Mary Margaret Blanchard

> Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing.
>       —Mary Margaret to Emma

**Mary Margaret** Blanchard is a character on ABC's *Once Upon a Time*. She débuts in the first episode of the first season. She is portrayed by starring cast member Ginnifer Goodwin, and is the Storybrooke counterpart of **Snow White**.

## History

*For events occurring before the casting of the first curse, see Snow White.*

### During First Curse

After the casting of the curse, Mary Margaret becomes a timid and soft spoken school teacher in the town of Storybrooke. One day, she is teaching her students to make bird houses and tells the kids to make them with care, as they are building a home, not a cage. Class ends, and mayor Regina Mills comes in. Mary Margaret is asked how long she's been a schoolteacher. She can't remember a specific date, and only recalls that it's always been this way. Regina takes her to the hospital to look at a coma patient who goes by the unidentified name John Doe. She doesn't recognize the man at all, but brightly suggests perhaps someone who loves him will find him someday. From that day onward, Mary Margaret often visits John Doe. Later on, she accidentally bumps into Regina, and apologizes profusely for her clumsiness. The same event occurs on a different day, and Regina snaps at Mary Margaret for not apologizing. Docilely, Mary Margaret agrees she should apologize. Her response bothers Regina, who questions why she does not fight back. Mary Margaret curiously wonders why she would do something like that, and proceeds down the street. *("Welcome to Storybrooke")*
While spending time in the children's ward at the hospital as a volunteer, Mary Margaret is given Regina's adopted infant, Henry, to hold for a bit. She happily coddles him in her arms to the point he stops crying; a feat which shocks Regina. The mayor takes her baby back as Henry begins to wail again. Concerned, Mary Margaret asks if she herself did something wrong, though Regina refutes this. *("Save Henry")*
When Henry is older, Mary Margaret becomes his teacher at school. One morning, she finds a mysterious fairytale storybook while cleaning out her bedroom closet and brings it with her to school. During lunch break, she approaches Henry to ask why he hasn't been turning in his homework lately. Seeing Henry in a saddened mood, she assures him that things will get better if he believes in it. Henry is upset over the lack of change in town, and believes only he himself stays the same. Furthermore, he feels unloved, with knowledge of his birth mother's abandonment, as well as his belief that Regina doesn't love him. To cheer Henry up, she gives him the fairytale storybook, and explains the stories in it are a reminder that his life will get better if he just holds onto hope. She allows him to keep the book, and states that even believing in the possibility of a happy ending is a powerful thing. *("Going Home")*
After class dismissal on a typical day, Mary Margaret is surprised by a visit from Regina and another woman, Emma, who is Henry's birth mother. Regina confronts her over helping Henry obtain knowledge about his birth mother by lending him a credit card. Confused, she checks her wallet to find a credit card missing and realizes Henry must have stolen it. Mary Margaret is also apprehended over giving Henry a certain fairytale book, to which she defensively states that he is special and needs to let his imagination blossom. The mayor storms off, and Mary Margaret talks to Emma about Henry's need for the book so he can have hopes of a happy ending. She suggests Emma to seek Henry, who is currently missing, at his playground castle. At a later time, Mary Margaret is on her hospital volunteering shift and places flower vases on all the patients' beds, including John Doe's. *("Pilot")*
On the school grounds, Mary Margaret sees Emma walking Henry to class. She thanks Emma for cheering Henry up and isn't keen that Regina has remained mayor through intimidation. Though it's silly in her eyes, Mary Margaret admits Henry thinks she is Snow White and asks which fairy tale character Emma is. Emma hastily says she is not in the book. Following Emma's arrest for "stealing" from Archie Hopper's office, Mary Margaret comes to the sheriff department, with Henry, to bail her out. Later, Emma returns the bail money to her while Mary Margaret notices she has something on her mind and offers to be a listening ear. Despite being strangers, Mary Margaret feels like they have met before, and convinces her to stay in town and protect Henry. *("The Thing You Love Most")*
Mary Margaret goes on a date with Dr. Whale, which ends horribly. By chance, she sees Emma spending the night in her car and offers a spare apartment room. Emma turns down the offer; citing herself as not a roommate type. On a hospital volunteer day with her students, Mary Margaret notices Henry sitting in the room of John Doe. She explains the mystery of John Doe's identity and shortly after they leave the room together. From Emma, she learns Henry believes John Doe is Prince Charming, and wants her to read the Snow White fairytale to him. Emma suggests for her to play along with Henry's idea so he will realize on his own that fairytales are not real. They decide to meet at the diner tomorrow for a full report. At the hospital, she begins reading to John Doe and near the end of the story, he grabs her hand while still unconscious. Shocked, Mary Margaret summons Dr. Whale, but he sees nothing out of the ordinary and suggests she might have imagined things.
The next morning, Mary Margaret, with great elation, blurts out to Emma and Henry what occurred with John Doe. They rush back to the hospital only to discover John Doe disappeared the previous night. Some surveillance footage shows John Doe wandered out to the forest, so he, Emma, and Mary Margaret follow the trail to the woods. In passing, Mary Margaret asks Emma how she became a bail bondsman, and Emma says that it started when she was trying to search for her birth parents. Henry sneaks into the group to proclaim that John Doe is looking for Mary Margaret. While Emma wants to take Henry home, Graham finds John Doe's patient tag. At the shore, Mary Margaret begins resuscitating John Doe using mouth-to-mouth, nearly giving up, when he sputters awake. Elated, she reassures him as he thanks her for saving his life. Back at the hospital, Mary Margaret and the others watch from outside the door as John Doe is put into recovery when a blonde woman, Kathryn, rushes in. As it turns out, Kathryn is John Doe's long lost wife, and his real name is David Nolan. Kathryn thanks Mary Margaret's efforts for saving her husband. However, this revelation leaves Mary Margaret feeling confused. Later that night, she gains a new roommate when Emma decides to take her up on the spare apartment room. *("Snow Falls")*
A few days later, she spends time with David at the hospital playing hangman when Kathryn shows up and brings pictures to jog her husband's memories. Mary Margaret leaves and has a discussion with Emma, who warns her not to get involved with a married man. After this, Mary Margaret considers leaving her volunteer work at the hospital when David approaches her, asking her to escort him on a walk as it is the start of his physical therapy. While on the stroll, David admits that nothing about this world feels right to him except her. He also admits to lying about remembering his old life to spare Kathryn's feelings. While they are talking, Kathryn comes up with a box of cranberry muffins, which she claims is David's favorite. As Mary Margaret begins walking away, he asks her if he will see her again. She pauses, smiles, and leaves without another word. Eventually, she turns in a letter of resignation to the hospital. *("That Still Small Voice")*
On the night of David's discharge from the hospital, a homecoming party is held at his house, but Mary Margaret does not attend. Instead, he approaches her while she is hanging up a birdhouse. She tries her best to deter him, but David attests that he is going to choose her, not Kathryn. Mary Margaret talks things over with Emma and how hard it is not to feel guilty about the growing attraction between herself and David, especially considering how nice Kathryn is. Emma advises for trusting her instincts—if it felt wrong, it probably is. The next morning, she briefly chats with Dr. Whale about their less-than-spectacular date. Afterwards, Regina confronts her about David leaving his wife, and how many lives will be destroyed by that one action. At school, David comes to her again, though Mary Margaret is upset that he left his wife. He asks her to meet him at the Toll Bridge at eight o'clock. Again, she goes to Emma for advice, who urges her to meet him. Expectantly, Mary Margaret waits for him, but he bears disappointing news. David says he remembers his life with Kathryn and wants to work on his marriage. Furious and heartbroken, Mary Margaret runs off to the diner in tears. Consoled by Dr. Whale, the two later have a one night stand. *("The Shepherd")*
As a follow-up, she receives bright yellow flowers from him, which Emma throws away, thinking that they are from Graham. Judging from Emma's reaction to the flowers, Mary Margaret can tell she has feelings for Graham. Following class dismissal from school, Graham converses with Mary Margaret. Oddly, Graham asks if he has ever hurt her, and the two discover that they cannot remember when they met each other or anyone else in Storybrooke. Alarmed, she tells him about Henry's fairy tale theory, and Graham goes to the mayor's house to talk to him. *("The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter")*
After Graham's death, Mary Margaret walks into the apartment to find out Emma has been fired by Regina. Just then, Mr. Gold comes in with the town charter and he and Emma proceed to set up an election campaign. Mary Margaret runs into David as she is spreading election posters for Emma and asks him how things are. They have an awkward conversation, and when Mary Margaret sees him spreading posters of another candidate, Sidney, she hurries off. Emma confesses to Mary Margaret of her fears of not winning the election because she can't fight dirty and has to prove to her son that good can win. Mary Margaret reassures her, and they go to the debate, where Emma exposes Mr. Gold for the staged fire in the mayor's office. This impresses the townspeople, who then elect Emma as the new sheriff. *("Desperate Souls")*
To help Emma, she keeps orphan siblings Ava and Nicholas company in her house after they are found homeless and abandoned. Mary Margaret also counsels Emma in her struggle to find the two a home in Storybrooke rather than send them to the foster care system in Boston. *("True North")*
A few days after, Mary Margaret is in a morning rush; citing to Emma that she and her students are making a volcano. In truth, she heads into the diner at exactly eight-fifteen just to get a glimpse of David. After some further probing from Emma, Mary Margaret admits that she has purposefully been going to the diner to see David every day, and proceeds to outline the Nolans' weekly schedule. She can't get David out of her head and wishes that there was a way to cure her feelings. While shopping for supplies, she runs into Kathryn, who drops, among other things, a pregnancy test. Mary Margaret is stunned and wishes her luck as Regina snips that it's not her business. During a walk in the woods, she stumbles across a trapped dove and takes it to the animal shelter where David is working. The veterinarian says that the bird itself is fine, but must be reunited with its migrating flock or risk being alone forever. She makes off to free it, and ignores David's warning about the upcoming storm. In the forest, she faces physical danger, but David saves her. They seek shelter in an abandoned chain and confess the real reason they go to the diner is to see each other. Just as they are moving into a kiss, Mary Margaret asks him how he could do this to his pregnant wife. David, however, is confused at her question. Before he can clarify, or answer, the storm stops and Mary Margaret leaves to free the dove. David chases after her and admits that his life with Kathryn seems fake, but life with her seems real to him. As a means to purposely avoid each other, Mary Margaret comes to the diner at seven forty-five in the morning when David suddenly walks in. He hastily exits after seeing her, though she runs after him. They agree that it's too difficult to not be together and dive into a passionate kiss. In secret, Mary Margaret carries on an affair with David. After he sets up a picnic in the woods, she meets him there for a rendezvous. *("7:15 A.M.", "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree")*
Mary Margaret, Ashley and Ruby all decide to have a girls' night out on Valentine's Day. Ruby goes off to party with the boys, and Ashley confesses her doubts about her relationship with Sean. Just then, Sean comes to the bar and proposes to Ashley. She accepts, and the couple run off happily. Outside, Mary Margaret watches the two drive off in Sean's truck and runs into David. He gives her a Valentine card, which turns out one meant for Kathryn. David apologizes and offers her the other card, but Mary Margaret tells him to go home to his wife instead. *("Skin Deep")*
A few nights later, she and David decide to take a walk. He talks about Kathryn's plans to move to Boston so that she can attend law school. Mary Margaret becomes uncomfortable at how dishonest they are being with Kathryn, and convinces David to tell her about their relationship. While at school, she receives a phone call from David, who tells her how badly things went when he told Kathryn about them. She reassures him that he did the right thing. Once the conversation ends, she sees Kathryn approaching her in the hallway. Mary Margaret is met with a resounding slap across the face, which leaves her and all the bystanders in shock. As she starts to apologize, Kathryn unleashes anger towards her for David's flimsy excuse that they weren't connecting in the marriage rather than admitting the truth. Shaken, Mary Margaret is surprised to learn David did *not* tell Kathryn about the affair, and that she learned of the affair from Regina. Afterwards, Mary Margaret sets out to find David and is shunned by passing townspeople on the streets. She finds him scrubbing off the word "tramp" off her car. When she confronts him about lying, David admits that he did not want anyone getting hurt. On the spot, Mary Margaret recognizes their relationship is destructive and breaks up with him. She goes home upset as Emma keeps her company in the apartment. *("What Happened to Frederick")*
Mary Margaret, in an effort to rebuild her shattered reputation, seizes the opportunity to do honest work as a volunteer for the nunnery by selling candles for the annual Miner's Day festival. She walks right into the diner to make a brief announcement about Miner's Day and asks for volunteers, but is completely ignored. However, when Mary Margaret sights Leroy approaching, she mistakenly believes he wants to volunteer. Instead, he spitefully calls her the "town harlot" and states that she is the person the residents hate more than him. After exiting the diner, Emma catches up to give her support. Later, Leroy asks to be signed up as a volunteer. At first, Mary Margaret gives him the cold shoulder, considering his earlier behavior towards her. However, he makes a fair point seeing as she is the only volunteer at her own table, and needs more help, to which Mary Margaret finally agrees to accept him. During the festival, no one comes to their booth to sell candles, so they attempt to go door-to-door. However, that fails, and the pair return to the church dejected. Mary Margaret pushes him to tell Sister Astrid the truth, but instead he lies and says all the candles are sold out. This leads her to conclude that he has feelings for the nun. That night, the two nurse their failure to sell candles with drinks at the diner. Suddenly, Leroy gets an idea runs up to the roof of the church to cause a power outage; therefore forcing the townspeople to stock up on candles, and they sell out completely. Later, Mary Margaret packs up and goes to her car, which still has the faded lettering of "tramp" on the window. Dejectedly, she heads back to the festival carrying an unlit candle. She passes Granny, who lights hers. In the distance, Emma pulls up in her car to take David in for questioning about Kathryn as a stunned Mary Margaret watches. *("Dreamy")*
A few nights afterwards, she and Emma walk down the street engaged in a conversation about David when they see Ruby at the bus stop evading the advances of Dr. Whale. They force Dr. Whale to leave, and Mary Margaret invites Ruby to live with them until she can find her footing. The next day, she heads out to the woods to search for Kathryn. While there, she sees David wandering around in a daze. Concerned, she notifies Emma, who later enlists Ruby to help her locate him. Though David's loss of recollection is written off as a blackout similar to his post-coma state, he shares his fears to Mary Margaret about possibly having harmed Kathryn. Emma walks in on the pair to inform them that a jewelry box containing a human heart was found. David breaks down in tears, believing he has murdered Kathryn. Instead, the box's fingerprints are a match for Mary Margaret. Arrested and held as the prime suspect, Mary Margaret can do nothing while Emma is working towards helping her. While Regina sits by as a third-party to ensure Emma remains unbiased, Mary Margaret is shown the jewelry box Kathryn's heart was found in. She admits it is hers, but doesn't know how it ended up buried in the ground. However, she is appalled that David begins to question her innocence. During one early morning, she happens to find a key in her cot and uses it at night to escape the cell. She doesn't make it out of town, however, and is kidnapped by a man, Jefferson, until Emma discovers her in his house. She manages to undo Mary Margaret's binds, but a struggle for the gun ensues between Emma and Jefferson for a gun. Mary Margaret grabs a croquet mallet to clock Jefferson with it, and then kick him out the window. Outside, Emma presents her with the choice of either leaving for Boston or going back to the jail cell. Touched by Emma's confession that she considers her family and will do whatever it takes to help her, Mary Margaret goes back. *("Red-Handed", "Hat Trick")*
Mary Margaret has an interview with the District Attorney, Albert, as he asks her if she wanted Kathryn gone. Though she answers no every time, the repeated probing prompts her to say yes. This admittance serves as a murder confession. She receives a visit from Regina, who pressures her to take the easy way out and confess to avoid a trial. Mary Margaret is confused over why the mayor hates her so much, to which Regina doesn't reply. In the middle of the night, she sobs in despair over her current dilemma when Regina appears yet again. Mary Margaret begins apologizing for anything she's ever done to incite hate, but the latter rejects her pleas. Shockingly, Regina admits she knows Mary Margaret didn't kill Kathryn, but deserves to suffer. In the morning, she is taken away by the police for the trial. As fate would have it, Kathryn turns up alive and unharmed, so Mary Margaret is released from custody. *("The Stable Boy", "The Return")*
Mary Margaret returns home and is greeted with a homecoming party in her apartment. At one point, David tries to enter in, but she has Emma turn him away with an excuse. On the street, he attempts to apologize for doubting her. She hears him out, but refuses to take David back as there's always something inexplicably keeping them apart. Mary Margaret wants to hold onto the good memories they have together rather than continue to make bad ones. *("The Return")*
To safeguard herself from Regina, Mary Margaret enlists August to change her apartment locks. Upon returning to the school grounds to resume her teaching job, she unexpectedly meets Regina. Mary Margaret calls her out for framing her, though Regina pretends otherwise. She also expresses genuine forgiveness towards Regina for her actions. *("The Stranger")*
Mary Margaret discovers Emma's belongings missing from the apartment; meaning she has just up and left town. Her roommate returns in the morning, to which she criticizes her for disappearing without saying goodbye since Emma once said they are like family. At Emma's admittance that she doesn't want people relying her as sheriff, and that she attempted to take Henry out of town with her, Mary Margaret tells her to stop running away and figure out what is best for her son. One night, she is approached by David. He tells her that he is going to use Kathryn's apartment from when she had planned on going to law school. Mary Margaret wishes him luck, and, when he asks for her to give him a reason to stay in Storybrooke, she does not give him one. *("An Apple Red as Blood")*
When word gets out that Henry has fallen under a coma, Mary Margaret reads his storybook by his bedside, possibly in hopes that he will wake up like David did. However, instead of awakening, his heart flat lines. As he dies, she is pushed out of the room. Mary Margaret leaves the hospital and wanders around the town in a dazed state. Suddenly, a pulse of magic surrounds the town, breaking the Dark Curse, as memories from her former life return. She has a joyful reunion with David, who she remembers as Prince Charming. In the near distance, they see a large purple smoke approaching town. They brace for impact as the smoke envelops them as well. *("A Land Without Magic")*

### After First Curse

Upon remembering her true identity as Snow White, Mary Margaret is happily reunited with several of her friends from the Enchanted Forest, including Red Riding Hood, Granny, and the Seven Dwarves. She is most excited to remember Prince Charming and her daughter Emma. While Mary Margaret is overjoyed to see Emma and realizes she saved them all by breaking the curse, she is a little stunned when Emma states she needs time and space to adjust to the new situation. Suddenly, Archie rushes up to inform them that Dr. Whale is leading an angry mob to Regina's house. Prompted by Henry's concern for Regina, they make it in time to stop Dr. Whale. They decide to place Regina in a jail cell for protection and then confront Mr. Gold for his misdeeds. Instead, they learn Mr. Gold released a Wraith upon town to destroy Regina. They temporarily stop the creature, but Regina has a more permanent solution by using a hat to send it away. After the vortex opens, the Wraith is sucked in, but Emma is as well. Horror stricken, Mary Margaret declares her intent of not losing Emma again, and jumps into the portal. The two women land in the Enchanted Forest and are found by Aurora and Mulan. *("Broken")*
Mary Margaret and Emma are accused of killing Prince Phillip and taken hostage by Aurora and Mulan, who then take them to a survivors' haven. Mary Margaret makes an attempt to escape, but is knocked unconscious by Mulan. For the time being, she and Emma are forced into a holding pit. *("We Are Both")*
She awakens, and is unsettled by Cora's presence in the pit with them. Mary Margaret discourages Emma from speaking to her any further. Emma, however, is willing to take the chance since they have no one else to rely on to help them get back to David and Henry. Cora tries to ask about Henry, but Mary Margaret cuts her off. Then, the two are released to speak with the leader of the survivors, Lancelot, who Mary Margaret has a friendly reunion with. He offers to help them return home, but insists no more portals exist. Mary Margaret knows of one possibly in existence, so the two women travel to the location with Mulan. Near nighttime, they decide to camp out. Mary Margaret and Mulan go off separately to gather supplies. Out of nowhere, she is attacked by Aurora, who blames her for Phillip's death, and wants revenge. Mary Margaret pins Aurora to the ground with ease and states she knows what it's like to lose someone, too, but Phillip's death is not her fault. Mulan pries Aurora away as Emma, in annoyance, fires her gun, and unintentionally attracts an ogre. Emma is nearly killed by it, but Mary Margaret takes out the ogre by shooting an arrow in its eye. Despite not using a bow and arrow for twenty-eight years, her skill in archery is still sublime. Continuing on, they reach the old castle of Snow White and Prince Charming. Aurora and Mulan wait outside as Mary Margaret and Emma go inside. Inside, Emma's unused nursery room still stands, as does the magic wardrobe that took her away. Mary Margaret laments over the life they would have had as a family. They receive an unexpected appearance by Lancelot, but Mary Margaret notices his prolonged interest in the wardrobe. She goes on the defense, to which the mask of Lancelot melts off to reveal Cora. Cora battles them for the wardrobe, but Emma sets it on fire. In the end, Cora is forced to flee. As a cover story for the safe haven survivors, Mary Margaret suggests telling them Lancelot died a hero since the man she once knew in the past was brave. Mary Margaret rejects Mulan's offer to make her leader as she and Emma have a family to get back to. Before leaving, Emma becomes emotional while talking about her parents' abandonment, but now knowing they sacrificed so much for her, too. They bond as Mary Margaret reassures Emma that she is looking out for her. *("Lady of the Lake")*
Returning to the safe haven, the four women find that the camp has been attacked and no one appears to be left alive. Aurora discovers Hook beneath a pile of bodies, and he attempts to deceive the foursome by stating he survived Cora's attack on the camp by hiding under some dead bodies. Emma doesn't buy his story and ties Hook to a tree so the ogres can eat him. Unable to best Emma, Hook reveals his true identity as a shocked Mary Margaret pulls his hook out of his satchel. Hook admits to working with Cora, but offers to join forces with Emma and her team as he knows a way to get to Storybrooke. Most of all, he wants to go to Storybrooke to get revenge on Rumplestiltskin for taking away his hand. Emma decides to cut him free. Then, he leads them to a giant beanstalk stretching up into the sky, and explains there is an enchanted compass at the top, but first they must deal with the giant guarding it. *("The Doctor")*
Mary Margaret volunteers to go up the beanstalk; citing herself as more familiar to the Enchanted Forest than Emma. However, Emma overrides this decision and departs up the beanstalk with Hook. While they wait for them to come back, Mulan decides it would be best for the three of them to take turns on watch duty. Aurora presses to be on duty first due to the horrible nightmares she has been having. Mary Margaret recognizes that Aurora is suffering from a side effect of the Sleeping Curse, which she herself went through at one time, but only says that the nightmares will go away in time. Later, Mary Margaret comforts Aurora after she awakens from another bad dream, and describes frightening imagery of an exit less room surrounded by curtains and flames. She manages to coax the girl into going back to sleep. After ten hours go by, Mulan, going by orders Emma secretly gave her earlier, begins cutting down the beanstalk. Mary Margaret reacts with protest and wrestles Mulan to the ground. They scuffle until Emma jumps down from the base of the beanstalk alone, as she left Hook trapped with the giant so they can have a ten hour head start. *("Tallahassee")*
Mary Margaret rushes to console Aurora as she comes to from another nightmare. Shockingly, Aurora claims she met a boy named Henry in her dream. *("Child of the Moon")*
As Aurora relates her encounter with Henry to everyone, Mary Margaret finally speaks up about the nightmares being a side effect of the Sleeping Curse. Aurora is upset that she wasn't informed of this earlier, though Mary Margaret simply didn't want to burden her with it. They decide to let Aurora go back to sleep and stand guard over her. Suddenly, the camp is attacked by Cora's army of heartless humans, and Emma and Mary Margaret defend themselves while Aurora and Mulan run off into the woods. After the battle, Aurora is discovered to be missing and in Cora's captivity. Without Aurora, they can't reach Henry, though Mary Margaret was once under the Sleeping Curse, too, so she is capable of travelling to the Netherworld under special circumstances. As they head to gather a special poppy dust to put Mary Margaret to sleep, a raven from Cora gives them a message. Cora wants the compass by sundown in exchange for Aurora's safety. Mulan attempts to grab the compass, but then agrees to wait and see if they can contact Henry first. After entering the Netherworld, Mary Margaret waits in the flame filled room for Henry, but is stunned to see David instead. Quickly, he tells her about the squid ink located in Rumplestiltskin's cell. She learns he is currently under the Sleeping Curse, and they lean in for true love's kiss, but their bodies cannot touch. Mary Margaret has no choice but to leave him behind as she begins waking up from the Netherworld. She reaches consciousness in a panic over David's dilemma while Emma is certain everything will be fixed once they get home. They realize Mulan made off with the compass and catch up in time. Mary Margaret tackles Mulan when she refuses to give her the compass, and nearly kills her before Aurora reappears to break up the fight. The four head off towards Rumplestiltskin's old cell to find the squid ink. *("Into the Deep")*
As they arrive to the cell, Aurora finds a strange note with Emma's name written on it repeatedly. Mulan also discovers an empty vial, but no squid ink. Suddenly, Aurora throws a rock at the cell door switch and entraps them inside. Cora approaches to magically snatch the compass out of Emma's hand and thanks Aurora for the help. Angrily, Mary Margaret berates Aurora for assisting an enemy, though Cora reveals she has the girl's heart in her possession. Cora squeezes it as a demonstration; causing Aurora physical pain. Soon after, Cora and Hook leave to begin making preparations for a journey to Storybrooke. While trapped in the cell, Mary Margaret figures out there is squid ink on the note and uses it to melt away the cage bars. At Aurora's insistence she cannot be trusted, Mulan binds her up. They hurry to Lake Nostos where Mary Margaret fires an arrow to shoot the compass out of Cora's reach. While Mary Margaret tries to catch Cora with her arrows, Mulan parries the woman's magic with her blade. Mulan quickly leaves the battle to restore Aurora's heart after Hook returns it. Then, Hook is passes out after being clocked by Emma. In turn, Emma is flung aside by Cora as she stalks forward to remove Mary Margaret's heart. Mary Margaret is unable to fight back, but is shoved away by Emma just as Cora reaches in. This causes Cora to grab Emma's heart, but she finds herself incapable of pulling it out. A burst of light shoots out of Emma's chest; knocking Cora unconscious. Joining hands, Mary Margaret and Emma leap into the portal. Successfully, they reenter Storybrooke from within the wishing well. Henry has a tremendously emotional return with both of them. Mary Margaret is surprised, and skeptical, to learn from Henry that Regina helped to ensure their safe return. She rushes off to the pawnshop to awaken David with true love's kiss. To catch up on lost time with her family and friends, she, David, Emma Henry, Ruby and the dwarves have dinner at Granny's. *("Queen of Hearts")*
On one afternoon, Emma and Henry go out shopping in preparation for the evening celebration party at Granny's. While they are gone, Mary Margaret and David have some intimate alone time. When caught, both attempt to hide under the covers, though Henry seems to buy their excuse that they are just resting up. In private, Mary Margaret is apologetic towards Emma since they assumed both of them weren't going to be back until much later. Emma blusters that they should give a warning next time and embarrassingly walks off to make tacos. David jokes that it's impressive how they can still provide their daughter with traumatic childhood memories this late in her life. At the party, Mary Margaret arrives with her husband and daughter just as David calls for a toast in honor of his family's safe return. Suddenly, the diner door opens when Regina walks in with a plate of homemade lasagna. Her presence displeases some of the guests, but Emma vouches that she invited Regina. As the guests disperse, Mary Margaret and David express concern about Regina being at the party. Emma states that she owes Regina for helping them return to Storybrooke, and planned on telling her parents, but they were a little busy this afternoon. Mary Margaret insists Regina tried to have them killed yesterday, but Emma believes the mayor is trying to change for Henry's sake. They let the topic drop once Emma is certain that Regina should be given a chance to change from the past. The next morning, Archie is found dead in his office. Mary Margaret watches from outside the interrogation room as Regina is questioned by David and Emma. Regina appeals to Emma that she has done everything to change thus far and wouldn't throw it all away by killing Archie. While Mary Margaret and her husband firmly believe Regina is the main suspect, Emma is still not convinced she has done anything wrong and believes Mr. Gold is framing the mayor. They head to the pawnshop where Emma is given a dream catcher to look into the memories of only witness of Archie's death, Pongo. In it, she sees Regina murdering Archie. As a plan, they agree Regina must be trapped with fairy dust. The trio confront Regina on her doorstep about what she did. Mother Superior, on cue, attempts to freeze Regina, but she catches the dust in midair and tosses it aside. In a bout of intense rage, Regina uses magic to physically shove Emma away. Angrily, Emma confirms Henry will never forgive Regina after this and that she is a person not capable of changing. To this, Regina disappears in a cloud of smoke. With reassurance from her parents, she breaks the bad news about Regina to Henry. *("The Cricket Game")*
At Archie's funeral, Mary Margaret eulogizes him. Afterwards, she goes back to her apartment where other residents of Storybrooke are also gathered in mourning. Emma speaks to Mary Margaret about how sad Henry is over the death of Archie. Leroy approaches Mary Margaret and Emma to ask, on behalf of himself and other dwarves, when they will be returning to the Enchanted Forest. While Emma argues she and Mary Margaret did everything in their power to return to Storybrooke, Leroy is anxious about what is Regina's next move, and whether the broken curse means outsiders will have the capability to come into town. Emma believes they are safe for now while Leroy believes that trouble will happen sooner or later. Much later in the day, Mary Margaret discovers Henry is listening to Archie's answering machine. The boy cheers up when Emma walks in to give him ownership of Pongo as Marco allowed. Mary Margaret and David agree things might get a bit cramped with all of them living together. However, David is shocked when Mary Margaret suggests the two of them move out and let Emma and Henry have the apartment. The couple leave for the diner where she shows her husband various possible houses, but he turns down every one. While she desires a house of their own, David wishes to return to the Enchanted Forest. Mary Margaret protests that even if they do go back, the land they once knew is not the same with Cora in power and the ogres taking over everywhere. Though there are ongoing problems in the Enchanted Forest, he sees it as a good reason to fight for what is theirs. However, Mary Margaret states she is tired of always fighting, and wants a fresh start in Storybrooke. She and David later learn from Emma that Archie is alive, and was kidnapped by Cora, who apparently found a way to Storybrooke. *("The Outsider")*
After a car crashes into Storybrooke, Mary Margaret and David accompany Emma on the drive to the scene. They observe an amnesiac and frightened Belle who crossed the town line, a run-over Hook with multiple cracked ribs and a passed out stranger in the crashed car. Mary Margaret tries to soothe a terrified Belle until they reach the hospital, where she passes the girl off to a nurse. Mary Margaret, David Emma, Leroy and Ruby try to break into the stranger's phone to learn who he is. After reviewing some paperwork left in the man's car, Emma sees that his name is Greg Mendell. From hacking into the phone, he looks to be a normal person. Dr. Whale comes back from checking up on Greg and says the man is bleeding into his chest cavity. Unsure of his own skill, Dr. Whale consults Mr. Gold for help, but he refuses and only warns that they should hope Greg dies so an outsider can't spread their town's magic secret to the whole world. They go into a separate room to debate about the pros and cons of helping someone from outside of town. Ultimately, the decision is made to save the stranger's life no matter what. Dr. Whale leaves the room to prep for the surgery, and Mary Margaret remarks how drunk he appears to be. Suddenly, Greg's phone starts ringing. No one dares to answer in fear the phone might be traced to Storybrooke. As they are waiting for the surgery to finish, a male nurse cannot find Dr. Whale, whose pager is the pocket of his disposed lab coat. Ruby runs off to track Dr. Whale by scent and brings him back to perform the operation on Greg. The surgery is a success and Emma goes in to gather information from Greg about what happened. He confesses to texting while driving. With a breath of relief, Emma and her parents return to the apartment. Henry wishes to know the day's events and after being filled in, he realizes the Frankenstein story is not a fairytale nor does it exist as in the storybook. Abruptly, Mr. Gold pays them a visit to ask Emma to fulfill the favor she owes him by helping find his son Baelfire. Just before he leaves, Mr. Gold also warns if any harm comes to Belle while he is gone, he will kill them all. *("In the Name of the Brother")*
In the morning, Emma brings Henry, who she wishes to protect from Cora, along for departure out of town with Mr. Gold. Afterwards, Mary Margaret and David receive Regina at the door. Again, she denies killing Archie, to which they apologize for suspecting her since he turned up alive. They also mention that Emma left town with Henry, which upsets Regina. After Hook is released from the hospital, Mary Margaret, David and Leroy question his alliance with Cora. He leads them onto his ship to show them a caged shrunken giant who Cora brought from the Enchanted Forest. They free the giant, Anton, who reacts in fury when he sees David. He proceeds to lash out at them, which Mary Margaret quickly stops by shooting an arrow at him. Anton leaves the ship, but promises David will pay for what he has done. At the diner, David is still confused about what the giant said until realizing he was mistaken for his brother, James. Soon, he, Mary Margaret and Leroy have to defend the town against a much larger Anton, who begins taking out his anger on humans. David directs all the residents to take cover at town hall while he attempts to clear up the misunderstanding with Anton. Leroy helps win over Anton by mentioning Emma was given the compass by him. Anton wishes to speak to Emma, but she is not in town, so he continues with the rampage by chasing the three down. Finally, David proposes to give up his own life to Anton so he spares the townspeople. As Anton moves to stomp on him, the three are blown back by the debris as the impact of the pound hits the ground. Anton, now back to human size, falls into giant-made hole clinging on for dear life. The townspeople work to help David scale down into the hole with a rope and pull Anton to safety. They introduce Anton to the diner in an effort to make him feel at home. As they talk, Mary Margaret mentions Storybrooke is their home now since there is no way of getting back to their old land. To this, Anton shows them a stem of a beanstalk that can grow magic beans. They let Anton inspect some soil content, which is suitable for planting the stem, as the seven dwarves arrive to help him. Mary Margaret and David leave them to it and briefly discuss the what-ifs had he been raised by King George rather than his twin, and then the topic turns to returning to the Enchanted Forest. While Mary Margaret doesn't want to leave Emma behind, David is sure that their daughter will be fine with Henry. *("Tiny")*
Over the phone, she talks to frantic Emma in New York, who just discovered her ex-boyfriend Neal is Mr. Gold's son. As if that weren't complicated enough, Neal is Henry's biological father. Mary Margaret advises her to be honest with Henry about his father's identity. She perceives the reason Emma may be withholding the information might have more than do with herself than Henry. When Mary Margaret tells her husband the news, David is astonished that this not only connects Regina, but also Mr. Gold to their family tree. He quips that it's a good thing they did not have Thanksgiving in the Enchanted Forest, or otherwise it would have been one messed up holiday. Mary Margaret toys with the idea that this familial connection will be the key to bringing everyone together. *("Manhattan")*
On her birthday, Mary Margaret suspiciously notices David making pancakes. Though he feigns hunger, she can obviously tell what is going on. As an unspoken conflict, Mary Margaret hates celebrating her birthday because her mother's passing occurred on the same date. On the table, she notices a nearly wrapped present, which David claims is not from him. She opens the box to find the tiara she once received from her mother, Eva, on her coming-of-age birthday, and a card note from an old friend, Johanna. After a quick kiss, Mary Margaret heads out to look for her. In a garden behind a house, she finds Johanna planting snowdrop flowers. The two hark back to their times in the Enchanted Forest, which includes their memories of Eva. Mary Margaret hears a strange noise from the woods and goes to investigate; discovering Cora and Regina discussing their plans to find Mr. Gold's dagger to force him to kill whoever they wish. Following this sighting, she tries to phone Mr. Gold, but he is not picking up. Upon entering the sheriff department, she finds David unconscious after being previously knocked out by Hook. Mary Margaret fills him in about Cora and Regina's alliance. They conclude the mother-daughter pair want it to either control Mr. Gold or make Cora the Dark One. She conceives a plan to instill doubt in Regina regarding Cora's motives, and tells the mayor over the phone to come to the diner so they can discuss Henry. Once Regina shows up, Mary Margaret gives her the third degree about being allies with Cora. She offers her one last chance to do the right thing by choosing good over evil. Regina states she always has been good, but Mary Margaret suggests that all her actions thus far have been evil. Regina wants Mary Margaret to stay out of her business. As she gets up to leave, Mary Margaret pleas that Cora does not care about her or Henry. In a blatant jab at Mary Margaret, Regina asks her what she knows about mothers, considering hers died a long time ago. Since the talk went badly, she and David try to procure the dagger's location from Mr. Gold by asking Emma to convince him. In the meantime, they unsuccessfully attempt to break into the pawnshop with Mother Superior's powers. Desperate, Mary Margaret recommends using dark magic if that's what it takes to get the dagger, and reminds Mother Superior of the "secret" she kept of hers. The head nun, however, is utterly confused and has no idea what she is talking about. Finally, they reach a breakthrough when David learns from Emma that the dagger is in the clock tower and nab it in time. Before they can leave, Cora and Regina materialize; threatening to crush Johanna's heart unless they get the dagger. During this altercation, Mary Margaret learns that Cora poisoned Eva to death, and she, not the Blue Fairy, was the one who gave her the enchanted candle. Left little choice, Mary Margaret gives the dagger up to them, but Johanna is cruelly killed by Cora shortly afterwards. The couple honor Johanna by burying her in the cemetery. Heartbroken over the cost of an innocent life, Mary Margaret vows to prevent more unnecessary deaths by killing Cora herself. *("The Queen Is Dead")*
In a phone discussion with David, Mary Margaret discusses the seriousness of Mr. Gold's wound. Unknown to both, Cora and Regina are listening in through a phone tap. When the *Jolly Roger* arrives in Storybrooke, Mary Margaret and David help a weakened and injured Mr. Gold onto a truck. Again, she brings up to David of her plans to kill Cora and protect their family. He reasons that she would not be able to live with herself after murdering someone. After a return to the pawnshop, Mr. Gold deliberately causes Mary Margaret to find the enchanted candle, which is the same one she was given as a child to possibly save her mother's life by forfeiting someone else in her place. Since Cora is a threat to both of them, he wants Mary Margaret to kill her and save him. Though the candle's spell works by whispering the name of the intended victim over the person's body, it is also possible to do the same with Cora's heart. She is given the location of the heart in a vault to enact the curse and then, as a follow-up so the candle's spell will kill their nemesis, is to put it back into Cora. For a moment, Mary Margaret considers controlling Cora with the heart so she'll finish off Mr. Gold. However, he warns Henry, who is his newly discovered grandson, won't take his death lightly. Out of nowhere, the building begins shaking, signaling Cora and Regina's arrival, and the foursome assemble for a fight. During the battle, Mary Margaret heads to the vault, where she curses Cora's heart with the candle. On her way out with the heart in a box, she offers it to Regina, persuading her that Cora can only feel genuine love if she has her heart. Just as she expected, the madam mayor departs with the heart box dead-set on returning it to Cora. Instead of relief, Mary Margaret immediately regrets her actions. Once David finds her, they rush to the pawnshop to stop Regina, but arrive to see Cora is already dead as a result of the cursed heart. *("The Miller's Daughter")*
After Cora's death, Mary Margaret becomes despondent, and she refuses to leave her bed. With Mr. Gold's help, David and Emma investigate Regina's plans to cast a curse of the empty-hearted, and one of the ingredients is her most hated enemy, Mary Margaret. As they search for a missing Henry, Mr. Gold is left to guard Mary Margaret in case Regina shows up. As expected, Regina tries to steal her nemesis' heart as Mr. Gold blocks her, which forces her to leave. After much pleading from Henry, Regina eventually destroys the curse, and Mr. Gold is notified by phone that his services are no longer needed. Unable to move past what she did to Cora, Mary Margaret questions how he lives with himself after all the terrible things he's done. Mr. Gold reasons that it gets easier by telling himself he did the right thing. Coming to a decision, she slips out of the apartment, going to Regina, begging to be killed for her crime. Instead, Regina removes Mary Margaret's heart, now harboring a dark spot, as she considers the darkness within it will only continue to grow. She smugly believes it'll destroy the happy little family that Mary Margaret has tried so hard to create, which a worse punishment than death. After cramming the heart into Mary Margaret's chest, Regina then tells her to leave. From the street, Greg has recorded the entire heart ripping incident on his device. *("Welcome to Storybrooke")*
Since the confrontation with Regina, Mary Margaret remains bedridden. While she is hiding under her bed covers, David prepares a breakfast tray for her. Upon seeing this, Emma expresses exasperation as she believes enough time has passed for Mary Margaret to move on from what she can't change. After Emma departs, Mary Margaret gets up, packing a few necessities into her bag, before heading out to think things through. Blasting music in her earphones, she practices archery. All arrows hit the tree target, but when one misses, she unplugs her ear-buds to hear something wooden moving. Investigating, Mary Margaret finds a completely wooden August hiding in a trailer. Ashamed of his physical state and the mistakes he's made, August doesn't wish anyone, especially his father Marco, to see him. When she mentions Henry's father, Neal, returning, August inquiries if he and Emma are together again. Learning that Neal is engaged to someone else, this dampens August's spirits even more as he hoped the couple he purposely separated years ago might have reconciled. August has given up on finding redemption, but she believes everyone deserves a second chance. When he asks her to leave, Mary Margaret calls Emma to the diner and informs her about his dilemma. Marco, wishing to see his son, goes with them to consult Mother Superior, who can't help August as he must earn redemption on his own. On their way to the trailer, Marco guiltily admits he made the Blue Fairy lie about the wardrobe, which could save two people instead of one, so Pinocchio would be spared from the curse. Upset, Mary Margaret slaps him, surprised at her own action, and then forgives him since she would have done the same for her own child. They reach the trailer, but August is gone. On the trek to town, Emma receives a frantic call from August warning her about someone, but the line goes dead suddenly. Rushing to the sheriff station, they witness August collapse before he dies in Marco's arms. Suspecting August's actions today have been selfless, true and brave, Mother Superior tests her wand on him and reverts him to a seven-year old Pinocchio. Afterwards, Mary Margaret confesses to David about her blackened heart. Optimistically, her husband assures she can have redemption since he believes in the goodness in her heart. *("Selfless, Brave and True")*
To protect the bean fields from being seen by outsiders, Mother Superior enacts a barrier to make the area appear as an empty field unless someone stepped inside the barrier. Mary Margaret and David surprise Emma by showing her the growing fields and present the possibility that they could all return to the Enchanted Forest. Fatigued since the aftermath of Cora's death, Mary Margaret considers going back and rebuilding their land could heal her heart. Both she and David are convinced if Emma comes with them, she can also have her happy ending that never was. After sundown, David carpools Anton, Leroy, Happy, Bashful, Walter, and Doc and drop them off at the diner. Despite Leroy's invitation to have dinner with them, Mary Margaret and her husband head home for the night. From across the street, Regina waits for them to clear the area and uses a tracking spell on David's previous car route, which leads her straight to the hidden bean fields. Upset *("Lacey")*
At the dock, Mary Margaret and David have a quiet evening sitting at a bench by the harbor. They discuss what will happen to Regina once they go back to the Enchanted Forest. Mary Margaret accepts Regina is still Henry's mother, but David wants to give her a choice to either stay in Storybrooke or live out the rest of her days in Rumplestiltskin's old cell. Secretly, Regina overhears their plan, and she decides to retrieve a trigger to destroy Storybrooke as well as its inhabitants before leaving with Henry for another realm. The next morning, Mary Margaret, David and Leroy check up on the bean fields. As they walk from the car, she asks Leroy for help fixing up the castle once they return home. After entering the barrier, they find all the fields destroyed. *("The Evil Queen")*
Suspecting Regina ruined the bean fields, Mary Margaret, David, Emma and Henry search the mayoral office. They find evidence proving Regina kept some of the beans for herself, but the beans are strangely missing. Even more alarming, Emma discovers an override code was used to break into the office. She suspects Neal's fiancée, Tamara, is involved, but her parents insist only Mr. Gold could overpower Regina. While Emma goes to question Neal, Mary Margaret and David ask Mr. Gold for a way to track Regina. Since Mary Margaret once saved his life, making him indebted to her, he provides a bottle with Regina's tears and asks her to shed one of her own tears into it. After she does, he mixes the tears and instructs her to pour it in her eye in order to breach a temporary connection with Regina. Under the liquid's influence, Mary Margaret feels agonizing pain from Regina and smells sardines in her surroundings. David reports the findings to Emma, who realizes Regina is in the cannery. Regrouping there, Emma and Neal stay behind to secure the rooms while Mary Margaret and David rush ahead, where they catch Greg electrocuting Regina. He escapes, and they free Regina before bringing her to the apartment to be healed by Mother Superior. Regina admits she previously planned to destroy them with a trigger, but now the device in Greg and Tamara's hands. Suddenly, a shocked Emma returns home, revealing Neal died during a confrontation with Tamara, as her parents console her. *("Second Star to the Right")*
Heading to the park, Mary Margaret, David and Emma pick up Henry, where they encounter Mr. Gold. As Emma goes to break the news about Neal to Henry, Mary Margaret and David do the same for Mr. Gold. They desire his help to stop the trigger, but he refuses, believing dying is his penance for Neal's death. Once the trigger is activated, Hook aids them in stealing the remaining beans from Greg and Tamara, which will be used to bring the townspeople to safety. In an act of sacrifice, Regina attempts to stall the trigger for as long as possible. At the diner, Mary Margaret and Henry gather the residents, and when David and Hook return with a procured bean, Henry inquiries about Regina, who will die trying to save them. Mary Margaret suggests they use the bean to send the trigger away, but Emma is skeptical since it's a risky plan. Archie, recalling Mary Margaret and David once led them to victory in the Enchanted Forest, rallies everyone into agreeing with the plan. Mary Margaret pleads with Emma that they must save Regina, and what happened with Cora must not be repeated as taking the easy way out is not the right thing to do. Emma relents, and when David tosses her the bean box, Hook catches it. Without them noticing, he steals the bean for himself and returns the box with a decoy. Hurrying to the mines, Henry and his family discover too late that the bean is gone. In a stroke of luck, Emma realizes she and Regina could stop the trigger with their combined magic, and they succeed in deactivating it. In the aftermath, they find Henry missing, and later witness Greg and Tamara taking him into a portal. Hook, atoning for his thievery, decides against using the last bean for his selfish purposes, and allows Emma and her parents aboard to pursue Henry's captors. With a magic globe, Mr. Gold tracks the boy to Neverland. They then sail there after opening a portal with the bean. *("And Straight On 'Til Morning")*
As they sail towards the island of Neverland, Mary Margaret and David approach Emma to comfort her over losing Henry and Neal. An embittered Emma is tired of her parents' optimism, but they encourage her to have hope about rescuing Henry. Mr. Gold announces he is saving his grandson alone since Emma is not capable enough. With a spin from his cane, he mysteriously disappears. Continuing to sail, the ship is attacked by mermaids. Working together, Mary Margaret and Emma reel one of the creatures on the fishing line as Regina scares off the remaining horde with fire. On deck, the group argue about what to do with the mermaid, who sounds a shell and threatens them with death if they don't free her. As thunder brews in the sky, everyone realizes the mermaid summoned a storm, but they remain unaware that the downpour will increase as their animosity for each other grows. David almost resorts to cutting the fish's neck, but a look of disapproval from Mary Margaret makes him stop. Impatient, Regina freezes the mermaid, and her action causes the storm to speed up. Mary Margaret blames Regina for their situation, and the pair trade insults until the fight becomes physical as David and Hook also have it out. Emma, recognizing the foursome's bickering is making the storm worse, forces them to stop after she jumps into the ocean and gets knocked out by a rig pulley. Working together, David ties a rope around his waist and saves Emma while Mary Margaret, Hook and Regina pull them up. Arriving to Neverland's shoreline, Emma motivates the group to cooperate with each other in order to rescue Henry, and they don't have to be friends, but each person's skill is needed for this mission. Impressed by her daughter's leadership, Mary Margaret follows Emma into the jungle. *("The Heart of the Truest Believer")*
While the group go through the jungle to a cliff, Mary Margaret suggests her daughter call her Mom. Uneasy about the subject, Emma notes the last time she did, it was because they were all going to die, to which the latter drops the subject. Through one path, they narrowly avoid walking into a patch of Dreamshade. Up ahead, the ridge allows them to get a view of the island, but too much has changed since Hook was in Neverland and he can't tell the difference between anything. Not knowing what dangers lurk in the jungle, they rest for the night, though everyone is awakened with news of Emma's encounter with Pan and the map he gave her to find Henry. The catch is Emma must "stop denying who she really is", and only then, the map unlock for her. Regina would rather use magic on the map, a move Mary Margaret highly disagrees with, as does everyone else. Emma makes the effort to unveil the map by stating facts about herself, with encouragement from her parents, but nothing works. Tired of playing games, Regina snatches the map and casts a locator spell on it, which leads them straight to Pan, who then sends the Lost Boys to engage them in combat. After the battle, Mary Margaret frets over an arrow that hit David earlier, but he seems to be fine. Mary Margaret asks Emma about why she withdrew from the fight earlier on. the blonde reluctantly admits that the boy's look of despair reminded her of how she felt in the foster system; a lost and unimportant girl longing for the parents who gave her up. Confessing to be what she's always been, Emma considers herself an orphan. With those words, the map unveils its contents. Though the truth hurts, Mary Margaret promises to do her best to change Emma's future so they are together as a family. They group form a strategy to travel towards Pan's camp and begin assemble for leaving. Despite David's earlier reassurance to his wife, he disappears into the brush alone, where the Dreamshade arrow wound festers on his abdomen. *("Lost Girl")*
Soon, they notice the map keeps changing the Lost Boy camp location, making their endeavor useless, so Hook suggests looking for a fairy named Tinker Bell, who Pan trusts. Regina, writing Tinker Bell off as bad news, thinks she and Emma can combine powers to take on Pan. Emma refuses since there's always going to be a price of magic, and out of exasperation, Regina snappishly regards Hook as the blonde's "boyfriend". Mary Margaret defends her daughter against the accusation, to which Regina apologizes; citing her bout of anger is due to worry over Henry. Later, the brunette decides to stay behind and rest while everyone else goes to Tinker Bell's tree house. Finding the home empty and barren, Emma remarks that it reminds her of the home she herself grew up in. Mary Margaret, too, recalls a similar living circumstance, as she lived in a tree stump while on the run from the Queen. Strangely, Tinker Bell's tree house has a ladder, even though fairies have wings for flying. Suddenly, David finds a white cloth, which is Regina's and they rush off to rescue her. They corner Tinker Bell outside a cavern, but an unharmed Regina attests to the ex-fairy's innocence. Regina relates that Tinker Bell lost all her fairy powers a long time ago and can't help infiltrate Pan's camp. Even so, Mary Margaret and Emma promise to take Tinker Bell with them to Storybrooke if she helps their cause, which she agrees to. *("Quite a Common Fairy")*
At the camp base, Mary Margaret listens to Emma go over the strategy for entering Pan's headquarters from the back after Tinker Bell talks her way in through the front. Before they put the plan into action, the ex-fairy wants to know their escape route off the island. Since there isn't one, Tinker Bell warns that no one leaves the island without Pan's permission, and to prove how dangerous he is, she shows them a watch she found on Greg's corpse. Additionally, she reveals Tamara is dead as well. Without a proper escape plan, Tinker Bell decides it's not worth the risk, and she goes back to her tree house. During a group discussion, Emma agrees it's unwise to break into a place without knowing the way out. Although Hook once escaped Neverland, it was possible through a one-time deal with Pan, but the pirate recalls Neal managed to flee on his own. Hoping to find information on this, they go to a cave, where Neal once lived as a boy. Inside, they find two coconut halves that when combined in the dark, illuminate a star constellation map with an escape route. However, despite that Hook taught Neal how to navigate using the stars, he also coached him against revealing secrets of his own map. Emma, realizing the only person who can read the map is dead, stalks outside. Her parents follow, consoling her about Neal, as Emma expresses everything from anger, grief and pain over losing the man she loved. Emma then walks off to be alone, to which Mary Margaret sadly considers her inability to comfort her own daughter. Mary Margaret suggests, if David died, that she could never move on. Comfortingly, David insists if something did happen, he'd want her to be happy. Thanking him for his sweet words, she hugs him, as he bears a worried expression about his Dreamshade wound. *("Nasty Habits")*
Continuing to search the cave, Emma finds Neal's tally marks on the wall as she recognizes he stopped counting the days due to losing hope of ever leaving, which is the same thing Pan wants for Henry. In the hopes of sending Henry a message, Mary Margaret convinces everyone to make a net out of vine to catch a Lost Boy. When David hauls Hook to fetch more vine, he refuses until Emma presses him to do so. In a flashy display, Hook bows and agrees to go "as the lady insists", which draws a curious stare from Mary Margaret. When the men return, Hook informs them about a sextant on top of Dead Man's Peak, which can decipher Neal's map. Before going on this journey with Hook, David talks to his wife about the unforeseen possibilities in Neverland, though she believes he'll be fine. With the net, the women trap a Lost Boy, Devin, and attempt to gain his trust. Regina offers him chocolate while Emma promises to take him away from Neverland, but he rejects both offers. As Emma ties him to a tree due to his noncompliance, he boasts about Henry's vicious nature since joining the Lost Boys, she chokes him until Mary Margaret pulls her away. Eventually, Emma allows Regina to rip out Devin's heart so they can use him. Mary Margaret protests, but Emma holds her back as Regina fulfills the plan. Shortly after, she cautions Emma against using unsavory methods to get Henry. Under Regina's control, Devin is sent back to Pan's camp with one half of a magic mirror, which he delivers to Henry. Through the other half, Mary Margaret, Emma and Regina inform Henry that they are coming to rescue him. Returning to their camp, Mary Margaret apologies for doubting Emma's earlier decision as she knows how easy it is to give into darkness. To this, Regina arbitrates that she, not Emma, gave into the darkness. Arriving back, David and Hook report that Pan got the sextant before them. Nonetheless, David reveals Hook saved his life earlier by protecting him from a Dreamshade arrow when they were ambushed. To celebrate, everyone, except Regina, drinks a sip of rum until the bottle passes to Emma. Happily, Mary Margaret goes off with David as Emma and Hook are left alone. *("Good Form")*
At their camp, Mary Margaret and David watch Regina teach Emma how to light a fire with magic. Emma argues with Regina about her training tactics, and as things get heated, she accidentally channels her anger; lighting flame on the wood. To Mary Margaret, David expresses dislike about allowing Emma to use magic, but she thinks their daughter needs to learn. She also believes Emma will use her abilities wisely. Approaching the couple, Hook reveals Neal is alive and Pan kidnapped him from their campsite to a cave. As proof of this story, Mary Margaret notices a snapped branch near the brush along with footprints resembling a struggle. She considers telling Emma about Neal until David and Hook convince her not to. The trio agree to prep a cover story and search for Neal themselves, but when Emma asks where they are going, both David and Hook give different excuses. With the plan ruined, Mary Margaret blurts out that Neal is alive. In disbelief over these claims, Regina leaves the group as everyone else follows the footprint trail. During travel, Mary Margaret learns Emma shared a kiss with Hook, though her daughter attests it didn't have any deeper meaning. Emma is unsure about Neal being alive, but Mary Margaret encourages her to have hope. Outside the Echo Cave, Hook explains they each must reveal one of their deepest secrets in order to rescue Neal. Once inside, they see a caged Neal on a separate strip of land. Hook goes first by stating he has genuine feelings for Emma. When Mary Margaret confesses her desire for another child, to which David admits his Dreamshade wound, and the subsequent cure's price that will force him to stay in Neverland forever. This shocks Mary Margaret, who says nothing in response. With three secrets revealed, a bridge forms and Emma makes her way across, where she tells Neal her secret and frees him. Once they return outside, they decide to find Tinker Bell first before continuing the mission. Heading back to camp, David tries talking to Mary Margaret about his earlier disclosure, but she snaps at him. *("Ariel")*
Neal brainstorms a plan to capture Pan's shadow and use it to fly everyone off the island. Emma and Hook will join him on this quest, and they agree to meet Mary Margaret and David at Tinker Bell's tree house once everything is settled. Prepping for travel to the tree house, Mary Margaret gathers up her bow arrows, and when David offers help, she declines his assistance; moving to the other side of camp near Emma. Ignoring her daughter's attempt to convince her to stop being mad at David, Mary Margaret cautions Emma to be careful while travelling with Hook and Neal since they both have feelings for her. Throughout the jungle trek, David reasons with Mary Margaret, stating he kept the secret to keep from sidetracking everyone, as she listens and then silently disregards his words. In another try, he suggests they can build a home for themselves in the jungle. When she continues to ignore him, he calls her out to at least say something. Mary Margaret then furiously berates him for lying to her the whole time, to which David attests he wanted to find a cure on his own so she wouldn't worry. Despite this, she is angry he didn't tell her about the cure or the cost for it. David confesses he was scared, knowing she would be unwilling to leave the island with him, and did not want to force the cure's price on her. Yet, Mary Margaret attests that's exactly what she would do in order to be with him. As he apologizes for disappointing her, she forgives him with a hug. Outside the tree house, they wait as Tinker Bell approaches and tell her about capturing Pan's shadow as a means to escape the island. Tinker Bell is skeptical, until Emma, Hook and Neal arrive with the trapped shadow, and she leads them to the next part of the plan. *("Dark Hollow")*
While moving ahead to Pan's camp, Emma is relieved to see her parents have made up and talks to Mary Margaret about her decision to stay behind in Neverland with David. Though Mary Margaret is torn about leaving Emma, there's no way for David to leave without dying. Emma accuses her of giving up too easily and believes there has to be a way. Hearing a rustle, the entire group holds a defensive stance until Regina and Mr. Gold walk out. Regina informs them about Pandora's Box, but a distrustful Neal reveals Mr. Gold intends to kill Henry to stop a seer's prophecy from coming true. Disgusted, Mary Margaret aims an arrow at Mr. Gold as the others follow suit in drawing their weapons, however, things cool down after Neal forces him to hand over the box. After Tinker Bell gains access into the perimeter of the encampment, Regina uses a spell to put the Lost Boys to sleep, but neither Henry or Pan are found. Instead, Neal frees a young prisoner, Wendy, who lies about not knowing Henry. With some encouragement, she admits Pan needs Henry's heart in order to become immortal, in which he'll live while the latter will die. Before Emma leaves for Skull Rock to stop Pan, she presses Mary Margaret and David to go back to Dead Man's Peak and retrieve more of the spring water as a necessity for the journey home. Although the water can keep David alive for a short time, Mr. Gold will create an elixir in Storybrooke to cure him for good. In gratitude, Mary Margaret hugs Emma and thanks Mr. Gold. *("Think Lovely Thoughts")*
Mary Margaret and David return to the Lost Boy camp and learn from Emma that Henry gave up his heart to Pan and Mr. Gold is trapped inside Pandora's Box. Regina casts a preservation spell on Henry to last one hour until they can track down Pan. Emma manages to get some of the Lost Boys to open up about Pan's current location at his "thinking tree" in Pixie Woods after promising to bring them off the island. Mary Margaret insists on going along with Emma and Regina. Once there, she sees the box sitting in open sight and moves to take it, but this pulls all three of them in binds against the tree as Pan makes himself known. Pan mentions the tree is special to him because it's the same place that he abandoned his son, Mr. Gold. As such, the tree will kill those who feel regret, so he brings up guilt-worthy moments from each person's past. To Mary Margaret, he grills her over being haunted by the decision to allow Emma to grow up alone. However, Regina attests to doing cruel and horrible things, but regrets nothing since each one of those deeds led her to Henry. She breaks herself and her allies free, tears out Henry's heart from Pan and steals back the box as well. They hurry onto the *Jolly Roger* in time to place the heart back in Henry as he gasps to life. Mary Margaret and David watch Neal free Mr. Gold from the box and have a warm reunion as their past differences and mistakes are reconciled. With Regina's power, the Shadow becomes the ship sail and flies them homeward. *("Save Henry")*
Following a safe journey from Neverland to Storybrooke, Mary Margaret descends the ship to greet an old friend, Ariel, and is ecstatic to see Eric is with her. Mary Margaret, realizing a certain someone deserves recognition, announces to the townspeople that they were able to return due to Regina's help. To keep Pan at bay, Mr. Gold seals the box in the pawnshop. While at the diner, Mary Margaret and David overhear Neal inviting Emma to lunch tomorrow. Mary Margaret encourages Emma to accept, though the latter doesn't want to focus on other things since Henry's ordeal. Later in the night, Henry goes home with Regina, which Emma allows. Overhearing the exchange, Mary Margaret assures her that Henry probably just wants to spend the night in his old room. The next morning, she and David dine on lasagna when Mr. Gold gives them the Dreamshade elixir. After David ingests it and all is well, he suggests they start trying to have another child, but Mary Margaret's mood dampers when she observes that Neal is sitting alone at another booth. David goes to find Emma, and they arrive back in time to witness Mother Superior being killed by the Shadow. Suspecting Pan is somehow controlling the Shadow from within the box, Mary Margaret goes with David and Emma to investigate. Heading to the town line, Emma crosses over the border, as Pan is released on the same side so she can interrogate him. During the conversation, Henry proves to Emma that Pan switched bodies with him, to which all of them go to meet up with Hook, Neal and Tinker Bell at the vault, where Regina took "Henry" for protection. Unable to open the door, Mr. Gold works his magic to unseal it. As they wait, Mary Margaret and David persuade Emma to move on with life and not worry about things so much, but their daughter is finding it difficult to be a savior and have a day off from trouble. Inside the vault, Regina is found unconscious while one critical item is missing and now in Pan's hands, the curse scroll. *("The New Neverland")*
In a group, everyone listens to Mr. Gold's proposition about undoing Pan's curse by having Regina, the original curse caster, to destroy the scroll. First, they must switch Henry and Pan to their rightful bodies so Henry can give the scroll to Regina. To do this, a strong magical outlet is needed, so Tinker Bell suggests the Black Fairy's wand, which is in Mother Superior's possession. While she, David, Hook and Neal fetch it from the convent nuns, Mary Margaret waits in the pawnshop. Toying with a unicorn mobile from what would have been Emma's baby crib, she relates to her daughter about how difficult it was to give her up when the curse hit. She expresses her constant thoughts about how different their lives could have been if it didn't happen. Emma admits wondering the same with Henry, but she knows it wasn't meant to be. David, Hook and Neal arrive back with the wand, courtesy of a revived Mother Superior, and Mr. Gold uses it to transfer Henry's spirit into his original body. Everyone except Mr. Gold heads out, and with Granny's tracking skills, they are reunited with Henry. Regina, passing out after taking the scroll, awakens with knowledge of the price for stopping the curse. Accosting them, Pan freezes the group in place and steals the scroll. Mr. Gold, summoning the dagger, fatally stabs himself as well as Pan with it. After they fade out of existence, Regina reveals that to undo the curse, everyone will return to the Enchanted Forest while Storybrooke disappears forever. Since Henry wasn't born in the Enchanted Forest, he'll be alone, to which Regina asks Emma to leave town with him. To ensure they'll always be together, Regina will rewrite new memories for both of them so they forget everything. Mary Margaret says her goodbyes to Emma and Henry, and after the two cross out of town, Regina halts the curse as everyone in Storybrooke is sent back to the Enchanted Forest. *("Going Home")*

*For events occurring before the casting of the second curse, see Snow White.*

### During Second Curse

A new curse is cast by none other than Snow White, returning herself and the Enchanted Forest inhabitants to the town of Storybrooke, in her quest to find Emma and defeat the Wicked Witch of the West. However, as a result of Wicked Witch's interference, everyone's last recollection is the final day in Storybrooke when Regina stopped Pan's curse, but no one can recall anything further than that. Mary Margaret's only clue that a year has indeed passed is her own pregnancy, despite that she and David cannot remember what happened. The couple resume living together in the apartment. Mysteriously, residents begin disappearing from town, such as three of the dwarves. One fateful day, Emma returns, memory restored, to reunite with her parents. *("New York City Serenade", "Witch Hunt", "A Curious Thing")*
Mary Margaret and David recount to Emma the last memories they have of the day Pan's curse was stopped and how everyone was presumably sent back to the Enchanted Forest, but they only remember waking up in Storybrooke like it was another regular day. Hook confirms that they did indeed return to their old homeland and spent a brief time with Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip. As Hook recalls, before he split from their group, everyone else was headed to the Queen's old palace. Despite the possibility Regina may be involved, Mary Margaret doesn't believe she cast the new curse. She learns Hook received a messenger bird with a vial of memory potion and a note requesting him to find Emma, which he had assumed was from her. After Happy and Leroy report two more dwarves missing, Emma decides to conduct an investigation. In the morning, Mary Margaret and her husband meet Henry for the "first" time. She makes up a story about being Emma's former cellmate in Phoenix when they were both incarcerated. Later, Henry is left with her at the diner while Emma continues to look into the new curse. To prepare herself for a baby, Mary Margaret tries reading a child care book, but gives up and suggests to Henry that she take him to the town library. She quickly covers up her knowledge about his interest in reading by stating that Emma mentioned it. While Henry is getting his coat for the trip, Mary Margaret meets a midwife, Zelena. Grateful for someone with expertise in childbirth, she even allows Zelena to touch her pregnant belly. Later, after David and Hook report witnessing a resident transform into a flying monkey, it is concluded that the Wicked Witch of the West cast the new curse. *("Witch Hunt")*
While David, Emma and Hook search the mayoral office for any evidence the Wicked Witch left behind and Regina keeps Henry company, Mary Margaret has a scheduled meeting with Zelena, who she wishes to take on as her midwife. She learns that Zelena knew her nanny, Johanna. Mary Margaret tells Zelena about what had happened in the first curse, in which she and her husband had lost Emma under dire circumstances, and her own anxiety about having a second child. After phoning David, he arrives home to meet their new midwife as well, and sits as Zelena brews them chamomile tea. David expresses skepticism to Mary Margaret about Zelena, but she insists they try her out first and can always change their minds later. In a conversation, Zelena gives David the opportunity to let out any fears about having a second child, but he reassures Mary Margaret that they can deal with whatever comes their way. David leaves to resume his search for the Wicked Witch with Emma and Hook as Mary Margaret sees Zelena out of the apartment. In a gesture of calm, Zelena reassures Mary Margaret not to fear having another child since she will be right beside her the whole way. Meanwhile, the search for the Wicked Witch extends to a farmhouse cellar where David, Emma, Hook, and Regina discover an open cell with a spinning wheel littered with spun gold; evident proof that Mr. Gold is alive. *("The Tower")*
In a morning meeting at the closed diner, Mary Margaret and her allies discuss searching for Mr. Gold while Regina opts to search the farmhouse alone for evidence. Despite that she has good tracking skills, David advises Mary Margaret to sit this one out while the rest of them look for Mr. Gold. At home, she panics after not feeling the baby move and calls Zelena for assistance. The dutiful midwife quickly arrives to calm her down, stating that it's normal for babies to move infrequently as the labor date nears, and offers orange juice. Mary Margaret brushes off the baby's current state as due to her own worries, though Zelena knows the Wicked Witch, which everyone in town is talking about, must also be giving her stress. Soon after downing all the juice, she is pleased to feel the baby start kicking; all thanks to Zelena's help. While Zelena excuses herself to the bathroom, Mary Margaret is startled when David and Emma suddenly burst into the apartment on guard. She watches, stunned, as they kick down the bathroom door, only to find Zelena gone. Emma explains that Zelena is the Wicked Witch and admits, in tears, that Neal is dead, to which Mary Margaret gives her a comforting hug. Later on, Mary Margaret and David head to the pawnshop to deliver the bad news about Neal to Belle and Hook. Wordlessly, she embraces a grieving Belle. *("Quiet Minds")*
Mary Margaret attends Neal's funeral to pay her respects. Afterwards, at the diner, Zelena makes a surprise appearance to threaten those who get in her way will be killed by the Dark One. As the villain approaches, David protects Mary Margaret, though Zelena state she's not out to get their baby. Instead, she publicly reveals herself as Regina's half-sister and forces her sibling into a showdown on Main Street after sundown. Regina, having doubts about Zelena's claims, heads to the vault for evidence of their familial connection. Mary Margaret and Emma follow her there, but are left puzzled when Regina finds proof and abruptly departs without a word. During the evening, on Main Street, Zelena approaches while trailed by a helpless Mr. Gold. Mary Margaret witnesses Regina being thrown into the clock tower by Zelena, who later flees on her broomstick. She, David and Emma rush to check on Regina where they learn Zelena attempted to take her heart, but failed since it's hidden elsewhere. *("It's Not Easy Being Green")*
To keep Mary Margaret safe, Regina places a protection spell on the apartment. Emma wants to be powerful enough to fight Zelena, so she accepts magical lessons with Regina. Mary Margaret and David offer to watch over Henry while she is gone. Instead, their daughter implies Henry thinks they are boring and lets Hook spend time with her son. As Mary Margaret and her husband walk along the beach, they come across Ariel after she washed ashore. She explains her long journey in searching for a missing Eric who hasn't been seen since the new curse was cast. They take her to the diner to ask Hook, since he retained his memories from the lost year in the Enchanted Forest, but the pirate knows nothing. Mary Margaret and David volunteer Hook to go with Ariel to the pawnshop, look for a belonging of Eric's and track him down using a locator spell. The couple take Henry for the afternoon and attempt to prove to him that they are "cool" by letting the boy drive David's truck. It ends badly with the vehicle hitting a mailbox, but nonetheless the trio regroup with Emma, Hook and Regina at the apartment in high spirits. Hook tells them that Ariel has reunited with Eric on Hangman's Island in the Enchanted Forest, which they see first-hand when Emma projects an mirror image of the happy lovers in the same location. Later, Mary Margaret, David, Emma, Henry and Regina have an evening meal together at the diner. *("The Jolly Roger")*
Gathered in Regina's house, Mary Margaret reports for a group seance to open a portal to the land of the dead and talk to Cora about Zelena's origins. Two of the key things needed is the now defunct candle—which was once used to kill Cora—as well as the murder herself—Mary Margaret. She, David, Emma, Hook and Regina link hands as the portal opens, but Cora refuses to appear. When Hook's knee bumps the table, a startled Mary Margaret withdraws her hands, which closes the gateway. Shortly after the failed experiment, all leave except Mary Margaret, who stays to help Regina clean up. She seizes the opportunity to talk about her regrets about killing Cora, which Regina accepts since her mother had done the same to Mary Margaret's mother, Queen Eva. Investigating a strange noise, two discover Cora's angry spirit has crossed over to get even with her murderess. Mary Margaret, while briefly possessed by Cora, receives glimpses of the woman's life and what led up to Zelena's abandonment. Cora is then forced back into the land of the dead by Regina's magic just as Belle, David, Emma and Hook arrive. Mary Margaret reveals Cora, already pregnant with another man's child, was once engaged to Leopold, but Eva deliberately wrecked it. In turn, this caused Cora to unwillingly abandon Zelena after birth. As for the ingredients of Zelena's spell, as Belle explains, they are for a time spell to alter the past; namely to kill Eva and keep Cora from abandoning her first-born child. In a talk, Mary Margaret and Regina bury their long-disputed feud. *("Bleeding Through")*
Meeting at the inn, Mary Margaret, Emma, David and Regina strategize on how to break the new curse. With the last curse, Emma recalls believing in magic after touching the fairytale storybook, which triggered her memories of the Enchanted Forest. From this, Regina suggests the key to breaking the curse is for Henry to believe in magic as Emma did. They head to the apartment where the storybook appeared to Mary Margaret during the first curse, and the former schoolteacher "magically" finds it in a chest box. In a moment with her daughter, Emma reiterates how happy she and Henry were in New York, though Mary Margaret knows that was because their memories were gone. Henry is discovered missing from the inn; sending everyone on a wild goose chase to the docks, in which Emma shoots a flying monkey to protect him. She hands the storybook to him; asking that he believe in magic. Upon touching the book, Henry receives his lost memories back, but Zelena begins choking him. Emma magically scalds the witch; forcing her to retreat. Having been knocked out during the fight, Regina is awakened by Henry. In a tender reunion, Regina kisses his forehead; triggering true love's kiss and breaking the new curse. In a flurry of returned memories, Mary Margaret is stunned to remember it wasn't Zelena, but she herself who cast the new curse. She and David confront Hook about the supposed note he received that led him to find Emma. They believe it's a lie, but he insists that someone sent it. While Emma and Henry visit Neal's grave, Mary Margaret begins having labor pains. *("A Curious Thing")*

### After Second Curse

Once the second curse is broken, Mary Margaret is rushed into the hospital while Emma and Regina enact a protective barrier to keep Zelena out. With Dr. Whale's help, she gives birth to a healthy baby boy and happily cradles him in her arms. However, Emma's magic is drained after saving Hook's life and causes the room barrier to fade; allowing Zelena to steal the infant. In despair, Mary Margaret suffers the same fate once more of being ripped away from her child. An angry David rushes off with the others to fight Zelena, in which Regina successfully stops her sister from performing the time spell and defeats her with light magic. Afterwards, David returns his son to Mary Margaret's arms. As she and her husband happily watch over their child, Emma brings Henry into the room to meet his new family member. Unseen to them, Mr. Gold kills an imprisoned Zelena; accidentally triggering magic in her pendant, which activates the time spell. *("Kansas")*
Returning home, Mary Margaret and David plan to do-away with the traditional royal ceremony and announce their son's name during a celebration at the diner. Henry shows Emma an apartment listing so they can live in Storybrooke permanently. Seeing her daughter's hesitation, Mary Margaret questions Emma on her decision to stay or leave town. Avoidantly, Emma asks Henry to brainstorm a name for her new baby brother. During the party, Mary Margaret rocks her infant son while Henry rereads the story of how Prince Charming and Snow White met. As Emma and Hook join the table, Mary Margaret and David playfully argue over who saved who during their first encounter. The conversation becomes awkward once Hook implies Emma wants to go back to New York, and Regina approaches to inquire further. Emma hints her desire to leave town, but when challenged by Henry, she bails from the diner. While Hook follows to talk some sense into her, Mary Margaret and the others notice a stream of light radiating to the sky—Zelena's time spell. Belle, David, Regina and Robin Hood find Zelena missing and decide to leave the time portal untouched for now. David phones Emma, but she doesn't pick up. Later, Emma returns to confirm her decision to stay in Storybrooke, and shares news of her and Hook's trip to the past through the time portal, in which they recreated Prince Charming and Snow White's first meeting. Finally, Mary Margaret and David announce they are naming their son after a true hero—Neal. *("Snow Drifts", "There's No Place Like Home")*
In the aftermath of Emma and Hook returning to the present, they also rescued a would-have-been-executed woman, Marian, who is actually Robin Hood's deceased wife. Walking out of the diner, Mary Margaret and David hear an angered Marian condemn Regina, who she remembers as the Evil Queen, as a "monster". After Regina walks off, Mary Margaret watches anxiously as David frets over what Regina might do while Henry voices fears about his mother becoming evil again, despite how much she's changed for the better. The next morning, Mary Margaret and David take out Neal in a stroller. While looking at his sleeping son's face, David muses out loud if they should have named him Baelfire instead. Since Emma's attempts to phone Regina have gone unanswered, Henry tries to call his adoptive mother instead while David stays behind to accompany him. To Emma, Mary Margaret remarks how stable Henry seems since losing and regaining his memories as well as both of his mothers now having boyfriends. Judging from her daughter's reaction, Mary Margaret can tell Emma hasn't told Henry about Hook yet. Emma sputters that she doesn't know how to talk to Henry about those things. Just then, Hook arrives since combing the vault, as Emma previously requested, in search of Regina, but she is not there. When Hook questions if Emma is now avoiding him, she asks Mary Margaret to give them some privacy. *("A Tale of Two Sisters")*
Having had a busy day, Mary Margaret puts Neal to sleep in his crib. When a raven appears at the window, she takes a note, which is addressed to Henry, from the bird's leg. From reading it, Henry is hurt that Regina does not want to see him. Soon after, a blackout strikes the town. David and Emma investigate the issue at the border as Mary Margaret stays home. Unexpectedly, Granny, Happy and Leroy persuade her into fixing the power issue. She balks, as this is a task for the mayor, but they believe Regina no longer wants the job. Granny stresses that Mary Margaret cast the last curse, so she must step up. Additionally, Leroy recalls they reclaimed her kingdom in the Enchanted Forest, but Storybrooke is her kingdom now, so she has to rule it. At the electrical service site, Mary Margaret looks at the circuit system while her friends talk about whether Marco or Dr. Whale could help them, but she insists they don't need assistance. When Happy and Leroy complain further, Mary Margaret lashes out, voicing her exhausting lifestyle since having a new baby, and maintains that although she cast a "little" curse, it wasn't her choice to maintain a town with residents dependent on electricity despite that they previously lived in the Enchanted Forest without it. Lastly, she spitefully tells them to buy a flashlight, which shocks them into silence as they exit. Left alone with only Neal, Mary Margaret fiddles with the circuit buttons to no avail. Finally, she recognizes that the system is out of fuel and refills a full tank. Returning home, she is introduced to a new ally, Elsa, as David promises the woman that they will find her missing sister since their family never gives up. *("White Out")*
Assembling her first conference as mayor in her new office, Mary Margaret holds Neal while beginning the meeting as she introduces the townspeople to her discussion points on the listed agenda. Due to overwhelming insistence that they hear about the ice wall incident, she informs them that the wall and the creator of it, Elsa, are not dangerous. Regardless, the citizens react in an uproar, which upsets the baby. Once calm resumes, Mary Margaret continues with the next thing on the agenda when Marian collapses from an apparent freezing spell. Regrouping in another room after the meeting, Robin Hood brings Regina to help out. Since it wasn't Elsa's doing, David and Emma search for the culprit. On the streets, Mary Margaret juggles her son in one arm and attempts to collapse the stroller with the other. Archie, out of concern, talks to her about all the jobs she's taken on lately. Mary Margaret remarks that with so much going on, she doesn't want to miss out on Neal as he will grow up quickly. Pointedly, Archie reminds her of how much she missed with Emma. He advises that she doesn't have to be with her son for every waking moment, and by letting him go, it'll help her, too. As Archie walks off, Mary Margaret is left to contemplate his words. *("Rocky Road")*
As Emma prepares for her first date with Hook, Mary Margaret and David bring out records of all the residents from the first and second curses so they can search for any sign of Anna. Stepping out in her date outfit, Emma asks for her parents and Elsa's opinions, to which they agree she looks amazing. In a sing-songy tone, Mary Margaret tells Neal that his big sister is going on a date. Emma humorously tells her mother not to make a big deal out of it, to which she does by taking a snapshot of her daughter. Hook arrives, dressed in normal attire, with his real hand restored due to Mr. Gold's help. By evening's end, Emma returns home as an excited Mary Margaret queries her on how the date went; wanting to know everything that happened, though David is less enthusiastic to hear certain details. Awkwardly, Emma excuses herself by saying goodnight, but this doesn't stop Mary Margaret's chatter about how happy their daughter looks. David supposes that Hook has truly changed, to which a perplexed Emma says, from another room, that she can still hear them talking. *("The Apprentice")*
When Mary Margaret and her husband plan to spend quality time together, they request Belle to babysit Neal at the apartment. As they watch Belle hold Neal in her arms, David quietly reassures Mary Margaret that everything will be fine. While he points out if anything goes wrong, Belle has their emergency numbers, Mary Margaret is unable to not worry about being apart from her son. Finally, he persuades her into taking time off with him as she needs it. Before they go hiking, the two stop by the sheriff station to grab a walkie-talkie so Belle can still get in touch with them. David notices Will, a thief, is gone from his cell, and at the spur of the moment, he insists they should capture him right away. When Mary Margaret is hesitant to agree, he jokes that "it'll be like old times—a prince and a princess on an adventure but without the Evil Queen". As the evening goes on, they have no luck apprehending the thief, to which Mary Margaret expresses concerns about being away from Neal too long. David lets her go home while he continues searching. Left alone, she sees someone shoveling at a distance and discovers it's Will. After some questioning, Mary Margaret concludes David let Will escape in order to allow her to find him. Will denies everything, until she promises to pardon him, to which he confirms David's involvement. After returning to Neal, she waits until David comes home to reveal knowledge about what he did. Mary Margaret thanks him for doing so since she feels like her old self again. Despite this, David concedes he had nothing to do with it. Shocked, Mary Margaret wonders what'll happen now that Will is on the loose. Nonetheless, David is happy she's found a piece of her old self. *("Breaking Glass")*
Mary Margaret gathers with Belle, David, Henry, Hook, Mr. Gold and Regina where they watch a camera recording of a young Emma and her prior foster mother, who is none other than the Snow Queen herself. With only the Snow Queen's ice truck left to search, David splits some of the group into a search party. *("Family Business")*
To better her parenting skills, Mary Margaret attends meetings at Mommy & Me, an activity session run by Ashley. As they finish their time together, everyone sings along to a song to their babies. Once Emma arrives to babysit Neal, Mary Margaret directs her to all of his necessities. Emma comments on how many things he has, and Mary Margaret cheerfully states she wants her son to have everything. This causes Emma to be slightly jealous, but she says nothing about it. When Ashley explains their meetings are a support group for first-time mothers, a perturbed Emma tries to be supportive of Mary Margaret, despite that Neal is her second child, since she didn't have the experience of motherhood the first time around. Mary Margaret's concern turns to shock upon seeing Emma has magically boiled Neal's bottle of milk. Emma nervously reasons that it's from magic practice, and she then tries to bring Neal into her arms, but Mary Margaret refuses. The tension breaks when Emma is called away to apprehend the Snow Queen and bring her in for questioning. Meanwhile, David and his allies look at the Snow Queen's mirror in the clock tower, which they suspect will be used for the spell of shattered sight, but realize it is fake. When Emma, pushed too far by the Snow Queen, causes a station wall to explode, to which the villainess escapes. Her family arrive to help, but Emma accidentally collapses a streetlight. David pushes Hook out of the way to take the hit, and as Mary Margaret checks on her husband, she expresses resentment at Emma. Seeing her daughter's hurt expression, she retracts her anger, but Emma flees. That night, Mary Margaret puts Neal to sleep as David, Elsa and Hook return after a fruitless search for Emma. After Elsa recalls her loved ones reacted badly to her magic as they did to Emma's, Mary Margaret shares regrets to David about failing as parents when their daughter needed them the most. *("The Snow Queen")*
Despite an all-night hunt, Mary Margaret, David, Elsa and Hook return home without finding Emma. Henry, having sneaked out to look for his mother, returns with an injury Emma caused. Mary Margaret dresses his wound and phones Regina. Elsa explains comforting Henry over Emma's powers as they are linked to her emotions. Arriving at the apartment, Regina gives them a potion they want for tracking Emma and she then goes to check on Henry. Mary Margaret receives a call from Emma, who insists on getting rid of her powers. Hook, lying about leaving his phone in David's truck, goes to fetch it, though he actually goes to chase down Emma. Looking at a family photo, Mary Margaret talks to David about Emma's decision. She is unsure since magic makes Emma special, but David wants to support Emma if being ordinary is crucial to her happiness. Elsa, overhearing them, uses the potion to locate Emma and talk her out of it. Regina recalls her own inability to accept Henry in the past due to her fear of losing him, which changes Mary Margaret and David's opinions about their daughter removing her magic. Noticing Elsa and the potion are gone, they and Henry track Emma's car trail. Searching on foot, Mary Margaret insists to Regina that people aren't defined as heroes or villains, especially since she herself has done bad things. She believes Regina's story can change since she is making good decisions over her prior bad ones. After Emma doesn't strip her magic due to Elsa's persuasion, they all reunite. Emma, accepting magic as part of herself, creates a fireworks display. Trouble brews again, however, when Elsa and Emma notice ribbons on their left wrists, which begin absorbing their magic into Ingrid's ribbon; allowing the Snow Queen to cast the spell of shattered sight. *("Smash the Mirror")*
In the clock tower, Mary Margaret and her allies witness the cloud formation of Ingrid's spell, which will take effect by sundown. At first, they try scaling the ice wall as a way to escape town before the spell hits, but the barricade is too powerful. A fissure in the ice reveals Anna's lost necklace, which Elsa retrieves and she believes is a sign they will defeat Ingrid. Emma sends her parents to warn the townspeople about what is going on while she and Elsa learn a counter spell, using Anna's hair, can be made. With a locator spell, the two women are led to a mine cave-in. Re-congregating in the library, they plan to blast through, but then David receives word from Belle that the nuns can create a counter spell with only the necklace. With time running out, Mary Margaret agrees with Regina's opinion of going ahead with the counter spell because many lives are at stake, though it would mean ending the search for Anna. Despite it all, Elsa secretly refuses to give up on her sister, and she hands Emma a pouch containing rocks rather than the pendant. Only on arrival at the diner to deliver the pouch, they discover Elsa's duplicity, and their hopes of a counter spell are dashed since it'll soon lose its potency. Mary Margaret expresses frustration at Elsa's blind faith, but Emma persists in having hope of finding Anna. Emma, with Elsa, miraculously locate Anna, but on return to the diner, they find the nuns mysteriously gone. At the station, Mary Margaret and David ask Emma to lock them into separate cells so they can't harm anyone while under the curse. Before going into her own cell, she tearfully relinquishes her son into Emma's care. As the curse's mirror shards infiltrate the building, Mary Margaret and David hold hands in comfort. Once the glass invades their eyes, they unlink hands and stare at each other with animosity. *("Fall")*
Under the curse's influence, Mary Margaret and David express mutual disgust at each other. While they are trading insults, Elsa and Emma devise a plan to stop the curse by killing Ingrid. Left in charge, Anna takes baby Neal and puts him in a crib. When Mary Margaret criticizes David for his method of holding their son, Anna tries to put a stop to their bickering by reminding them of their relationship prior to the curse. Instead, this incites anger between the not-so-happy couple with both recalling how the other gave a bad impression on their first meeting. At one point, Mary Margaret talks about her capacity for murder, such as when she killed Cora and was not sorry about it, which causes Anna to back off from the conversation. Regina, garbed in Evil Queen attire, bursts into the sheriff station looking for Emma, but is tempted at the prospect of settling a score with Mary Margaret. Regina's grudge against Mary Margaret for causing Daniel's death is revived, and she threatens to kill baby Neal as payback. After whisking Anna and Kristoff away, Regina magically unlocks Mary Margaret's cell and challenges her to a sword-fight. Mary Margaret, in defense of her son, ferociously battles Regina. Both sustain blows, but neither give up. As morning approaches, they continue to have it out until the curse, prompted by Ingrid's sacrifice of her own life, is broken. Reverting to their former selves, Mary Margaret, Regina and David, who is still locked in his cell, burst into laughter at the ridiculousness of their prior disputes. The three of them, with baby Neal, get Henry and reunite with Emma. On the streets, Mary Margaret apologizes to her husband for the terrible things she said, but David know she didn't mean any of it. As snow falls, the two kiss. *("Shattered Sight")*
At the town line, Mary Margaret witnesses Elsa tear down the ice wall, however, remnants of Ingrid's magic remain and keep those who leave Storybrooke from re-entering. Emma is tasked with locating a portal, but she has no leads until Hook, seemingly with Mr. Gold's help, discovers a door to Arendelle hidden in an abandoned mansion. Mary Margaret and her husband, along with Emma, accompany the Arendelle natives there. After some farewells, Elsa and then Kristoff walk into the portal door. Before Anna follows in, she curiously inquiries about Mr. Gold's original name in the Enchanted Forest. Anna is told his name was Rumplestiltskin, and to everyone's shock, she knows him, although Mr. Gold claimed he had no knowledge of her or Elsa. Suspecting Mr. Gold is up to no good, Mary Margaret and Emma locate him inside the clock tower. At the upper level, they notice Hook is with him, and as Emma attempts to magically intervene, Mr. Gold freezes her as well as Mary Margaret. Mr. Gold begins crushing Hook's heart, but an angry Belle compels him, with the real dagger, to stop. She makes him drop the heart and release Emma and Mary Margaret. Lastly, Belle commands Mr. Gold to take herself and him to the town line. In the aftermath, Emma restores Hook's heart. *("Heroes and Villains")*
During the six weeks after Mr. Gold's banishment from town, Mary Margaret teaches at school again while Regina resumes being mayor. The nuns, trapped in the hat, are freed with a spell, and as everyone basks in the reunion, they fail to notice a Chernabog being released from the hat and flying off. While the diner is bustling with activity to welcome the nuns back, the Chernabog makes itself known to the townspeople. With Belle, Emma, Hook and Regina, Mary Margaret ducks behind a building as the group brainstorm a solution. Since something freed from the hat can never be retrapped in it, Emma and Regina temporarily stun the winged demon with their combined powers, and afterwards, Mary Margaret goes to make sure the townspeople are okay. Returning to the apartment, Mary Margaret receives a phone call from Emma about Cruella De Vil and Ursula, who wish to enter Storybrooke and have provided information about the Chernabog. She and her husband make it to the town line just after Emma and Regina sent the beast across the barrier, where it ceases to exist. Mary Margaret tries talking her daughter out of allowing the two strangers to stay in Storybrooke; an assertion David backs up. Furthermore, they suspect the women might be lying about being good. Emma still wants to let Cruella and Ursula in because they helped with the Chernabog, and Regina argues that the villains deserve a second chance just as she herself has. Using Ingrid's scroll, Cruella and Ursula are able to enter into town. That night, Mary Margaret and her husband meet with the female duo and warn them never to reveal the past dealings they had in the Enchanted Forest. If not, she promises to tear out their hearts herself. *("Darkness on the Edge of Town")*
During a night, Mary Margaret has a nightmare, in which Maleficent and her two companions take away Neal from her. Awakening, she goes to check on her son and finds an insomniac David, who is worried about the women revealing their secret. The next day, since Regina is unwilling to help, David goes with Emma to spy on Cruella and Ursula. After finding that they stole a totem of Maleficent's from the pawnshop, he takes it and shows Mary Margaret, who believes the villains intend to revive the dead witch. The couple decide they must prevent it by destroying Maleficent's ashes, and before they go, Emma tells them about seeing security footage of Cruella and Ursula stealing the box. Her parents pretend they were too harsh on the strangers earlier and have since let go of the issue, which Emma doesn't buy, but she accepts their explanation. Arriving at Maleficent's cave, the pair locate the ashes, but both are knocked out by Ursula. As they awaken later, Cruella sacrifices some of their blood to the ashes and resurrects Maleficent, who promises to make Mary Margaret's suffering as unyielding as her own for what she did to her. Mary Margaret and David realize Emma deserves the truth, but upon overhearing her speak to Hook about their good natures, they decide against it. Instead, they only tell her about Maleficent's return. That night, Mary Margaret confesses to Regina that she and David caused Maleficent to lose her child, and she asks her to keep the secret from Emma. Additionally, she wants Regina to go undercover as a villain to find out Maleficent's plans. *("Unforgiven")*
Mary Margaret and David inform Emma that Regina has gone undercover, but they lie about the plan being her idea, not theirs. However, when Regina doesn't contact them within the scheduled time, the couple search for her. As the pair come across a burnt sheriff car, Regina approaches, explaining she spent the night drinking with the trio, during which Maleficent burnt the vehicle. Later, Mary Margaret and David hold another meeting at the library, and much to Regina's disdain, they bring Emma and Hook along as well. From her, the group learn Cruella, Maleficent and Ursula are seeking the author and want to rewrite their stories so the villains win and the heroes lose. The trio want Regina to steal something for their mission, and although she wants to handle it alone, Emma insists on being nearby if something goes wrong. *("Enter the Dragon")*

## Trivia

* The name "Mary" is of Greek origin derived from the names "Mariam" and "Maria", and itself derived from the Hebrew name "Miryam" with several theorized meanings such as "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", and "wished for child".
* The middle name "Margaret" is of Greek origin derived from the Latin "Margarita" and itself derived from the Greek "margarites" that means "pearl".
	+ Her name is similar to the name of two German women who have been identified as possible inspirations for the *Snow White* fairytale: Margarete von Waldeck and Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina von Erthal.
* The surname "Blanchard" is of Old French origin derived from the word "blanchart" that means "whitish, bordering upon white".
* In the original "Pilot" script, Mary Margaret is both a nun and a school teacher.
* In "Pilot", Mary Margaret receives not an apple from her student at school, but a pear. This is fitting as she does not like apples.
* Like her daughter and grandson, she enjoys hot chocolate with cinnamon. *("The Thing You Love Most")*
* The necklace she wears in the first half of Season Two, as well as in the "The Shepherd" from Season One, is an actual jewelry piece called an Oval Key Necklace, and can be purchased online. It is the same brand as Emma's swan necklace.
	+ The key necklace was chosen to represent the key that Prince Charming used to lock baby Emma in the Magic Wardrobe.
* Snow White offered both "Mary" and "Margaret" as aliases when Red asked what she should call her. *("Red-Handed")*
* Like her grandson, she has a large collection of clocks.
* Based on her mugshot, Mary Margaret is approximately 5'7". *("Heart of Darkness")*
* She teaches fourth graders. *("The Stranger")*
* Can communicate with and understand the language of birds. *("Into the Deep")*

## Appearances

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.

* Mary Margaret is featured in *Once Upon a Time'*s Season One novelization, *Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale*.

* Mary Margaret appears in a photo in "The Crocodile".
* Mary Margaret's name appears on the list Tamara has in "The Evil Queen".

## References

1. ↑ http://www.behindthename.com/name/mary
2. ↑ http://www.behindthename.com/name/margaret
3. ↑ http://mentalfloss.com/article/29186/snow-white-not-just-fairy-tale
4. ↑ http://www.houseofnames.com/blanchard-family-crest
5. ↑ http://www.zen134237.zen.co.uk/Once\_Upon\_A\_Time/Once\_Upon\_A\_Time\_1x01\_-\_Pilot.pdf
6. ↑ File:101PearForTeacher.jpg
7. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNaXBmsH\_cY
8. ↑ File:201SheNeedsToBeLockedUp.png
9. ↑ File:206ItWasBright.png
10. ↑ File:106StayAwayFromYou.png
11. ↑ http://www.pyrrha.com/shop/product/id/458/oval-key-necklace
12. ↑ http://www.pyrrha.com/shop/product/id/306/swan-talisman-necklace
13. ↑ Season Two DVD Audio Commentary for "Broken"
14. ↑ File:116HenryHearsSomething.png
15. ↑ File:217GoldInTheMirror.png
16. ↑ File:204Photograph.png
17. ↑ File:220ListOfNames2.png