There is a town in Maine where every story book character you've ever known is trapped between two worlds, victims of a powerful curse. Only one knows the truth and only one can break the spell.
Emma Swan is a 28-year-old bail bonds collector who has been supporting herself since she was abandoned as a baby. Things change for her when her son Henry, whom she abandoned years ago, finds her and asks for her help explaining that she is from a different world where she is Snow White's missing daughter.
In Storybrooke, the Evil Queen threatens to destroy the town and everyone in it unless Snow and David surrender their hearts. As Emma, Hook, and Henry prepare to defend Storybrooke, Snow, David, and Regina search for a magical sapling created by the first spark of true love.
Emma tries to convince Aladdin to work with Jasmine to help Agrabah, while Regina teams up with Snow and David to free Archie from Zelena. Meanwhile, in the past, Hook finds himself kidnapped by the mysterious Captain Nemo and held captive aboard his submarine, the Nautilus.
Princess Jasmine recruits Aladdin to help her recover a secret weapon capable of breaking Jafar’s hold on the Sultan and saving the city from ruin. In Storybrooke, the Evil Queen tricks Hook and the Charmings and forces Emma to reveal her secret in an effort to divide the family.
The Evil Queen and Hyde continue on their quest to steal Dr. Jekyll’s serum; Snow looks forward to her first day back as a school teacher; and while Emma looks forward to Hook moving in with her, Hook finds himself trying to protect Belle from Mr. Gold, who has made sure she can’t leave the confines of the pirate ship.
As Storybrooke continues to welcome the new arrivals from the Land of Untold Stories, families, friends and enemies are reunited once again. When Cinderella searches for her step-family, intent on settling their unfinished business, Emma, Hook and Henry scramble to help her before it’s too late. Meanwhile, Regina attempts to bribe Mr. Hyde for information about how to defeat the Evil Queen, and Snow helps Dr. Jekyll find a laboratory for his work.
When a mysterious man from the Land of Untold Stories, who has a past with the Evil Queen, arrives in Storybrooke, David and Snow work together with Regina to neutralize the threat. Belle seeks Hook’s help finding a safe place to hide away from her husband, Mr. Gold. The Evil Queen continues to try to win Zelena over to her side, while Emma resumes her therapy sessions with Archie and shares her terrifying vision of the future.
As our heroes set out to stop Hyde, Emma develops a mysterious side effect, and Storybrooke becomes a haven for refugees from the Land of Untold Stories. Meanwhile, Regina and Zelena embrace their newfound sisterhood by becoming roommates, while Rumple tries to free Belle from the sleeping Curse with the help of a stranger. In flashback, Jafar confronts an afflicted Aladdin in Agrabah, and a secret about the Savior is revealed.
While off on her own to deal with what happened with Cora, Mary Margaret comes across an entirely wooden August; Neal invites his fiancee to Storybrooke.
Hook discovers that magic always comes with a price after he makes a deal with Mr. Gold to re-attach his hand so that he can embrace Emma with both hands on their first real date. And back in the fairy tale land of the past, Rumplestiltskin uses Anna to help him acquire a magical box from the sorcerer’s apprentice.
Hook and Emma try to find their way back to the present and correct the mistakes they made in the past.
Back in the Fairy Tale Land that was, when Ariel saves Snow White from drowning in the ocean’s depths, Snow returns the favor by helping her new friend get acquainted with Prince Eric, with whom she has fallen madly in love with. Meanwhile, Emma, Mary Margaret, David and Hook attempt to save Neal, who is imprisoned in one of Pan’s encampments, and Regina and Mr. Gold begrudgingly team up to find a way to take down Pan.
Hook tells Emma that her fate is at stake in Gold’s plan while Regina leads the villains on a wild goose chase. Henry makes a breakthrough in his search to find the Author, but Mary Margaret and David need a moment to reconsider the best course of action. In a Fairy Tale Land flashback, Snow and Charming search for a way to ensure their child will grow-up to be a hero. When a traveling peddler directs them to visit a kindly old hermit, Snow and Charming are presented with a choice that could secure their child’s goodness, but at a price that will haunt them for years to come.
Mr. Gold asks David for help jogging Belle’s memory; Anton’s magic beans begin to grow; Rumpelstiltskin goes after a thief.
While Mary Margaret and David celebrate the naming of their son at a coronation in Granny’s Diner, Emma and Hook are pulled into Zelena’s time portal and find themselves in the Enchanted Forest of the past. But in their quest to discover a way back, they must be careful not to change anything or risk altering the lives of their friends and family – as well as their very own existence.
Tensions in Camelot come to a head when Merlin, now under Arthur’s control, delivers an ultimatum to Emma: hand over the Dark One dagger and the Promethean spark or he will kill her entire family. Refusing to give in, Emma and our heroes face off against Arthur, Merlin and Zelena in an epic battle of magic and will. Just when the end is in sight, Emma is forced to make a gut-wrenching choice that no one saw coming. Back in Storybrooke, Zelena’s pregnancy mysteriously accelerates and Hook goes to new and desperate lengths to get answers from the Dark Swan.
As Storybrooke descends into chaos as the Snow Queen’s spell takes hold, Emma and Elsa try to trick Regina into destroying the ribbons so that they can attack the Queen. In the past, Ingrid adopts Emma and attempts to show the girl that she’s a powerful sorceress.
Emma, Snow, David, Regina, Robin, Henry and Hook continue to search for a way to free everyone from the Underworld. At the mercy of Hades, Gold creates a portal to Storybrooke, which transports Belle, Zelena and Baby Hood to the Underworld. While Zelena and Regina get into a sibling squabble, Belle is reunited with Rumple only to learn some tremendously shocking news that will change her life forever. Meanwhile, Snow and David hopelessly attempt to send a message from the Underworld to their son, Neal. In flashbacks, Hades learns about Zelena’s very special spell and pays her a visit in Oz with the intention of striking an alliance, but finds himself with more than just a partner in crime.
Emma’s powers run amok and she turns to Gold for help, Elsa and Anna’s relationship is tested, and the Snow Queen’s agenda is revealed.
As Regina tries to refrain from using her magic in order to regain Henry’s trust, she starts seeing a ghost from her past; Mary Margaret and Emma find a survivor from an Ogre massacre; Regina struggles to learn the dark arts.
Zelena threatens to kill Henry if Hook – whose lips have been cursed by the Wicked Witch — doesn’t proceed with kissing Emma, which will drain all of her magical powers away, and things begin to heat up between Regina and Robin Hood. Meanwhile, back in the Fairy Tale Land that was during the past year, Snow and Charming go in search of Glinda, The Good Witch of the South, to see if she can help them defeat Zelena, and the curse that will ultimately send the Fairy Tale characters back to Storybrooke is cast — but from an unlikely source.
