EXCLUSIVE! Be Careful What You Wish For - Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis Tease What's Next for Once Upon A Time's Sixth Season

by Zach Van Norman - @TheZachVan

The Royal Charmings: Princess Emma (Jennifer Morrison), Queen Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin), 
and King David (Josh Dallas) Image Credit: ABC Studios

The Season Six winter finale of Once Upon A Time was another reality-bending adventure as Emma discovered what life would have been like if she had grown up with her parents, and Regina was greeted by an unexpectedly living Robin Hood. As if that weren't enough, Storybrooke was plagued by evil regals, genies, and the unexpectedly aged son of Rumple and Belle was revealed as the one trying to kill the Savior. In other words, just another normal day for our heroes! Series creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis were kind enough to share some details on what we've seen so far this season, what some of  it means, and the impact that will be felt as the season continues.

​Loved the finale! Some good wish fulfillment, literally and figuratively; it was good stuff. As far as rules of the Wish Realm, Regina and Emma kept repeating that none of their actions mattered because that world isn't real, and then Wish Rumple used that logic to make a deal for his freedom. Seems like they doth protest too much, so what is the deal with the Wish Realm? Is it a real place with real consequences for its residents and visitors?

Adam Horowitz: Yes, it is a real place. When the Evil Queen made the wish that Emma's wish be realized, this realm was created and it now exists. If you go there, you can get hurt, you can die, anything can happen there. Now, what it's not: it's not time travel. It's not that we went back in time and said, "Oh what would happen if the Curse didn't get cast?" or any of that. This is how we've established the rules of wishes on Once Upon A Time, the case of when you make a wish there are unintended consequences. These were the twisted consequences of the Evil Queen asking to have Emma's wish realized, which is why there are things like, you know, Baelfire clearly died and he's her hero in an oil painting there, and clearly didn't go off to visit the Darlings and have that stuff happen. The history is slightly different. It's not a "Back to the Future, you went back and changed one thing in the past [situation]", this was a wish that conjured up a realm to teach Emma a lesson which is due, and the lesson was "Don't wish to undo all the things that made you who you are." And I think by the end of the episode, you saw Emma realize that she liked who she was, and that she wouldn't want to change that.

Queen Snow and King David revealed that the Wish version of the Evil Queen had been defeated. She was banished with no hope of returning, but they specifically said banished and not killed, so does that mean that there's an elderly version of the Evil Queen hobbling around somewhere? 

Eddy Kitsis: There really is. And whether that's in a castle, on an island or somewhere else, there is an old Evil Queen out there.

Any chance we'll see her?

EK: Maybe!

AH: Never say never.

EK You never know!

Are there any other characters that you can tease that might get the AARP treatment, like an elderly Belle or anything like that?

EK: I will say that we know that we're gonna meet Hook.

AH: And I think we can say that we're gonna see what happened to Belle in the Wish Realm.

EK: We are absolutely going to see what happened to Belle in the Wish Realm; in fact, in the premiere!

Gideon Gold (Giles Matthey) arrives at his father's shop. 
​Image Credit: ABC Studios

Now switching to Emma and Gideon. They seem to have had a similar experience as far as being sent away by their parents to get their best chance, only to return as adults and find their parents are of similar age, except that Emma is a hero and Gideon seems very much the villain. Wish Realm Rumple told Regina that every Savior needs a villain, and it seems like Gideon is stepping into that role, taking it from the Evil Queen since she's a snake. There's a lot going on between Emma and Gideon! What can you tease us about their dynamic?

EK: I can tell you that you are on the trail. There's a lot of drama between the two of them. They want different things in life, and unfortunately, it is going to cause them and their families to be divided. What Gideon wants, why he's here, what happened to him will all be shown in the second half of the season.

Emma is currently trapped in the Wish Realm with Regina and both of them are being sought by Henry (I have given him the title of Sir Henry the True, because, you know...) He doesn't know anything about their origins, and I'm curious about how Regina's murder of his grandparents will impact the mission for Regina and Emma to get home, since Henry is probably not happy about that.

EK: He is not happy about it, and Sir Henry the True is out for blood, because, as we saw, he was very excited to be knighted, but he seemed to be upset about being in a land with no more fighting. He is very loyal, and having his grandparents killed and his mother kidnapped will not sit well with him.

Sir Henry the True (Jared Gilmore) 'saves' his "mother" Princess Emma (Jennifer Morrison). Image Credit: ABC Studios

Henry, the Wish version, is  a new knight and seems very ready and eager to step into the role of hero, but it seems like the consequences of Regina and Emma going home would have a profound impact on the Wish Henry because he doesn't have grandparents to rule and his mother would be gone, so he would be in charge. It also seems like Storybrooke Henry is prepared to be more assertive at home, so there would be parallels between the two Henrys. What can you tell us about that?

​EK: I think Henry's growing up. I think we see every that he's growing up. I think that episode this year at the beginning where Emma and Regina realized he's becoming a young man is what's going on. As far as the Wish world, it is an alternate universe created by a wish, so we have to either choose to believe that what is happening in it matters, or it is a place to get the hell out of, to get back home where they need help the most.

It's not just wishful thinking: Robin Hood (Sean Maguire) is alive and has his sights set on Regina (Lana Parrilla)! Image Credit: ABC Studios

Switching gears to Robin Hood. It was thrilling to see him return, as an audience member. It seems like it's finally gonna explain the mysterious Page 23. Adam, you put a title spoiler out recently and that is the title of an upcoming episode, so what can you tease us about the Wish Realm version of OutlawQueen and its impact on Wish Robin Hood and Storybrooke Regina?

AH: So a few things we can say in general terms, and the rest we hope the audience will enjoy on the air. One, this Robin Hood is in the Wish Realm, so he's not the Robin Hood you've seen before. That said, there's a lot of things floating around in Robin Hood mythology, in Evil Queen/Regina  mythology, going all the way back to season three, that needs to be addressed. Whether it be Page 23, which we certainly address head-on in an upcoming episode--the page from Storybrooke that mysteriously appeared to Regina, which showed her kissing Robin Hood--that gets addressed. From the premiere of the season, when we saw that feather float down after Regina had her heart-to-heart with Snow, that was placed in that scene for a reason and it's something we've been building to all year. We address that again. There's a whole bunch of different threads involving what happened to Robin Hood last year, what Regina's going through now, and what this Wish Realm Robin Hood are that hopefully all come together in a satisfying way to the audience. And I have no doubt that we'll hear from the audience!

I have no doubt of that either. Is a happy ending for OutlawQueen still possible, albeit an unconventional one?

EK: I would say that the definition of happiness and happy endings is a theme we explore in the second half, so that is the uber question we are going to try and answer.

AH: That's kind of the driving force of the second half of the season for all the characters, which is "What is a happy ending and is it possible?"

Perhaps she'd like to see how snake-like she can be? The Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) gets what she deserves. Image Credit: ABC Studios

Keeping with the Regina questions here. It seemed like the Evil Queen was unable to stop Gideon from transforming her into that snake. Was that a slow response time on her behalf or does he have a better power than she does?

EK: He's got some serious power.

AH: And it was also a result of David's wish, which was "I hope you get what you deserve".

EK: And earlier in the fight, he called her a snake.

I liked the Jafar element in there too. I saw that and thought, "There's a Jafar element there!" What can you tease us about what's next for the Evil Queen herself, the main Evil Regal, because we don't expect her to stay a snake for long

EK: All I can tell you is that this town is clearly not big enough for two Reginas, so that needs to get sorted out pretty quickly.

Charming (Josh Dallas) despairs over his sleeping beauty, Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin). 
​Image Credit: ABC Studios

Focusing on Snowing now. They're still battling their shared Sleeping Curse, though their struggle this time has a little bit of that adorable technology quality to it, with the shared videos and messages, which is very smart. You said that it's going to be a while before this get resolved. I was wondering what you can tease us about what the solution to their problem is.

EK: We can tell you that the solution to their problem, they're going to have to figure that out the old fashioned way, which is together.

And they're separated, so drama. Imagine the DRAMA! Also, David said in this episode when he was talking to Hook that he was worried about becoming his brother. We saw shades of that in the Underworld story as well, and then you guys had teased a mystery, a secret in Charming's family that has to do with Charming's dad. We're wondering how quickly we will get to a resolution on that.

EK: I would say that is going to be dealt with pretty quickly in the first batch of episodes in March.

Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) and David (Josh Dallas)  debate the best way to save the day. 
​Image Credit: ABC Studios

I just mentioned Hook, so now's a good time to switch to CaptainSwan. You had hinted in the summer at the bromance between Charming and Hook, and that's coming into fruition now. What else can we expect to see from Hook, both in Storybrooke and the Wish Realm?

EK: I think he is going to have to confront past demons. I think Hook in the Wish Realm is one of my favorite moments in the entire series, and I think that we are going to be seeing Hook face his demons and hopefully conquer them. And we know that he and Emma have moved in together, so we'll see how their relationship progresses.

The Golds (Robert Carlyle and Emilie de Ravin) are greeted by their suddenly-adult son. 
​Image Credit: ABC Studios

I'm really excited about that tease for Hook. If it involves red velvet at all, it's gonna be good. Switching over to another couple, Rumbelle. Lots of action for them recently too. They're experiencing something similar to  Snow and Charming in terms of a suddenly-adult child presenting themselves, and in past seasons we've seen Charming help Rumple. Snow and Belle have recently discussed some pregnancy woes as well, so it seems like there is not only an opportunity for them to work together, but also for the Golds to learn some things about relationships from the Charmings. Will there be potential for these two sets of parents to interact and help each other with both their children and their love stories?

EK: I think so. We can't forget that they all share a grandson, and I think we can't forget that Henry's dream was for his family to come together, so I hope they can work together. But I can tell you that it won't be right away.

Aladdin (Deniz Akdeniz) and Jasmine (Karen David) bid farewell to their friends. 
​Image Credit: ABC Studios

Aladdin and Jasmine took off for Agrabah, which in parts unknown, and we have yet to see Jafar in Storybrooke. Is he going to be making an appearance in Storybrooke and is the Agrabah story tied into anything with Jafar in Storybrooke?

EK: I can say this: where Agrabah went, why it went, what happened, and where's Jafar will all be shown, not just said, but shown in an episode in the middle of the run coming up. Second half we're going to be getting into all of that and finding out what happened to it.