. Mulan is only able to find an empty bottle that once contained the ink, and Aurora, under Cora's thrall, manages to detain all four of them, locking them inside the cell, just as the powerful witch and Hook show up to retrieve the compass. Detained and hopeless, Emma feels depressed because, despite being the savior, she hasn't been able to do much saving of late, and Snow realizes that the names on the scroll were written with the squid ink. She blows on the paper, the way Cora used to do with her book of spells, and the ink emanates from the scroll and eats away at the gate. Mother and daughter then resume their quest for the compass and to head back home, along with Mulan, who sets out to get Aurora's heart, leaving her tied up in the dungeon all the while, so as to keep her from being controlled by Cora. Emma and Snow make it to Lake Nostos, where Cora has opened a portal, and the blonde is able to knock out Hook. When Cora tries to rip Snow's heart, as a gift for her daughter, Emma pushes her mother away and stands in her place. Cora lunges her hand inside her chest, telling her that love is weakness, but is utterly unable to remove her heart. Emma tells her that love is strength, and a force of magic emanates from her and protects her from Cora. She and Snow then rush to the portal. On the other side, Henry persuades Regina to lift a deadly spell cast on the portal by Mr. Gold, to obliterate anyone who comes in. Regina removes the spell, just in time for Emma and Snow to make it through. Emma and Henry are reunited, Snow awakens Charming, and all's well that ends well... except Hook and Cora use the magic bean to make it to Storybrooke as well.

Emma goes through her first awkward experience with her parents when she catches them in bed together. That night, the entire Charming family attends a homecoming party at Granny's, with all their friends, one that Regina shows up to, having been invited by Emma. The remaining party guests seem less than excited to see her, and Emma explains to her parents that Regina is getting another chance, for Henry's sake. Later, however, an uncomfortable Regina heads out, and Emma follows after her. A tense conversation ensues, for Regina asks to see more of her son, and Emma doesn't think that's a good idea. Regina lashes out at her but instantly apologizes, and Emma reveals that she knows she's trying to change, thanks to Archie. The former Mayor isn't happy to know that her shrink has been telling about their sessions, and confronts him. Archie defends himself, claiming he was trying to help. The following morning, Emma and Ruby find Archie's lifeless body in his office, and all the evidence of the attack seems to point to Regina. Emma doesn't believe she's guilty, because she was surprised when she found out about the doctor's death, and because Regina would had concealed the evidence better had she done it. Emma believes it's a frame job, and suspects Mr. Gold of doing it. However, Gold helps her to use magic and a dreamcatcher to extract Pongo's memories of the previous night, and Emma witnesses the death of Archie Hopper... by Regina's hands. The blonde confronts her rival, telling her Henry will never believe her lies again and that they now know she's incapable of change. Regina disappears, and Emma is then forced to tell her son that someone he loves was killed by someone else he cares about, which is the first "parenting" thing she's ever had to do. Her parents comfort her, and Emma breaks the news to her son, who is heartbroken... as is the innocent Regina, who watches them from a distance. Later, Cora, the real perpetrator, reveals that Archie is alive, but certainly not well...

Emma and her son Henry attend the funeral of his therapist, Dr. Archibald "Archie" Hopper, who has allegedly been murdered by Regina. The residents of Storybrooke who knew and loved him as either Archie or Jiminy gather together to pay him their final respects, whilst Mary Margaret delivers a lovely eulogy dedicated to the deceased. During the wake, which is hosted at the Charmings' apartment, Emma tries to cheer up the blue Henry, but it's to no avail. Immediately afterwards, Grumpy speaks up on behalf of all the dwarfs, claiming that they'd all like to go back home, to the fairytale land they left behind. Mother and daughter try to explain to him that the land has changed and is dangerous, and that they fought long and hard to get back to their town, but Grumpy points out that, other than the fact that Regina killed Archie and therefore the town isn't very safe, they're a bit homesick. He also adds that, should an outsider come to town and face the sight of fairytale characters, they could get in trouble. Some time later, Emma surprises her family by bringing home Pongo, Archie's beloved dalmatian, for Henry to take care of. She is apologetic for springing the dog on her parents unannounced, but the Charmings think that giving it to Henry is a wonderful idea. However, Mary Margaret then suggests that she and David move out. Later, while Henry is drawing up blueprints of an armory, Archie shows up at the apartment and reveals that he'd been kidnapped by Cora. Emma is worried about the times ahead... and that is before she even learns that an outsider has in fact crashed into town.

Emma arrives with Mary Margaret and David on the scene of a car crash at the town line, she arrives to find a terrified Belle who has fallen over the town line and lost her memories, an injured Hook who was hit by the car and the car itself containing an outsider that drove into town. Emma comments that it looks like the world just came to Storybrooke. They go to the hospital where Emma has Hook chained to his bed before speaking to him, she asks him where Cora is but he has no idea. She joins her parents in the hacking of the outsider's phone, she does it in an instant and discovers that his name is Greg Mendell and that he's perfectly ordinary. It is suggested that they allow Greg to succumb to his injuries and die to stop the exposure of magic which he may have already seen thanks to Gold and Dr. Whale reveals that this would be easy, however, the Charmings decide against it. Whale preps for surgery and Mary Margaret is soon asking if it's nearly over, but Emma finds Whale's pager and tells her that it hasn't even begun as Whale has fled. Ruby is sent to sniff him out and track him down as Emma and her parents stay to keep and eye on Hook and think of alternate solutions. Whale is soon returned by Ruby and Greg receives surgery, said to make a full recovery. Mary Margaret and David want to question him alongside Emma but she reminds her parents that normal sheriffs don't bring their parents in with them, before walking into Greg's room. He reveals that he saw nothing on the night of the crash as he was texting whilst driving and Emma is kind enough to let him off with a warning. The next morning, Gold arrives at their apartment, ready to cash in the favor that Emma owes him. He tells her that she needs him to find someone - his son. Emma is forced to oblige and agrees to meet Gold at noon, before leaving, he assures the Charmings that if any harm is to bestow upon Belle whilst he and Emma are gone, he'll kill all four of them. This is not made better by the fact that Greg lied about not seeing any magic...

Mr. Gold arrives at Mary Margaret's apartment in order to collect Emma for the two of them to go an find his son, Baelfire. He is surprised to see that Henry is also tagging along and doesn't like it, but Emma explains that she's not leaving her son behind with Cora lurking about town. The three of them are next seen driving to the airport and Emma asks Gold if his shawl, which is enchanted to allow him to remember who he is when he crosses the town line, will still work. He assures her that it will and is proven correct and Rumplestiltskin soon arrives at the airport with the blonde and the kid. He is unhappy to be parted with his shoes, cane and shawl, the latter of which could cause him to lose his memory, but Emma aids him through the security gate, reuniting the dazed pawnbroker with his shawl as soon as possible, he retains his memory. When Henry asks Gold if he's nervous about meeting his son, Gold excuses himself to go to the bathroom where he beats up a paper-towel dispenser, injuring himself, Through this, he discovers that he cannot use magic outside of town, as he is unable to heal himself. The flight to New York soon boards and Emma takes a seat between Henry and Gold, she asks the former if he's okay and he replies that his first flight is a real-life adventure, saying he couldn't be better. Emma then looks over to Mr. Gold, who appears nervous about meeting his son again.

Emma, Henry and Gold arrive in New York outside Baelfire's apartment building and go inside to try and find the specific apartment. Emma deciphers that the one not labelled is Baelfire's residence and presses the buzzer, however, running is heard on the fire escape. Gold tells Emma to chase his son and that her favor to him is getting Bae to talk to him. Emma chases Bae through the city and soon tackles him, she is shocked to discover that Gold's son is in fact Neal Cassidy, her old flame and Henry's real father. He takes her to a bar to explain everything to her, saying that her friend, August, is the one who told him to set her up so that she may eventually break the curse. Emma doesn't like this explanation and wants to bring Neal to his father, but Neal tells her that if she doesn't do this, he'll be out of her life forever. Emma takes this deal and returns to Gold and Henry, telling the former that she lost Bae. He is disappointed but soon figures out that she's lying. Just as he begins screaming at her, Neal walks in, ordering Rumple to leave Emma alone. Gold figures out that Neal and Emma know each other, and when Henry walks in, Neal realizes that the kid is his son. Henry is shocked to learn that he has a father, mad at Emma for lying to him, and she follows him to comfort him. He tells her that by lying, she made herself no better than Regina, but Emma apologizes, clearly regretting her decision to tell him his father was dead. Neal later talks to Henry and begins to bond with him, Gold watches this and realizes that Henry is the child that he must kill in order to reunite with his son, according to prophecy.

Neal continues to bond and spend more time with his new-found son, Henry, as Gold and Emma continue to commiserate over the strains in their relationships with their respective sons. Gold asks Emma to convince Neal to return to Storybrooke with them, telling her that if she does not, Henry will likely run away to find Neal, much like he did with Emma. The blonde considers this and begins to try and convince Neal to return with them, but he reveals that he has some news of his own. However, before he can share his news, the two of them stand witness to Captain Hook's ambush of Gold as the pirate stabs the pawnbroker in the chest with his hook, before Emma knocks him out, imprisoning him. Neal takes his father upstairs where they are soon met by Emma, who reveals that Hook used his pirate ship to sail there. Gold soon deciphers that the hook used to stab him was laced with poison which is slowly killing him and tells them that they need a fast way to get to Storybrooke in order to use the town's magic to save him. Neal reveals that he can sail them there on Hook's ship, knowing how to do so having learned in Neverland. Neal arranges for them to borrow a car to get them to the ship, and Emma wonders whose car it is. At this, Neal and Emma are approached by a woman named Tamara who reveals herself to be Neal's fiancee. Emma is taken aback.

Emma, Henry and a dying Gold are sailed by Neal back to Storybrooke on Captain Hook's pirate ship in order to find a cure to the poison that currently within Rumple's heart. They soon arrive at the town docks and are met by Mary Margaret and David, who are alongside Ruby. Ruby offers to take Henry out of the crossfire as Emma, Neal, Mary Margaret and David all escort Gold to his pawn shop. Knowing that Cora and Regina are after them with the Dark One's dagger in tow, Gold tells Emma to use the invisible chalk to draw a line across all entrances. The pawnbroker then tells the blonde that she must cast the protection spell herself, which she succeeds at after managing to channel magic via her emotions, without thought. Neal, David and Emma arm themselves with swords as Regina and Cora break the protection spell with ease, making their way inside the shop. David quickly blocks one of Regina's fireballs, but is flown outside by Cora and knocked out. Regina begins to strangle Emma with magic, however, the blonde manages to get a sword pointed to Regina's throat, she makes Cora choose between her daughter and the dagger on the ground and Cora picks up the dagger, giving Emma time to throw Regina into the counter and run into the back room with Neal and Gold, sealing it off with invisible chalk and thus casting a protection spell so that Cora cannot get through, no longer having Regina's help as the mayor has left to intercept Mary Margaret who's at her vault. Cora soon manages to get into the back room, breaking the protection spell, and Neal and Emma aim their swords at her, however, Cora quickly makes them disappear in a swirl of purple smoke, causing them to reappear somewhere in the town woods, where the two of them become confused. Despite this, thanks to Mary Margaret's actions, Cora ends up dying, and Gold is saved.

Henry begins to wonder why Mary Margaret's been spending most of her time moping in bed and Emma tells him that she's sick, however, Henry sees through this lie immediately and the blonde admits that Mary Margaret is partially responsible for Cora's death, something which displeases the kid. The Charmings are soon visited by Mr. Gold, who tells them that Regina is planning to strike back and kill Mary Margaret to avenge Cora, and after investigating further, they discover that she also plans on using a curse on Henry that makes him think he loves her so that she can have him back as well as claim her vengeance. Finding Regina unstoppable, Emma and David contemplate executing her, but Henry is strongly against it. He next meets his father, Neal, at Granny's Diner who attempts to bribe him with ice cream, before revealing his agenda of wanting to bring Henry back to New York with him to keep him safe. Henry initially appears happy at this thought before excusing himself to go to the bathroom. This is revealed to be Emma's idea and she asks Neal how it went, he tells her that Henry was on board but went to the bathroom, but Emma points out the kid's backpack is missing. They get Ruby to sniff him out and she leads them to the old mines where they discover a box of dynamite with sticks missing. Henry arrives at the town well with hopes of blowing it up and getting rid of magic, that being the place it originated from, but Regina quickly turns up and disappears the dynamite. Emma, Neal and David show up as well and the latter almost kills Regina, until Henry stops him, telling his family how magic has corrupted them and makes good people to terrible things. At this, Regina burns the curse she planned on using and Henry returns home with Emma.

Mary Margaret is still moping around in bed after what she did to Cora and when Emma sees David making her breakfast in bed, she fears that they may be coddling her, thinking that Snow needs to toughen up and move on. Emma then goes to the B&B with Henry where she learns that Neal has invited his betrothed, Tamara, to Storybrooke. Once Tamara arrives, she shared bagels with Emma, Henry and Neal until the former two leave and Neal uses Henry's storybook to tell his fiancee who he really is. Emma later goes to Granny's Diner where she and Marco are met by Mary Margaret, who tells them that she found August in the woods, but that he's completely made of wood. They visit Mother Superior to see if she would be able to change him back, however, she reveals that as August has not been a good boy, what's happening to him is his own fault and can only be stopped by him. As Mary Margaret leads Emma and Marco to August's trailer in the woods, Marco admits that he sent Pinocchio through the wardrobe all those years ago, meaning that Snow could not be with Emma. Mary Margaret slaps him but immediately apologizes, stating that she wasn't herself, and Emma is appalled. When they arrive at the trailer, no one is there, but Emma receives a call from August from the sheriff's station. The three of them go there to find August stumbling out and collapsing. With his dying breath, he tries to warn Emma of something, but he passes before he can do so. Emma vows not to let this be in vain and Henry points out that August's last act was selfless, brave and true, meaning that he can be saved. Mother Superior agrees and turns August into little boy Pinocchio again, but he does not remember the warning he tried to give. When they arrive home, Henry tells Emma that he forgives her for lying about his father and promises not to shut her out again.

Mary Margaret and David drive Emma out to what seems like the middle of nowhere but they soon reveal there to be an invisible barrier, behind which are rows of growing magic beans. Emma is surprised to see Anton working with the dwarfs, but happy to see him again. After he returns to work, she realizes that her parents plan to use the beans to make portals and return to their land. Emma feels unsure of this, believing that world to be dangerous and not wanting to leave her home, but Mary Margaret and David assure her that they'll make everything better and that they could all do with a fresh start. Later, Emma is seen contemplating the thought of leaving her world behind when she's approached by Regina, whose recently found out that Neal is Henry's father and wonders what it is he wants. Emma assures the mayor that she has nothing to worry about, but soon says something that leads Regina to believe she's hiding something. The mayor later discovers the crop of magic beans whereas Emma is later in her apartment as Neal arrives home with a tuckered out Henry. They put Henry to sleep on the couch and Neal says that August stopped by the park that day and really hit it off with their son, something which Emma finds weird. She then goes on to say that she wishes August could remember what he was going to warn them before he "rebooted", saying that Storybrooke isn't safe, but safe from who? Neal assures her that she always finds what she's looking for, so has nothing to worry about.

Emma is seen at Granny's Diner when she bumps into Tamara and accidentally causes her ex's fiancee to drop her purse, and helps her gather her things. As she does so, Emma comes across as list containing the residents of Storybrooke and their fairytale identities, and when Tamara declares herself trustworthy, Emma uses her "superpower" to confirm that she's lying. She voices this to Mary Margaret who has her doubts about the theory, telling Emma not to tell Henry as if there's something up with Tamara, he may think his parents are getting back together. Emma promises not to, however, Henry has heard the old thing and tells his mother that they should investigate Tamara. They begin to stake her out in a parked car outside Granny's. having fun as they do so, until Emma decides to search Tamara's room at the B&B. She tells Henry to keep lookout as she breaks in and discovers a loose floorboard, however, Neal returns to the room before she can look underneath it, and catches her. He is appalled by Emma's behavior but she promises she'll back off if there's nothing under the floorboard, explaining her theory to Neal that his fiancee is the "she" that August warned them about. He helps her lift the floorboard, but there is nothing under it, and Emma leaves with Henry, professing not to be a crazy jealous ex. She and her son then eat ice cream together at the Charmings' apartment and discuss the matter of returning to the Enchanted Forest, should the magic beans serve their purpose.

Emma and David burst into Regina's office toting guns in search of the beans she stole. When the mayor is not found inside, Mary Margaret and Henry enter, and it is soon discovered that Regina is keeping a harvested bean plant and that someone has broken into her office that morning, leading them to think that something bad has happened to her. Emma's mind goes first to Tamara, still believing her to be August's "she", and so she decides to search her room again. Neal is annoyed by this but Emma soon discovers that Tamara's tracked sand in with her when she's been supposedly running through the forest, meaning that she lied. Neal says that she could just like to run across the beach, and so he and Emma investigate there next. As they talk, the topic of Neal letting Emma go to prison arises and he apologizes for that, also, Tamara runs across the beach, proving Neal right all along. David soon calls Emma at the docks and tells her that Mary Margaret used magic to experience whatever Regina is, and that the mayor is somewhere that smells of sardines. At this, Emma decides to investigate the town cannery and soon finds her parents searching the same area, and so they split up. Snow and Charming find Regina being tortured by Greg and set her free, before telling Emma and leading Neal to believe that Tamara's innocent, however, she then knocks Emma out and reveals herself guilty. She shoots Neal and prepares to execute him, however, Emma kicks the gun out of her hand and a struggle ensues. Emma begins to win and so Tamara slams down one of the magic beans she stole from Regina and runs away, opening a portal. Neal begins to be sucked down it as Emma grabs on, telling him that due to his bullet wound he'll end up dead no matter what land he turns up in. He tells her to stay for Henry before she professes her love for him, and he reciprocates. Neal then falls down the portal, which closes, and Emma returns home, wondering how she will break the news to Henry. However, the more pressing matter of the fact that Tamara and Greg are now in possession of a trigger comes up - one that will wipe Storybrooke off the map, and kill all of its inhabitants.

Greg and Tamara trigger the diamond that could destroy Storybrooke and kill everyone who wasn't born in the "land without magic", and Regina informs the Charming family that nothing can stop it now, and all she can do is slow it down. Emma takes her nemesis to the mines where they find the diamond, and slowly realizes that Regina has come on a suicide mission: she plans on slowing down the diamond's effects as much as she can, so that Emma and Henry can make it to safety. Even though he is free from harm, for he was born in this land, she doesn't want him to be alone. Emma then gets ready to go back to the Enchanted Forest with her family and friends, but Mary Margaret isn't willing to let Regina behind to die. When everyone agrees to the idea of sending the diamond to another realm instead, the Charmings rush to Regina's rescue, only to learn that Hook swiped them of a magic bean. Emma, however, has the idea to help Regina stop the diamond with her newfound magic powers. The two of them zap the trigger and are able to deactivate it. However, their victory isn't celebrated for long, for they soon learn that their shared son has been taken. Henry is escorted by Greg and Tamara, who inform him that their plans to rid the world of magic were put on hold once they discovered Henry, who is far more important now. They open a magic portal using a bean and leap through it, much to the chagrin of the now desperate Charmings and Regina. Mr. Gold and Belle show up, and so does Hook, who has changed his mind about going solo and plans on helping them rescue Henry. Regina, Emma, her parents and Rumple all board the Jolly Roger, intent on getting the boy back... and discover that he's been taken to Neverland. Hook opens a magic portal using the last bean, and they all set sail, ready for adventure.

Season 3
"I'm a mother. And now I'm also your leader. So either help me get my son back, or get out of the way."

The Jolly Roger comes out from the portal into the waters of Neverland, and the gang aboard prepare to arrive to the island to which Henry was taken. Emma looks glum and pensive, and her parents approach her and tell her that she shouldn't blame herself for what happened to her son, and Emma denies doing so, claiming instead that she blames them. If she hadn't listened to them and followed her own judgment, Henry wouldn't have been taken. Mr. Gold makes himself appear, wearing a different costume, and announces that he will be going on his journey alone, knowing that Emma will fail, because she still refuses to believe in herself and those around her, and Neverland is the land of belief. He vanishes from the ship. On their way to the island, the gang are attacked by a school of mermaids who try to capsize the boat, and are forced to fight them off. Mary Margaret and Emma are able to ensnare one of the mermaids in a net, though, and the crew argues over how to approach her. The mermaid blows on a conch shell and calls upon a storm, intimidating the five passengers. Regina turns the mermaid into a wooden statue, and the storm grows larger and more frightening. Regina and Snow then engage in a personal fight, which is followed by another fight between David and Hook. Emma starts to realize that the storm is personally linked to them and to how they behave, and tries to get their attention by shouting at them to stop, to no avail. She then takes a leap of faith and jumps overboard. Inside the waters, she is hit by a fallen hook coming from the ship, and is knocked unconscious. David goes after her, tied with a rope that the other three crew members hold on to, and is able to rescue his daughter. Back on board, Emma regains her consciousness and is proven right about the storm, which starts to dissipate. When they finally reach the beaches of Neverland, Emma tells the gang that they have to work together to get Henry back, and they have to be themselves in order to succeed. She also proclaims herself the leader and starts to march into the woods, followed by her parents, Hook, and a slightly aggravated Regina.

The Jolly Roger crew cut their way through the woods of Neverland in search of Henry, following Captain Hook's plan to maintain a low profile. Hook stops David from cutting through a Dreamshade thorn bush, that secretes the powerful toxin that he once used on Rumplestiltskin, and almost killed him. Once they reach a cliff where they get a panoramic view of Neverland, Hook suggests they make camp for the night. As she tries to sleep, Emma is awoken by cries coming from nowhere and gets up, only to meet the infamous Peter Pan, who was curious to know who he was up against. Emma pins him against a tree and demands to be told where Henry is, but Pan turns the situation around by giving her a blank map that will reveal to her Henry's location once she stops denying who she really is. He disappears, and Emma is left to try and solve the riddle, so she accepts things that she had a hard time accepting in the past, like being the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and being the "savior". However, the blank parchment remains blank. Emma can't understand why it didn't work, and Regina, fed up, enchants the map so that it takes them to Pan. This works, however, Pan doesn't appreciate them having cheated, so the gang is circled by the Lost Boys, who attack. In the meantime, David saves Mary Margaret from getting hit with an arrow and it hits him instead, apparently grazing his jacket. During the attack, Emma pins down a Lost Boy and forcefully demands to know where Henry is, but when she sees the look on the scared boy's face, she backs off. Pan and his army leave, and later, Mary Margaret comes to have a talk with Emma, as she tries to make the map reveal itself, and asks about the boy and why she let him go. Emma reveals that she related to the boy, because she's always felt and still feels like an orphan. They're both hurt as they say this, but Snow tells her daughter it's her job to change that for her. In the meantime, the map finally appears, indicating Henry's location. Hook then has a drink with Emma, and shows interest in knowing more about her. Pan then shows up and taunts Emma again, telling her that Henry hasn't forgiven her for giving him up either, and that by the time they're done, Henry won't want to leave Neverland, and Emma will not only feel like an orphan... she will be one. This said, David walks away from the group to reveal that he was indeed scratched by the poisoned arrow, and it's working its toxin on him.

The Jolly Roger crew continues to trek through the woods of Neverland, but when they are almost at Pan's camp, Emma notices that the red cross on the map that marked the place has magically moved to elsewhere in the island. Hook points out that Pan has moved the camp. He then has an idea to reach out to an old acquaintance, a fairy whom Pan trusts and who has pixie dust. Emma takes a wild guess that it's Tinker Bell, and she's right. Regina, however, comments that this fairy won't be of any help. As they try to make it to Tink's home on the island, Regina intercepts Emma and suggests that the two of them use their magic combined. Emma isn't interested, because she's learnt using it always comes with a price. Regina then offends Emma by referring to Hook as her boyfriend, considering she just lost Neal. Later, Regina decides to stay behind as they go and look for the fairy, and Emma realizes that Regina and Tinker Bell have a bad history. Regina confirms this, but is mum on the details, choosing to stay behind because, if the fairy, sees her, she won't help them with what she calls "Operation Henry". The two women share a moving moment in which they reminisce about the one thing they both love most, their shared son. Regina tells her not to come back for her, and to just keep looking for Henry, whether the fairy chooses to help them or not. The remaining gang members make it to Tinker Bell's treehouse, which is deserted, and Mary Margaret reveals to her surprised daughter that she once lived in similar conditions, when she was running from the Queen. They notice a handkerchief, which belongs to Regina, and deduce that the fairy is with her... Indeed, Tinker Bell has found and overpowered the Evil Queen, for whom she nourishes a lot of resentment. However, Regina notices Tink has no magic and isn't a fairy anymore, but rather than getting back at her, she rips out her own heart and places it under Tink's control. The fairy ultimately chooses not to do her in, but decides not to help her find Henry either. However, the crew makes their way to them, and learn of what happened to Tinker Bell, that she lost her wings and magic because no one believed in her anymore. Snow tells her she does, and promises her that they can take her home with them once they have Henry. Tink agrees to help them in, and Emma thanks her.

Emma goes over the gang's plan to infiltrate Pan's compound, with the help of Tinker Bell. The former fairy tells them she's ready to go, just as soon as she is told what their escape plan is. However, she soon realizes they don't have one, and warns them that that is foolish. She lets them know what happened to Greg and Tamara, people that Pan himself employed, and then leaves them to figure out a way to go back home, claiming they know where to find her once they do. Hook has the idea that they go back to where Baelfire - the only person who's allegedly escaped Neverland without Pan's consent - used to live, hoping he's left behind some clue as to how he got away. They do just this, and reach his hideout. Inside, there are several drawings on the walls, but no discernible clue. Emma then realizes that one nightlight Bae made forms a star map on the ceiling... a map leading the way to our world. However, Hook explains that only Bae would be able to read it, for all good pirates make their maps in code. Emma is disheartened, and starts to break down, not only because they're back on square one, but also because she is pissed that Neal died right after telling her he loved her, when she herself never stopped loving him. Her parents try to comfort her, but it's to no avail. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Emma, Neal, alive and well, has made his way to Neverland...

Inside Bae's old home in Neverland, Emma finds that he marked his days on the island on the walls and stopped counting at some point. She realizes he was there longer, however, and he simply stopped counting because he lost hope. She recounts that she did the same when she was a foster child, and then adds that Pan wants Henry to lose faith. She wants to find a way to let Henry know that they are coming for him, to keep him hopeful, and Mary Margaret has an idea. Emma then tells Hook, who keeps trying to bond with her, that she knows what his angle is, and she's not in the mood. Later, the Jolly Roger crew attempt to form a trap net to ensnare a Lost Boy. Hook then brings up a sextant he and his brother once worked with that might still be in Neverland, and he and David set off to find him. David, who is closer to dying from his Dreamshade poisoning, says goodbye to his family, who remains oblivious. He asks Emma to tell Henry he loves him and then gives her a hug. He kisses his wife and leaves. Afterwards, the three women join forces to catch a random Lost Boy - Devin - and persuade him to help them bring down Peter Pan, because they can not only save Henry, but all of them. Devin isn't interested: the Lost Boys don't want to leave, and Henry is slowly becoming one of the most vicious of them. Regina has the idea to remove the kid's heart and use it to control him and send a message to Henry, something Snow is obviously opposed to. However, the desperate Emma allows her fellow mother to do so, against her own mother's wishes. The plot works, for the three of them are able to use the heart and a compact mirror to talk to Henry and let him know they're coming for him. Later, David is saved by Hook using magic healing waters from the island, and they return, with the prince alive and well, and the women still with no idea of what happened. David gives Hook credit for saving him nevertheless - coming up with a fake scenario in which the saving occurred - and Emma thanks the pirate... who asks for further gratification, indicating a make-out session. Emma is hesitant, but inclined towards it. Eventually they kiss, hard and passionately. When they break it off, panting, Emma tells Hook to give her time and space. He obliges... and then Pan shows up and reveals to him that Baelfire is alive and on the island. And Hook is left to wonder whether or not to share this nugget of information with the blonde he likes.

Regina is trying to teach Emma magic but finds herself unable to because the blonde refuses to get in touch with her dark side, and it is only when she expresses anger towards Regina that Emma is able to magically start a campfire. Hook soon returns from elsewhere in the jungle and he tells Snow and Charming that he just got word from Pan that Neal's alive and on Neverland. David doesn't want to tell Emma as he believes it's a trick, and doesn't want his daughter to go through the pain of losing her love again, but Mary Margaret disagrees, and ends of blurting out the truth, believing that Emma should know. The blonde is stunned and decides to trek her way to the Echo Caves, where Neal is currently being held prisoner. Regina, who believes this to be ridiculous, refuses to go with them and so sets off on her own, and the rest of the Jolly Roger crew set off to save Bae. On the way, Mary Margaret advises her daughter not to give up hope that he's alive, as Emma deserves a happy ending and, from personal experience, her mother tells her that they all start with hope; Emma also admits to Mary Margaret that she kissed Hook, something which stuns the princess, and the four of them eventually arrive at the Echo Caves. Inside, they see that Neal is alive and trapped in a wooden crate, but he is inaccessible as a deep gorge blocks their path. Hook explains that the way to get across is to spill your darkest secret, and he gets the ball rolling by admitting that he's beginning to fall for Emma. Mary Margaret then admits that she's in fact very upset that she missed her daughter grow up, and she says she wants to have another baby when back in Storybrooke. David sadly tells her that that's never going to happen because he was poisoned by Dreamshade and the only cure he could find came with a catch: he can't leave Neverland without dying. Once all these secrets are shared, a bridge to Neal fully forms, and Emma crosses it. She attempts to cut him out but Neal tells her that she too must share a secret in order to open it, and she reveals that when she heard he was alive, she wished it was a trick and that he was dead, as that would mean she would never again have to go through the pain of losing him, which has been unbearable in the past. With this, the cage containing Neal opens, and he is free; outside, Neal tells the blonde that he has a secret too - he is never going to stop fighting for her. Hook, who's nearby, overhears this and appears saddened. ("Ariel")

Neal reveals to the rest of the group how he left Neverland the first time round: by capturing Pan's shadow within the coconut that was earlier thought to be a star map and using it to fly home. After Hook signs up for the task, he, Emma and Neal set off for the latter's old cave. Before they leave, Mary Margaret warns her daughter that both the men have feelings for her, which could be dangerous, but Emma assures her mother that she can handle it. Once they arrive in Baelfire's old childhood cave, Hook tells Neal of his and Emma's "dalliance", referring to their kiss, which shocks Bae. Despite this making things awkward, they manage to collect what they need: the coconut lamp, and Neal tells Emma that they will next have to go to Dark Hollow, the darkest place of the island only made darker by the fact that it's where all the shadows dwell. Emma doesn't seem happy with the prospect of going somewhere with such an non-cheery name, and as they make their way there, the blonde notices how strange Neal is acting, and so Hook explains that he told him about their kiss, assuming she told him beforehand. Emma wonders why he'd assume that, so he says that he hoped it meant something to her, meaning she'd want to share it. She goes on to ask why, if he wants her so bad, he told her that Neal was alive, and Hook explains that he didn't want to sell out his friend. He then vows that, when he finally wins Emma over, it will be because she wants him, and won't be down to trickery. The trio eventually arrive at Dark Hollow, and Neal has trouble lighting the coconut's candle with his cigarette lighter. Hook then tries to light it himself, and the two men wrestle over the lighter, eventually dropping it. They're then attacked by shadows, but using the magic training taught to her by Regina, Emma is able to magically light the candle and capture Pan's shadow within it, encasing it within the coconut. As they leave, Emma scolds the two men for fighting over her and states that if she'd have to chose someone, it'd be Henry. They soon return to Tinker Bell, who Snow and Charming have told of the pending escape plan, and the group proceed with their plan to rescue Henry, now having an way off of Neverland for when they do.

Emma and the others are trekking through the jungle, being led by Tinker Bell on their way to Pan's camp in order to finally save Henry, and on the way, the blonde approaches Mary Margaret and asks if she's really going to stay behind on the island, since David is now unable to leave due to Dreamshade and the water he drank to cure it. Mary Margaret is saddened by the fact that she has to do this, but professes that there is no way around it; Emma, thinking that maybe her parents are rubbing off on her, doesn't believe that, and assures her mother that all three of them will be leaving Neverland together. After reuniting with Gold and Regina, the former tells Emma that he may be able to cure David back in his shop, after having read up on Dreamshade when he himself was poisoned by Hook. The crew soon arrive at Pan's camp where Regina knocks out the Lost Boys with magic, however, Pan and Henry are nowhere in sight. Wendy, a young girl who Pan has been keeping prisoner, is soon heard crying out for help, and when Emma and Neal rush to save her, the blonde is then surprised to learn that Neal knows the girl from his childhood, and from her, they discover that Pan has taken Henry to Skull Rock where the boy will be killed in order to ensure Pan's immortality. Tink and Hook stay behind to guard the unconscious Lost Boys whereas David and Mary Margaret begin trekking up to Dead Man's Peak in order to collect more magic water to sustain David whilst in Storybrooke until such time that Gold can cook up a cure. Upon arriving in Skull Rock, Emma is violently rejected by Pan's protective spell, stopping her from getting to her son; Rumple is the only one able to cross through it due to the fact that he doesn't have a shadow, and so he takes Pandora's Box - a weapon he procured to defeat Pan - and begins ascending the cave. As Rumple confronts Pan and ultimately becomes trapped in the box himself, Emma, Regina and Neal feel useless doing nothing as their son might be dying, still unable to pass through Pan's spell. Emma then asks the Queen if there's a way to block out the moon using magic, as its light is what is casting their shadows, and the two of them use their combined magic to cause a lunar eclipse. They then all ascend the stairs where they find Henry has already ripped out his own heart, ready to give it to Pan, convinced that he's saving magic. His parents try to convince him otherwise, assuring him of their love, and he reciprocates, however, he still believes that he must save magic, and puts his heart inside Pan. A shock of magic then spreads across the land and the boy collapses; his parents all run to him in horror, worried he might be dead, before looking up at a levitating Pan, who has become almighty with Henry's heart's magic coursing through him.

Regina casts a preservation spell on Henry to keep him in his lingering state between life and death, giving them some time to stop Pan and retrieve the heart. The Mayor is frustrated beyond belief, and Emma claims to know what she's going through, but is told by her that she can't, because she has other people in her life who matter, but Henry is all Regina has. Emma acknowledges this and allows Regina to run the show. After the witch notices that Emma cut Pan with her blade and made him bleed, she realizes that Pan can be hurt, and killed. Later, at his compound, Regina almost tortures Felix into telling her where Pan is, but Emma stops her just in time to try a different approach, by giving the Lost Boys something every kid wants: a mother. Emma therefore promises them that once they defeat Pan, they'll bring them all home with them, they just have to be told where he is. The Lost Boys divulge Pan's location, much to Felix's annoyance, and Emma, Regina and Mary Margaret are off on their way. However, they are soon trapped by the villain, who causes them to be tied by vines to his "thinking tree" - none other than the tree by which he once abandoned his son, Rumplestiltskin. The women are surprised to learn this, and Pan explains to them that the tree holds people prisoner because of their regrets, and they are all allegedly full of those. He confronts the three women about their issues and regrets, but Regina breaks out of the vines by claiming she has none, despite all the horrible things she's done... because they got her Henry. She rips her son's heart out of Pan, leaving him for dead, and then places it back into Henry's chest, aboard the Jolly Roger, where everyone is set to leave. Henry hugs both of his mothers, and all's well that ends well... apparently. David, who can go home and be healed by Rumple (who, in the meantime, had been released from Pandora's box), congratulates his daughter on being what the team needed to succeed: a leader. However, unbeknownst to them, Pan has switched bodies with Henry, who is now trapped in the box of evil, and still has plans to succeed... and Pan never fails.

Emma and the others return to Storybrooke on the Jolly Roger, much to the delight of the townspeople who give everyone aboard a warm welcome. That night, celebrations are held at Granny's Diner, during which time Emma gives Henry back his book of fairytales, surprised by his stale reaction, and is asked out by Neal, whom her parents push her towards. When it comes time for Henry to go to bed, Emma is further surprised when he wants to go home with Regina, and the blonde becomes convinced that something is up with the child. The next day, Neal is stood up by Emma, much to the disappointment of Mary Margaret, and David, after being cured of Dreamshade by Gold, finds her over at the docks and comforts her by telling her that she should be enjoying the little good moments she has in between the bad moments that primarily make up her life, such as the fact that Henry isn't quite acting himself. She heads back to Granny's to meet with Neal but is interrupted when a scream is heard over at the local convent. Emma, her parents, Neal, Hook and Tinker Bell hastily make their way there but are too late to save Mother Superior, the source of the scream, who is murdered by Pan's shadow by having her own ripped out. Regina arrives on the scene and is asked to keep an eye on Henry by Emma, much to the Mayor's frustration as she believes the blonde to be jealous of who their child loves more. Knowing that only Pan can be controlling the shadow in Storybrooke, Emma heads to Gold's shop - where Pandora's Box, which contains Pan, was earlier locked beneath the floorboards by Rumple - and asks the proprietor for access to the demon child so that she may release him over the town line and execute him. The first part of this plan comes to pass, but when Emma prepares to shoot the child in the head, she is surprised when he addresses her as "mom". Pan explains that he is in fact Henry, and that the actual Pan switched their bodies right as he was being trapped in the box. By reminding Emma of the first time they connected, he manages to convince her that he's telling the truth, and so the group heads over to Regina's mausoleum to apprehend the real Pan. Once they make it inside, they find that Regina has been knocked out and the Dark Curse is missing - Pan, in Henry's body, plans to enact it upon the town and curse them all over again. And, without her parents' true love woven into the scroll, even Emma is powerless to stop it.

As Pan, still in the body of Henry Mills, enacts his curse, everyone gathers outside the Mills family mausoleum where Mr. Gold explains that the curse can be stopped if Regina - the original caster - were to tear the scroll and undo what she created. To get it back, they must first get Henry and Pan back into their own bodies, but to perform a spell so powerful, they're going to need the wand of the Black Fairy. Once this is retrieved by Hook, Neal, David and Tinker Bell, during which time the latter regains her wings, the spell is performed by Gold and everyone but the Dark One heads out to find the real Henry, who will now be in possession of the scroll. It's not long before they reunite and he hands it over, but as soon as Regina touches it, she passes out and is shown a vision of what she must give up in order to prevent the pending curse. Before long, however, all of them are frozen by Pan, who has apprehended Rumple, stolen the curse scroll with his magic, and plans on killing Belle and Baelfire, the two people his son loves most. Gold soon comes out to stop his father, much to Pan's amusement, but Rumple gains the last laugh when he summons his shadow and uses the dagger he previously gave it to stab his father in the back, killing them both. Once this happens, Regina retrieves the scroll again and explains the price that must be paid in order to tear it: she has to give up the thing she loves most - Henry. He is capable of escaping the curse because he wasn't born in the Enchanted Forest, but Emma is also able to escape it because she's the savior. Regina tells the two of them that they have to leave town and never come back, and when everyone congregates at the town line to say their goodbyes, the Queen reveals even more bad news: when the curse washes over them, Storybrooke will cease to have ever existed, meaning it'll vanish from Emma and Henry's memories. However, Regina offers to do for them what she did for everyone else in town and give them new ones; Emma will never have given Henry up and the two of them will always have been together. Grateful, Emma and Henry hop into the former's yellow bug car and prepare to leave, first watching as Regina tears the scroll and uses its magic to make the curse safe and send everyone back to their old home. The mother and son then drive away from town as the Queen's memory spell takes effect.

Before the Second Curse
"Don't fail the next one."

Three months after being sent to the Enchanted Forest again, Prince Charming has an ominous dream one morning in which he enters the old nursery of the castle, looking just as it did before the Dark Curse struck, and in it he finds an adult Emma wearing a princess' ball gown, telling him about how she's nervous for the ball, her first, and how she wants him to teach her how to dance. Charming obliges and dances with his daughter, both with delight. He comments that she's a natural, just like her mother, and she says he's the best teacher a daughter could hope for. Their precious moment is ruined once the dream takes a dark turn, and Emma is sucked into the wardrobe, not before telling her father that this dream moment they shared couldn't happen for real because he failed her. As she is magically sucked by the sudden vortex, she tells him not to fail his next one. David wakes up to be told by his wife that they're pregnant... Fearing that he won't be a good father to his second child, Charming goes out on a quest for Night Root.

Season 3
"You don't have a home until you just miss it. And being with my parents these last few days but not really being with them, I have never missed them more... Storybrooke is my home."

One year has now past since Emma and Henry left Storybrooke forever and the two of them are enjoying a normal breakfast together in their New York apartment; Emma makes omelets for her and her son and serves them with hot cocoa, almost forgetting the cinnamon on top. This everyday undertaking is soon interrupted by an odd and frantic knock at the door, and Emma is surprised to be met by Captain Hook, not being able to recognize him due to the new memories given to her by Regina. He warns her that her family is in grave danger, but she has no idea what he's talking about, having been abandoned by her parents when she was a baby, not remembering Mary Margaret and David. He tries to restore her memory with a kiss of true love, but this only makes Emma scared, leading her to throw him out of the apartment with force and slam the door in his face, despite his desperate pleas that she needs to save the people she loves. When Henry wonders who was at the door, the blonde figures it was just some crazy guy who someone mistakenly let into the building and goes about her day, trying to shake this unusual and frightening encounter from her mind.

Several months later, in New York, Emma meets Walsh, her boyfriend of eight months, for a date which is crashed by Captain Hook. He sits opposite Emma once Walsh leaves for the bathroom and hands her an address, assuring her that it will provide proof that the memories in her head aren't real. When Walsh returns, he proposes, and a shocked Emma leaves the restaurant, saying that she just needs to time to think about it. She returns home to Henry who tries to give her some advice, but the next morning, instead of visiting Walsh, she heads over to the address given to her by Hook. After seeing the dreamcatcher she stole years ago, she deduces that she's in Neal's old apartment, but she is shocked to the core when she finds a camera belonging to her son. From this camera she has photos developed that depict her and Henry's time in New York a year previously, and she meets with Hook so that he may explain how this is possible, for she doesn't remember it. He tries to tell her about her parents and the curse, but she simply thinks he's crazy and has him arrested by the police officers she had stationed around the meeting place. Hook is taken to jail for assault, but later bailed out by Emma when she continues to doubt the world around her. He offers her a potion that will allow all her memories to return, and she drinks it, shattering the spell Regina put on her and remembering the truth of the last eleven years. She is sad that her perfect life has come to an end but now believes Hook about the danger her family is in, learning that everyone has been cursed again and is now back in Storybrooke. She tells Walsh that she has to leave for a while, but he doesn't take kindly to this, and begins attacking her, revealing himself to have been a flying monkey in disguise all this time. Emma beats him with a pipe, hitting him off the roof and killing him, and the next morning, she asks Henry if he believes in magic, saddened to learn that he no longer does. Hook soon turns up and she tells her son that he's a client and that the three of them are leaving for Maine; after grabbing her red leather jacket, she packs up the car and leaves. Upon arriving in Storybrooke, she tells Hook to keep watch on a sleeping Henry and heads to her old apartment, where David greets her warmly. He reveals that everyone in town lost a year of their lives when they were back in the Enchanted Forest, and the last thing they remember is saying goodbye to her. Emma wonders how he knows a year has passed if he doesn't remember, at which point a heavily pregnant Mary Margaret descends the stairs, a clear indicator of how much time has passed. She is thrilled to be reunited with her daughter, but the Charmings remain confused as to who cursed them, and are simply left to wonder.

Emma, Hook and her parents head to Granny's Bed & Breakfast where they discuss the new curse and the fact that people in town have begun to go missing, including three of the seven dwarfs. Emma asks about Neal, but there's been no sign of him since they returned to Storybrooke. The next day, she and Henry have breakfast at Granny's Diner where she introduces Mary Margaret and David as old friends; Regina soon sees him and becomes despondent, and Emma takes the Mayor aside to explain the situation to her. She believes Regina when she says she didn't curse the town, and so the two of them hatch a plan to find the real culprit. Emma gathers all the townspeople at the town hall where they accuse Regina and she pretends to believe them, leading Regina to cause an earthquake with her magic and teleport away. This means that the real culprit won't think they're onto them because they'll think Emma's busy chasing after Regina. The Mayor attempts to replicate the memory potion Hook gave to Emma, but it doesn't work, and so Emma decides to make it look like they're close to finding out who cast the curse so the real perpetrator will sneak into the office and try to stop them. To do this, Leroy is told that the potion is nearly ready, and he tells everyone in town. That night, Emma and Regina have a stakeout during which time they discuss Henry. Regina asks if he had a good life in New York, and Emma tells her that he did, and that she almost didn't return because of that. Regina wonders why she did, and Emma points out that the old Henry would have said that a hero would come back. They soon see someone inside Regina's office, which she has sealed with blood magic so they can't escape, but the culprit impossibly teleports out in a cloud of green magic before they can be caught. Regina is then brought back to the Charmings' apartment where she meets with Henry and introduces herself, but this only makes her more sad about the fact that he doesn't remember her. David soon returns and tells everyone, sans Henry, that the people who are being taken are being turned into flying monkeys. This, combined with the fact that the curse caster disappeared in a puff of green smoke, leads them to realize they're up against the Wicked Witch of the West, someone Emma is surprised to learn is real.

Emma, David, Mary Margaret, Regina and Hook discuss how to find the Wicked Witch. Emma plans to comb the Mayor's office, to look for clues not related to magic. At the office, David finds a berry splat and deduces that it comes from bushes that grow on the northwest corner of the woods, next to the Toll Bridge. David is called by Mary Margaret to meet with their midwife, Zelena, and thus he parts ways with Emma and Hook, who set out to find the Witch in the area indicated by the Prince. They find an isolated home in the snowy land, which appears deserted, leading Emma to conclude that it must indeed belong to someone who doesn't want to be found. There is a storm cellar that the Sheriff wants to check out, but Hook advises her against it, suggesting that they get back to it with some magical back-up. Before Emma can contact Regina, however, she receives a message from David, who thinks he's found the Witch and is going after her. It turns out that the vulture David saw was his own fear personified, made real by his consumption of Night Root, which Zelena, the midwife and Wicked Witch, mixed in with the tea she made for him. David's personified fear almost gets the best of him, but when he sees Emma getting to him in her yellow Buggy, he overcomes it, hoping to live on to be a better father. After being told what happened, Regina explains to the gang that the Witch appears to have collected a symbol of Charming's bravery, his sword's hilt. They all finally go check out the inside of the storm cellar, and are surprised to find it busted open, as well as a cage inside that featured a spinning wheel, and straw spun into gold. They conclude that Rumplestiltskin is alive and has been kept there.

Emma and her family, as well as Hook, decide to head to Gold's shop where they talk with Belle, telling her that Rumple's alive and asking her to do a bit of research for them, assigning Hook as her helper. They then begin searching for Gold, but Emma is shocked to hear that Neal is back in town and is now lying in hospital, having been brought there by Belle. The blonde spots a strange symbol burned into his hand and asks Belle to research it, before talking with Neal alone. He explains that the last thing he remembers is saying goodbye to her and Henry, and then he was suddenly running through the woods, surprised to hear that it's been an entire year since they last met. He comments that it's nice to have her remember him, but is disappointed to hear that Henry doesn't, and that Emma doesn't wish for the two of them to meet. She continues searching for Gold in the woods, during which time she tells David that she doesn't plan on staying in Storybrooke once the curse is broken, nor does she plan on restoring Henry's memories, and soon enough, Rumple is found complaining about the voices in his head. He runs away as a flying monkey attacks, and Charming fends it off whilst Emma chases the Dark One through the woods. She bumps into Neal on the way, who's discharged himself from hospital, and he offers to aid the search. Soon enough, Emma receives a phone call from Belle and is told that the symbol burned into Neal's hand is from the key to the Vault of the Dark One, and if Neal used that key to resurrect Rumple, he should be dead. Suddenly, Neal collapses, in pain, and it's revealed that he and Rumple have been sharing a body in order to prevent him from dying, hence Gold's insanity. Emma uses her magic to separate the two of them so that Gold may tell them who the Wicked Witch is, but this causes Neal's life to begin draining away. He gives Emma the swan key chain he stole for her many years ago as a symbol of their love, encouraging her to find Tallahassee without him and requesting that she tell Henry he was a good father in the end. Rumple is distraught over his son's death, but Neal thanks his papa for showing him what it means to make a true sacrifice, and now it's his turn. He dies out in the woods, much to Emma's dismay, and after learning that the Wicked Witch is Zelena, Mary Margaret's midwife, she and David storm the loft in search of her. However, Zelena has fled, and Emma is comforted by her mother once she's told of Neal's demise. The blonde is later seen approaching Henry, who's been out fishing with Leroy, and the young man is informed of his father's death, assured that he was a good man and would have been a great father. Henry wonders what happened to his father's killer, and Emma says that they got away, but vows to find them.

Emma attends Neal's funeral with Henry and multiple other townspeople; she is the last one to shovel dirt into his grave, and clasps the necklace he gave her as a comfort. She proceeds to the wake at Granny's Diner with everyone else, where Hook offers to take Henry out and tell him what Baelfire was like at a boy. Emma is touched that the pirate would do that for him, but her happiness is short-lived for Zelena soon bursts into the diner and begins mocking Neal's death, before revealing herself as Regina's half-sister. She goes on to challenge the Evil Queen to a fight that night on Main Street, before leaving, and Emma and the others try to figure out what Regina could have done to upset her. The Queen insists she did nothing and so heads to her vault to find proof of her and Zelena's familial connection. Emma and Mary Margaret witness her discovering a letter that confirms the matter, which leads her to storm out in a distraught manner, and the blonde suggests a plan that will draw Rumplestiltskin away from Zelena, for without him under her control, Regina could stand a chance. They do this by allowing Belle into the storm cellar that Gold is being kept in, but Zelena is already there and waiting and forces Rumple to tell the others that if they interfere with her chance to destroy Regina again, they will die. That night, Zelena arrives on Main Street but Regina is late, prompting Emma to stand up to the Wicked Witch and offer to fight her; Zelena is uninterested and simply makes Rumple blast Emma backwards with his magic. Regina soon shows up, however, and the battle commences, leading to the Queen being flung through the face of the clock tower. When Emma and the other Charmings rush to her aid, Zelena has already fled on her broom, and Regina reveals that the Wicked Witch tried to take her heart but couldn't due to her having hidden it beforehand. The others wonder what this means, and Regina points out that she already has David's courage, and now wants her heart... these are ingredients. That night, Hook and Henry return from their time out together and Emma thanks the pirate for what he did, however, he tells her that Henry needs to know about his father and that she can't just return to New York when all of this is over and pretend that it never happened. She simply thanks him again, disliking what he's said, and walks inside.

Emma and David are trying in vain to construct a crib for Mary Margaret's baby when Regina stops by, informing the Charmings that she successfully cast a Zelena-proof protection spell around the apartment. However, Emma thinks this is useless because they should be attacking the witch if they want to defeat her, not defending themselves from her, and so she requests that the Queen give her lessons in magic so that they can team up against Zelena. Regina agrees, telling the blonde to meet her in her vault in an hour, and Emma's parents offer to watch Henry whilst she's gone, but she reveals that she wants Hook to watch Henry because, much to their dismay, he finds them boring. She stops by the docks to leave Henry with Hook where he is saddened to hear that, once Zelena is out of the way, she and Henry will be returning to New York. She then meets Regina at the latter's vault but isn't happy to discover that she'll have to be learning incantations from spell books written in unearthly languages she doesn't recognize. Not liking this teaching method, Emma asks Regina how Rumple taught her, and Regina explains that he was a bully; if he tried to teach how how to swim and you couldn't learn, you drowned. But this gives the Queen an idea and she suddenly teleports the two of them to a rope bridge on the outskirts of town; Emma stands in the center whereas Regina stands safely at the end. The savior is shocked when her teacher begins destroying the bridge, and Regina explains that Emma should be able to use her magical instinct to save herself. Soon enough, the bridge collapses entirely and Emma falls into the gorge below, but she manages to piece together multiple parts of wreckage and use it to levitate back up to Regina, who points out how much potential her student has been wasting. The two of them then return to the apartment as Hook stops by, explaining that Henry is with David and Mary Margaret and that he has spent the day trying to reunite Ariel with her true love. Regina decides to use mirror magic to spy on the mermaid, thinking it will be good practice for Emma, and the blonde is able to look inward to see across realms via her mother's dress mirror, surprised that Hook made happen the joyous scene she sees through it. He remains modest, and Henry and the Charmings soon return, the former having driven his grandfather's truck in a bid for them trying to be fun. They then decide to have dinner at Granny's Diner, but Hook doesn't tag along, deciding to leave instead. As he does so, Emma assures the pirate that she no longer cares what he's not telling her about what he did during the missing year, for she's tired of living in the past. Hook later watches her through his telescope as she dines with her family, unable to tell her that his lips have been cursed by Zelena, and if he kisses Emma, all her magic will be drained.

After having her heart stolen by the Wicked Witch, Regina summons Emma, Mary Margaret, David and Hook to her house in order to cast a spell that will allow them to talk to her dead mother and learn more about Zelena's past. Emma wonders why, if it's so easy to talk to the dead, the spell is not cast more often, and Regina explains that it requires the murder weapon and the murderer, Snow. The candle that was used to kill Cora is then lit and everyone joins hands around a table, focusing their thoughts on the deceased Queen of Hearts. A portal soon opens, but nothing comes through, leading those involved to believe that Cora has no interest in discussing her past with them. Emma and the others then leave, minus Mary Margaret, and she heads to Granny's Diner with Hook, where she practices some new magic tricks she's learned. He gets annoyed when she makes his hook disappear and she asks him why he's been so humorless lately, having noticed this earlier as well. He refuses to offer an explanation - his kiss still being cursed - and Belle soon bursts in, having stumbled across what Zelena's ultimate endgame is in her books. She explains that Zelena wants to go back in time and claim what she thinks she deserves, and so Emma, Hook, David and Belle head back to Regina's where they witness the Queen sending the ghost of her mother, who's just possessed Mary Margaret, back through the portal to the afterlife. Again, Belle explains Zelena's plan, and Snow, having retained some of Cora's memories from when she was possessed, reveals that her mother, Queen Eva, was the reason Cora gave up her first born, meaning the reason Zelena wants to go back in time is to kill her and thus make it so Snow, Emma, Henry and Regina were never born.

Emma, Mary Margaret, Charming and Regina meet at Granny's Bed & Breakfast where it's decided that the only way to break the curse is to restore Henry's memories, thus his belief in magic, but his missing book of fairytales will be needed in order to achieve this. As they leave to search for the book, Henry asks his mother where she's going, demanding answers, but she responds with anger, yelling at her son, much to her parents' and Regina's surprise. They begin searching Mary Margaret's closet, which is where the book originally appeared, but when searching a box, Emma is unable to see it. When Mary Margaret searches the same box, however, the book appears. Regina begins to go through it whilst Snow questions her daughter about yelling at Henry, and it is soon unveiled that Emma doesn't want her son's memories restored because she wants to return to their old life in New York, but she's willing to do what needs to be done in order to defeat Zelena. When they return to the diner with the book, they realize that Henry is missing, but they soon locate him down at the docks using Emma's GPS device. When they arrive, they save him, Smee and Hook from a swarm of flying monkeys, and Emma asks Henry if she trusts him. He answers positively, highly confused, and she tells him that she needs him to believe in magic. She hands him the book and his old memories return, however, he's quickly snatched away by Zelena. She threatens Henry's life, but Emma burns the witch's hands with her light magic, making her teleport away and allowing Henry to run back to her. When he does, it is Regina who kisses his forehead and breaks the curse, and it's soon learned that Snow and Charming were the ones who cast it so that they could get back to Emma, for she is the only one capable of defeating the Wicked Witch. As Henry reconnects with his adoptive mother, Emma asks Hook what Zelena meant when she earlier stated that he failed her, and he explains all about the curse on his lips. This maddens the blonde, who believes it should have been her choice whether or not to endanger the life of her son, and the Charmings soon head to Neal's grave so that Henry can finally mourn his father properly. Whilst there, Mary Margaret goes into labor...

With Mary Margaret still in labor, Emma heads to the hospital with her and begins casting a protection spell along with Regina to prevent Zelena from stealing the child. In order to nullify the threat, Emma decides to head to the Wicked Witch's farm house and end this all now, but David makes her bring Hook with her as extra protection, having decided to trust him again. On the way, they discuss Emma's plans to ultimately move back to New York when all this is over, but Zelena and Mr. Gold soon find them and the latter begins to drown Hook in a tub of water. Emma manages to get him out when they leave, but she is forced to provide CPR, meaning their lips touch and her magic is drained. When they return to the hospital, Emma's newborn brother has been stolen, and so she heads back to Zelena's barn with David, Hook, Regina and Robin Hood where she's already begun to cast her time travel spell. Regina manages to use light magic to weaken her half-sister, causing the Dark One's dagger to come flying from her hand also, before stealing the pendant from around her neck which houses all of her magical abilities, rendering her powerless. When Gold tries to kill the Wicked Witch for all she's done, Regina picks up his dagger and orders him not to, having decided to be a hero and that heroes don't kill; instead, Zelena is locked up and her pendant is hidden in the Mayor's vault. Meanwhile, Mary Margaret is reunited with her son, and Hook is glad to see how happy Emma is in this moment. He asks if her powers returned when the Wicked Witch was defeated - as the flying monkeys became human again - but she replies negatively, saying that it doesn't matter because she won't need them in New York. That night, after Zelena's death at the hands of Rumplestiltskin, the magic from her pendant leaks across town and activates her time travel spell, opening a portal to the past.

Emma wonders what the name of her newborn brother is, but Mary Margaret explains that they'll be announcing it via a coronation at Granny's Diner, as is Enchanted Forest tradition. Whilst there, Hook makes a comment that reveals her intentions of returning to New York, and she storms out angrily. Hook goes after her, bringing with him Henry's book of fairytales, and Emma explains to him that New York felt like home to her, whereas Storybrooke doesn't. Their conversation is interrupted when they see that Zelena's time portal is open, and when they go to investigate, they are sucked in and end up in the Enchanted Forest of the past. Almost immediately, the Evil Queen rides by and Emma witnesses her torment a group of villagers; Emma wants to step in to save one of Regina's prisoners, but Hook stops her, pointing out that it will alter the past. The two of them go on to witness the moment Snow White first met Prince Charming, however, Emma accidentally interrupts and makes it so Snow doesn't rob the prince's carriage, meaning they don't meet at all. They summon Rumplestiltskin and explain who they are and their importance in his future, and he ends up hearing them out, offering to work on a portal to the future whilst they crash King Midas' ball and make it so Emma's parents get together. They find Snow seeking passage on a pirate ship through Black Beard, but he turns her down, and so Emma distracts the Captain Hook of the past by flirting with him whilst the Captain Hook of the present makes Snow a deal: he will offer her safe passage on his ship should she steal Prince James' wedding ring (as she would have done if the moment weren't interrupted). Snow agrees, and that night, Rumple puts glamor spells on Emma and Hook and gives them invitations to Midas' ball. They adopt the aliases of Prince Charles and Princess Leia, and are happy to hear that Snow White was sighted upstairs. When an archer tries to fire at Emma's mother, Emma stops him, discovering in the process that Snow dropped Charming's ring. She grabs it and Hook holds off the Evil Queen's men whilst Emma gets it to Snow, however, the archer stops her, revealing to Regina that "Princess Leia" aided the bandits escape. Emma, still in possession of the ring, is then taken away by Regina's knights.

"Princess Leia" is stripped of her ballgown and thrown into Regina's dungeons in prisoner's rags, still in possession of her parents' wedding ring. Her cell is beside Marian's, who is the prisoner she earlier wanted to save from the Queen, and Emma is relieved to hear from her new cellmate that she's only going to be imprisoned for a day... but less relieved to hear that it's because all the prisoners are to be executed on the morrow. When Emma sees a spoon, around which wire is wrapped, she uses the thievery skills taught to her by Neal Cassidy to pick the lock and escape, just as Hook, Charming and Red are on their way to rescue her. She frees Marian also, much to Hook's dismay because the innocent maid died in the original timeline, but Emma refuses to let this happen and heads with the others to where Snow said to meet her. However, when they make it to Regina's throne room, they witness through the window Snow White being burned alive by the Evil Queen, but it's soon revealed that Snow used the magic fairy dust at her disposal to save herself. Hook and Emma knock Marian out, having decided to take her back to the future with them to avoid distorting the timeline, and when Charming realizes that Snow still has his ring, he rides off to the Troll Bridge to head her off. Emma and Snow go too, knowing that Snow no longer has her dust to defeat the trolls like the first time, but she is able to use sand to bluff her way out of the situation. Emma witnesses her parents fall in love, and afterwards, she, Hook and the unconscious Marian head back to Rumple's castle. He reveals that he has no way of getting them home, so he transports them into his vault. When Emma is finally able to admit that Storybrooke is her true home, she regains her magic and opens a portal to the future using a fairy's wand. Rumple stops her just as she's about to go through, demanding to know what becomes of his son, and she reveals that Baelfire dies. She convinces him to drink a forgetting potion, which he does, and she returns to the present with Hook and Marian. Back at Granny's Diner, she is finally able to call her parents "mom" and "dad" and reveals her time travel escapades, and that she plans to stay in town. Emma is touched to hear that her brother is named Prince Neal, and touched again to hear that Hook traded his beloved ship to gain a magic bean and get to her in New York; she kisses him. It soon becomes evident that Marian is Robin Hood's wife, and Regina is distraught, her relationship with the thief now ruined. She tells Emma that she better hope she brought nothing else back, but at that moment, the Ice Queen walks free, having been locked away in Rumple's vault.

Season 4
"Author or no author, I am not going dark."

Emma follows Regina out of Granny's Diner, who has fled after learning her boyfriend's supposedly dead wife, Marian, is alive. Emma explains she never intended to cause harm to Regina, but does not regret saving Marian. Regina believes this to be the end of her relationship with Robin Hood, but Emma disagrees. Robin and Marian exit the diner, the former promising his wife that Regina has changed. Marian calls the Queen a monster, not believing her to be innocent. Regina promptly takes off, but Emma is persuaded by Hook not to go after her. The following morning, Emma tries to contact Regina, but she doesn't answer, so Henry tries to get in touch with her instead. She also sends Hook to look for Regina at the vault. Emma, Mary Margaret, David, and Henry take a family stroll with the baby when the subject of Hook is brought up; in private, Mary Margaret wonders if Emma plans on telling Henry about she and the pirate being involved, but Emma doesn't think so because she isn't yet sure of the terms of their relationship, or if there even is one. Hook soon arrives, giving he and Emma a chance to talk, but they are interrupted when Leroy comes running and yelling about some new crisis involving ice magic. Emma and Hook follow a trail of ice tracks to a warehouse. Inside, an ice monster forms and chases after them. The couple meet up with David, Robin Hood, Marian, and Little John in the forest. Little John fires an arrow at the beast, angering it, to which Emma uses magic to aim an energy ball. This only angers the monster, who knocks Emma away and blows everyone off their feet. Regina saves the day, however, stopping the beast from killing Marian by melting it with a fireball. Before anyone can talk to her, the Queen poofs away. Emma and Hook share a moment, the former offering the pirate a kiss. She asks him to be patient while she sorts things out with Regina. Later, Emma comforts a silent Regina from outside the mayoral office, promising to help her find a happy ending.

Elsa, the Ice Queen, decides that no one is leaving town until she finds her sister, Anna, and so she erects an ice wall around the perimeter of Storybrooke to prevent anyone from escaping, cutting off the electricity by accident as she does so. Emma is at Granny's Diner comforting Henry about Regina when this occurs, and she and David decide to drive out to the power cables at the town line to see what's going on, which is where they discover the ice wall and also Hook, who's eager to help. Elsa is there, and Emma tries approaching her, but David and Hook accidentally startle the young monarch and she unintentionally traps she and the savior in a cave of ice. Emma tries to get her to melt it but soon discovers that Elsa doesn't know how, and can only really control her powers when her sister is around, and so they need to find her. Inside the cave, the two women bond over such things as having uncontrollable magic bestowed upon them, but all the while Emma is slowly freezing to death. After a trip around town in an attempt to sort this predicament out, David realizes that he knew Anna and he uses one of her phrases to goad Elsa into being able to melt a hole in the wall, through which she and Emma escape. Back at the apartment - with Mary Margaret having restored the town's power - they use the magical crook that David stole from Bo Peep to discover that Anna is definitely alive, much to everyone's relief. Emma then takes Elsa to the ice wall so she can melt it, however, Elsa is unable to, meaning that someone else with the same powers as she must be keeping it up.

Emma questions Mr. Gold about Elsa being in the urn in his vault, but he assures her that he had no idea there was a person inside and gets Belle to use his dagger to prove that he's telling the truth. Meanwhile, at Mary Margaret's first fireside chat as Mayor, Marian collapses due to an icy curse and the townspeople are quick to blame Elsa, despite Emma's insistence that the Ice Queen is innocent. She and David then investigate this matter and come across Will Scarlet scrounging through Robin Hood's tent in the woods; assuring them that he's a former Merry Man, Will explains to the two sheriffs that he was out stealing on the night of the blackout and found that the ice cream over at the local ice cream parlor was frozen solid despite the fact that none of the freezers were working. The three of them thus head over to Any Given Sundae and realize that it's being run by ice magic, meaning the proprietor is the true culprit behind Marian's curse. Will escapes when the Charmings' backs are turned, and Emma has a small breakdown about not being a good savior lately before she and her comforting father find Hook and Elsa at the peril of the Snow Queen in the woods. Emma manages to fend her off with her magic, saving the day in the process, but becomes uneasy over the fact that the Snow Queen seemed to recognize her. Afterwards, she berates Hook for not staying in the Sheriff's Station like she asked, going on to explain that she feels the need to keep him out of danger because all of her previous lovers are dead. Hook assures her that he's good at surviving and the two of them share a passionate kiss in the street.

With Henry's permission, Emma asks Hook out on a date, which he only agrees to if he gets to plan the evening; she accepts. That night, Emma dresses to impress, and when Hook arrives she's shocked to discover that he now has both hands. He explains that Rumplestiltskin kindly restored it and proceeds to take her out to a nice restaurant, where they unfortunately run into Will Scarlet. Hook threatens him violently with his new hand, but Emma lets him go, not wanting to let some lowlife thief ruin their nice evening together. The pirate then takes her home and gives her a goodnight kiss, and one the other side of the door, Mary Margaret and David are excitedly waiting for details (although the latter is much less enthusiastic), which Emma doesn't share. The next day her car skids through ice and she deduces that the Snow Queen is playing games with her, going on to chase her through the streets with her gun. However, the Queen disappears and Emma is called by Belle, who has found Will passed out and drunk after having broken into the library. Emma locks him up the sheriff's station and wonders how he got hit, but he refuses to reveal that he was attacked by Hook after the date because he had threatened to kill him. Hook then enters and Emma is surprised to learn that he no longer has his hand, because, unbeknownst to her, he didn't like the man it was turning him into and was scared he'd end up hurting her. David realizes that the Snow Queen's Storybrooke alias isn't on record, meaning she must have arrived in town on her own terms and wasn't a victim of either curse.

Emma and Elsa are searching through town records in hopes that it will help them find Anna when they stumble across some photographs Regina had taken of Emma back when she first came to Storybrooke. However, amongst them is a picture of Emma and the Snow Queen talking, something which Emma has absolutely no memory of. As such, she visits Regina in her vault to see if she remembers having the picture taken, but she doesn't; Emma then asks if she knows where Sidney is, since he took the picture, but Regina lies and says she has no idea, not revealing that she's re-trapped him in a mirror. When Emma leaves she finds that Elsa has gone missing, and when she goes searching for the Ice Queen in the woods, she comes across Regina, who's searching for the Snow Queen's lair. Emma tags along, much to Regina's annoyance, and the blonde ends up being yelled at for trying to assuage her guilt for having brought back Marian. The two of them go on to discover an icy staircase made by Elsa. They try walking over it but it turns out to be a trap by the Snow Queen, and Regina realizes that Sidney, who's in her hand mirror currently, was leading her into said trap, meaning he's a traitor. They manage to escape the bridge after Emma tells Regina off for not telling her the truth, but then they're attacked by a large Ice Warrior. When they combine their magic, they defeat him with ease, but then the Snow Queen turns up. She steals Regina's hand mirror and begins to harm the ladies with magic, but Elsa blasts the Queen back with some of her own. The Snow Queen soon leaves, having what she wants, but an angry Regina leaves too, not wanting to be around Emma. Emma visits her in her vault again and assures her that she wasn't looking for her to assuage her guilt, she was looking for her to be her friend, much to Regina's surprise. At the sheriff's station, Emma goes through a box of old possessions when she comes across a video camera she stole. She and Hook watch the tape of her and Lily... followed by a tape which reveals that the Snow Queen used to be Emma's foster mother.

Emma shows everyone the tape she and Hook found of the Snow Queen as her foster mother and, per Henry's directive, she and the others decide to storm the ice witch's ice cream truck, which the Merry Men locate in the woods. Once there, Emma busts into the locked freezer and recovers a bunch of items taken from her childhood, proving that the Snow Queen has been stalking her for quite some time. Among these items is a scroll written in glyphs, which the savior recognizes as being not of this world. Later, back at the sheriff's station, Elsa shows Emma a book she found at the library which bears her family tree; it reveals both that the Snow Queen is her aunt and that her name is Ingrid, as well as the fact that she had another sister besides Elsa and Anna's mother, named Helga, who, as Hook points out, looks exactly like Emma. The blondes deduce that Ingrid plans to recreate her family, which becomes more apparent when Elsa decodes the scroll Emma earlier found, which is actually a prophecy predicting that the savior's name is Emma and Emma will be Ingrid's sister, at which Belle rushes in and admits that she's the reason Anna is missing, because she allowed her to be taken by the Snow Queen along time ago. She goes on to explain that she earlier stormed Ingrid's lair and discovered a mirror imbued with much dark magic, and Rumple told her that, which this mirror, the Snow Queen plans to cast a spell of shattered sight, which will cause every resident of Storybrooke to turn on each other. Hook realizes that the town will destroy itself, and Emma adds that there'll be no one left... except she and Elsa: Ingrid's perfect family.

Emma and Elsa prepare a spell involving a magic candle that should be able to capture the Snow Queen if they find her; she practices this spell on Elsa but it fails, and the Ice Queen suggests that they try again. However, Emma has to leave to babysit her little brother, and when she arrives at Granny's to pick him up, her still-active magic begins to boil a bottle of milk, which frightens her mother a little bit. Emma is then phoned by David, who tells her that the Snow Queen is in the clock tower, and so she takes a rain check on babysitting to go capture her. With the candle, she successfully creates a pair of magic shackles the bind both Ingrid's wrists and powers, and she is escorted back to the sheriff's station to be interrogated by Emma and Elsa. Elsa is easily sent into a fit of rage by the Snow Queen and leaves, and it's soon apparent to everyone besides Emma that Ingrid got herself caught on purpose and in fact still has her magic. She continues to get under Emma's skin by pointing out how her parents fear her because of her powers and thank their lucky stars that Neal was born normal, eventually sending the savior into her own fit of rage and causing her magic to go out of control. She blows a hole through the sheriff's station wall by accident, allowing Ingrid to escape, and when everyone else turns up, she unintentionally drops a lamppost on her father. Mary Margaret yells at her daughter but regrets it quickly when Emma, scorned, drives away in her car. She cannot be found, even hours later, and her parents lament how their daughter had to look at them with fear in their eyes, and wish they could make things right.

Henry manages to find Emma hiding in the town woods, but her out of control magic accidentally injures him, and so she forces her son to run away. Feeling guilty, she visits Mr. Gold and asks for a spell that will remove her magic entirely, fearing that she may hurt someone else with her powers. He tells her to meet him at the abandoned manor on the outskirts of town so that he can perform the spell she requires, and she agrees, unaware that he actually plans on sucking her and her magic into a magic hat to serve his own agenda. Emma proceeds to phone Mary Margaret and tell her what she plans to do, and her parents and Elsa are appalled. As Emma makes her way to the mansion, the Snow Queen is standing on the road and causes her to swerve. She gets out of her car and confronts the ice witch, who warns her not to do this because Rumplestiltskin is tricking her, but Emma soon realizes that it's actually a projection of Ingrid as opposed to the woman herself, and so she drives away. Gold prepares the hat to absorb Emma, but she begins to have second thoughts about the whole thing when she arrives. She asks him what he'd do, and he reveals that he wouldn't do it for anything, explaining how power is the most important thing to him; but not to her, because she's a hero, and she does the right thing. He leaves her to enter the room with the hat, but as she contemplates doing so, Elsa rushes in and convinces her not to, explaining that Emma can control her powers by embracing them and loving herself. The Ice Queen takes the savior's hand, even knowing it could kill her, and a burst of magic is released as Emma's powers settle back under her control. Hook then arrives, his heart having been ripped out by Rumple in service of a bigger plan, and Emma notices he's acting weird, but decides not to press it. Outside, Henry and her parents are waiting, and she puts on a firework display with her magic. They all enjoy themselves, until ribbons appear around the wrists and Emma and Elsa and their magic is harnessed by the Snow Queen, who casts her spell of Shattered Sight on Storybrooke.

It becomes clear that the spell of Shattered Sight has been cast over Storybrooke and will turn everyone in town against each other by sundown, and so Emma suggests that they simply leave town before the spell is complete. However, the ice wall does not take kindly to brute force and grows aggressive, rendering the savior's plan moot, but Elsa is able to find Anna's necklace which, with the locator spell they retrieve from Belle, can be used to finally find the Ice Queen's sister who can then be used as a vaccine to the spell because she's been under it before. The necklace leads them into a dead end in the mines, which could take days to explore properly, and it is soon revealed that the necklace itself could be used to combat the spell due to the mirror dust embedded in its metal... but that would mean the total destruction of the necklace, meaning any hope of finding Anna is lost. The Charmings decide that the entire town isn't worth one woman and take the pouch containing the necklace over to the fairies, except Elsa actually swiped the real necklace and uses it to lead her back to the dead end, which she busts through with her ice magic. Emma soon tracks her down and the two of them end up on a beach on the other side. Elsa makes a wish upon her necklace for Anna to be with her, and, suddenly, Anna and her fiance Kristoff wash ashore in a box, Anna's necklace turning out to actually be the wishing star. With Anna back, the counter-spell can be made, but the fairies have all mysteriously disappeared by the time they return, meaning that the spell appears inevitable. Mary Margaret and David decide to lock themselves in the sheriff's station whilst Henry is sealed in Regina's office by Regina herself. Emma's parents hand Neal over to her and have faith that she will defeat the Snow Queen and come back for them, due to her and Elsa being immune to the spell thanks to their ribbons. Emma shares a goodbye kiss with Hook, who soon leaves, and the spell becomes complete, the rain of glass falls, and everyone in Storybrooke has their sight metaphorically shattered.

With the spell of Shattered Sight complete, everyone in town starts to tear each other apart, besides Emma, Elsa and Anna. Anna soon reveals that Ingrid got the idea for the spell from an old Nordic tale and, in said tale, the way in which the spell was broken was by killing the caster, and Emma gives Anna her baby brother whilst she and Elsa leave in order to do what must be done. They soon find the Snow Queen, but they cannot harm her due to her love which flows through the ribbons on their wrists, and so Emma suggests using someone's equally strong hatred in order to get them off. Emma and Elsa thus head to Regina's vault where she, dressed in one of her Evil Queen ensembles, awaits the savior so that she can kill her. Emma quickly breaks the protection spell surrounding the mausoleum and heads inside, angering Regina enough for her to launch a fireball at the two blondes, which succeeds in destroying the ribbons. Emma then uses her magic to fend the Queen off before escaping, and she and Elsa next head to Ingrid's lair in the woods. She is disappointed to see that they've lost their ribbons, but worries not, for she knows that they will love her soon regardless. She then reveals that she has their memories stored in magic rocks and is prepared to return them, but all the two girls will remember is the particularly good times they shared with Ingrid, and they shall cherish her as a result. However, it isn't long before Anna hurries in with a note in tow, which was written by her and Elsa's mother before she died. The note expresses their mother's sorrow over what she did to Ingrid, as well as an admission of love, but Ingrid doesn't believe her until she sees the note for herself and accesses the memories stored in the crystal on the seal. She quickly regrets what she's done to Storybrooke and plans to reverse the spell by destroying herself, which she begins to do using magic. She returns Emma and Elsa's memories and they grow sad to see her die, wanting to find another way, but Ingrid appears content, and rejoices over the fact that she can now join her true sisters. It isn't long before she disappears and a snow falls over the town, thus breaking the spell. Emma then reunites with her family, whose love has not been damaged by the hatred brought on by the curse.

Following Ingrid's death, Elsa is finally able to remove the ice wall surrounding town; however, some of the Snow Queen's magic remains and her desire to keep out intruders has made it so that anyone who leaves Storybrooke can never come back. As such, Emma and the others begin searching for a new portal through which Elsa, Anna and Kristoff can go home to Arendelle, and it isn't long until Hook approaches them and reveals that he went to Mr. Gold and found a door that does just that, over at the lakeside mansion where Emma almost sacrificed her magical powers. They head there and say their goodbyes, and Elsa goes through the door back home, followed by Kristoff. However, Anna stays behind briefly and asks to know who this Mr. Gold is, for he sounds so helpful, at which they reveal that his true name is Rumplestiltskin, leading her to become weary. It is evident that Anna and Rumple have met in the past, despite Gold's insistence that he knew nothing about Elsa's sister, and thus they realize that the Dark One's been lying to them for quite some time. After Anna leaves as well, Emma and Mary Margaret arrive at the clock tower where Rumple is casting a spell to cleave himself of the dagger using the sorcerer's hat and Hook's heart, with which he's been controlling the pirate for a while. He quickly freezes Emma and her mother and goes to crush the heart, however, he is unable to thanks to Belle, who's found the real dagger and is now using it to control her husband. Seeing the man he truly is, she commands him to leave town, which means he may never return, and Emma later puts Hook's heart back in his chest. They share a kiss, but she soon approaches a depressed Regina over at the bar, who's sad about Robin having left town with Marian. The two of them go to do shots together when Henry barges in, revealing he found something over at the mansion: a vast collection of blank storybooks. It is at this point that Emma is clued in on Operation Mongoose, the plan to find the author and make him write Regina a happier story. It isn't long before Emma joins the operation herself, believing that everyone deserves their happy ending.

It's been six weeks since Rumplestiltskin's memorable departure from Storybrooke, and everyone appears to have moved on. Emma resumes her sheriffing career while her relationship with Hook moves forward, and she continues to help Regina - who's retaken the Mayoral position - in her search for the Author of Henry's storybook. It isn't long before Belle and Hook, who themselves have been searching for a way to free the fairies from the Sorcerer's hat, barge into the Mayor's office to reveal that they've succeeded in their endeavor, and they need Regina to perform a ritual. She does so, out in the woods, and the fairies are freed... along with something else which escapes anyone's notice. A celebratory party is held at Granny's Diner and the Blue Fairy, when asked, discloses that the Sorcerer and the Author are two very different people, and she has no idea where to find either, nor why the Author's books are in the Sorcerer's house. The party is soon disrupted by a noise outside, and then it is revealed just what came out of the hat along with the fairies - a giant winged demon known as Chernabog, and it's wreaking havoc in Storybrooke. Luckily, Emma and Regina are able to pool their magic and stun it with relative ease, but it shall take a lot more to destroy it fully. As things are being figured out, Regina gets a phone call from Rumple's cell, and Ursula and Cruella De Vil are on the other line. They claim to have turned over a new leaf, and want to enter the town in exchange on some information that should help them defeat the Chernabog, for they have faced it themselves in the past. Regina agrees to their terms, and it is learned that the creature targets those whose hearts have the most potential for darkness. This leads them to decide to use Regina as bait, and she and Emma drive towards the town line with the Chernabog latching itself to the roof of Emma's car. She breaks suddenly and it's flung out of Storybrooke and into the land without magic, thus dissipating into nothingness. After much debate, Cruella and Ursula are then let inside sing the Snow Queen's scroll (which allowed her to enter Storybrooke originally) and, unbeknownst to all, they later use the same scroll to sneak Rumplestiltskin back into town. Meanwhile, Emma and Hook enjoy a quiet evening at Granny's, watching as Henry searches for clues about the Author in the existing book, and the blonde attempts to call her parents; however, they're too busy threatening the town's newest villainesses, ordering them not to reveal just what happened between them back in the Enchanted Forest.

Emma and Hook head to Granny's Diner for lunch and the former is surprised when it appears that Ursula has a past with her boyfriend; she doesn't have time to press it, however, for David calls her to duty. The two of them stalk Ursula and Cruella and pull them over when they hear from Belle that a box has been stolen from their apartment. David finds the box in Cruella's car but he decides not to tell Emma for he feels as though it could expose the secret held by he and Mary Margaret. Emma reviews the security footage while Hook visits her, and it is now that she asks him about Ursula. It is clear that he isn't telling her the whole truth, and she advises him to leave, then seeing on the security tape of Gold's shop that a box was indeed stolen by the two villainesses. She takes this footage to her parents, who are off on a hike (in fact off the prevent Maleficent from being resurrected), and she feels as though they're acting strange, doubting where they're actually going. After a failed attempt to jog the memory of Pinocchio to help Regina uncover the secrets of the book, Emma summons Hook to the sheriff's station and explains to him how it doesn't matter what his past with Ursula is, as long as he doesn't lie to her. Her parents unintentionally eavesdrop on this, and hear how they have inspired Emma to start seeing the best in people, as opposed to the worst. They are touched, and decide not to admit their secret to her (that they made it so that Maleficent lost her child). Instead, all they tell her is that Ursula and Cruella have risen Maleficent, and they want to destroy their happy ending. Emma wonders why these witches have waged war against them, and Mary Margaret says that it's because they're villains and not heroes like them.

Emma is distraught to learn that her parents have employed Regina to go undercover with the Queens of Darkness as a villain, and begins to worry when she learns that the former Evil Queen was supposed to check in an hour prior to the savior being told all of this. She frantically searches the town for Regina but to no avail; however, Snow and Charming have more luck when they come across a destroyed sheriff's car, and Regina appears to them to apologize, for that was Maleficent's idea of a good time. She knows that the trio are hiding something powerful, but she doesn't know what it is, and she tells the Charmings that she'll have to meet with them more covertly next time. When she does, she is surprised to see Emma and Hook tagging along, and she explains to everyone that the Queens are looking for the Author like her... but they plan to shift the entire balance and make it so that villains win and heroes lose. Thinking that Regina knows nothing about going undercover, Emma insists that she help, and, on her third night out with Maleficent, Emma tags along, keeping to the shadows. When Regina is made to kidnap young Pinocchio, Emma protests, but Regina does it anyway and makes it so that Emma cannot keep track of her through her phone. The blonde is back to worrying while Regina learns that the Queens have been hiding Rumplestiltskin away, and the Dark One - reunited with his dagger - proceeds to turn Pinocchio back into the man he once was: August W. Booth, in order to find out what he knows about the Author.

Emma, Mary Margaret, David and Hook are searching for Pinocchio and Regina when the latter sends them a magical smoke signal which inhabits Mary Margaret, allowing the Mayor to talk through her and tell the others about August's return, as well as the fact that Rumplestiltskin is back in town. Belle is told also and they ask her for the dagger; however, Rumple has already tricked her into handing it over to him by disguising himself as Hook, leading the pirate to comment that they should have stuck it in his heart instead of merely banishing him. As the Charmings search for the Dark One's cabin, Emma expresses similar sentiments, much to her parents' alarm, but she assures them that she's just worried, knowing that Gold maybe wouldn't hurt a child, but August isn't one anymore. While Hook is off helping Ursula, Cruella is left alone with the former puppet, taunting him as he remains tied to a chair. Emma and her father barge in and Cruella acts smugly... until Mary Margaret whacks her round the head with a frying pan and knocks her out, having sneaked through the back door. August is freed, but Ursula soon shows up and begins strangling Snow with her tentacle to stop Emma from using magic against her; that is, until Hook shows up as well with Ursula's father in tow, and he proceeds to restore Ursula's happy ending in the form of her singing voice. Cruella has disappeared, and Ursula leaves town with her father, revealing to Hook before she does so that Rumple plans on filling Emma's heart with darkness in order to eradicate her savior properties, so that the Author is able to change people's fates in this world. Meanwhile, August recuperates back at the apartment where he reveals that the Author is trapped inside the book.

Following his revelation, August takes a turn for the worse and passes out and so Emma, Regina and Henry rush him to the local nunnery where Mother Superior diagnosis that all of his magical transformations have taken their toll, and he will take time to recover. Regina is summoned by Rumple and the Queens of Darkness, who expect her to bring them the page that contains the Author. Emma creates a forgery for her to use, but Regina, knowing this won't fool Gold, decides to just take a picture instead, since all the villains care about is what the door looks like, not knowing its true function. When Emma arrives back at the apartment, she is told by Hook that Rumple plans to fill her heart with darkness so that the Author is able to change things, and her parents act worried, leaving in a hurry. Hook wonders if he needs to be jealous of August, but Emma assures him that he doesn't, for August is only her friend - something that was a rarity for her to make after Lily. Suddenly, Maleficent's spell puts the whole town to sleep, except those who have been under sleeping curses before. David wants to burn the page in order to protect his and Mary Margaret's secret, but she has a last-minute moral epiphany and decides not to, wanting to tell Emma the truth instead. Emma is told of how her parents stole Maleficent's baby and had it banished to our world by accident, and she is disgusted by how they've lied to her. She leaves angrily and is later approached by Hook, who informs her that August is awake. She visits him with the page and a key that Henry found to the door, and she wants to set the Author free because she has a lot of questions for him. August explains to her that the Author isn't a person but a job, and the one trapped in the page is just the most recent. The reason for his imprisonment is that he began to manipulate rather than just record, and when Emma sets him free, he causes a distraction and runs away. She tries chasing him out into the streets but to no avail.

Following the Author's escape, Emma follows him through the woods along with Mary Margaret and David, later calling in Hook and Henry to help, and her mother uses her tracking skills in order to find him. During the chase, Emma's parents reveal to her that they met they Author back in the Enchanted Forest and he led them into the path they took to stealing Maleficent's child. Their daughter berates her parents about this nonetheless, seeing it as entirely their choice, and David tries telling her that it's a mere one incident from their past. She demands that they not downplay it, but Mary Margaret believes that what's important is that they've changed and become the best parents they can be for her; when they did what they did they weren't in full understanding of what would happen and they acted out of fear, which is a result of them being merely human and therefore liable to make mistakes. Emma doesn't care, disgusted by the fact that the only reason she's the savior is because they forsook an innocent child, and they continue trying to find the Author. However, Gold gets there first, and he convinces the Author to come with him and help with his plans.

With the Author lost, Emma, her parents and Hook head back to the apartment, with the savior once again berating David and Mary Margaret for the secret they kept from her, unable to move on from it. Regina soon enters and reveals that Zelena is alive, having been posing as Marian this whole time, and now she's keeping an oblivious Robin Hood under threat in New York, and so she needs to go save him. For her journey, Emma gives Regina a gun so that she may remain safe without her magic, and Henry's two mothers then receive a video message from Cruella telling them that their joint son has been kidnapped, and if they ever want to see him again they they must do as she says and kill the Author. They are hesitant to do so, and Emma takes Regina and Hook out into the woods to search for Henry, unable to trust Snow and Charming with such a task despite her two companions trying in vain to talk her into forgiving her parents. The three of them are separated by Mr. Gold's behind-the-scenes trickery, and Emma finally finds Henry with a gun being pointed at him on the edge of a cliff. Cruella warns the savior not to move any closer, but Emma flares up some magic, leading the fur-coated villain in front of her to say that she's bluffing, because heroes don't kill. However, Emma sends a burst of her powers right at Cruella and sends her hurtling off the cliff to her death, as was part of Gold's plan to turn her dark. Her parents finally catch up to her, having learned from the Author, Isaac, what Rumple had in store... but they're too late. Emma has now killed.

After Cruella is buried, Emma heads to the diner where she and the others are approached by Maleficent, who wants to hinder Gold's plans by having the savior leave town and find her lost daughter - Lily. Emma is shocked, knowing this girl, and becomes disheartened to learn that her only friend wasn't even her friend by choice, as Regina explains to her about the mysteries of fate and goes on to request that the two of them take a road trip together so that both Lily can be found and Robin Hood can be rescued from Zelena. Upon arriving in Lily's apartment building, they learn that she died, and Emma's violent reaction to this news causes Regina to worry. As they're driving, they almost hit a wolf (just like on Emma's first day in Storybrooke) and cause a flat, and so while Regina heads to a gas station to fetch a new tire, Emma heads to the nearby diner for some coffee - a diner where Lily, having adopted the alias of "Starla", now works. Emma is shocked, revealing herself to her old friend, but Lily pretends not to have thought about her in years, tricking a little girl into pretending to be her daughter. Able to spot liars, Emma breaks into Lily's home along with Regina and discovers via a copious amount of research that Lily knows all about her fairytale heritage, as well as Emma's. She proceeds to steal the savior's car and so Emma steals one of her own to chase her down. She eventually catches up and uses the gun she gave Regina to threaten her, wanting to kill her to ensure she doesn't hurt Snow and Charming out of vengeance. Regina convinces her not to commit murder, not wanting her to go dark, and the dust finally settles in a peaceful manner, with the three ladies proceeding to Robin Hood's apartment where Zelena reveals herself to be pregnant with his child. ("Lily")

As Robin and Regina retire to the bar below to hash out some issues, Emma discovers her and Neal's old dreamcatcher in his apartment, astounded that it survived and reminiscing a little about her old love to Lily, saying that she lost him thanks to Zelena. The Wicked Witch gives a faux apology, and Regina returns to announce that they're all heading back to Storybrooke immediately. Upon arrival, Emma hugs Henry and Hook, but purposefully avoids Mary Margaret's embrace - much to her mother's dismay. She proceeds to introduce Maleficent to her daughter, and Maleficent couldn't be happier; however, Lily is less interested in reunions and more interested in gaining revenge on Snow White and Prince Charming. When Regina takes her blood to fuel the Author's magical ink, it sparks Lily's own source of magic and allows for her to turn into a dragon, intent on vengeance. While Maleficent and the Charmings track her, Emma is brought to the docks by Hook, and he helps her understand why her parents omitted the truth from her, explaining how they wanted to make her proud after the life she was forced to endure. She finds Mary Margaret after she's been attacked by Lily the dragon and uses her light magic to heal her wounds, proceeding to forgive her under the precipice that cutting her out has done nothing but make the both of them miserable. Besides, no matter what she's done it doesn't change the simple fact that she's her mother. The Charming finally fully reunite, but their happiness can't last for long what with the Author having returned to Mr. Gold; he quickly begins to write a new story for everyone in town.

With the Author now in possession the enchanted ink he needs to rewrite everyone's story, Emma and the others head to the Sorcerer's mansion to see if any of his books are being filled out. August soon turns up and tells them of the Apprentice, who Hook knows is trapped in the hat, and the Blue Fairy frees him. He says that Isaac must be trapped inside the page, and the Charmings take Henry home so that he can retrieve it while Emma and Regina head to Gold's shop to put a stop to things. However, it's too late: a new story is written, and the entirety of Storybrooke's residents are trapped inside. Henry remains in town but it's empty, so he finds Isaac out in the real world where he's made a name for himself as a famous writer, thanks to the book. Henry confronts him, wanting to know where his family is, and Isaac tells him that they're physically trapped inside the book - save for Emma; there was no role for a savior in his story. However, when Henry uses the key to the door to enter the story himself, he discovers that Isaac was lying. Emma was in fact locked away by the Evil Queen Snow White after having proclaimed herself a "savior". When she wakes up and discovers that she's been chained up in an impenetrable tower, all Emma can do is scream.

Henry implores Hook to help him rescue Emma from the tower she's locked away in, and the former is happy to learn that his birth mother has retained all her memories - unlike her pirate boyfriend, who remains none the wiser regarding their romantic relationship - because that was Gold's punishment for her in this world: to remember everything but have no magic to do anything about it. The three of them escape on the Jolly Roger but first must take care of the tower's guard, Lily, who takes dragon form and pursues them. She is knocked into the sea by a cannonball, and Emma knows that they must now get Regina the bandit to stop the wedding of Robin Hood and Zelena so as to prevent the book from reaching its written end. Before they're able, however, Snow and Charming show up at the docks and the latter ends up murdering Hook after a brief sword fight, to Emma's devastation. She and Henry then head to Regina's den where Emma convinces the bandit to pursue her true feelings by sharing how she felt watching the man she loved die without having had a chance to tell him her true feelings. They arrive outside the church to stop the wedding, but then Rumplestiltskin the Light One shows up to stop them, having been convinced by Isaac to do so. Emma does battle with him while Regina heads inside, but he knocks her out and then goes to kill Henry. Regina is able to stand in the way, however, and has her midsection sliced open. Rumple flees the scene and the wedding party is shocked to see what has transpired. Emma punches Isaac and Henry grabs his pen, making him the new Author. He uses Regina's savior blood to write everything back the way it was, and Emma is relieved to be back in Storybrooke where Hook is alive and well. However, she is still unable to confess her feelings, and instead heads to a celebration at Granny's Diner. This comes to a halt when Belle rushes in warning of Rumple's demise, and it is learned that the Dark One is becoming un-tethered to Gold's soul. The Sorcerer's Apprentice uses the hat to remove the darkness completely, but the hat can't quite contain it and it's able to escape and attack the old wizard. On his deathbed, he tells Emma to find Merlin, the Sorcerer, and she proceeds to rush outside where the darkness attempts to snuff the light out of Regina. Unable to let this happen, Emma both implores her parents to eventually save her and tells Hook she loves him, before voluntarily plunging her knife-baring hand into the darkness and becoming the new Dark One, as is signified by her name appearing on the dagger after she disappears.

Season 5
"I'll never be like all of you! I'll never hurt the people I love..."

Rising from the Vault of the Dark One, Emma has been sent back to the Enchanted Forest and away from those she loves. The darkness now inside of her manifests into a hallucination of Rumplestiltskin, there to help guide her down, the path of evil. She is determined to find Merlin, and so she is lead, via her new powers, to a will-o-wisp, which can be used, once captured, to locate the Sorcerer. This results in a run in with a princess by the name of Merida, who is after the wisp for her own purposes; though a fight comes close to breaking out, Emma agrees to go with Merida so she may use the wisp first, and then the princess will hand it over to the Dark One. That evening, however, having set up camp, and believing Merida to be fast asleep, Emma converses with the Rumple manifestation, who reveals that once Merida uses the wisp, it'll be impossible to give it to Emma, and so he suggests Emma just kill her. Speaking aloud, Emma refuses to do this, but what she doesn't realize is Merida is awake, and overheard the entire conversation, which to her, appears to just be Emma talking to no one. Merida runs off in the morning, but Emma, using her newfound powers, finds her. Being influenced by the darkness, she nearly crushes the princess's heart, but Hook and the other heroes arrive in time to talk her out of it. They convince her to release Merida, and promise they can help with saving her from the darkness. Mary Margaret hands the dagger over, believing Emma should have control, but she then gives it to Regina, stating that if they fail, then for Regina to use it and destroy her. Once reuniting with the others who made it to the Enchanted Forest, via Granny's Diner, the group is met by King Arthur and his men, who welcome them all into Camelot, for their arrival had been prophesied long ago.

Before the Third Curse
"I'm not nothing, I was never nothing! The power you have, I don't need!"

Upon entering Camelot, Emma and the others are introduced to Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, and a ball is announced to be held in everyone's honor. The King proceeds to show everyone a tree in the courtyard, revealing that it's where Merlin is imprisoned, and he soon questions who the prophesied Savior is meant to be. Though Emma goes to speak up, Regina steals the spotlight, claiming it to be her, not wanting to blow Emma's cover. This upsets Emma later on while she and Regina are up in Merlin's tower; Regina promises to free the new Dark One of the darkness, to which Emma thanks her. While preparing Emma for the ball that evening, Mary Margaret reminisces the first time her own mother prepared her for a ball, and the two are soon formally announced upon entering the ballroom. The night goes well at first, with Emma enjoying the festivities with Hook, but all goes downhill when Percival attempts to murder Regina for the pain she inflicted on him as the Evil Queen, and Robin ends up injured instead. Unable to heal Robin due to the magic used to hurt him was intended to kill Regina, the formerly Evil Queen turns to Emma for help, and despise being reluctant, not trusting her new powers, she ends up saving him. Emma proceeds to excuse herself, but not without kissing Hook first, and the vision of Rumple goads her about liking the magic, seeing as how true love's kiss didn't break the curse. She begins to realize her skin is turning scaly, and when later returning upstairs, she overhears Arthur praising the supposed savior Regina for supposedly saving Robin.

Emma helps out as the heroes research magical remedies to free Merlin from the tree, but seeing as how not much progress is being made, she offers to just use her own magic and free him herself. Mary Margaret and Regina forbid this though, for the Savior's magic is dark now, and it'd be bad for her to give in and use it. King Arthur arrives to check up on their progress, and after a comment from Belle, Mary Margaret gets the idea to search for a method to talk to Merlin from inside the tree. Regina is able to pinpoint a toadstool known as the Crimson Crown, having the ability to communicate through magical barriers. Seeing as how he doesn't have anything else to contribute, David suggests he leave for the quest to find it; Arthur agrees to accompany him. They end up returning home empty handed though, but have formed a bond throughout their quest, and that evening, Emma is present for when Arthur makes David an official Knight of the Round Table, bestowing him the seat of Siege Perilous.

With the darkness continuing to tempt Emma, in the middle of the night, she is guided to the location of the Dark One's dagger that Regina kept locked away in her room. Due to a protection spell though, Emma is unable to get a hold of it, and though the vision of Rumplestiltskin guides her to break it, she resists, especially when Hook finds her, and she accidentally fires magic in his direction. He comforts her, and everyone else is called, all of which worry for the new Dark One's safety. Henry knows of a location for Emma to go so she can be alone, and so he and Hook set out to take her there. This turns out to be the stables of Henry's new friend, Violet, which are owned by her family. When arriving, Henry has Emma and Hook hide when Violet hears them coming, for he does not want his new friend to know they are there. Henry meets with her, however, and the two of them head for horseback riding while Hook is left with Emma, who has her own opinions about Henry and Violet. Hook wishes to distract his love though, and gets one of Violet's horses for the two of them to go out with. Emma's remains reluctant, unable to shake the vision of Rumple, or even get the horse to trust her, for it understands what she is. Hook continues to pursue his lover though, insisting she must not listen to the voices in her head, but to trust him. He convinces Emma to get onto the horse, and the two of them ride to a pasture of flowers; Emma realizes that Hook succeeded, and that she no longer sees Rumplestiltskin.

As Regina takes Snow and David to the dagger, she has doubts over Arthur's trustworthiness, but the couple are insistent that he can be trusted. When they become forceful, Emma freezes them with magic and reveals Arthur has them under a spell. She then reveals to Regina that the king wants the dagger so he can kill Merlin. Emma believes she can free the sorcerer with her dark magic, but Regina warns her against it due to her own experiences. Emma later reveals that she learned the information she knew from a dreamcatcher, which also showed her Merlin weeping over a lost love, which the Dark One at the time used to turn him into a tree. Regina realizes a tear of lost love could return him. After the two women run into Henry, who is practicing swordfighting to impress Violet's father, they convince him not to change, exemplifying how each of their first loves acted as themselves. Regina comes up with the idea that they can get a tear from her watching her memory of Daniel being killed by Cora, however, her tear isn't strong enough for the potion as she's moved on with Robin. Emma had predicted this, and so she ripped out Violet's heart to force her to break Henry's. Henry soon stops by, in tears, after Violet subsequently rejected him on their date. Regina collects his tear, but Arthur and his men arrive to stop them. Regina distracts them with fireballs as Emma enacts the spell, freeing Merlin from his tree prison. Later, in the diner, Regina is present while the sorcerer confirms he can remove Emma's darkness, but she must be open and willing for it to work.

After having freed the prisoners from Arthur's dungeons, Merlin and the others retire to Granny's Diner in the woods, where the powerful Sorcerer handles an Apollo candy bar. He comments to Emma that he's always wanted to try one of them, saying that the last time he saw one was many years ago, in the hands of a little girl. It is then that Emma recalls having stole one from a random woman at the movie theater, and she goes on to remember Merlin as the usher who gave her a warning. She wonders how he appeared to her since he was in a tree at that time, but he assures her that it doesn't matter; all that matters is that she headed his words. He asks if she remembers what he said, and she recalls something about Excalibur. He reminds her never to pull it from the stone; she points out that someone already beat her to it, but he predicts that it will one day return to whence it came, and when it does Emma must leave it alone.

Merlin explains that he and Emma will be questing to the Flame of Prometheus to receive a spark capable of reforging both halves of Excalibur, later telling her that in order to gain the spark, she's going to have to pull the ember from the first Dark One, who shall appear to her through vision and give her the toughest test yet in terms of battling the darkness. They soon make it to Oxleigh and beyond where the Promethean flame used to burn, and Emma holds up the Dark One's dagger - which Merlin took without permission - and uses it to summon the first Dark One. To her shock, it isn't a man like she expected, but rather Merlin's first true love Nimue. She tries convincing Emma to kill Merlin, forcing her to strangle the Sorcerer with a single hand, yelling in her ear the entire time. She encourages Emma not to go back to being nothing, at which the darkened savior exclaims that she is not nothing and was never nothing and that the power the darkness offers is unneeded by her. She backs off of Merlin and forces the ember from Nimue, who assures her that she's not dead yet and shall remain in her head before disappearing. Merlin, meanwhile, gets to his feet and asks Emma how it felt to take the hard path; she says that, to be honest, it felt damn good. The two of them begin trekking back and Merlin explains how he hid the sword away in the stone and forged the dagger from its broken end to keep Nimue under control after she turned... but then she got it away from him and turned him to a tree. Emma wonders if there could ever be a Dark One to use their powers for good, but Merlin tells her not to let such thoughts tempt her, pointing out that if they are successful in destroying the darkness then they won't have to ask that much of anyone. The Sorcerer is suddenly pulled away by Arthur, who now controls him with the other half of the sword. ("Nimue")

Emma returns to Granny's Diner, concerned by the fact that the others should have been back hours ago, and when Granny attempts to lock the place up for protection, she, Henry and the key all freeze thanks to Merlin's magic, and the powerful Sorcerer reveals that Arthur has Emma's family hostage out in the woods and will kill them if she doesn't hand over the dagger and the Promethean spark. She goes outside to attempt lighting the latter, but the returning vision of Rumplestiltskin points out that maybe she can't because she's not ready to let go of the darkness. Henry tries motivating her by revealing that he and Hook were looking at available houses in Storybrooke to move her into when they got home, and she comes to realize that the vision was right: she doesn't want to let go of the darkness because she needs to use it one last time. She confronts Arthur, trapping his teammate Zelena and convincing Merlin to resist the pull of Excalibur. Hook is able to escape, knocking the sword from Arthur's hand but sustaining a cut on his neck in the process. Once Arthur and Zelena poof away, Emma heals the cut and retires to the outside of Granny's, where Regina attempts using the dagger to force her to admit the real reason why she doesn't want to let go of the darkness. She later tells Hook that it's because she's afraid to start a future with him, even though that really is what she wants, and a few comforting words later she's able to light the spark. Just as she prepares to reunite Excalibur though, Hook collapses because the cut in his neck reopens, due to Excalibur's properties which stop it from being able to really heal. He is dying and Emma teleports him to the middlemist field, using the Promethean flame to un-tether Merlin from Excalibur and bind his powers to Hook instead, thereby turning herself fully dark and making Hook into a new Dark One.

When Emma finally finds Hook, he is talking to the vision of Rumplestiltskin, who's in the middle of trying to convince him to cast a Dark Curse so that he can return to Storybrooke and finally claim his revenge on Gold. Emma tries reminding Hook of their future together in order to pull him back into the light, wanting him to stay that way long enough for Merlin to purge the darkness from both of them. However, the vision's disappearance is only temporary, and when Emma goes to scout their trail back to Granny's Diner, Hook hears whispers coming from Excalibur, his new tether. She reveals that she's been hiding it from him, having lied about it disappearing, and he is so distraught that she doesn't trust him that he poofs away. She tries chasing him down in the field of middlemist, promising that she does trust him, and hands Excalibur over after having used it to summon him. They manage to patch things up and make it to Granny's where everyone's been worried sick about them, having returned there after forming a failed search party. Hook decides to head into the diner first to fetch Merlin, who's recording a message for the others. He proceeds to explain to the former Sorcerer that he needs to enact a Dark Curse, and, because Nimue lives on inside of him, if he crushes Merlin's heart then that will technically be the thing he loves most, thanks to her. Emma walks in and witnesses him crush it (and also him returning Excalibur to its stone to prevent himself from being controlled), dropping the dust into the cauldron, and she proceeds to mourn her friend, cremating him with her magic. She ends up knocking Hook out and removing his memories of being a Dark One with one of her dreamcatchers, then teleporting everyone else into the diner, unconscious, and extracting their memories of the last six weeks spent in Camelot as well. She then adds this memory-wipe feature to the curse itself and plans to make things right by isolating herself while she proceeds with her plan to destroy the darkness. She holds Hook's unconscious body as the curse consumes the kingdom.

Season 5
"There's no savior in this town anymore."

After spending a total of six weeks away in Camelot, those who were sent to said realm in Granny's Diner are abruptly returned to Storybrooke. Sleepy and Sneezy, the latter of which has been working as the town's sheriff, even having gone as far as to start sporting Emma's signature red leather jacket, overhear the diner's crash landing and so go to check it out. They're shocked to discover everyone has returned, but everyone has zero memory of anything that has happened since entering into Camelot for the first time. The two dwarfs reveal they've all been gone a total of six weeks, and everyone wonders where Emma is. She soon makes herself known, appearing to be responsible for their return, as well as everyone's loss of memories. She is now dressed in the attire of which a Dark One would. Regina realizes the threat Emma is becoming, and threatens to use the dagger, only finding it to be missing from her possession, to which Emma reveals she has it now. Emma reveals to Regina and the others that they've failed to remove the darkness from her, and now they must all pay. When questioned by Mary Margaret why, Emma simply states that it's because she is the Dark One.

When summoned by Henry the following day, Emma makes herself known, only to be slightly rejected. He apologizes for failing her, but Emma assures it was everyone but him. Regina soon interrupts though, wanting Henry away from the new Dark One, and she questions Emma about the new curse that's been cast, and the loss of everyone's memories, only to be hit with the revelation that the curse she cast doesn't have a savior, thus making it unbreakable. Later on, she meets with Hook, and shows him her new home; she states that despise all that has happened, they can still be together, but Hook has other ideas, and he proceeds to kiss his beloved. He sees that true love's kiss has failed, which is further pointed out by Emma, who believes she herself doesn't need fixing, and Hook ends up leaving when she refuses to go into detail about what happened to them all in Camelot. That evening, Regina confronts Emma about a fury that has kidnapped Robin Hood due to an unpaid price of magic, and she asks that the Dark One call the creature off, only to be told that it wasn't Emma who summoned it, and that it's Regina's fault for never paying the price. The formerly Evil Queen succeeds in defeating the fury though, and Emma later watches from afar as everyone celebrates at Granny's Diner. Returning home, she is met by the vision of Rumplestiltskin, who states that her weakness for that of protecting her loved ones will always hold her back, but that she can snuff out the light. He leads her to the basement of her home where Excalibur is revealed to be buried in stone, tempting her to unite the sword and dagger to be rid of any hope of light in her, and though she tries to pull Excalibur from the stone, the magic protecting it rejects her, meaning that she must find another way.

Emma approaches the dwarfs as they're digging for magic down in the mines and ends up stealing Happy's pickaxe, to their dismay. She then attempts using it to free Excalibur from the stone, knowing that a dwarf axe can cut through anything, but, to her surprise, it breaks. The vision of Rumple taunts her, pointing out that nothing can cut through magic, and says that she's going to need a hero to relieve the sword - and the both of them know who he's talking about. Emma proceeds to entice Hook to meet her on his ship by ordering lunch for the two of them, proceeding to lay a table with her magic while at the same time transforming her look to that of what she wore on their first date. He tries grilling her for information but she refuses to divulge anything, instead proceeding to shock him by suggesting that they continue with a functional relationship. She uses Mr. Gold as an example, for Belle loved him in spite of the darkness, and goes on to say how she's stronger now than before, just like how Rumple stopped being a coward. Hook assures her that Rumple was a good man who he, as a pirate, taunted with a cutlass, having held it to his throat; he is the only one in that story who changed for the better, for Rumple became evil. Emma leaves the pirate with an ultimatum: he can say he doesn't love her, and she will go. He makes it explicit that he loved her, leading her to teleport away. Unbeknownst to him, however, she took his cutlass with her, because the missing ingredient to the healing potion needed to wake Mr. Gold is something that touched him before he was the Dark One. The cutlass provides this, and he awakes in Emma's lair. She explains to him that his heart is now a blank slate, which means she can mold him into the purest hero who ever lived, and then he can pull the sword from the stone.

Emma has gone on to tie Rumple up in order to keep him from getting away. Hoping to get free, he tries to convince Emma, stating that he knows how the darkness felt, but that she doesn't have to give into it. She could simply set him free and stop whatever plans she currently has in store. Emma refuses though, stating that Rumple is the only one who can get Excalibur for her, and despite him not believing himself to be the hero Emma needs, the new Dark One reveals that she knows just what Rumple needs in order to become that; she calls it her secret weapon. The Dark One is next seen going into a tunnel where she keeps her parked car; there, none other than Merida is tied up. The Princess taunts Emma, knowing she was just a witch, and that she's most likely just going to kill her then and there. Of course, however, Emma has other ideas; she rips Merida's heart from her chest, demanding she retrieve a bow and arrow from inside of the car. She goes on, stating that there's a guy she knows, referring to Rumple, that is a real coward. She needs Merida to make him what he's not: brave.

When Mary Margaret realizes that, as the leaders of Storybrooke and hosts to the Camelot refugees, she and the others need a way to raise morale, Henry suggests having a block party, which David assumes is an excuse for the lad to talk to his girlfriend. Henry assures that Violet isn't his girlfriend, while Regina continually wonders just who this girl is; he soon goes to meet her to ask if she got his text, telling her of the pending party, and she says that she did... but she's in no mood for parties, because her beloved horse Nicodemus is missing. Henry promises to find him for her and goes to Emma for help, reminding her that he brought her to this town to bring back people's happy endings and saying that that's what she needs to do now, and she agrees to help him track Nicodemus down, which he comments as being akin to their days carrying out Operation Cobra. Since pumpkin is the horse's favorite treat, Emma has the idea to head to a local pumpkin-selling place out in the woods, and, sure enough, Nicodemus is there. Emma tries luring him to her but he fears her because she's the Dark One, and so Henry uses a piece of pumpkin to earn the creature's trust and proceeds to ride him through town until he makes it to the block party, where Violet awaits. She is ever-so-grateful, and her father Sir Morgan expresses his pride in the boy; Violet rewards Henry with a kiss on the cheek. His happiness runs short, however, when he discovers that, during the missing six weeks, Emma ripped out Violet's heart and forced her to break Henry's. Emma comes by Regina's to see her son but Regina tells her to leave, realizing that Emma probably set Nicodemus free in the first place and accusing her of being on a lower moral standpoint than herself, the former Evil Queen. Emma looks up to Henry's window and he shuts the drapes, rejecting her.

Emma goes out into the woods with Merida where Gold is meant to be tied up so that the warrior princess can continue to make him brave; however, he has smashed the chipped cup and used its shards to escape, which convinces the Dark Swan that Belle is still someone he's willing to fight for. As such, she uses Merida's heart to face her to chase Gold's wife through the town with her arrows and try to kill her, therefore forcing Rumple to stand up and accomplish a feat of bravery in order to protect his true love. Emma then poofs into Zelena's cell, bribing the Wicked Witch back to her home with onion rings from Granny's Diner, therefore fulfilling her pregnancy cravings. She offers the Wicked Witch a place at her side, but she refuses, berating the Dark Swan for what she did to Henry's girlfriend and saying that the difference between herself and Emma is that she doesn't mind being a lone. Emma retires her to her cell and later ogles Excalibur after having given Merida a potion that turned her into a bear. Gold managed to undo the potion's effects and save Belle in the process, meaning he's now the hero that Emma needs. He says that he will pull the sword from the stone on the condition that Merida's heart is returned and the safety of her brothers is assured; the Dark Swan obliges and Rumple successfully pulls the sword, but warns his successor that making him into a hero means that there's a chance now that he'll be able to stop her.

Emma now has both halves of Excalibur, as well as the means to unite them. The vision of Rumplestiltskin points out that it's a thing of magnificence and asks her if she knows what the sword as a whole represents. She assumes power, but he tells her that it's history, adding that Excalibur's promise was forged long ago and that now it's finally going to come to fruition. He tells her that it's time and she wonders why he won't leave her alone, at which a new vision of Nimue appears and tells her that they couldn't; she says that Rumplestiltskin's eyes are fine to look through most days, but that she wanted to see this for herself. Soon enough, every single past Dark One appears to Emma via vision, encouraging her to repair the sword. Emma soon takes the ember from the Flame of Prometheus and retrieves the spark from within, compressing it into a ball of light which hangs in midair as she forces the two ends of Excalibur into it. Soon enough, the sword is complete, but Emma hesitates before going to pluck it from the air. She tells a confused Nimue that Merlin told her not to do exactly this when she was a little girl, at which the first Dark One points out that she's a woman now, and the Dark Swan is convinced the take the power when all the others chant for her to do so. She stands there, holding the complete Excalibur, her plan ready to unfold. ("Nimue")

When Arthur attacks Hook in the woods, Emma fights back using the complete Excalibur, allowing the King to learn of what she's accomplished before she knocks him out. Hook demands to know why she's doing all that she's doing and she admits that she's doing it for him, next appearing when Hook jumps off the roof of the library simply to force her to come out and save him. After that, they talk, and he assures her that he's ready to learn the truth about what happened in Camelot no matter how awful it is. She takes him back to her house and knocks him out, deeming him unable to hear the truth yet. Meanwhile, her dark magic has made it so Zelena is now ready to give birth, and, as she goes into labor, everyone rallies to protect her from Emma, who they figure needs the Wicked Witch's baby as a part of her spell to eradicate all light magic. But, when Emma shows up at the hospital, she reveals that it's not the baby she's after, proceeding to teleport both herself and Zelena back to her house. Zelena is chained up in the basement opposite Hook, and Emma explains that her plan isn't to get rid of light magic, but the darkness. She wants to remove it from herself and place it into a vessel - Zelena - and then she'll be able to strike it down using Excalibur and it will be gone forever. Zelena realizes that the reason her pregnancy was sped up was because Emma didn't want an innocent baby getting hurt in the process, and the darkened savior admits that she has limits. Hook denies this, not wanting her to kill, but she doesn't listen, and while she goes outside to freeze Regina, David and Mary Margaret in their tracks, Hook and Zelena escape. Hook uses squid ink to ensnare his girlfriend while Zelena fetches his dreamcatcher from the garage, revealing to him that he became a Dark One in Camelot. Destroyed by this, Hook plans to deal with his former lover before learning the rest.

Zelena places her anti-magic cuff onto Emma's wrist while Hook uses his dreamcatcher to extract her memories of what he's planning to do. She's later found by Mary Margaret who suggests that she give them all their memories back so that they can decipher the new Dark One's plan together, but Hook stole all the dreamcatchers. At Regina's house, Emma wants her cuff removed, but Henry refuses to let anyone do it because he no longer trusts his mother, to her devastation. She is left behind when the others leave to do some research, guarded by Merida and her bow. However, the warrior princess is knocked out by Hook, who proceeds to torment Emma by calling her an orphan and saying he wants to hurt her like she hurt him. She goes to find Henry in the library, needing his help to find those missing dreamcatchers, but doesn't ask him to take off the cuff to maintain some level of trust. He agrees, with her dubbing it Operation Cobra, Part 2, and the pair of them use a locator spell to find the dreamcatchers at the top of the clock tower. Emma can't get to them due to Hook's protection spell, but Henry finally trusts his mother enough to remove her cuff, and the two of them share a heartfelt hug of reconciliation. Back at Regina's office, everyone is given their respective dreamcatcher and Emma accesses them, returning the memories of the missing six weeks to everyone. She too now remembers what Hook is planning, and it's bad. Right now, he's opening a portal to the Underworld and allowing every single past Dark One to reenter the land of the living.

Emma and the other heroes split up to stop Hook, who has since summoned all the past Dark Ones from the Underworld. When with Henry, a run-in with Nimue leaves the boy shaken, and when re-grouping with the others, who have faced similar experiences, the heroes learn from Rumple that this was the mark of Charon, meaning that they will all soon be dragged to the Underworld. Unlike everyone else, however, Emma refuses to give up, and so she sets out with Regina to claim Excalibur, for Emma plans to absorb all of the darkness and have the former Evil Queen kill her to extinguish the Dark Ones. She drops the sword off at home before leaving a goodbye note at the diner for her parents, but when returning for Excalibur, she ends up losing it to Hook. Before the Charon arrives, Emma tries to make one final attempt at stopping the Dark Ones, but Nimue intervenes by magically constricting her throat. Though at first Hook does nothing to stop her, he finally comes to terms that he does in fact love Emma, and is unable to bare letting anything bad like this happen to her. He ends up absorbing all of the darkness into Excalibur, and begs for Emma to use the sword and kill him. Though reluctantly, the Dark Swan does, and is thus reverted from the Dark Swan and back into the woman she once was. Hook does as well, dropping to the ground dead shortly after, only to be mourned over by Emma. She cries as his body is taken away. Later on though, when alone at her own home, she hears the call of the Dark One's dagger. Originally having thought the darkness was destroyed when she killed Hook, it becomes apparent when meeting with Rumple that he in fact used magic on Excalibur, prior to giving it to her, in order to regain his Dark One powers after Hook died. Now knowing that her boyfriend's sacrifice was in vain, Emma threatens to go to Belle about everything if the Dark One does not help her resurrect Hook. Rumple succumbs to the blackmail, and opens a portal to the Underworld for he, Emma, the Charmings, Regina, Henry and Robin to go through and bring back the deceased pirate.

On her way to the Underworld, Emma is intercepted by Neal, who visits her in a dream and warns her not to do what she's about to do, fearing for her safety. She can't do that, wanting his help, but he reveals that he's in a better place, professing his love for her before allowing her to go about her business. She arrives in the Underworld with the others and is shocked to discover that it looks like a demented version of Storybrooke. They decide to split up in order to search for Hook but have little luck, and while this is happening Henry searches for Room 8 in Granny's Diner hoping to find his dad. Emma assures him of Neal's wellbeing before meeting Regina later and hearing that Cora plans on doing something drastic if her daughter doesn't leave the Underworld. She's arranged for a boat to collect her, but it's soon realized that they could all benefit from this if they use the Ale of Sinead, which is collected by Gold, to summon a vision of Hook so that he can tell them where he is and they can go and find him before the boat leaves. When they pour it over his grave and the vision appears though, he cannot see them, and he is bloody and beaten and burnt. Clearly he is undergoing some intense torture, to Emma's dismay, and she encourages the others to leave on Cora's boat while she stays behind and searches. Her parents refuse while Regina considers taking Henry and Robin, then deciding that she'd rather stay and help her friends as she witnesses her father ascend Mount Olympus. This causes the others to realize that every soul in the Underworld has unfinished business that they could help resolve, allowing them to move on, and Gold expresses his distaste for this plan. After having words with Emma, he storms off, while Henry dubs the heroes' new mission "Operation Firebird". The clock of the fallen clock tower then ticks, signifying a soul has exited the Underworld.

Regina, Robin and Henry are helping Emma search for Hook's prison when the former realizes that they can use the maps in her office to help. Robin and Henry leave to get them while Emma and Regina continue to try and track, eventually coming across blood splattered on a leaf. It is then that they discover the bleeding Megara, who escaped the same prison where Hook is being kept; as such, the three-headed hell hound Cerberus is after her, and Emma teleports them all to the Underworld version of her parents' apartment to get away. She realizes that this place is just lying in wait for her parents to die, and Meg begins to go on about how there's no hope of defeating this beast - but Mary Margaret thinks different; she knows who this beast is, and just who can defeat it. She tracks down Hercules, her childhood friend, and gets him to help, but a confrontation with Cerberus in the mines has him running. It is only because Hades - the god of this realm - calls off his pet that it does not kill the others, and he decides to give Emma a "message" from Killian. It's his hook, covered in blood, and Emma is distraught. She and the others are later attacked by Cerberus at the apartment but, this time, Hercules manages to defeat it... with the help of Mary Margaret and Meg. This not only allows Hercules and Megara to ascend Mount Olympus, but it makes Emma's mother realize that she doesn't want to be Mary Margaret anymore... she wants to be Snow White again. Her family is extremely supportive of this.

To Emma's surprise, Gold comes to her with an idea of how they could save Hook, proceeding to find his late wife Milah so that they can use her to cross the threshold to Hades' lair - a feat which can only be accomplished by the dead. After some initial awkwardness regarding the fact that Emma's been with both Milah's former lover and her son, the three of them go on to penetrate the barrier, which is located in the Underworld version of Emma's house. One their way to the River of Lost Souls, Emma tells Milah about her visit from Neal, explaining that he's in a better place and is happy. This comes as a comfort to both of his parents, who go on a boat procured by Rumple to the other side of the river along with the savior. Gold refuses to leave it once it's arrived, and Milah refuses to leave Gold in case he tries betraying them; as such, Emma goes alone to rescue Hook, who's being dangled by chains over the damning river. She manages to cross a beam and unrig him, leading to a happy reunion, but when they return to the boat... it's not there. Rumple has destroyed it and pushed Milah into the River of Lost Souls, condemning her for eternity. Of course, he doesn't admit this; he blames the event on Hades, who offered the Dark One passage home should he acquiesce to his requests. When they return to the house, Regina tries pulling out Emma's heart so that they can split it and resurrect Hook; however, her heart cannot be plucked, and they soon learn that the reason is Emma's name being carved into an Underworld headstone, along with Snow's and Regina's. Hades wanted Hook to pick which three of his rescuers would have to stay behind, but it seems he did the picking himself. They are technically dead and trapped in this world until further notice, which means that Emma's heart isn't viable.

Emma heals Hook's wounds but the two of them soon get into an argument about whether or not he deserves her forgiveness, with Emma believing that he does. It's cut short by the arrival of his brother Liam, who ends up mentioning that people who have gone up against Hades in the past have always spoken of a book. Emma thinks that maybe the key to defeating him is the Underworld version of Henry's storybook, and they decide to search for it at Mary Margaret's apartment; however, during the search, Emma is approached by Liam in private and told that he doesn't think she's good enough for Killian because she stopped him from dying a hero and now is preventing him from dying a noble death. After an encounter with the Apprentice, Henry reveals that the book is in the Sorcerer's mansion... but Liam gets to it before anyone else and tears out the pages containing Hades' story. This is due to a long-standing deal he has with Hades, which unravels when Emma catches him ditching the pages. Hook refuses to believe that his brother is a villain until after Emma storms off, at which point the brothers Jones are kidnapped by their old crew. Killian comes to terms with what his brother did, stemming from an event which happened years ago, and is able to forgive him, while Liam and the rest of the crew end up moving on together. This acceptance allows Hook to realize that maybe he is worth saving after all, and he and Emma share a kiss as he reveals that he definitely plans on coming home to Storybrooke with her once this is all over. Hades' story is still gone though, but Henry soon reveals that he has the Author's magic quill, having originally wanted to use it to resurrect Cruella De Vil to make Emma no longer a murderer. Now though, he wants to use it for good and help uncover Hades' story.

Henry wakes up having written new pages that he doesn't remember writing, but all they depict is Snow and David as they eat breakfast over at Granny's Diner. Emma and Regina try humoring him over this useless contribution to the cause, saying how it's very well-written and that the illustrations are lovely, and then they gently suggest that he tries focusing harder next time so that they can learn something about Hades. Unfortunately, this sends Henry into a strop, and he ends up storming off to his bedroom; Emma comments that they officially have a teenager on their hands. Zelena proceeds to return, and while Regina and Robin head out to help her find her baby - who is with Belle, who fell down a portal along with the Wicked Witch - Snow and David come back to the apartment and reveal that they attempted to "haunt" baby Neal via one of the Underworld's haunting booths. They don't know if it worked, and begin to ask Emma if it would have made a difference to her upbringing if she'd been able to hear their voices. Later, however, Henry descends the stairs having written about something else... his uncle. He doesn't remember writing this either. The page about Neal says how he fell asleep as soundly as if he was in his parents' arms as he heard them sing a lullaby. Snow and David are relieved that he heard them and the former declares that she's now ready to defeat Hades and get home to her family. She holds Emma's hand, saying her whole family.

Emma has a dream where she's removing the names from the graves when a storm hits and a creature emerges from it, killing Snow. This terrifies her when she awakes, but she remembers the spell to remove the names, and so when she and the others fail to break into Hades' lair she decides to test it out. Snow and Hook want to go with her, just like in the dream, and Emma grows reluctant. When she tries removing the names for real, a cyclone hits - the dream is coming true. Right on cue, a creature emerges, but Emma refuses to let Snow face it on the grounds of what she saw in what was apparently a vision of the future. As such, she orders them to run, and the three of them end up hiding out in Regina's vault. While down there, Emma admits to her mother that she died in her nightmare, hence her being so scared, and this is relayed to Regina when she discovers them all down there hiding like cowards. Eventually, Emma confesses that the reason this terrifies her so much is because she regrets bringing everyone with her to the Underworld, for now she's constantly afraid that a loved one is going to die. Snow assures her that she forced none of them to come and that some things are worth risking one's life for, such as love, and they decide to face this creature together like they always do. They hunt it down in the woods and manage to stun it, only for Snow to realize that it's actually Red Riding Hood in her wolf form. She drapes her friend's cloak over her body and deduces that Emma's vision was actually just warning her to help Red.

Ruby is brought back to the apartment where she eventually wakes up and reveals that she came to the Underworld in search of Zelena, who did something terrible to her friend Dorothy. Emma goes with Ruby, Snow and Regina in search of the Wicked Witch, who tries and fails to escape using the silver slippers she took from Dorothy's feet; she then reveals that the girl is under a sleeping curse, and since there's no one to administer true love's kiss she'll be like that forever. Regina manages to get the slippers from her sister and she and the others go to find Dorothy's deceased Auntie Em, hoping that her kiss can be captured and transferred over to Dorothy, while Snow learns that Hades has ordered all the phones to be ripped from the haunting booths. She worries that this means Storybrooke, and thus her son, is in danger and begins to fret, leading Emma to say that her parents should use the slippers to return home. Regina points out that Snow can't because her name is on a grave, meaning David has to be the one. Em is soon found but Hades liquefies her for helping the heroes, and, despite what Ruby says, Snow believes that there is someone else who could kiss Dorothy awake. She realizes that her best friend has feelings for this girl and encourages her to give it a shot, at the same time that Hook scratches Snow's name off the grave and puts David's in its place. David insists that Snow be the one to get home to their son, and she shares a tearful goodbye with her family before accompanying Ruby to Oz. After Dorothy is woken up, Emma is happy to see via Henry's writings that her mother returned to Storybrooke safely.

David heads out to gather supplies for Robin and his baby in the forest when he's ambushed by his twin brother James, who reveals that Cruella was wrong when she said what she did: he doesn't hate Charming because their mother chose him, he hates him because he got to have all the glory. David tries making a case for himself, protesting that it wasn't his fault either way, but this doesn't stop James from tasering him into unconsciousness. He decides that, since David got his chance to play the prince, he's going to try "playing the shepherd"; he proceeds to lock his twin brother up in the sheriff's station and he heads to the apartment, pretending to be David. Emma, who's missing her mother seems to be falling for the act as the two of them head out into the woods to give Robin the supplies, but then suddenly James slaps an anti-magic cuff on his niece's wrist, with Cruella having told him not to face the savior without one of them. Cruella herself then shows up, giving Emma a punch in the face for being the one who killed her, and she and James take Robin and the savior hostage, bringing them to the docks and threatening to throw them into the River of Lost Souls. It's all part of a plan to use Baby Hood as leverage against Hades. However, David soon shows up and saves the day, pointing out that it was stupid of James to lock him up in his own jail because he knows how to escape. The two princes then face off, and a lengthy fight ends with James being thrown into the river by his brother. Cruella flees the scene while David laments that there must have been another way, but Emma comforts him by saying that there was not; some people just can't let go of the past.

The others are shocked to hear that Regina, having made amends with her sister, encouraged Zelena to pursue her relationship with Hades, but the Wicked Witch was kidnapped by Rumple and Pan before she could arrive for her date. Hades approaches the heroes, wanting their help, and agrees to remove Emma and her comrades' names from their respective headstones in exchange for her rescuing Zelena. Emma fulfills her end, as does Hades, who is now able to leave the Underworld himself thanks to a kiss of true love from Zelena; this means that a portal to Storybrooke will soon be opening, but Hook can't go through it because he's still dead, and splitting Emma's heart won't work because the pirate's spirit has been absent from his body for too long. As such, he's going to need ambrosia, the food of the Gods, which is located in the very depths of the Underworld. He and Emma journey there, with the latter taking her heart in a pouch so that it may be offered for judgment, and arrive at a set of scales which declare that only true love may pass. Emma places her heart on the scales and suddenly Hook catches fire, at the same time that her absentee heart causes her pain. In that moment, she is forced to decide whether to save Hook or retrieve her heart, and she chooses to douse her boyfriend's flames. This proves that her love is true and she and Hook are allowed to proceed... but it's all a trick. Hades never intended for the heroes to follow him to Storybrooke, having killed all the ambrosia long ago. The others remain trapped by him in the library and Emma is forced to leave Hook behind because there truly is no hope for him anymore and he wants for their goodbye to be in private. He says that if he helped at all in removing her metaphorical "armor" then she isn't to put it back on just because she's losing him, and the two of them share a very emotional sendoff to one another as Emma returns to the others. She and Regina combine their magic to escape the library and head to the soon-to-be-closed portal. Emma lingers before going through, saying how her jacket is armor to protect her from being hurt by love, but from now on it will be a reminder to protect those she loves. She then goes through the portal, to home.

Emma and the others reunite with Snow, who learns of Hook's fate, right after the escape of King Arthur, who is discovered to have been murdered by Hades. Emma surmises that this is just the beginning, wanting to fight and kill Hades before he can do any more damage, but David stops her and tries telling her that this is no way to deal with her pain. The others act the same way towards her when she asks to go with Robin and Regina to rescue Baby Hood, and so she seeks out Mr. Gold, asking him how one goes about killing a God, but Rumple refuses to tell her, pointing out that she doesn't deserve his help because she started this whole mess in the first place. She heads to the library, where her family is busy doing research, and they encourage her to join them as a way of being helpful that isn't going up against a God without knowing how to fight him. Eventually agreeing, Emma sits down and begins going through some books... but then she spots the storybook which ends up opening itself up to reveal new pages all about Hades and how to kill him, sent by Hook from the Underworld. Emma is grateful, now knowing about the Olympian Crystal which is the only weapon powerful enough to kill a God, and she heads down to the town hall to try and break through Zelena's protection spell. Zelena herself confronts her, discovering the pages and realizing that she intends on killing her true love, and when she returns to Hades she discovers him having used the crystal to annihilate Robin. Regina convinces her of Hades' evil ways and finally Zelena is able to see the truth and stab him with the crystal. With Hades defeated, Emma believes Hook to have moved on, but the fact that he's really gone forces her to break down at his grave. She then attends Robin's funeral, thinking it's her fault that he died, but her sadness is lessened when Hook returns, having been resurrected by Zeus as a reward for helping in Hades' defeat.

Hook comes with Emma to Robin's wake and she wants to be delicate about revealing his resurrection to Regina; however, all delicateness goes out the window when the town is rocked by a beam of magic, caused by Gold tethering all of Storybrooke's magic to the Olympian Crystal. Regina is eager to find him and stop him from whatever he's doing, but Emma tells her to sit this one out because she's too emotional, which Regina finds heavily insulting - as does Henry, who overhears the whole thing. He proceeds to steal the crystal and take it all the way to New York along with Violet, thinking magic to be the source of all his family's problems and wanting to destroy it. Emma and Regina initially head to Boston looking for him, with him having hidden his phone on a separate bus, and it is there that they realize that - with the crystal out of town - magic is working in the land without magic. This means that Gold, who's currently tracking Henry down, has magic too, and so the ladies work in overdrive to track down their son. Emma's blood is used to locate him and they next head to Neal's apartment in New York, where Emma realizes Henry has been using the laptop. While she uses a device to recover his search history, Regina discovers a letter from Robin Hood, going on to reveal how the Evil Queen is always inside her trying to get out, which is why she was so upset when Emma feared her return. She talks about how she hates doing good because she's still punished for her past crimes, but Emma believes she can be a hero and reap the benefits. The laptop then tells them that Henry is at the Midtown library where they find he and Violet having been knocked out by Gold, who has the crystal back. Henry scolds Emma for believing that Evil Queen could return, and she apologizes for this. They then try to track Gold down, but he has made it so that only he can use magic, wanting it all for himself.

Emma and Regina leave Henry and Violet to wait at the library while they locate Gold's location after seeing a magic storm cloud above the hotel he has been staying at. Matters worsen though, for Emma receives a text from Granny regarding the well-beings of the Charmings, Hook and Zelena. Because magic is needed to rescue their loved ones, Regina goes to distract Gold so that Emma can steal back the Olympian Crystal; however, the Dark One catches the Savior before she can do so, having been aware of her presence the whole time. He just needed a hair from Regina as a link to Zelena in the other realm, where Belle is also trapped. With no further use for either woman, Gold prepares to kill them both, but Henry intervenes by using the Dark Grail to absorb the crystal's magic. It's only then that Henry learns of everyone's need for the crystal, but he storms off, claiming that none of this is his fault. Emma later finds him at a fountain with Violet, who she asks to leave for a moment so she can speak to her son alone. She offers Henry a penny to throw into the fountain and make a wish, but the blonde is reminded that only worked in New York City when he was with no memories of life in Storybrooke. He feels guilty for destroying magic, but believed it would help their family; now he realizes that it only made things worse. They seek out the Dragon for help, who shows the four lost heroes in the other realm, and from there they seek to bring back magic through the power of belief. First they all throw pennies into the fountain and make wishes, but when needing more than that, Henry calls for a crowd of New Yorkers. Soon enough, the four missing heroes appear, and Emma comforts Henry with the fact that for a moment in time he made people believe in magic. Before returning home, Emma and Snow support Regina as she separates the Evil Queen from herself and presumably kills her. Once back home, with everything fixed, Emma takes a moment with Hook to confess her love to him.

Season 6
While attempting to consummate their love, Emma and Hook are interrupted by a dirigible from the Land of Untold Stories which crashes in the woods, with Hyde, now claiming he owns the town, having brought it there. He is impervious to Emma and Regina's magic, and so a weapon is developed by Jekyll to bring him down while the dirigible's missing passengers are searched for. During this time, Emma has a strange vision of herself in a sword fight, and she has it again later when taking down Hyde with the weapon. As he's arrested, he claims to know what's going on with her hand tremors - a symptom of the visions - and so, after a talk with Archie where he states that her problems need a lot of time and hard work, she decides to get a quick fix by visiting Hyde and demanding to know what's happening to her. He tells her that if she wants answers then she need only follow the red bird, and it will lead her to one of his friends whom he brought with him. That night, while searching the woods for arrivals, Emma sees this red bird and is forced to blow off Hook in order to follow it, then discovering a girl calling herself the oracle. She explains that the visions are of Emma's future, and allows her to see herself being stabbed in the gut by her unknown opponent. At some point in the near future, Emma is going to die in battle, which Hyde later claims is the fate of all saviors. He points out that if she chooses to help the people from the Land of Untold Stories, who are now being given food and shelter, then one of them could end up being the villain who destroys her. This worries Emma, who proceeds to make things right with Hook and schedule more talks with Archie, but still she hides what's really going on in regards to her impending doom.

After Regina gives a rousing speech to the people of the Land of Untold Stories, Belle enters the diner and makes the fact that she's now awake known, as well as the fact that she seeks accommodation far from Rumple. While Hook sorts this out for her, Emma prepares to go to her first session with Archie, where she ends up confessing all about the visions she's been having about a hooded assailant who kills her in battle. Archie is curious as to why she has yet to tell her loved ones, and Emma fears that they'd tell her to stop doing what she's doing; to stop helping people, and she can't do that because then she wouldn't be the savior. Later, once it's known that her parents are being hunted by the Count of Monte Cristo, who arrived on the dirigible, Emma tries her best to drive them out of town, only to end up crashing into a protection spell that's been mysteriously put up. It's later learned that it was cast by the Evil Queen, who didn't quite die, and she forces Regina to darken herself by having her kill the Count. Emma and the others then theorize about what the Queen could have meant when she said that their untold stories will end up tearing them apart, and Emma starts to think about the visions. She returns to Archie and tells him that she wants to tell her family but can't yet because of the one person who wasn't in her vision: Regina. She worries that she might be the one in the hood, though doesn't know whether to fear her or the Evil Queen.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the character.