Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20150414035156/@comment-25896389-20150625210719

I firmly believe that Tinman, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion do/did really exist even if Dorothy's story didn't include them {yet.} Plenty of instances on the show back this up: Rumple played Cinderella's fairy godmother but she did exist. Alice was never mentioned in Once but she did meet Cora, Rumple pretty much plays Peter Pan's role as the nemesis of Captain Hook but Pan existed. Season 2's finale made it seem like John,Michael, and Wendy never went to Neverland but they did. Zelena's backstory gave us the initial impression that Dorothy didn't exist but she did. Neither version of Ursula made a deal with Ariel but both existed. The "out of the Past" graphic novel also confirmed the existance of the Dodo and the March Hare.

Bottom line, I believe the traditional Oz characters actually exist in Once and will continue to believe so untiil proven otherwise.