Prince Charming

"I will always find you."

David, more commonly known as Prince Charming (and with an alias of Prince James), is one of the main characters of Once Upon a Time. A prince with the blood of a pauper, David was born into a family of shepherds, unaware that he had a twin brother who was adopted by the King. When his brother died, David was brought in to replace him, eventually defying his new father's wishes by falling in love with the bandit Snow White and receiving his famed fairytale nickname. He went on to rule at her side and the two of them even conceived a child - the product of true love. However, when the Evil Queen enacts the Dark Curse, the baby must be placed into a magic wardrobe by her father and shipped off to our world. When the prince finally wakes up in the town of Storybrooke, Maine, it's after having spent 28 years in a coma as David Nolan, whose love for Mary Margaret ends up forsaking all his morals. Eventually the curse is broken though, and his noble side is re-established along with his marriage and the chance to start over with a new baby boy.

Before the Curse
"Did you ever doubt I would?"

A married couple of shepherds named Robert and Ruth bear a set of twin baby boys, naming them David and James. Unfortunately, their farm isn't much of a financial success, and both of their sons come down with colds for the winter-time. They can't afford medicine, which is where the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin, steps in. He explains how the very rich King George and his wife are unable to have children, while these two dirt poor shepherds have two. Wanting to strike a deal, he offers to medicate the children... in exchange for taking one of them to be raised as George's son. Ruth refuses this, wanting the imp to leave her home, but Rumple points out that she can either have one child survive the winter or two children who don't. It's Robert who realizes that Rumple is right and, knowing the two parents won't want to decide which of their babies to give up, the Dark One has him flip a coin. It comes up tails, and so James is taken to become a prince, while David remains behind to be raised a shepherd. Six years later, and Robert makes a name for himself as a drunkard around the village. He then hears word that Prince James has been abducted and, needing to step up and be a father and save his son, he decides to set out to find him. He tells David that he's going on a supply run, and so David gifts him with his lucky coin - also the very same coin used to determine his fate as a baby, not that he knows that. However, while out on the mission, Robert ends up mysteriously dead, with David always believing that he merely drunkenly crashed his cart into a ravine.

David is visited one day by a young woman going by the alias of Joan, who he soon realizes is the fiancée of his old friend Kristoff, from Arendelle. She explains that she's on a secret mission, but their conversation is cut short when a local warlord named Bo Peep stops by with a few members of her private army, threatening to take away David and Ruth's farm if they don't pay the money they owe her and "branding" the two of them with her magical shepherd's crook to make sure they don't escape, adding that the horse given to David by his father will buy them an extra day. "Joan" (whose real name is Anna) suggests that David fight this woman, in spite of him pointing out that it's a battle he can't win, because she believes they're the only battles worth fighting since there's no point fighting one you know you're not going to lose. He goes on to recount a story of his father, who died because he drunkenly steered his cart into a ravine after thirteen days of sobriety. Anna persuades him to her way of thinking and, to help make sure that he stands a fighting chance against Bo Peep, she trains him in the ways of sword fighting, which he picks up rather quickly. When David finds is unable to find Anna the next day, Bo Peep confronts him with Anna's necklace in tow, revealing she kidnapped her, and the warlord goads him into later confronting her in turn, where he manages to to defeat her, and her bodyguards, with his new found deft swordplay, stealing her magical crook and using it to free his new friend and return to her the necklace she lost. Ruth and David are able to keep their farm, and Anna - riding on David's father's horse, which he decided he needed to get rid of after all - goes off on her way with many thanks from the shepherd boy, getting the idea from his mother to visit Rumplestiltskin in order to further her secret mission.

Despite Wilby, David and Ruth's trusty sheepdog, being able to track down the shepherds' lost lamb, the cold of the night appears to have killed it and David is forced to report this to his mother, who frets that they cannot hope to maintain a flock at this rate. Given that their finances are in ruin, she thinks it may be time to sell the farm, even though she really doesn't want to. As such, she sends David to the nearby port town of Longbourne to find a buyer, and he sets off with Wilby in tow to do as his mother wishes. On the way, David encounters a man named Gabriel, who seems impressed with Wilby's ability to track. He befriends the shepherd, but soon offers him drugged water which causes him to pass out, so that he may steal his dog to track down a woman - Snow White, not that David knows this - he's hoping to collect bounty on. David, upon waking up, proceeds to find this woman when Wilby comes back to lead him to her, and she is locked up in the back of Gabriel's wagon. She tells him to run lest Gabriel return and harm him, but he tries freeing her anyway, and indeed the Woodcutter returns and engages in a struggle with the shepherd. With the woman's help, when she punches a hole in the wagon, David is able to win the struggle. He wants to free the woman still, but she won't allow him to see her face because she's a wanted criminal, and so they simply interact through the small hole. She hears of his financial woes and decides to give him the money she was going to use to flee the kingdom, as a reward for saving her life, while she also receives the idea to delve into banditry.

When King George's son, Prince James, is killed after being selected by King Midas to slay a fearsome dragon which plagues the kingdom, he must think fast or risk losing all the riches promised to him by Midas should the dragon be killed. As such, he makes a deal with Rumplestiltskin, thinking he will be given back his son; however, he soon learns that no magic can raise the dead, and instead the Dark One plans on collecting David - James' twin brother - and training him to be a prince. David's mother Ruth approaches him one day as he's herding sheep on the family farm and tells him that a girl in the village is available for marriage, but David wants to marry for love, believing it to be the only thing in his life he has any control over. They are then approached by Rumple and the truth comes out regarding David's twin brother, who was taken at birth and given to the king if Ruth and her husband were going to hold onto the farm. Rumple talks David into being a grand hero and he agrees to pose as James and slay the dragon - something he surprisingly succeeds at doing by using some of the tactics he learned while herding sheep. As a reward, Midas offers him his daughter, Princess Abigail, whom he'd like to have married off. King George threatens David into complying, saying he will kill his mother and burn his farm to the ground if he does not, and he must tearfully say goodbye to Ruth as he leaves to live life as a prince full time, something he never wanted. Before he does, she gives him her engagement ring, and he must later give it to Abigail as a symbol of their union, even though he only ever wanted to give it to his true love. He and Abigail take a carriage together to King Midas' castle and decide to take the scenic route. Little do they know that the bandit Snow White is on the prowl, looking for a carriage to rob.

Snow robs David and Abigail's carriage, taking the former's pouch of jewels as she does so. The prince chases her on horseback and eventually catches up to her, however, when he is shocked to discover that she is a woman, she uses this distraction to beat him round the face and ride away. The prince promises to find her and later sets a trap in the woods, causing Snow to get caught in a net, at which time she nicknames him "Prince Charming". He recognizes Snow from the queen's wanted posters and tells her that he will turn her in if she does not help him get his mother's ring back, but she has already sold it to the trolls. She agrees to help him and gets cut down, and as the two of them travel together, they stop at a river. As Charming takes a drink, Snow pushes him into the water and runs, however, she is attacked by some of the queen's soldiers. As they are about to kill her, Prince Charming kills all of them, and Snow thanks him for rescuing her. They then make it to the Troll Bridge where Snow warns Charming to remain silent as trolls are bloodthirsty. When Snow tries to bargain the ring back, the trolls believe it is a set-up and attack Charming. Snow runs away but soon realizes Charming is being overpowered, and so returns and uses some dark fairy dust she had been planning to use on Regina on the trolls, turning them into cockroaches. Charming gets his ring back and tells Snow that his name is James (although this is his brother's name), but the princess tells him that she prefers Charming. The two then part ways but seem sad about it, having inadvertently fallen in love on their journey.

Snow White is completely devastated that she cannot be with Prince Charming, whom she is in love with, and decides to go to Rumplestiltskin to retrieve a potion that would wipe Charming from her mind, in exchange for some of her hair. Snow is hesitant to take it and so puts it off. Meanwhile, Charming is still engaged to a woman that he does not love and craves Snow White; he sends her a letter via dove which states a meeting place should she want to run away with him. Snow receives the note and decides she must find Charming. Snow gets caught almost immediately after stepping foot on the palace grounds and is thrown into the dungeons with Grumpy, a dwarf, but is freed by his friend Stealthy. The three of them try sneaking out but are caught and Stealthy is killed by an arrow while Grumpy is taken. Snow admits who she is to save him but instead of being locked up again, she is taken to King George. He tells her that she must tell Prince Charming that she doesn't love him; Snow wonders why she would do that and he tells her that if she doesn't, he would kill Charming. Snow finds Charming who is excited to see her, however, she tells him that she doesn't reciprocate his feelings and that she doesn't want anything to do with him, leaving both him and her devastated. Charming must now go through with his wedding and Snow takes her potion, subtracting him from her memory completely.

The days leading up to Prince Charming's wedding to Princess Abigail are growing few and Charming begins to panic as he is still in love with Snow White. He runs away to find his true love and royal guards are sent out to find him; however, he is first captured by Abigail herself. He apologizes but she tells him that there is no need as she does not want to marry him either - her true love is another, Frederick. She takes him to a gazebo where a golden statue of Frederick stands, however, Charming soon learns it's not a statue, it's Frederick himself, having been accidentally turned to gold by King Midas. Abigail tells Charming that if he retrieves some water from a lake with magical (Lake Nostos) properties to free Frederick, she will help him find his true love, Snow. He travels to the lake and has a run-in with the siren that guards it. After failing to seduce him, the siren takes Snow White's form and kisses Prince Charming, which he doesn't seem to be too unhappy about. She then drags him down to the depths as they kiss but is betrayed by Charming when he stabs and kills her. The prince collects some water from the lake and pours it over Frederick, reviving him. Frederick thanks Charming by giving him his horse which Charming uses to find Snow White. Charming learns from Red Riding Hood that Snow loves him, but the two are chased away by King George's men, who wants the prince's head for abandoning the wedding.

Charming manages to lose King George's men thanks to Red Riding Hood, who turns into a wolf and eats them. Meanwhile, Snow White is now living with the seven dwarfs but is angry all the time, due to the potion she took subtracting her love. She, however, thinks it is down to her hatred of Regina and decides to kill her. However, the dwarfs convince her to first go to Rumplestiltskin to get him to reverse the effects of the potion. Prince Charming hears of this and decides to follow her, and when Snow gets there, Rumple tells her that there is no antidote for the potion and goes onto say that true love is the most powerful magic there is, gesturing the empty space on his shelf signifying that he was never able to bottle it. Snow goes on to ask him if he has anything to help her kill Regina,and so he gives her a magic bow that never misses its target. When Charming arrives, Snow has already gone and he is faced with Rumplestiltskin. He is told that if Snow were to kill Regina, she would become just as evil as the woman she kills. Charming cannot allow this and asks for her whereabouts. Rumple gives it to him in exchange for the prince's cape, and Charming, finding this suspicious but ultimately not caring, obliges and leaves. When he finds Snow, she doesn't remember who he is and ties him up, the kiss failing because she no longer loves him. Jiminy Cricket frees the prince for a second chance, and when he once again finds the princess she is about to fire at Regina. He thusly dives in the way and takes the arrow to the shoulder. Snow realizes how much he must truly love her and when they kiss again, her memories are restored. She remembers who he is and how much she loves him. However, it isn't for long when Charming is found by King George's men, who cart him away while Snow promises to find and rescue him. Rumplestiltskin, meanwhile, takes a hair from Charming's cloak and combines it with Snow's, finally bottling true love.

George is about to have Charming beheaded for abandoning his post when Regina interrupts, promising to give the king as much money as Midas would have given him... should he hand over the prince. King George wonders why she would want him and Regina reveals that she plans to use him to hurt his one true love, Snow White, before taking him away and locking him in her dungeon. Snow, meanwhile, bands all her friends together to rescue her prince from George's dungeon. As such, when he arrives, he isn't there - only a magic mirror through which he's able to talk to her. Regina, who already revealed to Charming that she plans to use a poisoned apple against Snow, makes a parley with the bandit and the two of them meet in the fields where they first encountered one another. Regina offers Snow the forbidden fruit and threatens to kill Charming if she doesn't eat it. Snow obliges, taking a bite and falling into a sleeping curse. Charming feels that his true love is in danger and begins screaming out for her.

Charming is freed from Regina's clutches with a little help from the Huntsman and goes to find Snow White, who remains in a sleeping curse thanks to the Evil Queen. However, aware of his escape, Regina transports the prince to the Infinite Forest - from which he shouldn't be able to escape. There, he encounters Rumplestiltskin, who steals his mother's ring and puts an enchantment upon it which should glow the closer he gets to Snow... but he will only give it back to him for a price. Charming tries to avoid making a deal with the Dark One by challenging him to a sword fight, which he loses. The price he must pay is placing and egg with love potion in it with the sorceress Maleficent. Charming confronts the sorceress who seems harmless, until she turns into a raging dragon. Charming struggles against her but soon manages to overpower the beast and place the egg inside her her. Charming gets the ring back from Rumple, who dresses him in more princely attire, and goes to find Snow White.

Using the location spell put upon his mother's ring by Rumplestiltskin, Charming is able to track down his princess, riding his steed along the beach and eventually discovering her in a glass coffin out in the woods, surrounded by the seven dwarfs. Believing her to be dead, they regretfully inform him that he's too late and that the princess is gone. Charming refuses to believe this though, demanding that the coffin be opened up so that he can at least be given the chance to say goodbye; and then, although she seems so without hope, he gives her a kiss, and a pulse of pure love spreads across the land. True love's kiss is enough to break Snow's curse, and with a deep breath she wakes up to be greeted by her prince. She states with great glee that he found her, to which he asks if she ever doubted he would. Snow says that, honestly, the glass coffin gave her pause, but he promises with all his heart that, no matter what, he will always find her. ("Pilot"/"A Land Without Magic"/"Lost Girl")

Now awake, Snow White takes a little stroll with her prince by the lake outside King George's castle. Curious, she proceeds to ask him just how he succeeded in finding her, at which he takes out his mother's ring and explains to whom it belonged, and how it got him back to his love. And now, he claims, he never wants it off Snow's finger, and so he gets down on one knee and asks the princess if she'd like to marry him. Snow, obviously wanting this, replies by asking him what he thinks, and he joyously slides the ring onto the appropriate finger and allows her to stare at it there, the two of them now officially engaged. It should be a happy moment, as is marked by their kiss, but Charming can tell that there's something wrong when Snow pulls away, and she points out that there's still the matter of his father and her stepmother. He's open to suggestions on how to go about dealing with this matter, and so Snow suggests that they take back the kingdom from these two evil tyrants, pointing out that they should be able to succeed because they'll be doing it the same way they're going to be doing everything else from now on: together. ("A Land Without Magic"/"Lost Girl")

Charming, Snow and the dwarfs rally up a group of villagers and tell them of their intentions to take back the kingdom. The villagers are supportive of this, until it comes to the prospect of doing battle with the Evil Queen. Regina then arrives at this meeting, causing all the villagers to hide, and tells Snow that she can live happily with her prince and the dwarfs so long as she gives up any claim she has to the throne. Snow contemplates accepting the Queen's offer, much to Charming's dismay, which leads the dwarfs to believe he may only be in a relationship with Snow so that he has his own claim to the crown. The prince then visits Rumplestiltskin to ask him for a way to vanquish the Queen, but Rumple knows of no way, and Charming is forced to leave. However, he gets an idea, and leads Snow to a fake version of Excalibur, the most powerful sword in all the realms, and she is able to pull it from the stone its encased in with ease, after Charming pretends not to be able to. This then infuses Snow with the confidence she needs to overcome Regina, and the Queen assures Snow that they'll be seeing each other on the battlefield. This makes the dwarfs accept Charming as Snow's soul mate, but the princess is furious when she discovers the sword was a fake. Charming explains that he needed her to believe something he already knew: that she's able to defeat the Evil Queen on her own merits. Snow forgives her prince with a kiss.

The royal council is under attack from King George's men who must be battled, off, Charming tells Snow to go to "the cabin" to wait with his mother, Ruth, until he meets her, however, Snow is captured and poisoned by George into not being able to have any children. Charming goes to his mother who is excited about meeting her future daughter-in-law, however, Charming hears an attack and tells his mother to go inside, he fights off George's soldiers, killing them, but he soon sees that his mother has been hit in the chest by an arrow. At this point, Snow and Lancelot arrives, and the brave knight diagnosis that the arrow is poisoned and can therefore not be cured, Charming decides to go to Lake Nostos, however, when they arrive, they see that the lake is empty. Charming and Lancelot manage to find one last morsel of water and give it to his mother, however, it does not work, her dying wish is that she see her son's wedding, so Lancelot marries Snow and Charming there by the lake, Ruth sadly dies. It is soon revealed that Ruth never took the sip and it was slipped into Snow's cup, allowing her to once again have children with her love.

On the Evil Queen's birthday she's up to her usual tricks terrorizing a village for information on Snow White's whereabouts. Snow, supported by Charming and the seven dwarfs, shows up just after Regina has finished disposing of one of the villagers, warning her that she's surrounded and saying that they should end this now once and for all. However, Regina instead decides to teleport away, receiving a lecture from her father about how she should let go of her anger towards Snow lest she become her mother. Regina refuses, and so Henry, after trying and failing to reason with Cora, sends a message to Snow White asking to meet with her. She agrees, toting her bow and arrow when she discovers him in the woods, but he suddenly rips her heart out... it's not Henry; it's Cora in disguise, and she tells Snow to forget what happened and go enjoy her final moments. Snow's heart is delivered as a birthday present to Regina, and the Evil Queen takes great pleasure in watching Snow writhe in pain as she squeezes it. As it turns out though, Snow is only writhing around because Jiminy Cricket has become trapped beneath her clothes, and her heart was given back to her and switched by the Queen's father. She, Charming and the dwarfs cointinue to have a good time at the tavern they're drinking at.

Snow and Charming overthrow Regina's army in battle and rouse in the Evil Queen herself into following Snow White so that the Blue Fairy may ensnare her with fairy dust so that they may take her prisoner. The royal council meets and Charming, along with many others, agree that Regina should be executed. After the meeting is over, Snow voices her lack of sureness over this, however, Charming reminds her that every act he's seen from Regina has been one of evil. Snow says that she saved her life once, but Charming says that that woman is gone. At the execution, Regina's final words are that she regrets not being able to cause more pain, more death and above all, not being able to kill Snow White. Charming orders the archers to fire but Snow steps in, telling them to stop and saving Regina's life in the process, Charming is confused and Snow tells him that killing is not the way as there's no coming back from it. Regina is taken back to her cell where Snow, with Rumplestiltskin's help, tests her repentance. The princess sets the Queen free and Regina proceeds to strangle Snow and stab her with the knife intended for her, however, it has no affect due to the protection spell Rumple has put over Snow with a strand of Regina's hair. Charming and Snow banish the Queen with the threat of death if she ever harms anyone in their kingdom again.

The Evil Queen breaks the terms of Snow's threat by razing yet another village to the ground, but the latter, along with her royal entourage, discovers a survivor named Edmond amid the place's remains, and she and Charming decide to give him a job as their wine steward as a way of providing his life with meaning again. Of course, they are unaware that he is in fact the Count of Monte Cristo, and that Regina has hired him to kill them since she, currently, cannot. Later, Edmond plans on murdering the royal couple using poison, only to learn that Snow's handmaiden Charlotte - who reminds him of his dead true love - is to be dining with them that night, for she leaves in the morning. Since she's about to drink the same poisoned wine as his intended victims, Edmond halts the whole thing and offers to go get them a better bottle from the cellar, meaning Snow and Charming's lives are spared. Unfortunately for Edmond, though, Charlotte is poisoned anyway by Rumplestiltskin, who needs to ensure Snow and Charming's safety for his plans. He sends Edmond to the Land of Untold Stories to allow his tale to pause, meaning there's no chance he'll try killing on the Queen's behalf again, while the Charmings go steward-less for the time being.

Prince Charming and Snow White say their vows and wed so that they may live happily ever after... for about three seconds until their wedding is crashed by Queen Regina. Regina apologizes for being "late" and Charming and Snow note that she's not queen anymore, and is nothing more than an evil witch. Regina, publicly, announces that she will destroy their happiness if it is the last thing she does. Prince Charming finally snaps after Regina threatens the entire kingdom with a curse and throws his sword at her, however, Regina becomes a cloud of black smoke and disappears, taking the sword with her. ("Pilot"/"The Thing You Love Most"/"The New Neverland")

Snow is livid after Regina makes her threat, 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 planned 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 and 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.

A grand ball is held at the palace of the bachelor Prince Thomas and his father, the King, and a whole host of royal guests are invited - including Snow White and Prince Charming. While there, Snow bumps into a girl named Ella, often called Cinderella by her wicked stepsisters, who assures that she is no real princess and is in fact just an ordinary girl playing dress up for the night. However, Snow doubts very much that the girl is ordinary, then pointing out that Prince Thomas can't stop staring at her and saying that he apparently thinks the same. Ella is taken aback by the prince's interest, asking Snow if she thinks he could be her Charming, but Snow, as her own prince approaches, tells the girl that that name's already taken. Snow and Charming then go off and dance together, while Thomas dances with the mysterious girl in the glass slippers. He falls in love with her and, after Snow helps him track her down, he proposes.

Prince Thomas marries a girl named Cinderella and Snow White 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 becomes pregnant with Prince Charming's child but is unable to celebrate as she still believes that Regina 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.

As the Dark Curse is coming, Snow goes into labor and gives birth to a baby girl, just as the castle becomes under attack by the Evil Queen's forces. She tells her husband that he has to get Emma to the wardrobe as they must believe that she'll return in twenty-eight years to save them, and so Prince Charming battles his way past Regina's men and manages to get his baby safely to the new world, however, he is cut down in the process. Snow is devastated to find Charming's body but is soon approached by Regina herself, who assures her that, soon enough, Snow shan't even remember she knew Charming, let alone loved him. The curse begins to envelop the castle as well as Regina and Snow, and the latter asks where they're going. Regina tells her stepdaughter that they're going somewhere horrible, where the only happy ending shall be hers. They are then transported to our world...

Early Life
"He's been like this as long as I've been volunteering."

- Mary Margaret Blanchard

After the Dark Curse hits, Prince Charming becomes trapped in Storybrooke, Maine with the new identity of David Nolan, however, due to the stab wounds he retained from one of the Evil Queen's knights, his Storybrooke persona is stuck as a John Doe patient in a coma at Storybrooke General Hospital. On the first day of the curse, Mayor Regina Mills visits Mary Margaret Blanchard, Snow White's counterpart, as she's teaching her class and tells the teacher to follow her. The teacher is led to the hospital where David is being contained and Regina asks her if she knows who he is. Mary Margaret says that she does not, which makes Regina rather happy. The former the suggests that maybe someone who loves the John Doe will come and find him, and Regina states that that would be nice for him, before saying she doubts it. From then on, everyday that Regina visits the hospital, she sees Mary Margaret volunteering and visiting the John Doe.

A decade into the curse and Mary Margaret makes her usual trip to the hospital in order to see John Doe. On her way, she bumps into Mayor Mills and her flowers become ruined, with the Mayor proceeding to taunt her about how John Doe will never wake up, but then Mary Margaret discovers a mysterious pink flower and decides to bring that with her instead, and the magic dust it emanates causes the coma patient to both wake up and remember his identity as Prince Charming. Making contact with both him and the dust causes Mary Margaret to remember who she is as well - Snow White - and together they work to sneak out of the hospital. While Charming goes to get help from Mr. Gold - or rather, Rumplestiltskin - Snow distracts Regina and the townspeople by leading a wild goose chase for "John Doe" into the woods. Gold's memory is triggered by the name "Emma" and he's able to offer some guidance. Snow soon reconvenes with Charming, who knows from Rumple that the flower that woke them up is a pixie flower capable of reuniting someone with their true love, which means it can reunite them with Emma. But, Rumple actually doesn't want them to do that, because then she will never become the savior and break the curse, and he offers them some forgetting potion that he plans to drink. They use the pixie magic to open a portal to their daughter, but Snow can't let everyone she knows remain cursed just so her family can be happy, and so she and her husband decide to drink the potion and return to their cursed states for a further eighteen years.

Season 1
"The right thing to do... was not to lead me on."

- Mary Margaret Blanchard

At the local hospital, Mary Margaret is seen volunteering, decorating the bedside tables of the patients with small flower vases. She puts one down on a table and an elderly person reaches their hand to her, which she takes. In a separate room, the label reading "John Doe" can be seen on a patient's wrist. Mary Margaret enters the room and leaves a flower arrangement on the table. The patient is the real-world counterpart of Prince Charming, who is in a coma. Mary Margaret doesn't seem to even recognize him, and quickly leaves the room.

When Mary Margaret's class go to the hospital which she volunteers at, Henry notices a John Doe and believes him to be Prince Charming. Mary Margaret is skeptical, naturally, and they take the case to Emma who agrees with Henry that Mary Margaret should read to him to see if it jogs his memory, she later reveals that the real reason is so that Henry can realize that the curse isn't real. Later, at the hospital, Mary Margaret is reading to John Doe the story of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" from Henry's storybook and he squeezes her hand, Mary Margaret, shocked, immediately alerts the doctors, however, Dr. Whale tells her that it was probably nothing. It is then revealed that he was lying in aid of Regina. Soon enough, John Doe goes missing and Mary Margaret, Emma, Sheriff Graham and Henry go into the woods looking for him. They are alarmed to find his tag with blood on it but are relieved to find him, awake, with no memory, near the toll bridge. John Doe is taken back to the hospital, very lucky to be alive, and, a hopeful Mary Margaret goes to talk to him when a certain someone shows up: Kathryn Nolan, his wife. John Doe is revealed to be David Nolan and Mary Margaret is devastated that she missed her chance with him. Emma wonders how, after all this time, Kathryn shows up now, Regina assures her that she found him using Emma's idea to check surveillance tapes, Emma thinks this is bull.

While the other residents of Storybrooke are more concerned with the collapsing mine shaft, Mary Margaret continues to visit David who is still hospitalized, it appears he is enjoying her company when he has it. He also starts to wonder how he ended up in the hospital. In between Mary Margaret's visits, David is visited by his wife, Kathryn, who keeps on showing him photographs of his past life to try and regain his memory. David pretends to remember his dog to get his wife to stop and later tells Mary Margaret that he still doesn't remember. Whilst out on stroll with her, David tells Mary Margaret that he feels like he knows Kathryn, but doesn't actually feel anything for her, he goes on to say that the only thing that makes sense to him since he woke up, is her. Mary Margaret is shocked but cannot respond as they are interrupted by Kathryn who continues with David. Springing from this, Mary Margaret resigns as a volunteer at the hospital to avoid David.

Kathryn brings David home from the hospital where he is greeted by all of his old friends. He soon finds Emma and Henry and asks Emma the whereabouts of Mary Margaret, Emma tells him that she opted not to come. David sneaks out of his own party to find Mary Margaret hanging a bird house in a tree, he informs her that he didn't choose Kathryn and doesn't love her, he tells Mary Margaret that he is in love with her. Later that night, Emma finds Mary Margaret angrily washing dishes and figures out what is going on, her advice to her friend is to let David figure out his own life but advises her not to date a married man. The next day, Mary Margaret is told by Regina to stay away from David, who, Mary Margaret finds out, has now left his wife. David tells Mary Margaret that he will be on the toll bridge later that night and if she chooses to meet him there, they will be together, and if she doesn't, he will back off. Mary Margaret is talked into going by Emma, who thinks the fact that David left his wife for her is reason enough, so Mary Margaret waits that night on the toll bridge. David is looking at a map of Storybrooke and asks Regina directions to the bridge, she gives him fake ones which lead him to Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer, Mr. Gold gives him the correct directions to the toll bridge, but, David turns around to see a windmill that he thinks used to belong to him due to something that Kathryn earlier said, he then begins to remember his life pre-coma. David goes to the toll bridge and tells Mary Margaret that he chooses Kathryn, devastating her.

At the Town Hall, some men are setting up a banner announcing the Sheriff's election debate. Mary Margaret is nearby sticking up posters in favor for Emma on an announcements board. She goes around to the other side and is shocked to see David. Pleased to see him, she says hi, and he says hi back, seemingly pleased to see her. She tells him she was just putting up posters, so he explains he was too. She awkwardly asks how things are, so he tells her they're good and announces a job he got at the animal shelter; Mary Margaret seems proud. She then looks over to David's posters and notices he is putting them up for Sidney. David explains that Kathryn is friends with Regina, so that's why he's supporting him. Clearly hurt by the mention of Kathryn, Mary Margaret awkwardly understands and then asks how she is. David tells her Kathryn is good and she'll be meeting him at the Town Hall later. Mary Margaret angrily begins to staple her final poster onto the board and then she leaves in a hurry, stating she needs more posters.

In the morning, Mary Margaret gets dressed in a hurry, telling Emma that she is late for a science fair, this is a lie as revealed when she walks into Granny's Bed and Breakfast to be there when David walks in to get coffee for he and Kathryn. Emma soon walks in and busts Mary Margaret, telling her that she can always spot a liar. Emma tells Mary Margaret to stop what she's doing as she will just end up getting hurt, Mary Margaret obliges and is later seen buying chocolate, she bumps into Kathryn and sees that she is buying a pregnancy test. Later that day, Mary Margaret finds a baby dove trapped in some wire mesh and takes it down to the animal shelter where David works, she is told that it must be returned to its flock or it will be alone and unhappy for the rest of its life. Mary Margaret does not allow this to happen and drives the dove out to the woods, followed by David despite her declining his offer to help. Mary Margaret is trying to rescue the dove but endangers herself when she falls onto a cliff-ledge. Luckily, she is rescued by David. She admits that she has been going to Granny's everyday at 7:15 to see him, he admits that he has been going for the same reason at the same time, to see her. The dove is freed and Kathryn's pregnancy scare is revealed to be a false alarm, Mary Margaret tells David that they must stay away from each other, however, they find this so unbearable that they actually kiss, this is viewed by Regina.

David texts Mary Margaret to meet him at their special place, the Toll Bridge. Mary Margaret walks up behind him eagerly and tells him that she received his text. David grabs Mary Margaret's arm and mysteriously tells her to follow him. As David leads Mary Margaret alongside a river, she becomes worried. She tells him that he's scaring her and asks what's wrong. David tells her the thing that is wrong is that she's late. They then arrive at a small picnic that David has set up. He adds that the wine is getting warm. Touched, Mary Margaret kisses David. Giggling, she tells him they have to stop doing this, but he says they've only just started. She asks him for them to figure out what they're doing, so he says they will...tomorrow. Mary Margaret agrees with tomorrow and then they continue to kiss by their picnic. Later, Mary Margaret cannot say where she's been which creates an awkward situation.

At Granny's, Mary Margaret and David converse from separate tables, still hiding their scandalous affair, until they're interrupted by Emma who begins to ask Mary Margaret about Henry. David is later seen buying two Valentine's Day cards, one for Kathryn, and one for Mary Margaret. David interrupts Mary Margaret's girls' night out to give her the card but accidentally hands her the one intended for Kathryn. This upsets Mary Margaret deeply as she finally comes to terms with what she has been doing, she walks away after telling David that she always thought that if two people were really meant to be together, they'd find away, but that maybe her and him need to find another way.

Kathryn announces to David that she's been accepted into law school in Boston and intends to go, David is worried about this and tells his wife that he needs to take a walk, however, he leaves out the fact that the walk is with Mary Margaret, his mistress. Mary Margaret insists that David finally tell Kathryn the truth about them and David obliges, however, when push comes to shove, David wimps-out and tells Kathryn that he is leaving her because ever since the coma, he hasn't really reconnected with her. David then lies and tells Mary Margaret that Kathryn knows everything, well, he thinks he is lying, but little does he know that Kathryn is busy finding out the truth about the affair from Regina. Kathryn then humiliates and slaps Mary Margaret in public and the entire town knows of the affair, Mary Margaret comes across David washing the word "TRAMP" from her car, she confronts him about him lying to her. His explanation is that he didn't want anyone to get hurt, it is noted that he failed at that miserably, and Mary Margaret tells him that what they have is destructive and must stop, she severs their relationship and is left the town harlot. Kathryn tells Regina that she intends to go to Boston alone and explains that she never really loved David either, she left a note for him and she leaves, however, Regina breaks in using her skeleton keys, finds the note to David telling him to seize his chances with Mary Margaret, and Regina burns it in her fireplace.

Emma Swan, the sheriff of Storybrooke, investigates the disappearance of Kathryn Nolan, there was a crash of her car on her way out of town and she had vanished, with all of her luggage still in the trunk. David is taken into questioning and swears that he knows nothing of Kathryn's sudden vanishing, Emma, always being able to spot a liar, believes him. Contrary to Emma's beliefs on the matter and David's pleading, the phone records (of course, provided by Regina) say otherwise and implicate that David is guilty. Emma refuses to take him into custody but after Regina points out how unethical she is being, Emma forces herself to do so. At the miner's day festival, David sees Mary Margaret sell candles and she, in-turn, sees him get taken into the back of the sheriff's car and taken into custody.

Over at the sheriff's office, Emma begins to ask David a few questions regarding Kathryn's disappearance. David assures her that he didn't do anything to hurt Kathryn, Emma tells him that she knows liars and says that liars actually have better material, she lets him go, convinced that he had nothing to do with the crime. Later, Mary Margaret finds David near the spot where the disappearance of Kathryn occurred, he is acting rather strangely and keeps repeating to her that he has to find his wife, before walking away. Mary Margaret reports the scene ton Emma and her and Ruby go out into the woods to find him, Red eventually sniffs him out and they discover that he has no memory since he was questioned by Emma the previous day. David begins to believe that, due to his intense blackouts, he could have killed Kathryn and not even had known it. However, later, a human heart is found (presumably Kathryn's) in a box by Ruby, and the fingerprints on the box implicate that Mary Margaret is in fact guilty, no David.

Mary Margaret is taken into custody for murdering Kathryn, to which she finds ridiculous. David goes to Regina to tell her that he believes in Mary Margaret's innocence, however, Regina tells him that everybody has their dark side, even the nicest of us. She states to David that evil isn't born, it's made. David tries to implicate himself in the murder by blaming the blackouts, however, Regina refuses to believe him. This worries David who goes to see Dr. Archie Hopper regarding his blackouts, in the session, he goes under intense hypnosis and begins to remember a part of his life as Prince Charming, telling Snow not to kill Regina, however, it's fuzzy to him and he believes this is a scene from one of his black outs telling Mary Margaret not to kill Kathryn. He now finds himself doubting her innocence and visits her in her cell, he reluctantly asks her if she had anything to do with Kathryn's disappearance. Mary Margaret, shocked and appalled that David doesn't believe her, tells him to leave, he does so. Later on, Mary Margaret finds a key under her pillow and leaves her cell. However, she returns.

David catches up to Emma when coming out of the diner and tries to apologize for accidentally accusing Mary Margaret of murdering his wife. He tells her that he misspoke and believes in her innocence, Emma stops him there, telling him that what Mary Margaret needs right now isn't his words, but a miracle. As Mary Margaret's upcoming court-date comes closer and closer, she begins to panic as there is little or no defense against her due to such strong evidence. However, Emma gets that miracle that she prayed for when she sees Ruby running out of the parking lot, screaming, Emma investigates and sees a woman lying there, the woman turns around, it's Kathryn, and she's still alive!

It is discovered that Kathryn was kidnapped, drugged, and kept in some guy's, she doesn't know whose, basement. David comes to visit her at the hospital and apologizes to her for everything that happened between them, Kathryn assures him that there is no need to apologize for realizing that they weren't right for each other. David then shows up at Mary Margaret's welcome home party, however, Mary Margaret doesn't want him there and signals this to Emma who tells David to take Henry home, he is forced to oblige. Later, David finally manages to catch up to Mary Margaret and apologize for implying that she was guilty, Mary Margaret leaves, unable to accept his apology as she was hurt very deeply by what he accused her of.

Hours later, David locks up the shelter when he sees Regina across the street struggling with her car, and he offers her a ride home. At first she refuses, but eventually accepts. When they arrive at her house, she offers for him to stay for dinner, but David declines, saying that he needs to be up early for work the next day. Regina then picks up a blank card claiming Henry has left a note saying that he is having dinner with Archie after his session instead of coming home, so David decides to stay out of pity for the mayor. During their dinner together, David compliments her lasagna, and assists with dishes, while Regina thanks him for his kindness. As David thanks Regina for taking care of him, Regina in turn tells David the story of how she found him: After a night of work that was later than usual due to a misplaced phone, Regina found David on the side of the road, nearly frozen to death. After telling her story, Regina moves in to kiss David, but he rejects her, telling her things are great as is and thanks her again for dinner before leaving. As David heads home, a furious Regina stares at the mirror in the hallway before smashing it by throwing her glass of wine at it.

One night, Regina is has a terrifying nightmare in which the people of Storybrooke become aware of their past selves and seek vengeance against her. David is a part of the dream, and watches as people tie Regina to an apple tree in the middle of the road, out in Main Street. Regina begs to be let go, to which Ruby replies that they won't, not after what she's done to them. Mary Margaret points out that she took her and David's love and tore it apart, at which David himself chimes in, vowing that now she's going to pay. Everyone in the crowd yells aggressively at the Queen, excited for vengeance. Eventually, David and the others watch as Emma proceeds to behead Regina after proving the apples of her apple tree to be "rotten to the core" - just like her. The Mayor and former Queen then finally awakens from her horrid dream, shaken.

Mary Margaret encounters David who tells her that he's decided to leave Storybrooke and live in the apartment Kathryn rented in Boston so that he can have a fresh start. He adds that he doesn't have a reason to stay, asking Mary Margaret if she can provide him with one, however, the teacher remains silent, giving David his answer. After Henry falls into a coma thanks to Regina's poisoned apple turnover, Emma learns that her son is dead and she gives him a kiss on the forehead which sends a burst of true love all across Storybrooke, returning everyone's fairytale memories, including David's of Prince Charming. He remembers just as he's driving out of town, and stops before doing so, turning back around. As Snow wanders the streets, still in confusion, she hears someone call, "Snow!" and turns to see... "Charming," she utters as she runs towards her prince, and the two of them kiss passionately. However, their reunion is cut short when Rumplestiltskin brings magic to town in the form of purple smoke, and Snow and Charming embrace one another as the mist envelops them.

Season 2
"I will find them. I will always find them."

After the purple mist dissipates, Snow and Charming are still in each other's arms and they are soon reunited with Red Riding Hood and Granny, as well as Snow's best friends, the seven dwarfs. This occasion is made even happier by the arrival of Emma, Henry by her side, who hugs his grandpa. This group are soon walking through town and Emma is reluctant to discuss the matter of finding her parents, as they are really not what she expected. They are soon alerted by Archie that Dr. Whale has put the town in a frenzy and they're all going to go kill Regina, Henry doesn't want this and so the group head over to the mayor's house and stop the mob, Whale tells Charming that he's not his prince, leaving Charming to ask who Whale even is, he does not give an answer. It is Charming who says they need to lock Regina up and he who asks her, in her prison cell, why they didn't go back, she tells him that the curse destroyed all the lands. The next stop for the very dysfunctional family is the pawn shop, to have a chat with Rumplestiltskin about why he brought magic back and risked Henry's life. Gold twists Emma's words and points out that everything turned out well. The moment is suddenly interrupted by an earthquake, leading them to stare out the window to see Storybrooke in despair. The trio next go to the sheriff's station where Regina is being attacked by a Wraith, a dark creature that Charming tries his best to fight but Snow wards off with a cigarette lighter and some spray, causing a puff of fire, however, Regina says that they didn't kill it and that they need to send it some place where it can't hurt anyone. At the mayor's office, Regina takes out Jefferson's hat and tries to use it to open a portal whilst Snow White, Emma and Prince Charming all defend themselves with flaming brooms. The wraith attacks but as it does so, Regina fails to get the hat to work, however, the portal opens once Emma touches her shoulder, putting magic into the hat. The wraith is sucked in, but, unfortunately, so is Emma. Snow White jumps into it after her daughter, unable to lose her again, Charming is about to follow but is unable to as the portal closes a moment too soon. He then confronts Regina, asking her why he shouldn't kill her, she reciprocates by using magic to tie him to the wall with branches, she is about to pluck out his heart when Henry walks in, realizing she's just the evil queen. Until she proves herself, Henry goes to live with Charming, who promises that he will find their girls.

Charming visits Regina with the hat that took away Emma and Snow White, he asks her if she recognizes it but she lies and says that it slipped her memory as to how she got it. She tells Charming that she plans to get her magic back as well as her son, she warns him that when she gets one, she will get the other, he tells her that if she needs magic to get Henry, then she doesn't really have him. Later, Charming finds the town at a panic which is only worsened when the seven dwarfs run in explaining that if you leave Storybrooke, you lose all memory of your fairytale self, the town becomes livid. Charming talks to his grandson about the hat who recognizes it from his book as the Mad Hatter's hat, the prince next visits Rumplestiltskin and asks him for something that will help him find someone, similar to the ring he gave him to find Snow. Rumple gives Charming a potion, that, when poured upon an object, will lead you to its owner, the two agree to stay out of each others' way from now on. Charming pours the potion on the hat and it begins to fly, he follows it to a wrecked car where he rescues a man from the inside, Jefferson. He talks to Jefferson and learns that Emma and Mary Margaret are in fairytale land, however, Jefferson runs off before revealing anything important, Charming tries to run after him but is stopped by Red, who explains that Regina has magic and is threatening the town, who are all leaving, Charming makes it to the barrier and gives a speech to the townspeople. He convinces them to stay by assuring them that the two people they are, is a blessing, not a curse. Charming later goes to Regina to get Henry back, he asks the queen if fairytale land still exists, she says it does after giving Henry back to Charming, as an attempt of kindness. Later, at Granny's Diner, Charming assures Henry, who's upset, that their girls are alive, because he can feel it, Henry is reassured.

Charming and Henry are discussing names for their new mission to get Emma and Mary Margaret back when Charming reveals that he talked to Jefferson and that he didn't think he can help them, Henry refuses this and decides to find Jefferson himself, which he succeeds at. Henry learns of Regina's secret vault and calls Regina to meet him for lunch at Granny's Diner, only to then steal her keys and go to her father's grave. Henry pushes the tomb out of the way and discovers his mother's vault, and is intrigued, however, he is soon attacked by a two headed serpent in a box which Charming quickly snaps shut, revealing that it was quite easy to find Henry. They leave, saying that no one else must know of the vault. Later, Charming and Henry are talking and the former assures his grandson that he cannot get their girls back without him, he then says that he's the grandson of a prince and it's about time he learned how to use a sword. As Charming and Henry battle with toy swords, they are unaware that Albert Spencer, George's counterpart, is watching them.

Prince Charming is down in the Storybrooke mines with the seven dwarfs, mining for fairy dust that could help bring home Snow and Emma. He soon finishes his work and says that he's heading off to the sheriff's station, explaining that he's acting sheriff until Emma returns. Charming is soon visited by Rumplestiltskin who wants his help in tracking down Belle, his missing love. Charming obliges but soon discovers how many people Rumple has terrorized, Rumple asks Charming how his relationship with Snow works and he says it's through honesty, Rumple points out that he does not lie but Charming tells him he requires honesty of the heart. At Granny's Diner they discover that Ruby has seen Belle and uses her wolf-tracking powers and a sweater Belle was using to try and sniff her out. Red leads them to Moe French's florists and they go in, they soon discover that Moe is planning to send Belle out of Storybrooke so she will forget she loves Rumple. Charming wonders how he's planning to do this as every exit from town is guarded, however, he soon realizes that he plans to use the mines to get her out. The four of them hurry and Gold manages to save Belle with magic, to which she is grateful.

Charming is visited by Dr. Whale and the former punches the latter in the face for sleeping with his wife. Whale wants to know if it's true that Charming's trying to find a way to get back to the Enchanted Forest to get back Emma and Mary Margaret, Charming says that it is true and Whale asks if that means all of the lands exist still, Charming's unsure. Later, Charming tells Henry that he will be learning to horse ride but that first he must create a bond with his horse, he leaves him in the stables to get on with the task. Later, Charming goes to the hospital to see an one-armed Dr. Whale lying in bed, Regina is there and Charming soon discovers that Whale brought Daniel, her old fiancé, back and that he's a monster, Regina concludes that he'll go back to the place that he last remembers seeing her, the stables, however, Henry's at the stables. Charming and Regina rush to the stables to find that Henry's being attacked by Daniel and Regina manages to free her son, Charming tells him to leave and then locks Daniel in the room of the stables, telling Regina that her monster must be put down. However, she begs to talk to her fiancé. Soon, Regina destroys Daniel with magic as he begs her to do so.

When Aurora begins to have bad dreams as a result of her sleeping curse, Snow tells her that her husband, Charming, used to wake her up when she had the same nightmares and light a candle for her, sitting with her until she fell back to sleep, Aurora states that he really lives up to his name and Snow agrees before offering to help Aurora in a similar fashion. Charming is awoken suddenly in the middle of the night by Henry who himself has been awoken by his nightmare, Charming quickly rushes to his grandson's aid and asks him what's the matter, Henry explains that he had a bad dream and Charming lights a candle (as a reference as to what he used to do with Snow and her night terrors) and asks Henry to tell him all about it. Henry says that he was in a red room with no doors or windows, just a pair of red curtains which were on fire, and there was a girl in the room with him as he sat in the corner, Charming assures him that it was just a nightmare, however, little do they no that the girl was Aurora who had the exact same dream from her point of view over in the fairytale land where Snow and Emma currently reside.

Prince Charming is extremely happy to hear that the dwarfs have found some diamonds in the Storybrooke mines, meaning there's hope of getting Mary Margaret and Emma back. Charming celebrates with everyone at Granny's Diner but is less than happy to see Albert Spencer/King George is there too, he wonders what he wants and George threatens to expose Charming for the shepherd he really is, Charming refuses to accept this as he believes the people of Storybrooke see him a fit leader. Charming soon finds Granny welding a cage in the freezer for Red who fears the wolf may emerge in her that night and wants to take all measures to prevent it. Red escapes the cage and is found by Charming and Granny the next morning in the woods, having blacked out, Charming is called out to a truck that has been double-parked only to discover something much more gruesome - one half of Billy, Red finds the other half in a skip, yelling that she did it as the wolf and panicking. Charming locks Red up in the sheriff's cell but George visits, saying that Red killed Billy, however, Charming refuses to believe this for lack of proof. George leads an angry mob to the sheriff's station only to find Red's empty cell due to that Charming's hiding her at the library with Belle. Charming and Granny find Red's cloak and a bloody axe in the trunk of George's car, deciphering that he killed Billy, not Red, however, Red soon decides that she must die and faces the crowd alone, as the wolf, just as George is about to shoot the creature, Granny and Charming swoop in and stop him, Charming manages to remind Red that she controls the wolf and not the other way around, before draping the cloak around her. George runs away and Charming and Red catch him up, however, when they find him, he throws Jefferson's hat into a fire, meaning there will be little chance of getting Snow and Emma back, Charming, distraught, nearly shoots George, but, thanks to Red's encouragement, he decides against it.

Charming and Regina are startled when Henry wakes up and cries out that Emma and Snow are alive, he explains that Aurora, someone they're traveling with, told him via the sleeping curse's netherworld. Rumple, Regina and Charming put Henry back into a sleep after telling him that they need to use the ink from Rumple's old cell to defeat Cora, the current threat posed to Storybrooke. Henry tries to do so but Aurora is awoken too soon, he has a burn on his arm. The burn is soon healed by Gold but they decide that it's too dangerous for him to go back. Charming volunteers himself for a sleeping curse as he believes Snow will find a way to locate him there. Regina makes a curse and Charming must prick his finger on a spinning wheel dipped in the potion in order to be affected by it, he does so and he is made comatose. Charming is now in the netherworld and must find the room with no door. He grabs a torch and uses it to smash through the floor, he falls through the ceiling and into the room, which is flaming. It seems empty, but Snow soon emerges, they are extremely happy to have found each other, Charming explains to her that she must obtain the ink from Rumple's cell and attempts to give her true love's kiss so that he can wake up, however, Snow wakes up too soon and the kiss is ineffective. Charming is left stranded.

Charming is still under his sleeping curse and is being read his own story by Henry, who is still optimistic about Snow and Emma's return so that Charming may get true love's kiss and wake up. Regina tries to assure Henry that he will awaken but is hiding her own skepticism. After Emma and Snow make it through the portal and back to Storybrooke, Snow rushes to Charming's aid and kisses him. A burst of true love is released and, after a short pause, Charming wakes up, reunited with his beloved Snow White. He is happy that she returned and she asks him if he ever doubted she would, he jokes that the burning, red room gave him pause. The pair kiss some more. After this happy reunion, the whole gang decide to go down to Granny's Diner to celebrate the princesses' return.

David and Mary Margaret spend the afternoon in bed together, happy to be reunited, when Emma and Henry suddenly enter the apartment, looking for tacos for the party. Henry wonders why they're still in bed in the afternoon and David quickly says that he was helping Mary Margaret rest, Emma is appalled by this. Later, at Granny's Diner, a party is held in the honor of Mary Margaret and Emma returning to Storybrooke. David makes a speech saying that he and Mary Margaret have a saying, that they will always find each other, he then toasts to not having to look for a while. The guests are shocked when Regina turns up and Emma explains that she invited her, Mary Margaret and David are none-too-happy. The next day, Archie's dead body is found by Emma and Ruby and Ruby tells them that she saw Regina going into his office the previous night as well as the two of them arguing. The mayor is taken into custody and where Mary Margaret and David assume her to be guilty, Emma fights for her innocence and the Charming family go and look for evidence. All signs point to Regina but Emma suspects a frame job, she goes to Mr. Gold, thinking that he might be responsible, however, he tells them he can use magic to prove his innocence. He gives Emma a dream catcher that she uses to view Pongo's, the only witness', memories, which prove Regina is "guilty". Emma goes to head Regina off but her parents stop her, telling her that she needs a plan, David suggests fairy dust, saying that it worked before. They go to see Regina who is offended by the accusation, when she advances on Emma, Mother Superior fires a ball of fairy dust at her, however, Regina stops it from affecting her, asking Mary Margaret if she really thought that that would work twice. Emma worries about telling Henry about Archie's murder, being new as a parent, but Mary Margaret and David tell her that they're going through the same thing with her.

David is present at Archie's funeral as his wife give the beloved conscience an eulogy. Later, in order to cheer Henry up, Emma acquires Pongo, Archie's dalmatian, for the boy. Mary Margaret and David think that this is a great idea, however, the former believes that the four of them and a dalmatian in that small loft will begin to get cramped, before suggesting that her and David get their own place. Later, David and Mary Margaret are at Granny's Diner as the latter is flicking through real estate catalogs, she points out a house to David who says that the lawn is too small, she moans that he's said that about every house, but he reminds her that he grew up on a farm. Mary Margaret senses that this goes deeper than the house and David says that they buried their friend that morning which made him realize something - he doesn't want to die in Storybrooke. He tells his wife of his desire to return to the Enchanted Forest, despite Mary Margaret's warnings that it is not the same place that they left behind, saying that the ogres have returned and that Cora is in power. David tells her that that's exactly why they have to return, to fight for their kingdom. Mary Margaret tells the prince that she's tired of fighting, saying it's all they ever do, and David tries to point out that he's just trying to get back what they both want. Mary Margaret then realizes that the two of them want different things.

Mary Margaret, Emma and David show up at the town line to discover Belle who has fallen over the line and lost her memory, now terrified of Gold, Hook who has been hit by a car which has crashed containing an outsider who drove in to town. Emma comments that it looks like the world's come to Storybrooke. The Charmings head to the hospital where they plan to investigate the outsider, they take his phone and David tries to guess his pass code but to no avail. Emma arrives and hacks it easily, discovering that his name is Greg Mendell and that he is completely normal. It is suggested that they let him die and Dr. Whale tells them that that would be easy, as they would just have to allow him to succumb to his injuries. Mary Margaret and David are strongly apposed to this and tell Dr. Whale to perform the surgery, saying that they can think of the safety of the town after saving a life. They wait and Mary Margaret says that her nerves can't take it any more, asking if the surgery's almost over, however, they discover that it hasn't even started yet as Dr. Whale has fled. Ruby sniffs him out and returns with him soon and the surgery begins - Greg is okay. Mary Margaret and David want to question him with Emma, but she reminds them that they want him to think they're normal and normal sheriffs don't bring their parents in with them. Mary Margaret assures her daughter that they will be right outside. Later, Mary Margaret, David and Emma return to their apartment and to Henry when Mr. Gold walks in, he tells Emma that he's cashing in in his favor and that she must find his son with him. He tells the Charmings that if any harm is to fall upon Belle whilst he's gone, he'll kill all four of them.

Mary Margaret and David bid their daughter goodbye as she heads to New York with Mr. Gold and Henry in order to find the former's son. The royal couple, and Leroy, then head down to the docks along with Captain Hook in order to learn Cora's plans and the pirate takes them aboard his invisible ship where they soon discover the shrunken giant, Anton, sleeping within a cage. Mary Margaret wakes him up and sets him free. Upon seeing David, Anton becomes murderous and attacks the prince, causing Mary Margaret to draw her bow and arrow in his direction, making the giant flee the boat. At Granny's Diner, David deciphers that Anton isn't mad over something he did, but over something his twin brother, James did, and states that they must stop him. Mary Margaret, David and Leroy are next shocked to discover that Anton, in his fully-grown form, is terrorizing the town, hell-bent on revenge. They begin to run from him when Leroy becomes confused, thinking that James was David's name, however, the prince reveals that his true name is the same as his cursed name, David. Mary Margaret points out that if they keep running the way they're going, they'll cross the town line, and so David stops to negotiate with the giant, offering his life in exchange for the town's safety. Anton takes this deal and jumps towards David, making a hole in the earth where the magic keeping him big wears off and he is left human-sized and hanging from a sewer pipe within a pit, ready to fall. David and Mary Margaret gather a few of the townspeople to help pull him out, after David talks Anton out of committing suicide by letting go and falling. Once they've gained the giant's trust, he reveals that he has a plant that will be able to grow magic beans which can be used to create portals, such as one back to the Enchanted Forest. The dwarfs take it upon themselves to grow these beans along with Anton, but Mary Margaret isn't so happy, not wanting to return home as she fears that Emma may not want to go with them, however, her husband assures her that Emma can take care of herself.

While Emma is in New York with Henry and Mr. Gold searching for the latter's son, Baelfire, she finds him. However she is shocked to discover that Bae is in fact Neal Cassidy, her old flame and Henry's father. Emma soon alerts Mary Margaret via cell phone who passes the message onto David. David is confused by the fact that Rumplestiltskin is Henry's grandfather, stating that he's the kid's grandpa. Mary Margaret reminds her husband that a person can have more than one and the two of them bring up other strange phenomenons of their very dysfunctional family. David points out that Regina is Henry's step-grandmother, but Mary Margaret corrects him by saying that she's actually his step-great-grandmother, as well as his adoptive mother. Charming tells his wife that it's a good thing that they don't have thanksgiving in their land as that family dinner would "suck". At this, Mary Margaret disagrees, thinking that perhaps this could actually mellow everybody out.

Mary Margaret wakes up on her birthday to David making pancakes, thinking he's trying to celebrate, she reminds him of their deal not to and he points out that he's not the only one, gesturing the present that someone left her. Mary Margaret opens it to find that it's her old tiara from Johanna, her maid, and goes to visit her. As she does this, David returns to the sheriff's station where he is knocked out by Hook, who steals his hook back from the office. Mary Margaret finds David passed out and makes sure he's okay before telling him that she saw Regina and Cora in the woods and that they're searching for Rumplestiltskin's dagger in order to carry out murders. After her attempt to get Regina to appeal to her distrust in Cora fails, Mary Margaret goes to Mother Superior with David to explain the situation. The trio head to Mr. Gold's pawn shop which is unfortunately sealed with dark magic, killing their hopes of finding the dagger before Regina and Cora do. At this, Mary Margaret texts Emma, who's with Gold, to ask him the location of the dagger, he reveals that it's inside one of the arms of the town clock. David and Mary Margaret arrive there and retrieve the dagger, but are met by Regina and Cora, who have Johanna hostage. With Regina threatening to crush Johanna's heart, Mary Margaret gives Cora the dagger. However, before she leaves, Cora waves her hand and sends Johanna smashing through the face of the clock, killing her. After burying Johanna, Mary Margaret tells David that being good has gotten her no where, before vowing to murder Cora.

David is on the phone with Mary Margaret discussing the dagger matter in which the latter states that they have to stop Regina and Cora as they have no idea what that wicked woman would do, at this, the phone tap that Regina and Cora are using to listen in on this is knocked off the table as Cora argues that she's not wicked. David and Mary Margaret next meet Emma, Henry, Neal and Gold at the town docks, alongside Ruby, and escort the pawnbroker to his shop, due to the poison in his heart that is killing him. Over at Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer, Emma casts a protection spell to keep Cora and Regina out and David, his daughter and Neal begin defending themselves. Regina and Cora break the protection spell with ease and bust into the shop. Charming deflects a fireball with his sword, however, he is soon dragged out of the shop via magic and knocked out. He later wakes up and calls Emma, who's locked in the back room with Neal and Gold, to ask her where Mary Margaret is, however, his daughter tells him that she hasn't a clue. David next makes his way to Regina's vault where he finds Mary Margaret having poisoned Cora's heart and manipulated Regina into putting it back into her mother's body. After doing so, Snow tells David that he was right that murder is not who she is. At this, the two of them run to the shop to stop the inevitable events, but unfortunately, when they arrive, Cora is dead and Regina knows Snow is to blame.

Mary Margaret becomes mopey and guilty after effectively murdering Cora and begins spending most of her time silent in bed. When Henry asks what's wrong with his grandmother, David and Emma initially tell him that she's sick, however, he sees this as a lie and they admit that she was partially responsible for Cora's death, something Henry doesn't like. The Charmings are then visited by Mr. Gold who tells them that Regina is planning to strike back and murder Mary Margaret. David and Gold snoop around Regina's vault where they discover that she has taken out a curse that will be able to force Henry to love her so that she may have her vengeance as well as her son. Gold tells Emma and David that Regina will never give up and they realize that the only option is to kill her, however, Henry is heavily displeased by this and runs away. Ruby sniffs him out and finds out that he has taken dynamite from the town mines, with the intention of blowing up the Storybrooke well, where magic originated. David, Neal and Emma arrive at the well where Regina has already gotten rid of the dynamite, after Henry gives a little speech on how magic has corrupted his family, Regina burns the curse she planned on using on him and Henry goes home with his parents and David.

Mary Margaret continues to mope around in bed after what she did to Cora and David plans on serving her breakfast, however, Emma fears that he may be coddling her, thinking that she needs to toughen up and move past this. David believes this to be harsh, but after Emma leaves, he sees Mary Margaret putting on a coat. She tells him that she's going to the woods as she needs to think things over alone, and David says goodbye to her. When in the woods, Mary Margaret discovers the trailer home of August W. Booth only to discover that the man himself is completely made of wood. She goes to alert Emma and Marco, but when they return to the trailer, August is gone. He calls Emma from the sheriff's station and the three of them, and David, arrive there to find a dying August stumbling outside. With his final breath, he tries to warn Emma of something, however, he passes before he's able to. Henry points out that August's final act was honest, brave and unselfish and calls upon the Blue Fairy, who's able to turn him into a little boy again. However, Pinocchio does not retain his memories. When the Charmings return home, Mary Margaret tells David that she confronted Regina and begged her to kill her. David is shocked and Mary Margaret continues to explain that she was shown her heart by the mayor and it's blackened because of what she did to Cora. David tells her not to worry as redemption is possible and that she has a good heart, one that he knows better than anyone.

Mary Margaret and David drive Emma out to a roadside that appears to be the middle of nowhere. The blonde becomes confused until her parents reveal there to be an invisible barrier next to them, and through it, Anton and the dwarfs working on magic bean crop. Emma is initially happy to see Anton again, but soon realizes that the magic beans are being grown so that they may return to the Enchanted Forest, hence why Mary Margaret and David did not tell her of the harvest. She is undecided as to whether or not she would like to live out of her own world, which is her home, but her parents point out that it's been nothing but cruel to her. She also brings up the fact that their world is an ogre-riddled death trap, but she is assured that all of that will be fixed. David is later approached by Gold in Granny's Diner who has a problem concerning Belle, who is now Lacey, and David helps him score a date with her. Emma begins to contemplate the idea of going home, and as she does so, she is approached by Regina who learns that Emma is keeping something, not knowing what it is. Later, David pulls up outside Granny's Diner with Mary Margaret and the dwarfs, the dwarfs go inside but David and Mary Margaret head home. As they drive away, Regina is seen using magic to guide her to the bean crop, now knowing that the Charmings plan on going home.

David is seen at the town docks with Mary Margaret, discussing the matter that when they return to the Enchanted Forest, they will leave Regina behind. Mary Margaret is unsure of this, saying that Henry shan't be happy as Regina was his mother, despite all the terrors, but David assures her that the terrors will continue. He says they will offer her a choice, stay in Storybrooke or in Rumplestiltskin's cell, but Regina overhears this, when disguised as a fisherman, and isn't too happy. Later, Mary Margaret, David and Leroy pull up outside the bean farm and walk through the invisible barrier only to discover that all of the beans have been destroyed, by Regina, destroying all hopes of returning home. As they stare at their dead crops, all they can do is wonder who is to blame and commiserate over the idea of being stuck in Storybrooke forever.

Emma and David burst into Regina's office with guns in order to retrieve the beans. The office is empty and so Mary Margaret walks in with Henry. They discover the bean plant she was keeping as well as the fact that the beans have been harvested, and that someone broke into Regina's office to steal them, meaning that the mayor is most likely in grave danger. The Charmings' first thought as to who would do such a thing is Gold, but they decide he's too distracted with Lacey, and so Emma states that she believes the culprit to be Tamara. Mary Margaret does not believe this and warns Emma against it, and Snow and Charming decide to visit Gold anyway to see if he has some sort of magical way to help find Regina. The two of them go to his pawn shop where they invoke the favor that Gold owes David. He reveals that he has one of Regina's tears, and asks for one of Mary Margaret's, which she consents to. This then creates a magical eye-drop that when put into Mary Margaret's eye, she will be able to see and experience everything that Regina can. Back home, David seems skeptical of this, but Mary Margaret wants to find Regina so that she can clear her guilty conscience over what happened to Cora, and so insists. David pours the drops into her eyes and Mary Margaret experiences the excruciating torture that Regina is currently going through. When the drops wear off, she tells David that she remembers awful pain as well as being strapped down, she mentions the smell of sardines and so Emma, Neal, David and Mary Margaret investigate the town cannery. Snow and Charming discover Regina being tortured by Greg, and so free her and have her healed by Mother Superior. When Emma arrives, however, she reveals that Tamara shot Neal and sent him down a portal, presumably killing him. As Mary Margaret consoles her daughter, Regina reveals that Greg and Tamara are currently in possession of a gem stone which acts as a fail-safe within the curse, able to wipe Storybrooke off the map, and kill all of its inhabitants.

David goes with Emma and Mary Margaret to the park where he and the latter tell Mr. Gold of Neal's death, and Emma tells Henry. They then bring up the fact that Greg and Tamara have the curse's fail-safe, but Gold doesn't care, and leaves in grief. When the Charmings return home, a sudden earth tremor ensues and Regina tells them that it means the diamond has been activated. Hook soon shows up, after having left Greg and Tamara, professing that he wants to help them steal the beans back and get everyone to safety as he'd rather keep himself alive then get Rumplestiltskin dead. They have a hard time trusting him but David says that he'll accompany Hook on his mission and if he tries anything he'll be shot in the face. David and Hook head down to the cannery and chase Greg inside, they begin to overpower him until Tamara approaches them with a gun. She and Greg escape, but Hook manages to steal back one bean, meaning they're able to escape. They go to Granny's Diner where Emma tells them Regina stayed behind to hold off the diamond, and will die doing so, and so they decide that they will send the diamond down the portal instead to halt the self-destruct and save Regina. They go down to the mines where Regina is and tell her of this plan, however, Emma soon realizes that the bean is missing and suspects that Hook stole it, having been skeptical at the idea of helping Regina. The Charmings prepare to die together until Emma realizes that where Regina may not be strong enough to hold the diamond off completely, the two of them together might just be, and so Emma harnesses her own supply of magic and she and Regina manage to stop the fail-safe, returning Storybrooke to normal. They are initially happy until they realize that Henry is missing and when they go up to the surface, they see Greg and Tamara jump down a portal with him. Hook soon returns with his ship and the final bean and David, Mary Margaret, Emma, Regina and Gold come aboard the ship. They discover via Rumple's magic globe that Henry's in Neverland and they use the magic bean to open a portal in the ocean before sailing down it - being warned of someone they must fear on the other side.

Season 3
"If you died, I would not be able to move on!"

- Mary Margaret Blanchard

David, along with Mary Margaret, Emma, Regina, Gold and Hook, goes through the portal and comes out the other side in Neverland, where the Jolly Roger sails towards the central island. Whilst on the ship, David and Mary Margaret approach Emma in an attempt to comfort her about Neal and Henry, assuring her that neither of their respective losses was her fault. Emma agrees, and tells her parents that she blames them, as their message of "good will always win" is what got her and Henry in this mess. Before Charming is able to convince his daughter otherwise, Rumple explains how Neverland is run on belief, before disappearing before their very eyes. Soon enough, the Jolly Roger is attacked by a school of vicious mermaids; Charming uses a cannon to defend the ship before Regina uses her magic flame balls to get rid of them. One is hauled on deck and the hostage mermaid summons a storm; in an attempt to stop it, Regina uses her magic to turn the mermaid to wood. This does not work. Snow then begins arguing with Regina, leading into a physical fight. Tangent to this, Charming and Hook get into a fist fight as well, and Emma soon realizes that the storm is being caused by everyone's hatred for one another, due to the way Neverland works, and jumps into the ocean so that the others will be forced to unite in rescuing her. Once Emma is rescued, she and the others arrive on the Neverland beach where the blonde explains that they will have to put aside their differences and utilize their strengths if they are to successfully save Henry, no matter how they manage to do so.

David and the others grow exhausted of hiking up the island in search for Henry and decide to set up camp, per Hook's suggestion. But as they sleep Emma is awoken by the sound of crying children before being approached by Pan. He gives her a blank piece of parchment and tells her that it's a map that shall lead her to Henry only when she stops denying who she really is, and Emma goes back to camp to tell the others of this. David and Mary Margaret try to persuade her to accept that she's the savior, but when Emma states this, no map appears. Regina then decides to use a locator spell which causes the parchment to glow and fly, leading them straight to Pan. The five of them believe that they have found Henry, but it is in fact Pan in Henry's clothes, and he tells the Charming gang that they cheated, and cheaters never win, thus calling on the Lost Boys to attack them. Charming, Snow, Emma, Hook and Regina fend them off with their respective weapons and powers, and during this fight, David is scratched by an arrow dipped in Dreamshade poison, but believes himself to be alright. Emma stops the fighting when she has the chance to kill a Lost Boy, and David and the others are let go. They arrive back at camp where Mary Margaret gets Emma to admit that she still feels like an orphan, the acceptance of which makes a map to Henry appear on the blank parchment. The five of them decide to continue their search, but Pan again appears to Emma and assures her that she shall be a real orphan soon, and elsewhere, David is seen to have been scratched by the Dreamshade poisoned arrow, meaning that he's dying a slow and painful death.

David and the rest of the Jolly Roger crew continue to trek through Neverland's jungle in an attempt to follow Pan's map to Henry, however, due to Pan relocating the camp constantly, their destination keeps changing. Hook suggests that, instead of going back and forth in order to track an ever-moving camp, they first find Tinker Bell, the fairy of the island, who may be able to get them into Pan's camp and give them some pixie dust to battle him. On their way to her, Hook notices the strange way David is walking and the prince reveals that he has been scratched with a Dreamshade poisoned arrow, meaning that he only has days left, weeks at the most. The pirate wonders if David has told his family yet, but David has not and reveals he hopes that Tinker Bell's pixie dust will be able to help him. When they find the fairy, however, they discover that she no longer has any magic, thus no longer has any pixie dust. But she is able to help sneak them into Pan's camp when she enters herself, and asks what would be in this for her. Mary Margaret says that the fairy can have a home with them, and when Tinker Bell accepts, David asks his wife how she knew offering her a home would work. Snow reveals that when she was on the run from Regina, all she ever dreamt of as home, but she never really found one until she met him. Charming then tells Snow that he loves her, deciding not to reveal that he's currently suffering death by Dreamshade poison.

David and the others are running through their plan to get into Pan's compound with Tinker Bell's help, but the fairy is shocked to discover that they have no way of escaping Neverland afterwards as no one ever leaves the island without Pan's permission. She leaves, telling them to come and get her when an escape plan is formed, and Hook tells the others of the only person he knows to have left the island without going through Pan: Baelfire. The pirate leads the five of them to the cave where Neal lived when he was in Neverland, and on the way in, Hook lags behind with Charming to ask him if he plans on telling his family about the Dreamshade poison currently in his system. David tells the pirate that he does not as he doesn't want to distract them from their goal of saving Henry. They proceed into the cave, and in there they discover a coconut with a light in it which creates a star-like pattern on the cave's ceiling. Hook explains that pirates can navigate using the stars, meaning that it's actually a map home, however, pirates also encrypt their maps, meaning that he's unable to read it, and the only person who can is dead. This deeply upsets Emma who storms out of the cave, crying, and Mary Margaret and David go after her. They attempt to console her but it's no use, and Mary Margaret becomes devastated when she's unable to comfort her daughter, which is the first thing a mother should be able to do. David assures his wife that Emma merely needs time to move on, to which Snow reveals that if David died, she would not be able to move on from him, so she doubts Emma would be able to do the same; this statement causes a great deal of worry for the slowly dying prince.

David notices Hook's attempt to bond with Emma over being lonely and attempts to nip it in the bud, telling Hook that Emma will never be with him as he's nothing but a pirate. The two are later walking through the jungle where Charming happens upon part of Hook's brother's old satchel from when he was in Neverland. Hook the thinks that if the satchel survived all this time, then maybe a sextant that can help him decode Bae's map did too. The prince and the pirate then decide to journey up Neverland's mountain to find the sextant, however, as the Dreamshade poison has nearly spread to David's heart, meaning that he'll soon be dying, he savors his goodbye from his wife and daughter, neither of which know of David's fate. As they're going up the mountain, a weak David nearly overhears Hook talking to Pan, who offers the pirate passage off the island with Emma, should he murder the prince. But Hook decides to go against Pan; he tells David that this whole thing was a rouse, that he dropped the satchel segment on the ground so David would find it and that there is no sextant in the mountain. He then punches the prince in the face, knocking him out, and collects some enchanted water from a cave. He wakes David and makes him drink the water, and the prince is then completely cured of Dreamshade poisoning (the reason he lied to him being that he knew David would never trek up the mountain just to save himself). However, there's a catch: since the water draws its magic from the island itself, now that David's drunk it, he can never ever leave. David seems okay with this as at least he can help save Henry, and the two of them return to camp where David lies to his family, telling them that they were ambushed by Lost Boys but Hook saved his life. They then toast to Hook, before setting off into the jungle yet again.

When Regina is attempting to teach Emma magic, Hook returns to camp and tells David and Mary Margaret that Pan said Neal's still alive. Mary Margaret wants to tell Emma, but David believes that this will only harm her as, if Pan's lying, then she'll have to lose Neal all over again. Not agreeing, Snow quickly tells her daughter the truth, but Regina, who refuses to take Pan's word on this, abandons the others as they want to go save Neal. They make their way to the Echo Caves, where Neal is currently being held prisoner, and eventually make it to discover that Neal is locked in a wooden cage, which is resting on the other side of a deep gorge. Hook explains that the only way to get to him is to reveal your deepest, darkest secret, as that's how the Echo Caves work, and he starts by admitting that he's beginning to fall for Emma, and that the two of them kissed. Mary Margaret then reveals that she's actually very upset by the fact that Emma's an adult as it means her and David missed watching their daughter grow up; she admits that, when they get back home, she wants to have another baby. David tells his wife that that's never going to happen by admitting that he was poisoned by Dreamshade but was cured by magical water, with the catch that he can't leave Neverland without dying. The bridge to Neal then becomes fully formed, and to open the cage, Emma admits that she wished Neal were truly dead as that would mean never having to lose him again. The five of them then exit the cave, ready to continue their mission to save Henry, but Snow is still extremely angry with her husband for not telling her about the Dreamshade. ("Ariel")

Now having saved Baelfire, he is able to explain to them how he escaped the island the first time: by capturing Pan's shadow. He, Emma and Hook set out to accomplish this task, whilst Mary Margaret and David decide to go and give Tinker Bell a heads up that they've found a way to escape Neverland. Before they leave, Emma notices her mother giving David the silent treatment for not telling her about the poison, and on their way to Tinker Bell's, Mary Margaret is constantly giving the cold shoulder to her husband, who eventually calls her on it, demanding that she say something. She wonders why she has to, since he never did; even after he found a cure, he still never told her that his life was threatened. He says he was scared as he can never leave the island, but Mary Margaret assures him that she would happily build a hut in the jungle and live there fighting off poisoned arrows and Lost Boys for the rest of her life, so long as David was by her side. However, David tells her that that's exactly what he was scared of, as he didn't want to stunt her life by attaching her to his fate; he wishes for her to be able to leave Neverland. Mary Margaret is disappointed in him for not believing in their love, and when the two of them make it to Tinker Bell's tree house, they are soon met by Emma, Neal and Hook as well, who have managed to capture Pan's shadow. Now having an escape plan for after they rescue Henry, the five of them continue to plan the rescue itself.

Emma talks to Mary Margaret about David's predicament: not being able to leave Neverland without dying. She asks Mary Margaret if she really plans on staying with him, and Mary Margaret says she does, something which Emma can't accept. The blonde says that family means being together and, with surprising optimism, assures her mother that they will find a way for David to come home safely. Emma talks to Hook about the water that cured David, and suggests that they take some home so that his connection to the island never breaks, but the pirate points out that the water will run out. When Regina and Rumple return to the rest of the Jolly Roger crew, Gold reveals that he may be able to configure a permanent cure for Dreamshade back home in his shop, having read up on it after being poisoned himself. The seven of them soon storm Pan's camp, after knocking out some Lost Boys with magic, only to discover that Henry and the demon child aren't there. They find out from Wendy, who's Pan's prisoner, that Henry has been taken to Skull Rock where he will be killed in order to ensure Pan's own immortality. Emma tells Mary Margaret and David to trek up to Dead Man's Peak in order to collect more magic water to keep David afloat until such time that Gold is able to cook up a cure in Storybrooke, whilst she, Regina, Neal and Rumple head to Skull Rock to save Henry from Pan's clutches, and Hook and Tinker Bell stay behind to guard the unconscious Lost Boys. When Henry foolishly rips out his own heart and places it in Pan's body, a burst of magic is spread across Neverland and felt by everyone, including David and Mary Margaret, who are trekking up the mountain.

David and Mary Margaret return to the Lost Boys' camp, having presumably retrieved the magic water needed for the prince to survive for a while in Storybrooke on their trek up to Dead Man's Peak, to discover that Pan has taken Henry's heart and the latter is now unconscious and dying. They also learn that Rumple, who was supposed to create a permanent cure for David when back in town, has been trapped in Pandora's Box, meaning he and Snow are confined to the island eternally. Emma bribes the Lost Boys at the camp with the prospect of going home with her and the others, which eventually coerces them to give away Pan's location. Thanks to this information, Emma, Regina and Mary Margaret find Pan and manage to take Henry's heart from his chest, returning to the young man aboard the Jolly Roger where he regains consciousness. Rumple is soon freed from the box and, using the shadow, the ship begins flying back home whilst Henry rests below deck. Now being able to return home, David approaches his daughter and confesses his initial doubts over the success of their mission to save Henry, and assures her that they couldn't have done it without her, who acted as her leader. Meanwhile, a stowaway Pan tries to rip Henry's shadow out, but Rumple intercepts him by trapping him in Pandora's Box. As this occurs, Pan switches his consciousness with Henry's, so Pan's mind exists in Henry's body, whereas Henry, who is now inside Pan, becomes trapped in the box in his place, to no one's knowledge.

David, along with everyone else aboard the Jolly Roger, returns to Storybrooke met by the townspeople's cheers. After a few reunions, everyone congregates at Granny's Diner to celebrate, where Charming and Snow try to convince Emma to go on a date with Neal, now that Henry is safe. The next day, David is having lunch with his wife when Mr. Gold stops by to drop of an elixir he created that should cure the prince's Dreamshade poisoning once and for all; he drinks it and is cured almost immediately, having been sustained previously by Neverland's water, but Mary Margaret's happiness over this soon falters when she sees Neal having lunch alone, meaning Emma didn't take their advice. David then decides to find his daughter and talk her into it, but the blond can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen, commenting that Henry doesn't seem quite himself. David tells her not to dwell on the bad things that might happen, but to focus on life's good moments, and going on a date with Neal could be a good moment. David and Mary Margaret later hear a scream coming from the local nunnery and assemble there along with some of the other townspeople; here, they see Mother Superior being chased by the shadow, which has been freed from the Jolly Roger's sail to which it was bound, and it eventually rips out the Blue Fairy's own shadow, killing her. Knowing that Pan must have caused this, Emma frees the demon child over the town line where he will be powerless, and points her gun at him, ready to fire. However, Pan reveals that he is actually Henry, trapped in Pan's body, whereas the Henry walking around Storybrooke is actually Pan. Once he proves himself to be the real Henry, he, Emma, Gold, Belle and the Charmings head to Regina's mausoleum, where they find the Mayor unconscious, having been knocked out by the disguised Pan. Rumple soon deduces what has been stolen from the vault: the Dark Curse. With this, Pan will be able to wipe the memories of the townspeople all over again, and without Snow and Charming's true love woven into the paper, even Emma will be powerless to stop it.

David and the others are still at the mausoleum where Gold explains that the only way to stop the new curse is by Regina, the original caster, breaking the scroll, but she must pay a price to do this. David, Hook, Neal and Tinker Bell then head to the nunnery where Blue's funeral is being held to collect the Black Fairy's wand, but the funeral soon becomes under siege by the shadow. Tink uses her pixie dust to fly and trap the shadow in the coconut, killing it afterwards by throwing it into a larger fire, and killing the shadow restores Blue's. Mother Superior, now revived, hands over the Black Fairy's wand, and with that, a spell is cast to return Pan and Henry to their own bodies, and whilst Gold confronts his father in the pawnshop, Charming and the others find Henry in the town, who has the curse scroll. It isn't long before Pan, having apprehended Rumple, emerges and immobilizes the villagers, wanting to kill those most loved by his son. But before he can, Rumple emerges also, and stabs Pan with his Dark One dagger after being reunited with his shadow. This act brings about Rumple's death as well, and his loved ones mourn him whilst Regina explains that the price she has to pay for stopping the curse is Henry, who she can never see again. When Regina makes this sacrifice, she will be able to replace Pan's curse with one of her own, but this will return everyone to the Enchanted Forest and wipe Storybrooke from history, meaning Henry and Emma (who's able to leave because she's the savior) won't be able to remember it or its people at all. However, Regina is able to give them fake memories so that, for all they know, Emma never gave up her son, and as soon as the two of them drive over the town line, their new memories enact. Meanwhile, David and everyone else is enveloped by the curse, which is made safe by Regina, and transported back home.

Before the Second Curse
"I love you... I love you more than anything."

- Snow White

Charming and the others arrive back in the Enchanted Forest where they're met by a frightened Aurora and Phillip. After a brief catch-up with the recently pregnant couple, Charming is happy to hear from Jiminy that the residents of Storybrooke are appearing all over the land, meaning everything's back to normal besides the fact that his castle was destroyed; they decide to head to Regina's palace, which the Queen reveals was protected from the original curse. On their trek, Charming notices that Regina has gone missing, and Snow finds her attempting to bury her heart in the woods so that she doesn't have to deal with the loss of Henry. She convinces her to put her heart back in her body, but the two of them are then attacked by a flying monkey and rescued by Robin Hood and his Merry Men, who join the others on their journey. When they finally arrive at the palace, they are surprised to learn that it's surrounded by a protection spell - one that wasn't cast by Regina - meaning someone else is currently inside.

Charming learns from Regina that there are a series of tunnels that run beneath the Dark Palace that may run under the protection spell and wants to send in an army, but Regina suggests that she go in alone, pointing out that an army would be detected. A flying monkey soon attacks and gives the group enough time to identify the creature, allowing them to realize that the foe they're up against inside the castle is the Wicked Witch of the West. Regina goes through the tunnels along with Robin Hood after declining Snow's help, and the two of them are able to get in and disable the shield. Seeing this, Charming orders everyone inside, whilst Regina faces off with Zelena, the Wicked Witch, who reveals herself to be her half-sister before vacating the premises on her broomstick.

Charming is wandering through the Dark Palace when he strangely discovers Emma's nursery, and Emma - fully-grown in a ballgown - is waiting inside. They dance together like they never got the chance to do... but then the wardrobe opens up and snatches her away. David tries saving her but she says that he's failed her so there's nothing he can do. Before she goes, she tells him, "Don't fail the next one," and Charming's eyes shoot open as he awakes from his nightmare, utterly terrified. After a few heavy breaths, he looks to see that Snow isn't lying in bed beside him, becoming curious as to where she is. He calls her name and soon sees that she's standing by the balcony, gazing fondly outside. She appears happy that her husband is awake and he forces a smile before getting out of bed and approaching her. She comments on the view, adding that she forgot how beautiful it was there, and the prince dons his dressing gown before pointing out what a good mood his wife seems to be in. Snow confirms this, saying that she has some pretty wonderful news: she's pregnant. Charming looks shocked beyond belief, and Snow asks him if he's not happy, to which he replies he isn't - he is thrilled. The princess lets out another big smile before hugging him ecstatically. His facial expression, however, continues to show dread and fear.

Snow and Charming gather with Regina, Aurora and Phillip, discussing with them whether or not it's a good idea to announce their pregnancy to the kingdom. The two of them think it's a good idea because, with the Wicked Witch of the West on the loose, a royal baby will provide the people with the kind of stability they need, but it is pointed out to them that the Wicked Witch is exactly why they should caution themselves. They are interrupted by the return of Belle, who reveals that Neal sacrificed his life to resurrect Rumple and now Zelena has the dagger, leading Aurora to assure that this is definitely a bad time for the pregnancy to be announced. In doing so, she lets slip that she and her husband told Zelena of everyone's return to this land because her own unborn child was under threat, and she knows for a fact that the Wicked Witch needs Snow's baby for whatever her plan is. Zelena herself then arrives via broomstick and punishes Aurora and Phillip by turning them into flying monkeys. She then paralyzes everybody in the room with a spell and inspects the pregnant princess, assuring her that, when the baby arrives, it'll belong to her.

When Robin Hood catches Charming trying to drink away his fears of failing his unborn child, he tells him of something called Night Root, which voids the consumer of any fear. Scared that he's not going to be a good father to his upcoming child, Charming rides out into the woods where he finds this Night Root, but he's unable to eat it because he hears the screams of a damsel in distress. The screams are coming from a tall tower, and he finds himself climbing up to the damsel via her long, plaited her. She introduces herself as Rapunzel, a former princess, who was locked in this tower by a which after she ate Night Root because she was scared she wouldn't be able to rule the kingdom as well as her parents or her brother, the latter of which died. Charming offers his condolences and tries to rescue her, but because she tries to leave, the witch arrives and begins to attack her, tying David up with hair in the process. The hooded witch then reveals herself to be Rapunzel, for when the Night Root was ingested, a physical manifestation of the princess' fears was born and she now has to face it. David manages to break free of the hair that binds him and leaps from the window with the witch, clinging onto the vines outside whilst the hooded Rapunzel begins to climb her counterpart's hair. Charming continues to try and convince the princess to face her fear, and Rapunzel ends up chopping her plait with the prince's sword, causing her fear-made self to fall from the tower and be vanquished. Charming helps her out of the tower and brings her back home where she reunites with her parents. Snow asks her husband why he was out in the woods all night and he admits to being scared about parenthood. She assures him that everything will be okay because they will be raising this child the same way they do everything: together.

Eight months after Zelena's threat, Snow is heavily pregnant and discussing with the royal council what to do about the Wicked Witch, and so she, Charming, Regina, Belle and Robin Hood break into Rumple's castle to ask the resurrected Dark One - who's lost his mind and is under the Wicked Witch's control - if he knows a way to defeat his captor. With Belle's aid, he reveals that the answers they seek will come from Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, and Charming, Snow and Regina manage to track her down in the dark forest. She explains that Zelena's magic resides in her pendant, but only the powerful light magic within Emma Swan is able to defeat her. To get back to their daughter, the Charmings realize that they must re-enact the Dark Curse, much to Regina's objection. Despite this, the Queen gathers the ingredients for them, but Snow must sacrifice Charming's heart in order to complete it. They say their teary goodbyes to one another and the prince's heart is ripped out by Regina before being crushed by Snow and added to the mixture. The curse begins to enact, but Zelena flies by on her broom, sprinkling a forget potion into it so that Snow and Regina won't remember what they're setting out to do back in Storybrooke. Not wanting her husband's sacrifice to be in vain, Snow comes up with a plan to save him and asks Regina to rip out her heart and break it in half so that she and Charming can share it, thinking they are able to do this because they are each other's true love. Regina does what Snow asks and Charming revives in time to see the curse wash over the land.

Season 3
"I am afraid. Afraid I won't be a good father. But I won't let that stop me. Not now!"

When Emma returns to the newly-cursed Storybrooke, having regained her memories thanks to Captain Hook and a potion he gave her, she first visits her old apartment and knocks on the door; to her delight, David answers and remembers who she is. They hug, and he explains to her that they were cursed again when they were in the Enchanted Forest and so don't remember anything since Emma left town, meaning they lost a year of their lives. Emma wonders how he knows it's been a year if he can't remember anything that happened, at which point a heavily pregnant Mary Margaret descends the stairs, being a clear indicator of how much time has passed. She shares a joyous hug of reunion with her daughter, who is surprised that her mother is pregnant and that they've been cursed again; they are only left to wonder who is responsible...

David and Mary Margaret head to Granny's Bed & Breakfast along with Emma and Hook where they discuss the fact that people are disappearing from town, including three of the seven dwarfs. The next day, Henry is eating at the local diner with his mother and she introduces her parents as "old friends", as Henry is still unable to remember the two of them. However, David and Emma soon leave for the town line when they learn that Little John, a member of the Merry Men, crossed the line and got carried away by a flying monkey. David is soon able to find John with a bite mark on his shoulder and he accompanies him to hospital. Here, Little John goes into shock and turns into a flying monkey himself, smashing his way out of hospital and giving Prince Charming a surprise he didn't expect. He returns home to tell his family of this, and Regina soon deduces that they're up against the Wicked Witch of the West, who must have cursed the town.

When searching Regina's office for signs of the Wicked Witch, David finds berries tracked in from a certain part of the woods but must leave Emma and Hook to continue the job when he's sent a text by Mary Margaret, who wants him to meet with Zelena, their new midwife. He remains distrustful of her, much to Snow's dismay, and Zelena, who is in fact the Wicked Witch of the West, crushes some night-root into Charming's tea. He drinks it and returns to his town business after the meeting, thinking he's found the Wicked Witch in the woods when he's confronted by a cloaked figure. However, the figure's hood is removed and it reveals itself to be Charming, having manifested when he ate the night-root. David knows that he must face his fears to defeat his cloaked counterpart and the two of them engage in a sword fight, during which David's sword is reduced to a mere hilt. He admits to being scared of fatherhood but refuses to let that cripple him, stabbing the fear creature with the hilt of his sword and vanquishing it, therefore transferring his courage into the weapon he used. However, this symbol of his courage is teleported away by the Wicked Witch, as is explained to the prince by Regina. He then heads off with her, Emma and Hook where they find an empty cage in the storm cellar of an old farmhouse, which has been broken out of. When they see that the cage contains a spinning wheel, straw and gold, they deduce that it used to contain Rumplestiltskin.

Emma and David go on the hunt for Rumplestiltskin whilst Mary Margaret stays at home, awaiting Zelena, and Regina goes to the Wicked Witch's farmhouse in search of clues. Later, whilst in the woods, David learns that Emma doesn't plan on staying in Storybrooke once the curse is broken, instead planning to return with Henry, who's memories will still be fake, to New York. Their conversation is cut short, however, when they discover Mr. Gold, complaining about the noise in his head. A flying monkey attacks and Gold runs away; David stays to face it whilst his daughter chases after Rumple. Meanwhile, in town, Neal returns, and it is found out that he and Rumple are in fact sharing an ever-switching body. Emma uses her magic to separates them, but this causes Neal's death, due to the fact that he traded in his own life to resurrect his father. As his son dies, Gold reveals that Zelena is the Wicked Witch, and Emma and David storm the loft in order to catch her. However, she has vanished, leaving a confused Mary Margaret to ask what's going on. They explain the situation to her, much to her shock, and she comforts her daughter over Neal's death. She and David soon head to Mr. Gold's shop where they break the news to Hook and Belle.

David attends the funeral of Neal Cassidy and is one of the multiple townspeople who shovel dirt into his grave, proceeding to the wake at Granny's Diner afterwards. He and Snow try to comfort Emma, who's highly depressed over Neal's passing, but soon enough, Zelena bursts in with the Dark One's dagger held firmly in her hand; she mocks the death of Neal and Emma attempts to step in and do something, but Mary Margaret pulls her daughter back, pointing out that too many people will get hurt. Zelena tells Emma to listen to her mother, and Charming makes a point of shielding his wife's belly, leading the Wicked Witch to say she isn't there for his baby... not today, anyway. She soon reveals herself to be Regina's half-sister and challenges the Evil Queen to a fight on Main Street at sundown, allowing her time to unveil the truth of their familial connection. Among Cora's possessions in her vault, Regina finds a letter which confirms Zelena being her sister, and as she storms away, incredibly distraught, David and the others head to Zelena's farmhouse where they plan to use Belle to lure Gold away from the Wicked Witch's cage, but their attempt fails and he remains in her control. That night, Zelena arrives on Main Street and Regina turns up late, battling her sister and soon being thrown through the face of the clock tower. Zelena then tries to rip out Regina's heart, needing it for her plan, but the Queen reveals that she took it out before she came to the fight. The witch flies away on her broom and the Charmings run to the Regina's aid as she explains that it appears Zelena is gathering ingredients, for she already has David's courage and now wants her heart.

Mary Margaret sits quietly at the apartment whilst Emma and David struggle to put together the baby's new crib. She soon suggests calling Marco, for he's an expert carpenter, but they refuse, wanting to do this themselves. Regina then stops by, having installed a protection spell around the building to keep out the Wicked Witch, and Emma mentions wanting to go to the Mayor for some lessons in magic. The Charmings offer to take care of Henry whilst she does so, however, she reveals she's already asked someone else to take care of him. They wonder why, and Emma is forced to tell her parents that Henry finds them boring, especially in comparison to Hook, much to their dismay. David and Mary Margaret are later strolling along the beach when they notice a crowd has gathered, at the center of which is Ariel, who's washed ashore. She explains that she's been traveling the realms in search of Prince Eric, who's been missing ever since the new curse took place. They dress the mermaid and bring her to Granny's Diner, where they ask Hook if he's seen Eric during the missing year, but he says he hasn't, going on to take Ariel to Gold's shop to see if a locator spell can be cast on one of the prince's possessions. Meanwhile, David tries to prove he's fun by teaching Henry how to drive his jeep, but it goes horribly wrong and Mary Margaret watches as several mailboxes are destroyed by the young man's reckless driving. When they return home, the others are shocked to hear what the Charmings let Henry do, and Mary Margaret wonders what became of Ariel. They assure her that she's living happily on an island with her prince, and Snow is overjoyed to hear her friend received such a happy ending.

After having her heart taken by the Wicked Witch, Regina summons David, Mary Margaret, Emma and Hook to her house in order to help cast a spell that will allow her to talk with her dead mother, Cora, and learn more about Zelena's past. To do this, they need the deceased's murder weapon - the magic candle - and murderer - Snow. The candle is lit and they all join hands round a table, focusing their thoughts on Cora. A portal to the afterlife soon opens, but nothing comes through it, and they take this to mean that Cora doesn't want to discuss her past with them. Everyone leaves except Mary Margaret, who decides to stay and help clean up, but it turns out that Cora's ghost is lurking about the house and she manages to briefly possess David's wife before Regina's able to hurtle her back into the afterlife. Charming and the others then burst in and Mary Margaret is soon revived, now having some of Cora's memories and revealing that she was forced to give up Zelena because Princess Eva, Snow's mother, spilled her secret. When Belle reveals that Zelena plans on going back in time to kill Eva so that she won't have been abandoned, meaning Snow, Emma, Henry and maybe Regina won't have been born, it is realized that she needs the Charmings' baby to cast the spell. David vows to protect it, assuring his wife that Zelena won't get her hands on their child when it's born.

David and the others are discussing how to break the curse and they deduce that the key lies in Henry remembering and believing in magic, but to achieve this, they must first find his book of fairytales. Having found it in her closet one day back when the first curse was in order, Mary Margaret thinks it may be there again, and so they begin to search. Snow soon finds it and they rush to get to Henry, only to discover that he's missing. They soon locate him down at the docks where he and Hook are being attacked by a flock of flying monkeys, but the monkeys are slain and Henry is given the book, returning his memories at long last. However, just as Emma's about to kiss his forehead and break the curse, Zelena snatches him away and threatens his life. Emma is able to use her magic to take back her son, but the Wicked Witch threatens them severely before she leaves, mentioning that Hook failed the task she had set him. Finally, Regina is the one to kiss Henry's forehead and finally break the curse, and the memories of everyone in town are restored. Snow and Charming explain that they cast the curse themselves to find Emma so that her powerful light magic could defeat Zelena. On their way out, Emma demands to know what Zelena meant when she said Hook failed her, and he explains that his kiss was cursed so that, if his lips touched Emma's, her magic would be taken. David and Mary Margaret advise their daughter against trusting the pirate for he obviously lied about them sending him a message with the memory potion he used on Emma in New York, and the Charmings go on to take Henry to see Neal's grave. Whilst there, Mary Margaret goes into labor...

Mary Margaret is driven to hospital by David whilst multiple members of the town work to secure the premises against Zelena. Charming promises his wife that this baby isn't going to leave her arms, pointing out that they have Emma on their side this time, but their daughter's magic is removed during a run-in with the Wicked Witch when she gives CPR to Hook, who David earlier decided to trust in spite of the secrets he kept. It's not long before the baby is born, and Charming is ecstatic to see that it's a boy, being the first to have the baby passed to him by the doctor. However, Zelena bursts into the delivery room, knocks out Dr. Whale, freezes Charming and Snow with her magic and proceeds to teleport out of the hospital with the baby in her arms. David grabs his sword and goes after the witch along with Emma, Regina, Robin Hood and Hook. She has already begun to enact her spell, but Regina is able to use her own light magic to defeat her sister, knocking the Dark One's dagger out of her hands and stealing the pendant which houses all her magic. With Regina defeated and Rumplestiltskin no longer under her control, the Dark One wants her dead, but Regina instead decides to lock her up in a cell, for that's what a hero would do. Meanwhile, David takes his baby back, commenting that he's as resilient as his big sister, and reunites his wife with her son, much to everyone's joy. However, that night, after Zelena's death at the hands of Mr. Gold, the magic from her pendant spills out through the town, causing her time travel spell to enact.

David and Mary Margaret refuse to tell Emma the name of the baby until the official coronation at Granny's Diner has taken place, however, as everyone meets up, Emma is provoked into leaving when Hook brings up her plans to move back to New York. Hook goes after her with the storybook in tow, but everyone is soon distracted when they see across town that Zelena's time portal has opened, having activated when she died. Emma and Hook are soon dragged down it, having gone to investigate, and find themselves in the Enchanted Forest of the past. Emma accidentally interrupts her parents' meeting and makes it so it never happens, and so the Snow White of that period does not rob Charming's carriage and he instead ends up at King Midas' palace with his betrothed. He attends the ball that night, held in his honor, but when he asks Abigail for a dance, she says she forgot her comfortable shoes. He goes upstairs to retrieve them, but he instead finds Snow White stealing his wedding ring. Abigail sees this too and summons Queen Regina's guards, who begin pursuing her, and Charming vows to find the bandit. Meanwhile, Emma is arrested for aiding her mother's escape.

Still in a twisted version of the past, Snow is caught in a net by Prince Charming, where she dispenses his nickname, but they are soon subdued by Prince Charles (Hook's alias), who tells them that Princess Leia (Emma's alias) has Charming's ring. Snow hides in a carriage with the two princes as they go to rescue Emma from Regina's dungeon, during which time she and Charming bond and she tells him of the dark fairy dust she wears around her neck, which she plans to use on Regina. Red Riding Hood helps Charming and Hook break into the Dark Palace whilst Snow heads elsewhere; however, Emma has already escaped, with another prisoner called Marian in tow. They soon witness Snow, who's been captured by the Queen, get burned at the stake, but she in fact uses her fairy dust to transform herself into a ladybug and flies away in this form. She finds Charming, Red, Marian, Hook and a devastated Emma elsewhere and summons the Blue Fairy to return her to her human form, much to Emma's delight, which comes as confusion to Snow. She then leaves, but Charming realizes that she still has his wedding ring, and so he follows her all the way to the Troll Bridge. Knowing that she no longer has the dust in order to defeat the trolls - as she did the first time - Emma runs after them, but Snow is able to use sand and bluff her way out of the situation, returning events to normal. Emma watches as her parents fall in love, and she is later able to use a magic wand owned by Rumplestiltskin to return herself to the future. She returns to Granny's Diner, having decided to stay in Storybrooke, and the Charmings announce the name of their son: Prince Neal. The celebrations continue, and Emma is finally able to call her parents "mom" and "dad", but across town, the Ice Queen walks free, having been brought back when Emma and Hook returned.

Season 4
"This is our town, now if you've really turned over a new leaf you're welcome to stay... On one condition, no one must ever know what happened between us in the Enchanted Forest."

- Mary Margaret Blanchard

With Robin Hood's formerly dead wife, Marian, having returned from the past after Emma and Hook's escapade, Regina is distraught at the fact that she may not be able to remain with her true love. As an argument breaks out, David and Mary Margaret - along with baby Neal - exit the diner to check on everything, merely happy to see that no one's been incinerated yet. The argument ends with Regina storming off, but the Charmings worry about what it is she'll do. The next day, David, Mary Margaret, Emma and Henry are taking a stroll with the baby, 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, but when they reach its end, a snow monster forms and attacks them. The two of them, along with Charming, follow it to the woods where it knocks all of them out with ease, leaving only Marian conscious. Regina soon arrives and defeats it single-handedly, leaving once everyone has woken up, but it's rather evident that someone with the powers to control ice and snow is now loose in Storybrooke.

Elsa, the Ice Queen, decides that no one is to leave town until she finds her sister, Anna, and so she erects an ice wall around the perimeter of Storybrooke to prevent anyone from escaping. Charming, Emma and Hook go to investigate, but when they startle Elsa, her out-of-control powers accidentally trap herself and Emma in an ice cave and Emma slowly starts to freeze to death. Knowing that Elsa took Anna's necklace from Mr. Gold's shop, David and Hook head there and the prince recognizes the necklace's inventory picture, since it's the same one that resided around the neck of "Joan" all those years ago. This leads David to suspect Bo Peep's involvement, and so he heads to her butcher's shop and steals her magic crook. He manages to convince Elsa to melt a small section of the ice wall by telling her something Anna told him, proving that they knew each other, and Emma is saved. Back at the apartment, the crook is used to hear Anna's heartbeat, thus confirming that she's alive. Meanwhile, it becomes apparent that someone with similar powers to Elsa is preventing her from being able to melt the entire ice wall.

As Mayor, Mary Margaret hosts her first fireside chat in what used to be Regina's office, however, it all goes disastrously wrong when people begin complaining towards her and Marian collapses under the influence of some sort of ice spell, which is slowly killing her. Everyone is quick to blame Elsa, but Emma believes her new friend to be innocent and so she and David work to prove it. Whilst searching the wood for clues, they come across Will Scarlet - a thief - who reveals that, on the night of the blackout, the ice cream in the ice cream parlor didn't melt, meaning magic is keeping it frozen. He, David and Emma investigate and discover that what Will is saying is true, but he runs away before they're able to talk to him further. Back in the woods, the two sheriffs find the Snow Queen (who owns the ice cream store) about to kill Hook, but manage to save him in time. The Snow Queen appears to recognize Emma, much to her confusion, but her father assures her that it's nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, Regina finds a way to stall Marian's affliction by ripping out her heart before the ice can reach it and kill her.

When Emma asks Hook out on a date and dresses to impress, Mary Margaret is happy to see her daughter being courted and takes a picture of her before she leaves, she and David thinking that this makes up for them never getting to take her to a ball when she was growing up. Hook arrives and the Charmings are all shocked to see that he has two hands, at which he explains that he made a deal with the Dark One to make it so (which he later goes back on, due to extenuating circumstances). Later that night, following the goodnight kiss, Emma arrives home to find her two parents waiting on the couch. Mary Margaret is excited and wants to know everything whereas David is more relaxed and would rather not hear about what the pirate's been getting up to with his daughter. Feeling swamped, Emma continuously comments that she needs to get her own place, and as she heads to bed, Mary Margaret takes note of how happy she seems which leads David to comment that it seems Hook really has changed. Emma exclaims that she can hear them. The next day, the Charmings are investigating the Snow Queen at the sheriff's station after an incident wherein she stalked Emma, coming to the conclusion that she didn't arrive along with the curse, meaning she made her own way to Storybrooke.

Mary Margaret has reservations about leaving Neal behind with Belle so that she can go on a hike with David, not wanting to be separated from her child, but he assures her that everything's going to be okay and manages to convince her to come. First, however, they make a quick stop at the sheriff's station where they soon realize that the thief, Will Scarlet, has escaped. David suggests tracking and capturing him, to his wife's confusion, but he points out that it will be like the old days: Snow White and Prince Charming on an adventure but without the Evil Queen on their backs. The two of them then head off in search of the thief, but Mary Margaret wants to go home whilst David continues to search. He goes on, whilst she almost immediately spots Will digging something up nearby. She approaches to find that he's searching for his travel bag, which is buried along with the map he needs to find his travel bag. Not believing anyone could be so stupid, Mary Margaret deduces that David actually set this man free so that she could feel good about capturing him. She gets Will to admit all of this in exchange for a pardon, and he walks away a free man. Back at the apartment, David returns home and his wife reveals that she "caught" the thief, going on to explain that she knows all about his plan. However, David reveals that Will really did escape and really is that stupid and lied to her to get a pardon. This stuns Mary Margaret, but David urges that maybe Will earned his pardon if it means it's helped her find that part of herself again.

David, along with everyone else, is summoned to the sheriff's station in order to view an old recording Emma found that shows the Snow Queen used to be her foster mother. Mary Margaret is shocked, never having witnessed her daughter's childhood, but Regina asks her old nemesis if she's missing the part where Emma is with the Snow Queen, which the blonde claims to remember none of, having had her memory of the foster home and all her time there erased. Belle chimes in, saying that she doesn't understand how the Snow Queen even ended up in their world, and Emma hopes that maybe Gold can tell them, pointing out that he spent more time trying to get there than anyone and asking how she did it. Gold, having labored over said task, would like to know himself, and David wonders if she should be a little more concerned about why she came there, as opposed to how. He goes on to sum up that they know she's hiding in the north woods, they searched every inch of her shop, tore apart her house, but she'd cleared everything out days before. Hook points out that that must mean she's hiding something, and Henry suggests that they check her ice cream truck, having noticed she owns such an item because he's a kid. Once there, they find that the Snow Queen has been stalking Emma for quite some time and, thanks to Belle, they later discover that she hopes to cast a shattered sight spell to make everyone in Storybrooke turn on each other so all that will be left is she, Elsa and Emma (who resembles her sister, Helga), who will act as her idealized family.

David contacts Emma in order to tell her that an ice trail has been spotted leading up to the clock tower, meaning that the Snow Queen is inside. Emma quickly arrives and captures her through use of a magic candle, but it is later discovered, thanks to Belle, that the magic mirror in there with her was actually a fake, which means that the Snow Queen wanted to be captured. This becomes evident when she seals herself inside the sheriff's station with Emma in order to manipulate her, whilst David and the others go to Gold for help. However, as it turns out, he is unneeded, because by the time David and everyone else arrive, Emma's out-of-control powers - induced by the Snow Queen - have blown a hole through the station wall. Her temperamental powers soon cause a nearby lamppost to fall on David and hurt him badly. Mary Margaret quickly makes sure her husband's alright before yelling at her daughter. Seeing the hurt on Emma's face, she soon feels sorry and changes her tone to that of an apologetic one. She tries calling after her daughter, but it's too late; Emma drives away and cannot be found, even hours later. Mary Margaret laments yelling at her daughter over at the apartment, claiming to have failed as a parent along with David, and the two of them regret heavily that Emma was forced to see fear in the eyes of her own family.

After a night of everyone, including David, searching for Emma, Henry arrives home - having found her on his own - with a cut accidentally inflicted by his magically-enhanced mother. Elsa puts some ice on it with some of her own magic, and Emma soon calls her mother in order to tell her what she plans to get rid of her magic permanently. Regina arrives with a locator spell to help them find the missing savior, before going to visit her adoptive child and ultimately healing him as she does so. The former Queen and Mayor soon learns, however, that Emma plans to rid herself of magic and, worse, the Charmings plan to let her, and so she lectures them as to why that's bad, leading them to realize that they've been rationalizing the situation, and it doesn't take anyone long to notice that both the locator spell and Elsa are missing. David, Henry, Regina and Mary Margaret begin tracking Emma through the town and they later find her and Elsa at an abandoned mansion. Emma has embraced her powers and decided not to go through with the removal, but a strange ribbon appears on her wrist, and Elsa's. Elsewhere in Storybrooke, the Snow Queen casts her spell of shattered sight.

David and the others head up to the clock tower to see that the spell of Shattered Sight has been cast, and will be ready to turn everyone in Storybrooke against one another by sundown; Emma believes the answer to be simple, suggesting that they all leave Storybrooke, but the ice wall prevents them from doing so, rendering the savior's idea moot. However, from within the ice, Elsa is able to find her sister's necklace which, with a locator spell, could be used to find Anna. She and Emma head to Belle, and she detects that it could be used to counteract the spell if Anna herself, who's been under the spell, cannot be located. The search proves unsuccessful and could go on for days, but the fairies could still use the necklace to counteract the spell, and destroy it in the process, thus destroying all hope of locating Anna along with it. The Charmings agree with Regina that they have to do what's in the best interest of the town, as opposed to holding onto the Ice Queen's blind faith that her sister can be found. They head to the fairies with the pouch containing the necklace... only they don't have it; Elsa tricked them and is using it to track Anna, and is eventually able to make a wish on it which causes Anna and her fiancé Kristoff to appear. After a reunion, they return to the fairies, but they're all mysteriously missing, and so the spell appears inevitable. David and Mary Margaret lock themselves up in the sheriff's station cells, giving Neal to Emma to keep him safe. They believe that their love is strong enough to withstand the spell, but the rain of glass soon falls, the spell becomes complete, and Snow stares at her husband in utter contempt.

With the spell of Shattered Sight complete, David and his wife begin arguing uncontrollably, with her berating him for things such as his poor parenting skills and him berating her for things such as her one-night stand with Dr. Whale. Anna, who's been left to look after Neal, tries reminding Snow White and Prince Charming that they're supposed to love each other, but David points out that she hit him across the face when they first met, which should have been a sign, while she argues that he trapped her in a net. Mary Margaret goes on to tell Anna that she isn't as warm and fuzzy as one might think, for she killed the Evil Queen's mother and said she was sorry, but she didn't mean it. It's not long before Regina herself, dressed in the kind of royal attire she would normally be seen sporting back in the Enchanted Forest, arrives in the sheriff's station and sends Anna and Kristoff elsewhere with her magic, wanting to face Snow and ultimately kill her baby in revenge for what happened to Daniel. She opens the cell with her magic and plans to fight the princess in the same way, however, Mary Margaret goads Regina into fighting physically, at which she provides the two of them with swords and they begin brawling with one another. Their fight lasts a long while and escalates to extremely aggressive levels, that is, until the Snow Queen sacrifices herself to undo the spell and everyone's personalities are put right. Snow, Charming and Regina simply begin to laugh, before heading outside with Neal to discover that it's snowing and reunite with Emma. The Charmings apologize for all they said to one another, chalking it up to a mere spell and kissing to show that they hold no hard feelings.

Following Ingrid's death, Elsa is finally able to use her powers to remove the ice wall surrounding the town; however, some of the Snow Queen's magic remains, and her desire to protect Storybrooke against intruders has made it so that anyone who leaves cannot return. Things look bleak for Elsa, Anna and Kristoff, who need to make it back home to Arendelle in order to dethrone the evil Prince Hans, but it isn't long until Hook reveals that he visited Mr. Gold and found a portal for the three of them to go to, over in the mansion where Emma's magic was almost removed. David and the others head over there and quickly find a door standing alone in a room. Elsa bids her goodbyes before stepping through it, back to her kingdom, and Kristoff follows. Anna is the last to go through but, before she does, she wishes to know who Mr. Gold is, and they explain to her that his real name is Rumplestiltskin. This shocks her, for she knows who he is, and this leads everyone to become aware that the Dark One has been lying to them for sometime. Anna goes home whilst Emma and Mary Margaret rush over to the clock tower, where Gold is performing a ritual involving the sorcerer's hat and Hook's heart, with which he's been controlling the pirate for some time. They try to stop him, but he simply freezes them with his magic, continuing with his spell which should make it so that he can leave town and retain his magic whilst cleaving himself entirely of the dagger and its control... but the spell fails, thanks to Belle, who's found the real dagger and uses it to command him to stop, unfreeze Mary Margaret and Emma and give Hook his heart back. Seeing the man he truly is, she proceeds to force him over the town line so that he may never return.

Six weeks have passed since Rumplestiltskin's memorable departure from Storybrooke and all seems well, but it isn't long until fresh trouble is brewed in the form of Chernabog, an evil demon who's accidentally released from the Sorcerer's hat during the ritual performed to free the fairies. Although the fairies are indeed free, Chernabog rampages through the skies, and Emma and Regina manage to stun him temporarily with a combined blast of their magic. When a conclusion is reached on just how to defeat him, Emma calls her mother to tell her the good news. Although she's happy that an end will soon be put to Chernabog, Mary Margaret appears rather uneasy, as is picked up on by David. He wonders why she doesn't look happy, and she reveals that the people aiding Emma and Regina are Cruella De Vil and Ursula, who are professing to want to turn over a new leaf as they wait at the town line to be let in. When Chernabog is taken care of, Emma is approached by her parents who warn her not to let the two villains into town, but Emma disagrees, deciding that everyone deserves a second chance and to grant them passage anyway by handing over the Sorcerer's scroll. Unbeknownst to anyone, Curella and Ursula then help Rumple back into Storybrooke, with plans to resurrect Maleficent, however, they soon meet up with Snow and Charming who order them to keep what happened between them all those years ago a secret... or else Snow will personally rip out their hearts.

Mary Margaret has a bad dream about Maleficent returning and hurting her family and becomes even more cautious about the secret she and David are hiding from everyone. They grow convinced that Cruella and Ursula are up to no good and believe them to have stolen something from Gold's shop, which David manages to find when he pulls them over in his sheriff's car - a totem of Maleficent's, which they think means the two villainesses plan on resurrecting her. The Charmings lie to Emma about going on a hike as they decide to head to the under-library caves to retrieve Maleficent's ashes and make sure that she can't be returned; but, as it turns out, this was all part of Cruella and Ursula's plan, and they knock out the two heroes in order to slit open their hands and steal drops of their blood, which is then poured onto the ashes collected by the unseen Mr. Gold: Maleficent rises as a result. She decides not to kill the Charmings for what they did to her, instead wanting them to stew in their own guilt and suffering, and the two of them realize that this is all their fault, wanting to set things right by telling the truth to Emma. However, upon hearing the philosophy Emma has recently adopted from her parents about seeing the best in people, they decide that they cannot go through with it, and so they employ Regina's help instead, asking her to go undercover and stop the Queens of Darkness from destroying this town and its happy endings. Regina wonders what makes them so sure that the Queens would be targeting them, at which Mary Margaret finally reveals what it is that she and Charming have been carrying around with them all these years: because of them, Maleficent lost her child.

Regina agrees to go undercover with the Queens of Darkness in order to find out what it is that they're planning now that Maleficent's been resurrected, and Emma is far less than happy to learn about this from her parents, and even less so when they reveal that Regina was meant to check in an hour ago. It isn't until the following morning that Regina is found, after even Mary Margaret has doubts about her old stepmother's safety, having defended the fact that she can take care of herself. She is with a charred sheriff's car - the handy work of Maleficent and what she considers a good time - and the Charmings are eager to find out what she's learned; however, she's still in the stages of establishing trust and as of yet knows nothing about the Queens' plots. She warns the two of them to meet with her more covertly next time, for it's dangerous for them to be seen together, and the next time they meet is in the library along with Emma and Hook. Regina reveals to them that the Queens of Darkness are on their own quest for the Author in order to shift the balance of who gets happy endings and who doesn't. Emma in particular worried about this undercover job, which ultimately culminates in Regina learning that Rumplestiltskin is back, with his dagger in tow, and he turns young Pinocchio back into the man that is August W. Booth in order to find out what he knows about the book.

David, Mary Margaret, Hook and Emma 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. Meanwhile, August recuperates back at the apartment where he reveals that the Author is trapped inside the book.

Hook tells Emma and her parents about Gold's plan to fill her heart with darkness, which leads the Charmings to worry about the security of the goodness they instilled within their daughter many years ago. They leave, and Maleficent casts a spell over the town which puts everyone to sleep, except those who have already been under a sleeping curse. As such, David, Mary Margaret and Henry remain awake, and the latter runs to the Sorcerer's mansion in order to protect the page that the Author is trapped inside, for the villains are after it. David suggests destroying the page, believing that that will solve all of their problems, and he takes it from Henry upon arriving in the mansion. However, just as he is about to throw it in the fire, Mary Margaret stops him. She reminds her husband that she gave Henry that book to give him hope, and she can't take that away from him; nor can she rob Regina of her happy ending after all she's recently done for them. She recalls the time when Regina showed her the black spot in her heart, after Cora's death, and theorizes that it began to darken long before... she decides that it's time to tell Emma the truth about what they did, because they're heroes, which means they do what's right as opposed to what's easy. When Emma wakes up, she is told everything, and she rejects her parents for lying to her. Mary Margaret tries pleading, but Emma cares not, going on to take the page and the key Henry found to the door over to August, and he explains how the Author isn't a person, but a profession, and the one that's trapped is simply the last; the reason for his imprisonment is that he began to alter stories instead of just record them, and Mary Margaret and David are hesitant about setting him free. Emma ignores them, still angry, and the Author is let loose. As it turns out, he's the peddler that Snow and Charming met many years before, and he proceeds to cause a distraction and run away.

Following the Author's escape, David follows him through the woods along with Emma and Mary Margaret, later calling in Hook and Henry to help, and his wife 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.

Emma remains livid at her parents for what they did back in the Enchanted Forest to Maleficent's child, and they again try arguing their case; however, she is hearing none of it, unable to fathom of something so immoral and consequently leading them to point out that such refusal to accept this must mean that what they did worked - that she is good and pure-of-heart, just like what they hoped to ensure. Her mood doesn't improve when it's revealed that Zelena is alive, having been posing as Marian this whole time, nor when Cruella kidnaps Henry and tries blackmailing his two mothers into killing the Author. The Charmings say that they found the flask they gave to the Author in the nunnery, which could work as part of a locator spell, and Emma tells them to work on it, deciding to take Hook and Regina with her to actually find Henry because she needs to be with people she trusts and right now she just doesn't trust her parents. They end up heading to Gold's mansion, where the Author, Isaac, is hiding out, and he reveals to them that Cruella De Vil, thanks to him, is unable to take a human life - she is defenseless, and Rumple has set everything up so that Emma will end up killing the Queen of Darkness, and thus her heart shall blacken. The savior's parents rush to stop this, but they're too late: Cruella has been hurled off of a cliff and to her death by Emma, who stares on indignantly.

Cruella is buried and, after witnessing the event, Emma heads to the diner where David is sitting with Mary Margaret, Regina, Hook and Henry. The state of the savior's soul is worried about after what happened, but she assures them all that what she's feeling right now doesn't acquaint to darkness; it's regret, and she looks to her parents rather implicitly as she comments that she's sure they've all done things that they regret. Maleficent then approaches the group and reveals that she's done with Gold, for he's proven how little he cares for anyone other than himself, and so now she wants to hinder his plans by having Emma travel out into the land without magic and finding her daughter - Lily. Emma is shocked because she knows this girl, because they're tied together by fate, and she and Regina decide to venture out together so that the latter can save Robin Hood from Zelena in the process. Before they leave, Mary Margaret and David try saying goodbye, but Emma just looks briefly and coldly towards them as she tells them to look after Henry, and they're clearly hurt. They later decide to approach Maleficent and apologize to her for what they did to her daughter, but she points out that it isn't her who needs to be apologized to, it's Lily; and, if Maleficent doesn't forgive them, she doubts that her daughter will be able to do so either. ("Lily")

Emma returns to Storybrooke to reunite Maleficent with her daughter, Lily, but before she does so she greets both Henry and Hook with a hug; when Mary Margaret attempts to embrace the savior also, she rejects her, proceeding to introduce Lily to her mother. Mary Margaret is saddened by this, but David consoles her, and the two of them are later at the apartment when Maleficent knocks on their door. She explains that Lily is only interested in revenge as opposed to a proper relationship, and she needs their help. They acquaint the situation to their own with Emma when she first came to Storybrooke, and end up driving to the town line along with the dark sorceress to stop Lily from leaving. However, Lily has already turned into a dragon, and she soars above them, heading to a nearby field. The three of them follow and Maleficent proudly approaches her daughter, only to have Mary Margaret run at the creature and be knocked out by her tail, hitting her head hard on a rock. Her wound is treated by David and then healed by Emma's magic as she arrives on the scene. She decides to forgive her mother for omitting the truth from her, because she understands that she's human and is allowed to make mistakes, and cutting her out of her life hasn't done anything except make both of them miserable. Additionally, no matter what Snow has done it doesn't change the fact that she's Emma's mom. The two of them finally embrace, putting the past behind them.

With the Author now in possession the enchanted ink he needs to rewrite everyone's story, David 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. However, it's too late: a new story is written, and the entirety of Storybrooke's residents are trapped inside. Prince Charming is now the heartless huntsman to Evil Queen Snow White, whose seven malevolent dwarfs bring Isaac to her as a prisoner. She wants him beheaded, but then he reveals that he knows who she truly loves - Prince James. He died because of the bandit Regina, and since his death she's been using his twin brother as a puppet, despite knowing he'll never measure up. Snow is disheartened to be reminded of this and lets Isaac live, with him telling her that if she wants her happy ending then she needs to kill both Regina and a boy new to this land who wishes to stop him (Henry). Later, Regina tries robbing Snow's tax carriage, only to find the Queen herself hiding inside. The bandit is quickly disarmed, and Charming convinces Snow to hold out on ripping her heart out by asking her about the boy, whom Regina refuses to address. Following a brief conversation, Snow uses her magic to make a fireball, ready to burn her nemesis where she stands... but then Robin Hood's arrow hits the carriage door beside her, and thanks to him Regina is able to escape.

Snow murders one of the dwarfs in order to motivate her royal council, before hearing from her faithful Black Knight Lily that the prisoner she had locked up in her impenetrable tower has escaped, thanks to Henry - the boy she's after - and a pirate named Hook. Snow and Charming confront the three of them at the docks, and the former is able to recognize the prisoner she locked away as Emma, who claims to be her daughter. After feigning to remember who she is, Snow orders her huntsman to kill the "savior" and her comrades, leading to a sword fight between he and Hook. Hook seems to be gaining the upper-hand for a while, but Charming is soon able to stab him from behind, killing him. Snow White tries throwing a fireball at the other two, but they manage to get away in time, reuniting with Regina. Together, they manage to put everything back on track; Henry becomes the new Author and he writes everyone back into the real world. As Hook is revealed to be alive and well in this realm, Isaac tries leaving Storybrooke in a car, but David and Mary Margaret soon catch up to and confront him. He reveals his hatred for all heroes, hence why he had them kidnap Maleficent's child, and Mary Margaret finds this pitiable before she and her husband arrest him. Celebrations are had, but then Belle crashes the party and warns everyone that Rumple is dying, and they're all in danger because of it. The hat is used to extract the Dark One from his heart, but it's soon able to escape and attempts taking over Regina. Not wanting this to happen, Emma uses the dagger to tether the darkness to her own soul. She employs her parents to eventually save her, as heroes, before ascending into the air and disappearing completely. As she becomes the new Dark One, her name becomes engraved on the dagger.

Season 5
"Emma kept us united, and that is exactly how we are going to remain. Come hell or high water, we are going to put our nonsense aside and find my daughter."

- Snow White

When the dagger is unable to summon Emma home, it is deduced that she's been transported to another realm, and so David and the others go to the Sorcerer's Apprentice for help. Before dying, he passes on his wand, but only Zelena is dark enough to use it since the light magic inside needs to be balanced it. She uses it to summon a magical cyclone to take her back to Oz, only for Regina to manipulate her and get the anti-magic cuff back on her wrist, then able to direct the portal as she sees fit. Over in Granny's Diner, Mary Margaret is happy to see Emma's baby blanket, a personal item of Emma's that Regina needs if she's going to be able to lock onto her location with the wand. Before the cyclone can carry them away, Grumpy, Happy and Doc barge into the diner, wanting to go with Snow White so as to not be left out of yet another adventure. Snow is grateful for their help, clutching her baby as the cyclone finally arrives and carries the entirety of Granny's Diner, Granny included, to the Enchanted Forest. When they arrive, Emma is about to crush the heart of the warrior princess Merida because it's the only way she can find Merlin and have him remove the darkness from her. Mary Margaret, now in possession of the dagger, wants to use it to stop her, but Hook says that it has to be Emma's choice whether or not she succumbs. Ultimately, she returns Merida's heart and her mother and father give her the dagger, which Emma then gives to Regina for safekeeping. As they head back to Granny's in the woods, King Arthur and his knights arrive to welcome them all into Camelot, having been told by a prophecy that they'd be arriving.

Before the Third Curse
"The darkness is in my daughter, so every choice I make is for the good of my family."

David and the others are welcomed into Camelot, where it is revealed by King Arthur that a royal ball has been prepared in their honor. They wonder when the quest to find Merlin will begin, but they soon find out that it's not a matter of finding him - it's a matter of getting him out of the magic tree he's trapped in. Regina pretends to be the savior prophesied to free him so that Emma doesn't have to use her dark magic, but she fears that she cannot keep her cover if, at the royal ball, she's unable to dance. Mary Margaret is surprised to hear that her stepmother doesn't know how, for they attended dozens of balls together, and Regina reminds her that King Leopold was so busy dancing with his precious daughter that he never much bothered with his wife. David offers to teach the Queen how, but first, Mary Margaret points out that a change in clothes is in order, and settles Regina on wearing an elegant new ballgown. She soon gets the hang of it, and everyone proceeds to have a great time together. However, the necklace earlier given to Regina by Sir Percival was being used to spy on her, and he learns prior to the ball that she's in fact the Evil Queen. While David is helping Henry approach his first crush, Percival is dancing with Regina and, having a personal vendetta against her, tries to kill her. Robin steps in but is stabbed, and David is forced to kill Percival in self-defense. Regina is unable to heal Robin due to the magic sword used to injure him and so Emma uses her dark magic to keep him alive, starting her on a dangerous path.

In Merlin's tower, David watches as Mary Margaret, Emma, Regina and Belle work to try and find a way to free the Sorcerer from the tree he's trapped in; it is soon decided that they need a way to communicate with him in order to learn more about his condition, and to do that they're going to need a certain magical toadstool known as the Crimson Crown, found in the Forest of Eternal Night. David offers to find it for them, and Arthur offers to go with him, first stopping by the Round Table to collect a chest of valuable items to help them on their way. While there, David is told of siege perilous, a seat at the Round Table reserved for the most pure-hearted of knights, formerly taken up by the now deceased Lancelot. The two of them bond on their quest over things such as their wives and their similar humble beginnings, before making it to the toadstool... which is across a bog, and the only way over it is a weak bridge. David carefully goes over it, suspecting that it will only take one, and successfully gets the toadstool; however, he is then attacked by undead knights who drag him underwater. Arthur rescues his new comrade, but the Crimson Crown is lost. Due to the valor expressed by David on this quest, Arthur knights him into the Knights of the Round Table, allowing him to sit down on siege perilous. David is honored, and his friends and family are extremely proud of him - however, as it turns out, Arthur lied; he in fact took the Crimson Crown for himself and is more untrustworthy than he appears.

When Charming learns that Excalibur is incomplete and can be made whole again by the Dark One's dagger, he wants to use the dagger to help Arthur; however, Mary Margaret approaches her husband and tells him of Lancelot's warning, leading to an argument between the two over whether or not the King can be trusted. Ultimately, they put their differences aside and decide to do what's best for their daughter: Charming goes to Arthur, pretending to have forgotten the dagger, while Snow takes a fake dagger to Lancelot, who's hiding out at Granny's Diner in the woods. He takes her to the Vault of the Dark One so that they can hide it, but, once they're inside, Arthur approaches, having followed them, and he threatens Lancelot if Mary Margaret doesn't hand over the dagger. She obliges, but, when he tries to summon Emma, he fails due to the dagger being fake, at which David reveals that he was tricking the King to make sure whether or not his intentions were truly dubious. Since Snow was proven right, Arthur is taken captive... until his knights come to rescue him and a spellbound Guinevere uses magic sand to make the Charmings submissive. While Lancelot is locked away, Snow and Charming are suddenly under the belief that Arthur can be trusted, and advise Regina to give him the real dagger after all.

Regina and the Charmings go out into the woods where the former has re-hidden the real Dark One's dagger, but she has reservations about giving the only thing that can control Emma to Arthur, and asks if they're sure it's the right thing to do. They say that it is, to little effect, and when they grow aggressive in trying to convince her, they are suddenly frozen by Emma's dark magic. She explains to Regina that Arthur put her parents under a spell, having seen him do so through a magical dreamcatcher she created, and wants to help them after seeing through her plan to free Merlin from the tree. Since he was trapped using his own tear of heartbreak, another tear of heartbreak might help to save him; Emma rips out the heart of Henry's crush Violet and makes her break his heart, thus allowing her to get the necessary ingredient from her own son. When Merlin is freed, David and Mary Margaret are taken to Granny's Diner where the Sorcerer relieves them of the spell. They are surprised by Merlin, having expected someone "older", and he is then asked to remove the darkness from Emma. However, he says that he won't be able to do so unless Emma's heart is ready to let go of it, and he asks her if it is. She is hesitant to reply.

The door to Arthur's dungeon in Camelot bursts open, and Charming and Hook come on through, easily besting the guards on the other side who have already been weakened by Merlin's magic. The Sorcerer himself is there too, followed by Belle, and easily knocks out more guards on the way, commenting that wielding magic is just like riding a bike. Charming wonders how he knows what a bike is, and Merlin asks the prince if he thought all of his prophecies came true due to luck, then beckoning each of his new allies to hide while a group of guards goes past. Hook realizes that the Sorcerer really can see the future, and the small group go on to find Lancelot's cell. At first, the former Knight of the Round Table is worried by the prince, but he assures him that he and Snow are now free of Arthur's control. Lancelot wonders how they got free, at which Merlin reveals himself; Lancelot is humbled, and Merlin proceeds to have trouble getting the bars off his cell - as well as Merida's, which is opposite. Belle shows him a passage from her book that she believes might be helpful, and it is; the Sorcerer cites her as clever before successfully freeing the prisoners. Later, Charming and Lancelot can be seen in Granny's Diner while Merlin reminds Emma that they once met when she was a child.

When pressed, Merlin says that he will be able to remove the darkness from Emma using a reformed Excalibur. He will need a certain magical flame in order to repair it, but even that would be useless unless he gets the sword itself, and so he tasks David and the others with stealing it from Arthur while he and Emma quest for the aforementioned flame. It is discussed how to best go about breaking into Arthur's castle, and Zelena makes her feelings known, pointing out that any of their suggestions would either end in their death, imprisonment or just general failure. She reveals that while she was skulking around the castle, pretending to be Regina's mute handmaiden, she was actually plotting an escape; she offers to show them a secret way into the castle that she discovered in exchange for her anti-magic cuff being removed, and David and the others allow her to lead them there. They refuse to remove the cuff until they return victorious, and Regina asks Mary Margaret to keep watch on the Wicked Witch. However, Snow falls victim to Zelena's scheme and is knocked out and tied up by the witch, who walks her into Arthur's throne room after the others have successfully intruded it. She reveals that she's allied herself with Arthur, who's removed her cuff, and uses her magic to make the broken Excalibur able to control Merlin. The Sorcerer is summoned and Arthur uses his new power over him to force him to get rid of David and the others with his magic. ("Nimue")

The heroes find themselves all bound to trees, waiting for Emma to pay the ransom for their release which consists of the Dark One's dagger and the Promethean spark so that it can be reunited with Excalibur. However, she decides to trick their captors by handing Zelena a fake spark which causes her to be tied to a tree as well, at which Arthur orders Merlin to kill Mary Margaret in penance for Emma's betrayal. The Sorcerer uses his magic to summon a branch which wraps itself around Mary Margaret's neck, getting tighter and tighter and strangling the life out of her. Emma begs Merlin to fight Arthur's control, for if he, the most powerful magician who ever lived, can't fight the darkness... then no one can. Merlin resists as much as he's able and finally the branch relinquishes Mary Margaret's throat, allowing Hook enough time to wriggle free of his binds and hit Arthur across the face, receiving a cut from Excalibur in the process but managing to retrieve it too. At the diner, Emma is contemplative by the outside well and Regina approaches, trying to use the dagger to force her to admit why she's afraid to let go of the darkness. Emma's parents see this, as does Hook, and the latter rips the dagger from Regina's hands, causing Emma to run away. She admits that she's reluctant to let go because she's scared of the future that she's going to have with Hook... but she does want it. Eventually she's able to light the Promethean flame and begins to reunite Excalibur; however, Hook's neck wound from the sword which Emma initially healed suddenly reopens, because a cut from Excalibur is never truly gone. He is dying, and so Emma halts the sword's reparation and uses it to transfer Merlin's powers into Hook, saving him but turning her fully dark in the process. Hook also becomes a Dark One.

David and the others head to the Vault of the Dark One, where Merlin confirms that Hook has indeed been accepted as a new Dark One. Mary Margaret tries tracking him through the forest but his footprints disappear, due to him having teleported away at some point. When the others move on, David expresses frustration over the fact that Emma was about to get rid of the darkness, at which his wife points out that Hook would have died if she had gone through with it, which wouldn't be the right thing to do, and she goes on to mention that the two of them share one heart because they were willing to take a similar risk. She adds that they save each other - that's what their family does - and so implores him to have some faith in their daughter; he assures that he does, but just hopes that her faith in Hook is justified. Emma and Hook later reunite with the others back at Granny's Diner, where they claim to want to get rid of the darkness. However, Hook has plans of his own and interrupts Merlin while he's in the middle of recording a warning for the others. He ends up ripping the Sorcerer's heart out and enacting a new Dark Curse with it to take everyone in Camelot back to Storybrooke where he can kill Mr. Gold. Emma catches on though, and uses her dreamcatchers to make Hook forget he was ever a Dark One. She teleports her friends and family into the diner as well, making them unconscious, and takes their memories of the last six weeks too, adding this memory-wipe feature to the curse as a whole. It then spreads over Camelot and Emma decides to isolate herself from the others while she figures out how to save Hook and herself from the darkness.

Season 5
"I should've stopped her. I am her father, and now I'm... I'm paralyzed. There's nothing I can do, for her, for you, for anyone."

After spending a total of six weeks away in Camelot, David and the others 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 David and the others have 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 Emma's parents wonder where she is. She soon makes herself known, appearing to be responsible for their return, as well as everyone's loss of memories. She now looks how a Dark One would be expected to look, and Mary Margaret and David wonder what happened to her. Emma, who proceeds to turn Sneezy to stone for wearing her jacket, wonders in turn if it's not obvious, recalling that they all came to remove the darkness from her... and they failed. Now they have to pay. When asked why, Emma simply states that it's because she is the Dark One, before disappearing.

The dwarfs decides to abandon town now that Emma is the Dark One, but first they decide to send Dopey over the line as a test. David, Mary Margaret and Regina show up in the sheriff's car to stop them, but they're too late; Dopey crosses the line and is turned into a tree. It is then discovered that King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table - as well as various Camelot citizens - are also in Storybrooke, and Regina becomes weary of what else awaits them in town since Emma warned her that there's a problem coming to Storybrooke that only a savior can solve. As it turns out, this problem is a Fury, and it kidnaps Robin Hood from the new town campsite after David assures Arthur that he's sure the missing Excalibur will show up. Regina tries chasing the Fury but is hurt in the ensuing struggle, and Mary Margaret keeps trying to convince her to stop so that she can get herself checked out. Regina takes this to mean that Mary Margaret doesn't believe she can be the savior, but Mary Margaret proves her wrong when the Fury's purpose is discovered - it is summoned when the price for magic isn't paid, and when said price is a life. As such, to defeat it, Regina has to sacrifice her life in exchange for Robin's... but when it latches onto her with its magic, Mary Margaret takes her hand, unable to let her die alone. David joins them too, and then Leroy and Arthur, and eventually the demon is defeated. It is agreed that if anyone is going to save this town, it's going to be Regina, which is further proved when she turns Sneezy back from stone. At Granny's, Mary Margaret is unable to celebrate with her husband, who sees Henry getting to know his first crush, on the grounds that if they win in their current fight against evil, then Emma loses.

In a book brought over from Camelot, Regina discovers that she's earmarked a page about the Crimson Crown, a magic toadstool that was apparently important to them during the missing six weeks. Any inquiries into this are interrupted by the dwarfs, who complain about Emma having just stolen Happy's pickaxe, and David proceeds to flip out because he feels useless in the fight to save his daughter's soul. King Arthur proceeds to report that certain valuable objects have been stolen from a chest from his kingdom, including a magic bean which could transport all his people home. David suspects that the thief is going to pawn the objects at Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer, and so they go there next to ask Belle if anyone's been in the shop. She denies that anyone has, but when David sees the Doctoberfest Cup on the counter he gets an idea; he proceeds to tell the people of Camelot that it's a magic chalice capable of exposing the thief and, as such, the thief proceeds to run away on horseback. Using his jeep and a plank of wood, David is able to knock him from his horse and arrest him. As it turns out, it's Arthur's squire Grif, who denies any claim of there being a bean in that chest. Instead, David is able to recover the Crimson Crown, and he brings it to Mary Margaret and Regina down in the latter's vault. It is realized that it's capable of allowing them to communicate with Merlin, which means that they could be close to having Emma's darkness eradicated. David is happy to have contributed so largely, while Arthur has Grif kill himself, having ordered him to steal those items and lied about the bean all in service of a bigger plan to turn Storybrooke into the new Camelot.

It is discovered that Grif is missing from his cell, and although it's because Arthur made him kill himself with Agrabahn Viper poison, which makes the drinker disappear, he says that the squire must have lied about having a magic bean and gone home. Guinevere laments that they could all be home right now if Grif weren't so selfish, and blames his desperation on the hopelessness caused from being away from home. Mary Margaret says that she's right: people need hope, and as the Camelot citizens' hosts and leaders of Storybrooke, it's their job to provide it. They decide to do so by hosting a block party, at the request of Henry, who David figures wants to be able to invite his crush Violet as his date. Later, at the party, Mary Margaret and David, as well as Arthur and Guinevere, learn from Hook - who broke into Emma's house along with Regina, Belle and Robin - that Emma is keeping Excalibur in her basement, and that it's the same blade as the Dark One's dagger. Arthur explains that, when complete, Excalibur is capable of snuffing out all dark magic... but in the wrong hands, it can also snuff out all the light. They deduce that that's Emma's ultimate plan.

Regina reveals that Emma was successful in freeing Merlin in Camelot, to the surprise of David and the others. The question is raised of why he didn't remove the darkness from her, and Regina proposes that they find out by communicating with him, having figured out a spell that will allow them to do so using the Crimson Crown. Belle is upset that everyone seems less concerned with rescuing the captive Mr. Gold and storms out, proceeding to be chased by Merida and her arrows in the Dark Swan's attempt to make her predecessor brave. Meanwhile, a cauldron is prepared down in Regina's vault, and all that's needed to reach the Sorcerer is for one of his "chosen" to drop the Crimson Crown into it; they summon Arthur, who suggests that he do it alone since no one else has ever been around when he received Merlin's prophecies in the past. Not wanting to take any risks, David and the others give him his privacy... only for him to throw the magical toadstool onto the fire beneath the cauldron, clearly not wanting the heroes to contact Merlin. This is deduced when the Crimson Crown is found merely charred - for magical toadstools don't burn - and Regina realizes that there's one other person in town who was chosen by Merlin: the Author. As such, they have Henry drop the toadstool into the cauldron and a message from Merlin appears, suggesting that Emma did something awful to him during the missing six weeks; they are told that their best hope lies with Nimue.

David, backed by Hook and Robin, approaches Arthur about his betrayal which leads to a chase through the woods where Hook's life is saved by Emma, who wields the completed Excalibur. She tells Hook that her plan and what happened in Camelot is all to do with him, which he reports back to the others; they, meanwhile, are merely wondering why Emma has yet to snuff out all light magic, and Regina figures that it's because she's missing some sort of crucial ingredient that they need to stop her from getting. Across town, Zelena's pregnancy is suddenly sped up by dark magic and she goes into labor, which worries Mary Margaret and Belle when they learn through research that Emma's missing ingredient is the cry of a newborn baby. The heroes rally to protect the Wicked Witch but, unfortunately, after the baby is born, Emma teleports her out of the hospital; the baby, however, is left where she is. Regina and the Charmings head to Emma's house to get to the bottom of things, unaware of the fact that she plans on filling Zelena with the darkness and killing her to get rid of it forever, for she actually wants to snuff out all dark magic and not the other way around. Mary Margaret and David forbid Regina from hurting their daughter, but she points out that the reason Emma gave her the dagger back in Camelot is because she knew she would do what needed to be done and destroy her if she got out of control. Emma confronts them though and freezes them all while a captive Hook escapes with Zelena, learning via his dreamcatcher full of memories that he too is a Dark One.

Zelena places her cuff on Emma's wrist before she and Hook escape, and David and the others head inside, learning that the only reason Emma was acting the way she was is because she thought isolating herself was the best course of action if she was going to do what needed to be done in order to destroy the darkness. With Hook now out and dark, they need a way to stop him, and Mary Margaret suggests that Regina unlock Emma's dreamcatchers and return their memories. However, David reports that they've all been stolen by "Captain Dark One", and so the heroes retire to Regina's house to figure things out. Gold, who's been challenged to a duel by Hook, suggests going through the Dark One chronicles; Emma, meanwhile, wants the cuff taken off her wrist so that she can help, but her family refuses to allow it, even Henry. Instead, the Charmings follow Gold's advice and do research in the library, hoping to find out what Hook's plan is. Soon enough, Emma implores Henry to help her find the missing dreamcatchers and, when the two of them discover them up in the clock tower, he's finally able to trust her enough to remove the cuff and allow her to retrieve them. Back in Regina's office, the heroes' memories of the missing six weeks spent in Camelot are returned, and Emma realizes what Hook plans on doing: he opens a portal to hell and brings every single past Dark One to Storybrooke.

Emma decides that she has to put a stop to Hook... permanently. However, as she and the others split up to search for the now villainous pirate, each of them is marked by one of the resurrected Dark Ones, and Gold, marked himself, explains that they are to be dragged to the Underworld so that the Dark Ones may return properly to the land of the living. Instead of trying to avoid her and her family's fate, Mary Margaret decides that she doesn't want to spend her final moments with her nose in a book doing research, and David agrees. They go to have dinner at Granny's Diner one last time, sans Emma who managed to escape getting marked, and later discover a letter left behind by their daughter which claims that she plans on absorbing all of the darkness and then killing herself with Excalibur in order to get rid of it for good. Just as Charming and the others are about to go and stop her, Nimue the first Dark One teleports them all to the town pond, where the Charon waits to carry them over to the Hell. Emma shares a tearful goodbye with her family, having been unable to go through with her plan, but Hook's last minute change of heart means that he instead absorbs all the darkness and Emma is forced to stab him using Excalibur so that it's forever gone, killing him and sending his soul to the Underworld in the process. However, as it turns out, Gold made it so that the darkness in fact went back into him, and now he's as powerful as every Dark One combined. Wanting Killian's sacrifice to be worth something, Emma and the others opt to go to the Underworld to save him, with the no-longer-dark Swan using her parents' central mantra - that she will always find him.

David arrives in the Underworld along with the others, shocked to discover that it looks just like a demented version of Storybrooke. They decide to split up in order to search for Hook, and Snow hits up Granny's Diner where James barges in and kisses her passionately, telling her that he now understands what his brother sees in her. This causes Mary Margaret to realize that it's her husband's brother and not her husband, and he warns her that he's the sheriff around these parts and that David better watch his back. When David himself does actually enter, he's disturbed by the presence of his brother, and when Emma and Gold follow, the latter concludes that wandering about like they are is going to get them nowhere. He thusly heads to his shop to retrieve the Ale of Sinead which, when poured over Hook's grave, will cause a vision of him to appear and then he can tell them where to find him. When they do this though, Hook appears as a bloody and beaten version of himself, unable to hear them and quickly disappearing, leading them to the conclusion that he's in Hell. Emma tells the others to catch the boat out of the Underworld to safety while she stays behind to continue the search, but her parents refuse, and later come up with the idea that they should be saving all the dearly departed souls after they learn that Prince Henry was able to ascend Mount Olympus upon the completion of his unfinished business. The younger Henry dubs this Operation Firebird, signifying that there's a lot more to be done down in the depths of the Underworld.

Mary Margaret and David are busy scouring the vast graveyard of the Underworld when the former comes across a grave that really strikes a cord with her - the grave of Hercules, who David is surprised to hear his wife was childhood friends with. He requests that she define "friends", to her amusement, and she asks if there's a hint of jealousy. He points out that it's not everyday one's true love tells them they were friends with a God, at which she points out in turn that he's a demigod... who also happens to be dead. He apologizes for giving her a hard time but she says it's okay, then deciding that perhaps he can help them defeat Cerberus, the beast that's guarding Hook's prison. She tries to get him to join her but he won't, and at the same time David and the others are attacked by the beast in the Underworld equivalent of Mary Margaret's apartment, which is lying in wait for the Charmings to die. Eventually though, Mary Margaret, Hercules and Megara are able to defeat Cerberus together, and Herc and Meg are subsequently able to ascend Mount Olympus. Mary Margaret, meanwhile, decides that she doesn't want to be Mary Margaret anymore... she wants to be Snow White again. Charming is happy to hear it.

After the apartment is cleaned up from Cerberus' attack, Gold comes to David and the other heroes with a plan, soon taking Emma and using his dead wife Milah to cross the threshold into Hades' lair, which allows them to rescue Hook. After an escapade involving Daniel's grave and Regina regaining her magic, Snow and the former Evil Queen regroup with David and the others - including Hook. They want to get the heart-splitting process done and dusted, but Emma's heart cannot be removed for some reason. They then learn that that reason is that Emma's name has been carved onto one of the graveyard's headstones... along with Snow's and Regina's. Hades wanted Hook to pick which of his friends would have to stay behind in exchange for the souls that they helped to move on, but it seems he's done the picking himself. This means that Emma's heart won't work to resurrect Hook, and that she, her mother and step-grandmother are trapped in purgatory until further notice.

Hook's brother Liam goes to Emma and Killian and tells them of a book that could be used to defeat Hades. Emma correctly deduces that what they should be looking for is the Underworld analogue of Henry's storybook and Henry himself shows up and reveals that it's in the Sorcerer's mansion, but to get to it they'll need a key that's in the sheriff's station. David isn't too keen on seeing his brother again, especially after learning that he kissed Snow, and the Charming couple head down there to retrieve the key. They find it in the top drawer of James' desk, with Snow pointing out how alike the two brothers are, but they're soon interrupted by the arrival of Cruella De Vil. As it turns out, she's James' girlfriend, and Snow is forced to run off with the key while David distracts her by pretending to be his brother. When he cuts the act, Cruella reveals she knew the entire time because David lacks James' amount of damage; she goes on to explain how James resented David his entire life because their mother chose to keep him and love him, while James was given away. David uses this lesson later when Henry is moping, saying how people would do anything for a loving family and that Henry's is the best of all. This convinces the young man to tell everyone that he found the Author's quill in the mansion when the book was discovered, and he wants to use it to record Hades' missing story so that they can defeat him.

The Blind Witch serves Snow and David their breakfasts at the diner before they've even ordered, proceeding to reveal that she knows the orders of all her regulars. This makes Snow highly uncomfortable since they were only meant to be in the Underworld for a day and now they're "regulars" at its diner, and she begins to wish that they could find some way to get a message to their son Neal. The Blind Witch reveals that they can actually do that via one of the haunting booths, and she explains how they work in exchange for one of David's breaths, for the breath of the living is worth a lot on the black market down there. Snow and David then cue up outside one of the Underworld phone booths, not knowing what to say to their son, and begin to wonder what it will appear like to him. They ask someone in line but he tells them that he doesn't even know if the messages go through, though he hopes they do. This unnerves the Charming couple but they go on to send their message anyway, singing Neal a lullaby in the hopes that he hears. Back at the apartment, they are skeptical, pointing out that this lack of contact from parents is the same thing Emma must have gone through her entire life. However, Henry soon descends the stairs having authored a story without even knowing it - one about his Uncle Neal, sleeping as soundly as though he was in his parents' arms as he's able to hear them singing to him. Snow and David are relieved that he heard them, and the former decides that it's time to defeat Hades once and for all and leave, because she's ready to get home to her family.

Emma has a dream where she's using her light magic to remove her, Snow's and Regina's names from the Underworld gravestones. However, a storm suddenly hits and a mysterious creature emerges from it, proceeding to maul and kill Snow. This absolutely terrifies Emma when she wakes up, and she goes on to join David and the others in the Underworld version of the library. Regina has drawn symbols all over the elevator door, which is the entrance to Hades' lair, but even when she and Emma combine her magic to force it open their access is still blocked by something extra Hades has put in place. With this being a bust, Emma suggests trying to remove the names from the graves, since she still remembers the spell from the dream. When Hook and Snow want to go with her, just like in the nightmare, she grows worried. However, it is soon learned that the creature she was worried about wasn't dangerous at all - it was Red Riding Hood in her wolf form, who's come to the Underworld and needs assistance from the heroes.

Ruby is brought back to the apartment to recuperate and eventually wakes up to reveal that she came to the Underworld in search of the Wicked Witch, who put her friend Dorothy under a sleeping curse. While Snow goes to help her friend, David decides to go and haunt his son, who hasn't heard his parents' voices in days; he promises to mention when he gets there that the reason Neal's mother isn't on the line is because she's off being a hero, but when he arrives at the haunting booth the phone is being ripped out on order of Hades. David reports this to his wife who begins to fret that Hades might be planning an attack on Storybrooke and doesn't want them interfering, and it's because of this level of worry that Emma decides to tell her parents to go home, insisting that they've done enough and that now they should just get back to their infant child. However, Snow can't leave because her name is etched on a grave, so David has to be the one to don the silver slippers brought by Zelena and return to Storybrooke. He laments this to Hook back at the apartment, thinking Snow should be the one to get to be with their son, and the pirate ends up using his hook to scratch Snow's name off the grave and etch David's in its place. This means he is stuck down there instead, and, after some tearful goodbyes, Snow is able to go to Oz with Ruby and help wake Dorothy. Later, Henry writes about how Ruby woke Dorothy with true love's kiss... and how his grandmother returned home to her son, to David's joy.

David heads out to gather supplies for Robin and his baby in the forest when he's ambushed by James, who reveals that Cruella was wrong: 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 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 learn that Regina, having made amends with Zelena, encouraged the Wicked Witch to pursue her relationship with Hades in the hopes that she might be able to change him. However, before the date could commence, Zelena was kidnapped by Rumple and Pan, and now Hades wants the heroes' help getting her back. They are successful in rescuing her, and in return Hades removes all their names from their respective headstones; with Zelena's kiss of true love having restored his heart, allowing him to leave, a portal will soon be opening to take everyone to Storybrooke, but Hook won't be able to leave because he's still dead. Emma's heart can't resurrect him because his spirit has been absent from his body for too long, unlike when Charming was resurrected. As such, Emma and Hook journey down to the deepest depths of the Underworld to find some ambrosia that will hopefully restore Hook to life - but it's a trick. Hades has already killed the ambrosia and orchestrated for Cruella and the Blind Witch to trap everyone in the library so they can't leave after all. When Emma returns, without Hook, she and Regina manage to break out and everyone goes home. Emma lingers for a while outside the portal and David tries getting her to come through; she states that her iconic red jacket was originally intended to be her armor, but from now on it will be a reminder to always protect those she loves. Finally, she and her family return home.

In Storybrooke, Merida comes to report that King Arthur escaped the sheriff's station because she left Sleepy on guard duty, but Snow barely has time to dwell on this problem because her family has returned home. She kisses David and hugs Henry and, when it's time for she and Emma to embrace, has to comfort her daughter regarding the fact that Hook remained in the Underworld. Hades, however, is out and about along with a duped Zelena and the two of them currently have Robin's child; with him having tried to trap everyone before he left for Storybrooke with his true love, the heroes want to find a way to defeat him once and for all, especially after discovering Arthur's dead body in the woods. David and his family head to the library to do some research while Emma is deadset on killing the God of Death, leading everyone to say that murdering Hades is no way to deal with the obvious grief she's holding back for Hook. Eventually though, she attempts to break into the Town Hall, where Hades has based himself, at the same time that Regina and Robin sneak in. This culminates in Robin Hood's permanent death at the hands of Hades, forcing Zelena to realize the truth about him and use the Olympian Crystal to stab him out of existence. David attends Robin's funeral the following day and Snow comforts their daughter, assuring her that it's not her fault he died. When they and the others leave, Emma stays behind, meaning she's present for the resurrection of Captain Hook as a reward from Hades' grateful brother Zeus.

David and Snow try to comfort Regina at Robin's wake, but it's no use, and things are soon interrupted by both the arrival of Hook and a big blast of magic emanating from the clock tower, thanks to Gold tethering all of Storybrooke's magic to the Olympian Crystal. With all that magic has done to harm his family, Henry decides that he wants to destroy it, and so he quests to New York to make it happen; while his mothers chase him, the townspeople panic, with people such as Merida worrying that, without magic, they'll never be able to go home. As such, Zelena uses the Apprentice's wand to send everyone back to where they belong, but due to magic being tethered to the crystal, everything is faulty and she, David, Snow and Hook end up being sucked through the portal into a brand new realm. The wand is broken, meaning they can't get back, and almost immediately after interacting with a groundsman they are knocked out and imprisoned by an orderly. The warden then shows up, thinking they are agents of Rumplestiltskin, and decides to leave them trapped in the cage they're locked in so that he doesn't have to worry about them anymore. The groundsman then returns and offers to take the wand to the warden's lab so that he can repair it; the heroes are reluctant to hand it over, but it's the only plan they've got.

The groundsman returns to free David and the others, but he is without the wand, revealing that the warden took it from him. He leads them all into the world outside, which resembles all the realms at once; the groundsman explains that it's the Land of Untold Stories, where all sorts of people from all over the worlds wind up together. They go to the groundsman's home where he completes a serum he's been working on, but then he transforms into the warden, and David and Snow realize exactly who they are: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They escape the latter once he's out and about, and he uses the serum to separate himself from Jekyll. The heroes then return to rescue the poor doctor and escape out into the unexplored realm. Eventually, pennies start to rain from the sky, but it is soon discerned that these are more than mere pennies... they're wishes. Over in the land without magic, Henry has gotten the people of New York to believe, and it is that belief that not only restores magic after he destroys it, but opens a portal that brings David, Snow, Zelena and Hook home - along with Jekyll, who yearns for a fresh start away from his evil other half. Regina, meanwhile, is fighting an inner battle with the Evil Queen and uses some of Jekyll's serum to separate herself from her villainous alter-ego. She crushes the Evil Queen's heart, and not only does that not work, with the Evil Queen later awakening ready to wreak further havoc, but Mr. Hyde shows up back in Storybrooke, having made a deal with Gold and now owning the town.

Season 6
Storybrooke is once again disturbed when a dirigible from the Land of Untold Stories lands out in the woods, and all the townspeople gather to be met by the place's new "owner", Mr. Hyde. He is impervious to Emma and Regina's magical attacks so, while Snow investigates the crash site and deduces via her skills as a tracker that the dirigible's passengers ran scared into the forest, Jekyll offers to help develop a weapon that should be able to subdue properly Hyde. With this being decided, Emma has a noticeably off moment, which resurfaces during Hyde's actual ambush. After he's locked up, David and Snow convince Archie to talk to Emma and find out what's troubling her, only for her to stay unresponsive. Her parents proceed to go looking for the dirigible's hiding passengers and eventually earn their trust, convincing them to come to Granny's Diner for food and shelter. Snow then goes for a lengthy chat with Regina while David remains at Granny's with Granny herself and the others, making sure that the town's new refugees are safe and fed.

The Charmings and the others help get the people from the Land of Untold Stories settled into the town when a mysterious man - the Count of Monte Cristo - drops off a letter summoning them to meet with him, and Regina realizes that he still wants to kill them after she hired him to do so prior to the first curse. Wanting to clean up her own mess, she meets with the Count in their stead, only for him to disappear suddenly. As such, Emma begins worrying for her parents' safety and tries driving them out of Storybrooke, although Snow is reluctant to run from who they now know was their old wine steward Edmond. However, she doesn't have to, because a protection spell has been put up around town which means that, like always, no one can leave. Regina tries investigating and soon learns that the Evil Queen was the one to put up the spell, and she also has the Count's heart so that he can't help but be driven to murder the royal couple. They are soon confronted by him at the docks, learning that the Evil Queen is back after Regina's failed attempt to destroy her, and, despite a valiant effort in defending themselves, the two of them are eventually knocked out. The Count tries killing them, only for Regina, whose magic has been dampened by the Queen, to show up and fend him off. Unfortunately, to stop him for good, she is forced to kill him, which is actually what the Evil Queen wanted all along - to reawaken Regina's inherent darkness. She makes clear that the Charming family will end up tearing itself apart via their own untold stories and, later, she provides David with an old good luck charm of his father's, suggesting that his death wasn't an accident.

Regina wants information from Hyde about how the Evil Queen managed to survive getting her heart crushed, and thinks she'll be able to bribe him with her lasagna; the Charmings have doubts, but Regina has faith in her dish, until she opens the cell to discover that the Queen got there first with a better menu, so Hyde is sated and no longer in the mood to dish out info. The three heroes then go to Jekyll, who thinks he can figure it out by replicating the serum that created the Queen, but he has some trouble. Snow begins to fret about the fact that their lives have become "defeat and repeat" in terms of villains and wants some normality, deciding that she's going to go back to teaching. David supports this, prior to going to Mr. Gold about the good look coin given to him by the Evil Queen. Being a stickler for records, Gold has the coin's owner's information on file - meaning information about the fate of David's father - but he won't hand it over without a deal. As such, he has the prince deliver a tape to his pregnant wife aboard the Jolly Roger, and Belle accepts the tape and has great sympathy for David and his situation. After Snow sets Jekyll up with Frankenstein to help recreate the serum, she heads home to find David, who has the coin's records and now knows that his father was stabbed prior to the cart accident. Snow sees this as a good thing, for it means her husband wasn't betrayed, and begs him not to go on some great big quest for vengeance when they're lives are just starting to feel normal. David assures that he'll be there for his wife and kids, saying he'll burn the information to stop himself thinking about it... but he doesn't.

Since Hook is soon to be moving in with Emma, David decides to head on over to his daughter's house to cook her a large breakfast, since he fears they're not going to be seeing her quite as much from now on. Snow then leaves alongside Henry for her first day back as a teacher, but things don't stay "normal" for long as Emma soon receives word that Hyde has escaped his cell and is targeting Belle, who's been magically confined to the Jolly Roger by Rumple. David accompanies Emma when she goes searching for Hyde in the woods, bringing the electronic baton with her, and begins talking about the secret behind his pancake recipe so that she can make them for Hook. She asks if he's sure he's okay with her and Hook moving in together and he tells her that as much as he hated the pirate when he first met him, so long as she's happy then he's happy too. The two are then ambushed by Hyde, who dodges Emma's weapon; David tries attacking him only to end up flung across the woods, landing unconscious to Emma's worry. Hyde is then confronted by Rumple, while Jekyll, who apparently still has the capacity for evil, targets Belle himself. All ends in bloodshed when Hook is forced to kill Jekyll to protect Belle, and Hyde, who was previously thought to be invincible, finds himself dying alongside his weaker half.

Snow's new teacher's aid Shirin, from the Land of Untold Stories, is brought to the sheriff's station for questioning by David and Emma after she's discovered running from a dead girl's body in the woods. Shirin pleads her innocence though, confessing that she is in fact Princess Jasmine of Agrabah and she came to this town - with her friend, the Oracle, who's now dead - in order to find the savior Aladdin. As such, the heroes make it their mission to find Aladdin too, but, as they congregate at the loft, Archie arrives to tell them all a terrible secret Emma's been guarding: the reason behind all her off moments and tremors of late is that she's been having visions of the future, and in these visions she is killed by a hooded figure. Her loved ones are utterly shocked, but there is little time to dwell on it for it's soon discovered that the Archie who just spoke to everyone wasn't actually Archie at all, but rather the Evil Queen in disguise. Snow and David go out searching for the real Archie but are unable to find him, then returning home after Emma has both found Aladdin and received a pair of magical shears capable of making her no longer the savior. She doesn't see fit to use them though, and so wants Hook to help her get rid of them.

While Regina distracts the Evil Queen, David and Snow sneak into Zelena's farmhouse to rescue Archie, who's been turned back into a cricket. They manage to free him from his cage, allowing him to fly off, but are then caught by Zelena herself when she believes her daughter to be in danger. The Evil Queen shows up to aid her sister with a fireball, at which Regina teleports herself between her friends and her doppelganger, with Snow assuring the Queen that nothing she does will ever tear apart their family right before they vanish together. The day seems to bring one crisis after another though, for later, when out on patrol, David discovers a stab victim from the Land of Untold Stories out in the woods near the mines. He makes sure this man is rushed to hospital, knowing that had he been found just a little while later then he'd be lost, and he summons his wife to meet with him in order to tell her all about it. Luckily, the man is saved and discovered to be Captain Nemo, once a mentor to Hook and Hook's other brother, the second Liam Jones, who is also in town.

The Evil Queen kidnaps Snow as she sleeps and makes clear that she intends on getting her hands on the heart she shares with her husband, saying that they have twelve hours to surrender the halves to her or else she will use a mysterious deadly liquid on everyone in town. Regina soon figures the liquid as being water from the River of Lost Souls, while Mother Superior believes all hope is not lost because the Charmings can use the sapling created by the first spark of true love to imprison the Queen. To find it, Blue creates a magical beacon to hone in on its location, meaning Regina has to organize a distraction for the town's local villains. As it turns out, the sapling is hidden near the Toll Bridge, where Mary Margaret saved "John Doe" when he first awoke from his coma, and, when Snow and David actually find the magical baby tree and touch it, they receive flashes of their love story. Unfortunately, the distraction falls through and the Evil Queen arrives to both steal and destroy the sapling, telling the Charmings to meet her at the cemetery when their deadline is up. Thanks to the flashes, Snow and David realize that they actually met prior to their official first meeting, meaning fate has always guided them to one another. This imbues them with enough faith to meet with the Queen and allow her to take their hearts, but, instead of crushing them, she curses them, and places them back inside. Snow collapses thanks to the sleeping curse now on her heart, and Charming finds her once again in a glass coffin in the woods. He wakes her with true love's kiss, but then collapses himself, for this new curse means that one must always be asleep while the other is awake.

Snow commiserates at David's bedside about how she wanted things to go back to normal and begins to fear that perhaps this, being cursed, is their normal. She soon has her fill of despair for one day though and so writes her husband a note for her family to give to him when he wakes up, then preparing to bestow true love's kiss. However, just as her lips are about to touch his, she notices their reflection in the bedroom mirror and comes to realize that the Queen is watching them; as such, she grabs a candlestick and throws it, smashing the mirror to bits. Over the next few days, the Charmings try and make the best of their situation, spending half the day awake while the other is asleep, clocking in and out with true love's kisses, writing notes and recording videos for each other and such as they also tend to their son. Snow smashing the mirror gives Regina the idea to trap the Queen in the world behind the mirror, only for her plan to backfire so that she and Emma end up trapped there instead, with the Queen posing as her better half and leaving a fake voicemail from Emma saying David should take over as sheriff while she's out of town. Henry soon rescues his moms though, while his grandparents continue their lack of coexistence. Snow prepares to write David a note before she wakes him up one night, but then crumples up the paper and states that she can't do this anymore, telling her true love that she misses him. When he wakes up, he finds the crumpled up paper and knows exactly what it means, telling the sleeping Snow that he misses her too.

When the Evil Queen mocks the Charmings' condition, Emma attacks her with the sword from her visions and is happy to report back to David that it's capable of harming the Queen without harming Regina, meaning they have a way to kill her. However, when a final confrontation is set to take place, the Queen one ups the heroes by kidnapping Aladdin, who's now the genie of the lamp, and using a wish to banish Emma to a wish realm. While Regina sets off to the same realm to rescue her, David refuses to wake his wife just to tell her that their daughter is missing, and he agrees to meet Hook and Jasmine at a certain time in order to relay his plan on how to deal with the Queen; however, he stands them up, going straight to the Queen herself with the intention of defeating her in a one-on-one session. He tries getting her to fight with swords, calling her a snake in that she never does anything for herself, but she just uses her magic to defend herself and gets angry. In her rage, she leaves the lamp unattended and David is able to snatch it and become Aladdin's new master, wishing for the Queen to get exactly what she deserves. When nothing happens, he tries killing her instead, only for her to again use her magic. She'd rather watch him suffer - with his daughter trapped and his wife sleeping - than kill him, and so she flees when the others arrive, and David grows fearful of his own blood lust, worrying that he may become like his brother without Snow as his moral compass. He soon learns his wish was granted when it is discovered, after Aladdin and Jasmine leave for Agrabah, that the Queen was turned into a snake by the hooded figure from Emma's visions, who's now in town.

Hook and David go on the hunt for the hooded figure with the former desperately trying to calm his friend down, reminding him that he thought the plan was to catch some shut-eye, kiss Snow back in and recharge. However, David remains firm that plans change, still refusing to wake his wife both while their daughter remains missing and while there's some mysterious maniac in town who wants to kill her. The reason he's so gung-ho about it is, of course, because he blames himself, for his wish for the Evil Queen to get what she deserved is what brought the hooded figure there in the first place. When they continue to have no luck tracking him, they return to the loft where David approaches the slumbering Snow; he apologizes, unable to wake her until the matter is resolved, but he promises that he will indeed succeed both in stopping the villain and in bringing Emma home where she belongs. He believes they can fix this. All of this. And then he leans down and gives his true love a simple kiss on the forehead, allowing her to remain in blissful ignorance of the horrors going on around her while he and Hook continue with the search. They soon learn from Belle that the hooded figure is in fact her son, Gideon, who was kidnapped by the Black Fairy and grew up in another realm. She wants to help find him so that she can talk him out of killing Emma, but, when the savior finally returns from the wish realm, she and Gideon do battle anyway, just as fate had prescribed. Fortunately, Emma is able to change her fate and come out on top, while Gideon retreats, and David is ecstatic to have his and Snow's daughter be alive and well.

David celebrates Emma being okay but is sad Snow can't join them, then going outside and fainting after seeing his father's ghost. Hook tries to help him, but David snaps at him, then discovering his old lucky coin. Being sleep-deprived, he finally wakes his wife, but grows sad again after reawakening when his father's ghost reappears to question why he's been given up on. David realizes he's right, and so he starts to investigate what really happened, asking for Hook's help considering he's a pirate and will therefore be down for any unethical means. The prince draws the conclusion that they'll need to cast a spell in order to track where Robert died, and he steals some supplies from Emma's garage while Hook distracts her. Once the spell is cast on the coin, which shows on a map the location of the murder, they come to learn that Robert died near Pleasure Island, where Pinocchio once lived. As such, they visit August in his workshop, and he recalls meeting Robert, who was looking for Prince James and was very much sober. David comes to surmise that it was King George who killed his dad and wants to claim revenge. He heads down to the prison cells and unlocks Spencer's, proceeding to confront him and even duel him with knives. Hook arrives to stop his friend from making a mistake and locks Spencer back up, and David, who now knows his father did the right thing and that it wasn't good enough, begins to fear that being Prince Charming won't be enough to save his family. Hook comforts him, and later David ditches the coin, making Robert's ghost vanish. Hook then does what he's been meaning to do for a while and asks for David's blessing to propose to Emma, which David gives gladly.

After having learned the truth, Emma goes to David and reveals to him that Hook was the one who murdered his father, which the prince finds particularly hard to assimilate. He wants to know where Hook is now, clearly very angry with him, at which Emma is forced to reveal that he apparently skipped town aboard the Nautilus, with her having broken off their engagement after she realized that he was intending to keep such a grand secret from her. David comforts his daughter following this harsh breakup, before the two of them head to work together at the sheriff's station. Emma begins complaining about how all their hard files were never digitized, with David pointing out that the place was designed with Dark Curse technology, and so she decides that it's time to fix that, believing busywork will help keep her distracted. However, Regina shows up and suggests another way to take her mind off things - a girls' night at Storybrooke's newest bar, Aesop's Tables. She wants Snow to come along, at which it is pointed out to her that she's asleep, but Regina points out in turn that she doesn't have to be. She then stares David down, clearly wanting him to wake his wife for the sake of a night out, and he complains that he just woke up. However, he is stared at further into submission, and soon leaves to go kiss her back in.

It appears Emma is about to face the "final battle" that Rumplestiltskin foreshadowed in his cell all those years ago, as can be told from Henry's authorial power going haywire now that the book is nearly complete. David refuses to allow his daughter to face this battle both with her true love missing and only one of her parents by her side, and so he encourages Regina to test out a risky potion she's been concocting in her non-ceasing efforts to break the Charmings' sleeping curse. With Snow awake, she dips both halves of their heart into the potion and the curse's darkness seems to weaken... but thanks to a fail-safe implemented by the Evil Queen, it is in fact the heart that weakens, and now both will be asleep forever by the end of the day. Snow records a video to tell David they failed, and in it he spots a petal from a pixie flower that once temporarily awoke he and Mary Margaret from the Dark Curse. Its power can reunite anyone with their true love and, since tracking skills are needed to find it, Snow is awoken to search with Emma. They discover a whole field of the stuff and, since it only blooms in the presence of pure evil, they know Emma's final opponent to already be in town. Indeed, the Black Fairy emerges and has Gideon destroy all the flowers, but one remains, and its magic is distilled. However, before falling asleep, Snow has Emma use it to reunite with Hook instead. Then Regina has another risky idea: to have the townspeople all share a piece of the Charmings' curse in order to dilute its power. And it works. Snow and Charming are both awake and, after a brief nap, so is everyone else. With Hook back, David is able to both confront him over Robert's murder, and forgive him.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the character.