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The 2010s were a popular time for fairy tale retellings. On the big screen we had movies like Snow White and the Huntsman and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. On TV we had shows like Grimm, and ABC’s Once Upon a Time. The one thing that all of these projects had in common was that they tried their best to tell fairy tales in a unique way. Whereas a lot of those mentioned took a darker, more edgy route, Once Upon a Time was a different beast entirely (pun absolutely intended).
Set in the fictional town of Storybrooke, Maine, Once Upon a Time began as the story of a young boy trying to connect with his birth mother and convince her that she was the only one who could save his town – and that the characters in his storybook were very real. Over time, the fairy tales that this show is based on became even more interwoven than they were before thanks to character relationships.
The Once Upon a Time family tree is truly one of the most interesting and convoluted pieces of pop culture ephemera from the last decade. Fans have been trying to wrap their head around the winding branches for years, with some going so far as to even craft their own family trees to try to make sense of it all.
The series’ writers truly knew how to throw viewers for a loop, adding new layers to characters’ backstories as the show went on. It’s honestly a miracle that the series was able to avoid becoming the fairy tale Game of Thrones with the sheer number of characters that are related to each other in one way or another. If trying to wrap your head around how all of the characters are connected gives you a headache too, here’s a handy guide to try and help make it all a little easier to understand.
Henry Mills – Grandson of Rumplestiltskin and Snow White
The series begins with a young Henry (Jared S. Gilmore) leaving his small town of Storybrooke, Maine in search of his birth mother, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison). Emma gave Henry up for adoption because she gave birth to him in jail and wanted him to have a better life than she did. Henry was then adopted and raised in his first ten years of life by Regina Mills a.k.a. The Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla). Henry’s father is Neal Cassidy a.k.a. Baelfire (Michael Raymond-James), the son of Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) and his first wife Milah. In season 7, the now adult Henry (Andrew J. West) has married Cinderella (Dania Ramirez) and the two have a daughter named Lucy (Alison Fernandez). Henry is thus related to Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella by marriage.
Emma Swan – Daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White, Adopted Cousin of Elsa
Emma Swan is the daughter of Mary Margaret Blanchard a.k.a. Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and David Nolan a.k.a. Prince Charming (Josh Dallas). Emma was born in the fairy tale world, but protected from the curse by a magical wardrobe. In the real world, she grew up in the foster care system after being abandoned by Pinocchio, who was supposed to look out for her. During her time in foster care, she briefly lived with Ingrid, the Snow Queen (Elizabeth Mitchell) and the aunt of Elsa and Anna from Frozen. Ingrid adopts her, believing Emma to be the third of a prophesied trio that includes her and Elsa, but Emma runs away thinking Ingrid is crazy when she starts talking about magic. Once Emma discovers her potential, she becomes known as The Savior, a powerful being of Light magic. Emma marries Killian Jones a.k.a. Captain Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) and the two have a daughter named Hope.
Snow White – Step-Daughter of the Evil Queen, Mother of the Savior
Just like in the fairy tales most of us are familiar with, Snow White is the step-daughter of the Evil Queen. Regina marries Snow White’s father, King Leopold after rescuing a young Snow White from a runaway horse. Regina hates Snow White because she blames her for the death of her true love, Daniel, and thus sets out to make her life a living hell. Snow White and Prince Charming marry and have Emma, but are swept away into the real world by the Evil Queen’s curse and frozen in time for 28 years, forgetting she even exists until the curse is broken. After the curse is broken, Snow White and David have another child, naming him Neal after Henry’s father.
Regina Mills – Daughter of the Queen of Hearts, Sister of the Wicked Witch of the West
Regina was born to Henry and Cora Mills. Her father encouraged her to be kind to others, while her mother, the Queen of Hearts, used Regina’s potential for her own gain. After Snow White sees Daniel and Regina together, she tells Cora, thinking that Regina’s mom would want to know that her daughter was in love with someone else, and would support her choice in who to marry. Instead, Cora rips out Daniel’s heart and kills him in front of Regina, forcing her to marry King Leopold for power.
After the first curse is broken, Regina eventually starts to date Robin Hood (Sean Maguire), who has a son with Marian named Roland. Robin Hood also has a daughter (named Robin) with Regina’s half-sister Zelena (Rebecca Mader), the Wicked Witch of the West. It was a whole thing where Robin Hood thought he was with Marian, but it was Zelena in disguise. Zelena is the daughter of Regina’s mother Cora and a Royal Gardener, but was left in Oz by Cora to be raised by a woodsman and his wife.
Rumplestiltskin – Son of Peter Pan, Husband to Belle
Rumplestiltskin a.k.a. The Dark One is the son of Peter Pan (before he became Peter Pan and decided to become young forever, it’s a long story) and the Black Fairy, the most powerful dark magic user in existence. He was married to Milah before he became the Dark One, and the two had a son named Baelfire. Milah left to become a pirate after falling in love with Captain Hook, leaving Rumple to raise Baelfire on his own. After he becomes the Dark One and succumbs to the dark magic, Baelfire tries to help by transporting the two of the to the real world, a place without magic, so that he can get his father back. Not wanting to lose this power and be the coward he was before, Rumple stays behind as Baelfire gets transported to the real world.
After losing Baelfire, Rumple becomes a bit of a recluse, offering deals, with a catch, to anyone desperate enough to take them. Belle’s (Emilie de Ravin) father, Maurice takes a deal from Rumple for help dealing with ogres that have decimated their village and killed Belle’s mother. In exchange, Belle has to stay with Rumple. Just like in Beauty and the Beast, the two fall in love, and eventually end up together after reconnecting in the real world. Belle and Rumple have a son named Gideon who is originally promised to Hades, thanks to a deal Rumple made in his past, but eventually ends up with his grandmother the Black Fairy in her realm after she kidnaps him and raises him in her time-distorted reality. He returns to Storybrooke as an adult to fight Emma, and wins, but Emma is brought back to life by True Love’s Kiss which somehow turns Gideon back into a baby, giving Belle and Rumple another chance to raise him outside of the Black Fairy’s influence.
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