Snow White (Once Upon a Time)

**Snow White** is a main character in ABC's *Once Upon a Time*. She is the stepdaughter of Regina Mills, wife of Prince Charming/David Nolan and his family mother of Emma and Neal, as well as the maternal grandmother of Henry Mills and great-grandmother of Lucy Mills.

## History

Snow White was born during the harshest Winter, hence her name. She was raised by her parents Leopold and Eva and the maidservant Johanna. Tragically, Snow lost her mother when she was very young due to Cora poisoning Queen Eva so her daughter, Regina could become queen over day. She had a chance to save her mother using a candlestick that the Blue Fairy (Cora in disguise) gave her to trade another person's life. However, Snow could not bring herself to do it.

Because of this, Snow promised to remain kind to her late mother.

## Personality

Snow White was at first, a spoiled princess just like her mother in her youth, proven when she scolded Johanna for trying on her crown and believed herself to be higher than anyone due to her status. However, Eva scolded her daughter for her behavior and told Snow to treat everyone with kindness. As afterwards, Snow decided to follow her mother's advise, even in honor of her late mother. At first shy, Snow soon learned to gain confidence through her friendship with Hercules and stood up against a group of bandits. She also showed extreme guilt for telling Cora the truth of Regina running away with Daniel after learning that he did not run away but was rather killed by Cora. Under the influence of Rumpelstiltskin's memory potion, Snow became cruel, mean and uncaring because of the void in her heart. However, Prince Charming's true love's kiss given to Snow broke the terrible curse but at the cost of King George's men abducting charming shortly after it happened. After learning Regina was responsible for the suffering of her kingdom, she bravely stood up against her to save her people and was pushed to fight her more every time Regina taunted her. Even though she was tempted to live in exile with her husband and adopted brothers, Snow gained confidence to fight her former step-mother. As the first Curse began to weaken, Snow's cursed personality did as well. The more Regina pushed her, the more snow grew too become the strong, confident woman she once was. For example, Snow was able to single-handedly fight off Jefferson when he threatened Emma's life. Her past as a swordsman came in handy at the situation at hand.

Snow keeps faith in her friends and family and appears to pass on her optimism to her grandson Henry and the great-granddaughter Lucy and her kindness and heroism passed onto her daughter Emma, who also inherited her father's temper.

### Close Relationships

#### Hercules

At age fourteen, Snow White met the demigod, Hercules, who was around her age. During their short time together, Snow and Hercules became very close friends. He rescued her from a hunter's pit and told her of the 12 Labors he must complete in order to ascend to Mount Olympus to join his father Zeus. Snow, in turn, revealed to Hercules that she was facing a situation dealing with a group of bandits terrorizing her kingdom while ruling it with her step-mother, Regina. He inspired her to become a hero herself. His support encouraged Snow to become the Heroine she is today. He taught her how to fight, and archery. However, the confrontation with the bandits went south and Snow lost all confidence, believing Regina to be the better Queen than her. At least, until Hercules convinced her otherwise by revealing his own near failings with the Nemean lion before destroying it on the inside. During a second confrontation with Dead Eye, Snow was able to knock his sword out of his hand with an arrow and threatened him again, all courtesy of Hercules. It inspired the other villagers to rude up against the bandits which led to them retreating. Snow was grateful for Hercules's help and declined his offer to join him in hunting down Cerberus.

Before he left, the two friends grew to have mutual feelings for each other and kissed each other goodbye. Despite apparently having romantic feelings for Hercules's, Snow still considered him a friend long after his unfortunate demise at the hands of Cerberus.

Several decades later, when visiting the underworld, Snow was shocked to see Hercules' grave in the Underworld, but knew if anyone else knew how to fight a three-headed dog, it was Hercules. When the two friends reunited, they hugged and Snow explained that she wasn't dead but there to help her daughter Emma save her true love, Killian. This time, the roles were reversed, where it was Snow's turn to be Hercules' mentor and the person to help build Hercules's confidence back up. Despite Hercules being reluctant to try to kill Cerberus a second time, he didn't tell Snow how he died. When she found out, Snow was not angry but rather both shocked and understanding why Hercules was afraid. This time, she managed to convince Hercules to help confront Cerberus a second time despite Hades' threats. With the combined efforts of Hercules, Snow and Megara, the three were able to kill Cerberus and allow Hercules to ascend Mount Olympus an d leave the underworld with Megara. Despite Hercules and Meg's offer to remain in the Underworld to help fight Hades, Snow convinced then to leave the underworld because Hades would come after them, as well as Hercules and Megara. The two friends finally had a moment of closure for each other before hugging and bidding each other farewell.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The Queen is Dead"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Labors of Love"
3. ↑ "A Land Without Magic"
4. ↑ Heart of Darkness
5. ↑ Lost Girl