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 New York, Hook tries to make Emma remember by something very powerful: true love. In the Enchanted Forest, Regina, Snow, and Charming all team up to defeat a very powerful witch. In another world’s past, a young girl learns how to use wizardry only to be hunted by a mob.
Cora tries to steal the compass from Emma and Mary Margaret; Regina and Mr. Gold must put David’s life in danger in the hope that he will be able contact Mary Margaret.
The race to stop Pan is on as Henry’s life hangs in the balance; with Mr. Gold’s help, Regina decides to adopt a baby.
In Camelot, as Mary Margaret and David attempt to retrieve the Dark One dagger, Emma uses a Dreamcatcher to look into the past to see how Merlin was transformed into a tree. Together, Emma and Regina figure out the critical ingredient they must acquire to free Merlin, but it’s a race against Arthur, who does not want Merlin released. Meanwhile, with encouragement from his moms, Henry musters up the courage to ask Violet on a date. Back in Storybrooke, the heroes break into Emma’s house hoping to locate Gold, but what they find will give them a glimpse of Emma’s end game. Far from prying eyes, Merida sets about the mission Emma has tasked her with and begins molding Gold into the hero they need to draw Excalibur.
Emma, Regina, Mary Margaret, David, Robin, Henry and Gold arrive in the Underworld, on a mission to rescue Hook, only to discover that their search will be more difficult than they had anticipated. The inhabitants of the Underworld — all souls with unfinished business and many with quite personal vendettas — hound our heroes at every turn. Meanwhile, in an Enchanted Forest flashback, a familiar face from the Evil Queen’s past returns to present Regina with the perfect birthday gift.
Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, Mr. Gold and Hook enter Neverland to search for a kidnapped Henry, they’re greeted by a school of not-to-friendly mermaids who threaten to end their search before it begins; Henry finds himself on the run from the Lost Boys with another escapee from Peter Pan’s encampment; and Neal, recovering from his wounds, travels through the Enchanted Forest with Mulan in an attempt to learn the fates of Emma and Henry.
David, Emma and Mr. Gold try to protect Mary Margaret from a vengeful Regina; a man and his son find their way into Storybrooke.
Mr. Gold and Regina send Ariel back to Storybrooke with an item that will allow Belle to locate a hidden artifact that could help take down Pan. But unbeknownst to them, two men have broken into the town with the intent to stop them – at all costs. Meanwhile, Emma, Neal and Hook attempt to find Dark Hollow, where Peter Pan’s shadow dwells, in order to capture it, and Mary Margaret is upset with David for keeping his poisoning a secret from her.
In an effort to protect Emma, Regina steps up in a surprising way that will test her mettle as a force for good. King Arthur and Queen Guinevere throw a royal ball to welcome the heroes to Camelot, but when the celebration takes a deadly turn, David and Robin must leap into action or lose a crucial asset in the fight to save Emma. Back in Storybrooke, Hook deploys a tried-and-true technique in hopes of bringing Emma back to the light while the heroes discover that some unexpected baggage has followed them home from Camelot.
While desperately trying to find her sister Anna, Elsa accidentally traps them both inside an ice cave. Regina secludes herself from the town and Henry. With the townspeople considering Mary Margaret their leader, she faces her first leadership task in trying to re-start a generator and restore the town’s electricity after Elsa freezes and damages the power lines. Anna tries to teach a meek David to fight Bo Peep.
With Rumplestiltskin as her slave, Zelena challenges Regina to a fight to the death and shocks the Evil queen with the reveal of their familial connection, and the town lays Neal to rest. Meanwhile, back in the past in the land of Oz, a jealous Zelena asks the Wizard to send her to Fairy Tale Land after discovering that she has a sister, Regina, and that Rumplestiltskin is training her to become a powerful force to be reckoned with.
In fictional 1920s England, viewers meet a young Cruella, whose oppressive mother uses her Dalmatians to terrorize her daughter. Cruella is confined to her mother’s attic until a mysterious stranger arrives and empowers her to challenge her captor. In Storybrooke, Regina gains leverage to keep Gold from interfering with her plan to rescue Robin, but her trip to New York takes the backseat when she and Emma learn that Cruella has kidnapped Henry.
Regina continues to seek a way to regain her powers; David continues his quest to find Mary Margaret and Emma; the seven dwarves discover what happens when one of the townspeople tries to leave Storybrooke’s city limits.
Marian falls under a freezing curse and the townspeople believe that Elsa is responsible. When Emma and David go to Robin’s camp to look for clues, they find Will Scarlet, who leads them to the culprit. Meanwhile, in the Arendelle of the past, Elsa and Kristoff go to find the urn that Hans plans to use to imprison Elsa, and encounter the Snow Queen.
In order to infiltrate the Queens of Darkness as a spy for the heroes, Regina must prove she’s still willing to get her hands dirty. Meanwhile, Emma, David and Mary Margaret scramble to keep tabs on their undercover operative. Hook requests an unusual favor from Belle as Henry makes progress on his search for the Author. In a Fairy Tale Land flashback, Regina befriends Maleficent and helps her to rekindle her lost spark.
While Emma, David, Regina and Hook continue their search for the Wicked Witch, she, in turn, is planning a dark surprise for David, and Zelena’s prisoner is powerless under her watch as she plots her next course of action against the townspeople. Meanwhile, in the Fairy Tale Land that was in the previous year, Prince Charming stumbles upon Rapunzel, who is trapped inside a tower, and must help her confront her fears in order for her to be free.
Cora brings the giant to Storybrooke, where he unleashes vengeance on the town; Emma and Henry go with Mr. Gold to search for his son; Greg asks Belle what she saw on the night of his accident; Anton the Giant befriends humans.
In Camelot, the heroes feverishly work to free Merlin. Determined to help Emma, David embarks on a quest to retrieve a magical relic that Regina could use to communicate with the imprisoned sorcerer, but, when David leaves, Arthur insists on joining him because the dangers ahead are greater than he can imagine. Meanwhile, Mary Margaret discovers the fate of her old friend Lancelot. Back in Storybrooke, Arthur seeks David’s help to catch a thief who threatens the safety of the citizens of Camelot. Across town, Emma reaches out to a conflicted Hook as she sets about her plan to draw Excalibur from the stone.
Mr. Gold tries to use an unwilling test subject to see if his spell works; Belle runs into vengeful Capt. Hook; David and Mary Margaret look for a bigger house.
Neal finds himself back in Storybrooke and yearns for a way to reconnect with his son Henry, whose memories of his father are gone, while also trying to find his own father, Rumplestiltskin, whom he has just learned is alive but missing, and Regina discovers a possible connection with Robin Hood. Meanwhile, in the Fairy Tale Land that was over the past year, agonizing over the death of his father, Neal – with the help of Belle and enchanted candelabra Lumiere – attempts to find a magical solution to bring back Rumplestiltskin from the dead.
