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 major character on Once Upon a Time. She débuts in the first episode of the first season. She is played by starring cast member Ginnifer Goodwin and is the Storybrooke counterpart of Snow White.

Mary Margaret is a charitable, sensitive elementary school teacher in the town of Storybrooke, Maine. When Mary Margaret recognizes Henry Mills' own unhappiness, she gives him a fairy tale book with the intention of instilling in him some hope in a town where hope is often elusive.

Henry devours the stories in the book and becomes possessed of the notion that it describes real characters and events. Mary Margaret’s single act of giving Henry the book has set into motion a chain reaction that will change the town of Storybrooke and the lives of everyone in it.

Season One
Mary Margaret is first seen teaching at Storybrooke's local school. However, when Mayor Regina Mills and Emma Swan arrive, things get a little uncomfortable. Regina asks how Henry got Mary Margaret's credit card. The teacher insists that she knew nothing about Henry's actions and claims that he must have stolen her credit card.

Angry, Regina realizes that Mary Margaret gave Henry the fairy tale book, and the teacher defends herself, saying that he's a special child and needs to let his imagination blossom. The mayor storms off, and Emma talks to Mary Margaret, who says that Henry needed the book so that he could have hope of a happy ending. Emma realizes that the teacher knows where Henry is, and Mary Margaret suggests that she check Henry's Castle.

Later, Mary Margaret is seen at the Storybrooke hospital as a volunteer. She places many flowers on patients' beds and then goes to see a male patient, John Doe, who has been in a coma for as long as anyone could remember. She places flowers on his bedside table and leaves him.

The next day, as Emma is walking Henry to school, Mary Margaret sees them in the parking lot and comes over to thank Emma for cheering Henry up. She explains to Emma that Regina has managed to remain mayor through intimidation, and Henry thinks that Mary Margaret is Snow White. When she asks who Henry thinks Emma herself is, Emma lies by saying she's not in the book.

After Emma is set up, she is arrested and sent to jail. Henry arrives with Mary Margaret and tells Emma that he knew she was gathering intel for his operation. He also says Mary Margaret is offering to pay the bail, much to Emma's surprise.

After being bailed out, Emma goes to see Mary Margaret and pays her back the bail money. The teacher offers to hear her out and offers her cinnamon hot chocolate and cookies. Emma asks why she trusts her, and she says that she has the feeling that they've met before. She believes that Emma is innocent, but Emma says that she's leaving to keep Henry from being hurt. Mary Margaret points out that because Emma wants to leave is the very reason to stay, because she cares about Henry and there will be no one else to protect him.

The next day, Mary Margaret is volunteering, along with her students, at the hospital and notices Henry sitting with the John Doe patient. He asks what is wrong with the patient, and Mary Margaret explains that he's been there in a coma for as long as she has been volunteering, and no one knows who he is or what family he has, which she believes is sad. Henry asks if she is sure she doesn't know who he is, and Mary Margaret says that she doesn't. The two then leave the room.

Henry believes that the curse is keeping "John Doe" and Mary Margaret apart by keeping him in a coma. Emma Swan doesn't believe it, but Henry insists that they have to remind them by having Mary Margaret read the story to the coma patient. His mother agrees but says that she'll ask her. Emma then talks to Mary Margaret and suggests that she play along with Henry's idea so that he'll realize that he's wrong on his own when nothing happens. Mary Margaret admits that it's a good idea, and Emma tells her that they'll meet at Granny's Diner the next day for breakfast for a full report.

Mary Margaret starts reading the fairy tale book to John Doe, telling the story of how Prince James Charming chased the thief and how they fell in love. As she comes to the end of the story, John Doe suddenly grabs her hand. She summons Dr. Whale, but everything is still steady. He suggests that she might have dozed off and imagined things, and then tells her to go home and get some sleep. Once Mary Margaret leaves, Dr. Whale calls Regina and tells her what happened, including the fact that Mary Margaret was involved and that there was some minor brain-wave fluctuation.

Somehow, John Doe manages to escape the hospital, and Sheriff Graham starts a search party. He, Emma, and Mary Margaret follow "John Doe"'s trail. While the sheriff goes ahead, Mary Margaret asks Emma how she became a bail bondsman, and Emma says that she's been doing it as long as she can remember.

When Mary Margaret pushes the issue and concludes that it started with Emma searching for her parents, she asks Emma if she ever found them. Emma eludes the question, saying, "It depends who you ask." Henry sneaks away from Regina and comes to find Mary Margaret and tells her that John Doe is looking for her.

She doesn't believe him, and he insists that she needs to stop and let John Doe catch up to her. Emma tells him to go home, but as Henry argues, Graham calls them over. He has found John Doe's patient tag with blood on it. The search party immediately rushes to a nearby river where they find John Doe unconscious on the shore.

Mary Margaret begins CPR, pleading for the mysterious man to stay with her. As she is giving up, he sputters to life. Elated, she holds his head, reassuring him he will be alright. John Doe thanks her for saving him. Upon asking who he is he, replies that he doesn't know.

After John Doe and the rest of the group return to the hospital, Regina shows up with a blonde woman and declares John Doe to be David Nolan, husband of Kathryn Nolan, who had gone missing for several years. Mary Margaret looks on as the couple reunites.

A few days later, she is playing hangman with David, when Kathryn shows up and brings pictures of their old life, trying to jog her husband's memories. Mary Margaret leaves and has a discussion with Emma, now her roommate; Emma warns her not to get involved with a married man.

After this, she is just ready to leave her volunteer work at the hospital when David approaches her, asking her to escort him on his walk, as it was the start of his physical therapy. While on the stroll, David admits that nothing about this world felt right to him except her. He also says that he lied 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'll see her again. She pauses, smiles, and leaves without another word. After Henry is rescued from the sinkhole, she is shown turning in a letter of resignation to the hospital.

Once David is discharged from the hospital, he leaves his welcome-home party and confronts Mary Margaret as she is hanging up a birdhouse in her tree. She points out that he is married to a perfectly nice woman, but he counters her words with the fact that he was going to choose her, not Kathryn.

Mary Margaret talks with Emma again and says how hard it was to feel okay about their growing attraction for each other, since Kathryn was so nice. Emma tells Mary Margaret to trust her instincts - if it felt wrong, it probably was. She also says to let David figure out his life.

The next morning, she goes to Granny's Diner and Dr. Whale approaches her. They have a brief chat about their less-than-spectacular date, and after Dr. Whale leaves, Regina confronts Mary Margaret. She tells the schoolteacher about how David left his wife, and the possibility to destroy many peoples' lives.

Nevertheless, she continues to meet David in secret and is troubled over his invitation to meet her at Toll Bridge at eight that night. Emma advises her not to, but she goes anyway. When David does show up, he tells her that he remembered everything about his former life and couldn't leave Kathryn. Mary Margaret goes back to the diner in tears, furious that he led her on.

Dr. Whale comforts her in the diner and they proceed to have a one night stand. After this, she receives bright yellow flowers from him, which Emma throws away, thinking that they were from Graham. She corrects Emma, and they have another discussion about David.

The next day, after class is dismissed, Graham goes to Mary Margaret's classroom and talks to her. He asks her if he's ever hurt her - since he was having flashbacks of his life as the Huntsman - 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.

After Graham's death, and Emma tells her roommate of her firing 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 propagational posters for Emma and asks him how things are. They have an awkward conversation, and when Mary Margaret sees him spreading Sidney Glass posters, she hurries off, with David staring after her.

Emma confesses to her that she was afraid that she wouldn't win the election, because she couldn't fight dirty and had to prove to her son that good could win. Mary Margaret reassures her, and they go to the debate, where Emma proceeds to expose Mr. Gold for the staged fire in the mayor's office.

She is shown playing with the orphans Ava and Nicholas in her house after Emma finds them homeless and abandoned. She also counsels Emma when she is struggling to find the two a home in Storybrooke so that they wouldn't be sent to the foster care system in Boston.

A few days after the orphans reunite with their father, Mary Margaret is seen rushing around five minutes to 7:15 A.M., because her schoolchildren are making a volcano before school. Instead, she actually goes to Granny's Diner and pretends to have been there for a while when David Nolan walks in to get he and his wife's coffee. They have a quick chat, and Emma enters the diner after David leaves.

After some further probing, Mary Margaret admits that she has purposefully been going to the diner to see him for every day, and proceeds to outline the Nolans' weekly schedule. She says that she couldn't get David out of her head and she wishes that there was a way to cure her feelings.

As she is shopping for supplies, she runs into Kathryn Nolan, who drops, among other things, a pregnancy test. Mary Margaret is stunned and wishes her luck, and Regina tells her that the couple's business wasn't hers. Mary Margaret leaves and head for the woods.

While in the woods, she stumbles across a trapped dove and takes it to the animal shelter, where David is working. The vetenarian says that the bird itself was fine, but its flock was migrating soon and if she didn't hurry the bird could be left behind. As Mary Margaret prepares to go free it, David warns her of an upcoming storm. Mary Margaret brushes off his warning and leaves.

When she is in the forest again, she hears the flock of doves and starts to head toward the sound. However, she slips on loose soil and almost falls over the edge, but she manages to hold on by grabbing onto a single root. David saves her before she can fall off, and the storm begins. They seek shelter in an abandoned cabin. They have a conversation about their feelings and confess the real reasons why they go to Granny's - to see each other.

Just as they are about to 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. He admits that his life with Kathryn seems fake, but the life with her seems real to him.

The next morning, she is in Granny's Diner at 7:45 A.M., when David suddenly walks in. When he sees her, he turns around and walks away, prompting her to chase after him. They agree that neither of them can avoid the other, and they kiss. Regina is shown watching from her car.

Mary Margaret, Ruby, and Ashley 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, leaving Mary Margaret alone.

She decides to leave the bar and runs into David on her way out. David gives her a Valentine Day's card, which turns out to be Kathryn's Valentine Day's card, and Mary Margaret tells David to go home. She walks away, leaving a dejected David behind her.

A few nights later, she and David decide to take a walk. David tells her about Kathryn's plans to move to Boston so that she could attend law school, and says that he told her that he was going to take a walk. Mary Margaret becomes uncomfortable at how dishonest they are being with Kathryn, and convinces David to tell her about their relationship.

When David calls her at the schoolhouse, Mary Margaret is overjoyed and tells David that he did the right thing, believing that he told his wife about the affair. Once she hangs up and turns around, Kathryn slaps her and confronts her about the affair, which she learned about from Regina instead of David.

Mary Margaret sets out to find David, and is shunned by the whole community on her way there. She bumps into Granny, who says that Mary Margaret should be ashamed of herself, and she hurries on to David nearly in tears. She finds him trying to scrub the word "tramp" off of his car and confronts him about the fact that he didn't tell the truth about them to his wife.

He admits that he simply didn't want anyone to get hurt, and Mary Margaret realizes that their relationship was destructive and subsequently breaks up with him. She heads back home, leaving an upset David behind. Emma finds her in her bedroom and lays down next to her when she admits that she didn't want to be alone.

The next day, she goes to Granny's Diner to ask for volunteers to help her with Miner's Day. Miner's Day was a festival in Storybrooke where the nuns of the town sold their candles, but now it was simply a festival to sell wares at. However, no one pays her any mind. Leroy walks up to her, but when she asks if he is volunteering, he merely replies that he was trying to leave. He then calls her the "town harlot" and leaves the diner.

Mary Margaret also exits the diner, and Emma catches up with her. She assures her that she's her friend and that she will try to help with Miner's Day as much as possible. Then Emma is called to the town's borders to investigate Kathryn Nolan's disappearance.

As Mary Margaret is helping the nuns set up, Leroy approaches her and asks to volunteer. She doesn't take him seriously, but he insists and promises Sister Astrid, one of the nuns, that he will sell all of their candles. She reluctantly agrees to take him on as a partner.

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. When Leroy lies to Sister Astrid that they sold all of the candles, Mary Margaret confronts him and discovers that she likes him.

That night, after many unsuccessful attempts by Leroy to sell the candles, they return to the festival. Mary Margaret discovers him on the edge of the church and thinks that he is going to jump. However, Leroy scoffs and takes out a power box with his pickaxe. When she asks him why he did that, he says, "We're selling candles, Sister."

They then proceed to sell every candle in their booth. As Leroy goes to give Sister Astrid the money, Mary Margaret packs up and goes to her car. When she reaches it, the word tramp is painted across it once more. Dejected, Mary Margaret heads back to the festival, where Granny lights her candle for her. When David is taken away, Mary Margaret is one of the people who stand by and watch in shock.

A few nights afterwards, she is talking with Emma when she turns a corner and sees Dr. Whale talking to Ruby. They force Dr. Whale to leave, and Mary Margaret invites Ruby to live with them until she can find her footing, an offer that Ruby gratefully accepts.

The next day, she heads out to the woods to search for Kathryn. While there, she sees David in one of his blackouts. He doesn't recognize her and continues on his way. Mary Margaret reports this to Emma, who goes with Ruby to the forest to look for him. Ruby finds him very quickly, and they take him to the hospital. Emma sends Ruby out to search by the Toll Bridge for evidence, and she finds a box with a human heart in it.

That night, she is comforting David at the animal shelter when Emma walks in.

Emma has bad news, there had been finger prints in the box the belonged to Mary Margaret, Emma has to arrest her.

Trivia

 * Snow White's Storybrooke name, Mary Margaret, is possibly a play on the name of Margarete von Waldeck, a historical figure whose extremely similar story possibly inspired Snow White's. Like Snow White, she was stunningly beautiful, had a bad relationship with her step mother, and died under suspicious circumstances of poisoning, though not by her already dead stepmother. Many other parallels exist between the two stories.
 * Her name may also be a play on Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina von Erthal, a woman who lived in the city of Lohr, the supposed birthplace of Snow White.
 * In French, "blanchard(e)" means "pale", derived from the world "blanche" which means "white", a reference to her real name, Snow White. French for Snow White is "Blanche-Neige."
 * Enjoys her hot chocolate with cinnamon, like Emma and Henry.
 * In her apartment, the word "blackbird" (and various other words like "paste, grate, polish") is written on her wall, with a picture of one beside it. This may be in contrast to bluebirds, which were often Snow White's companions. Bluebirds are known to enjoy open spaces, while blackbirds prefer dense undergrowth and are sometimes kept as pets in cages. Likewise, Snow White is free in the fairytale world, whereas Mary Margaret is trapped in Storybrooke.
 * The box used to hold Kathryn's heart was found to be Mary Margaret's Jewelery box.
 * She manages to kick Jefferson through a window, thus showing she has retained some of her fighting skills from when she was Snow White.
 * Appears to dislike apples; as shown in the pilot episode in which one of her students hands her a pear instead of an apple. (This has been confirmed by Ginnifer Goodwin herself in a 2011 Comic-Con interview.)

Mary Margaret Blanchard