Emma Swan

"Henry brought me to Storybrooke to bring back the happy endings. My job's not done until I do that for everyone, including you."

- Emma Swan to Regina Mills

Emma Swan, also known as the Savior, formerly known as the Dark One or the Dark Swan, and briefly as Princess Leia, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. She débuts in the first episode of the first season of Once Upon a Time. She is portrayed by starring cast member Jennifer Morrison, guest star Abby Ross and co-star Mckenna Grace, and does not have a counterpart.

Trivia

 * -|Character Notes=

Etymology

 * The name "Emma" is of Germanic origin derived from the word "ermen" that means "whole" or "universal".
 * In the original "Pilot", script, Emma's first name was Anna.
 * Emma's last name is derived from the fairytale of "The Ugly Duckling". According to the show creators, her last name is symbolic of the journey they have created for the character as Emma is somebody who has had a very tough time and her journey is to become a swan.
 * The name is also a reference to ABC's Lost island Swan Station.
 * Emma's last name and identity as the Dark One is also an allusion to the Black Swan from the Swan Lake ballet.
 * Jennifer Morrison has stated that Emma got her last name from her first foster parents.

Character Notes
I'm sorry but I can't let you all pay for my mistake. Deep down, you know I'm right. So please, promise me you'll move on and find happiness and help Henry grow into the best man he can be. That's enough for me. To die knowing the family I always wanted is safe. I will love you all forever.
 * Based on her mugshot on the cover of the newspaper, Emma is approximately 5'7".
 * Likes hot cocoa with cinnamon, just like her mother and her son.
 * Emma likes grilled cheese sandwiches.
 * Has a flower tattoo on the inside of her left wrist. It is similar to her father's crest.
 * Swans appear several times throughout the series:
 * When Hook arrives in Storybrooke, there are two swans gathered by his ship at the docks.
 * When Princess Abigail and Prince Charming arrive at King Midas' castle, there is a swan swimming in the lake.
 * A swan is featured in the title card for the original airing of "There's No Place Like Home" and "Operation Mongoose Part 2".
 * As Emma and Hook look out onto the bay, a white swan flies across the horizon.
 * Emma likes the color yellow.
 * Emma's goodbye letter, whose envelope is titled "for my family", says:


 * -|Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The in-show inspiration for the character of Emma relates to the story of "The Ugly Duckling".
 * Fittingly enough, Henry's bedside lamp has a shadow figure of a swan, ducks and three ducklings.
 * Actress Katee Sackhoff auditioned five times to play Emma. When she quit, Jennifer Morrison won the role.
 * According to show writer Adam Horowitz, Emma was supposed to have three children, which eventually evolved into just one.
 * According to Jennifer Morrison, Emma is like an overgrown teenager who doesn't know how to eat properly or take care of herself properly, because she's never had a family unit. When Jennifer does not know what to do with Emma, she thinks, "What a 14-year-old boy would do?".
 * Emma's eating habits are briefly touched upon in "Darkness on the Edge of Town", where Regina remarks that Emma eats like a child.
 * Emma claims to have an extra-special ability which is being able to tell when someone is lying to her. The show creators have stated that she has to be actually looking for a lie, and emotions cloud her ability, which is the reason why it has been failing her in her interactions with people.
 * Mary Margaret alludes to this when she points out that Emma's "superpower" has been known to be unreliable, especially when she's emotional.
 * According to Jennifer Morrison, Emma has had her wrist tattoo since she was "probably 14".
 * With the exception of "The Crocodile" and "The Bear King", Emma has appeared in every single episode of Once Upon a Time, making her the character who appears in the most episodes.
 * The scars featured on Emma's chest in the Enchanted Forest tavern scene in "Snow Drifts" are a direct result of Jennifer Morrison herself having multiple moles removed.
 * In "Pilot", one of the moles can be seen while Emma in wearing her red dress. In "The Thing You Love Most", it is gone.
 * In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jennifer Morrison stated that Emma going to the dark side, had been planned since the end of Season Three, although it was always meant to start in Season Five.
 * In order to prepare for her portrayal of dark Emma, Jennifer Morrison did lots of research with mythology books and old fairy tale books, and read about the history of swans and the etymology of "swan". She also read about research about swans in general, and the psychology of fairy tales.
 * According to Jennifer, there is an old fairy-tale that she has been using as a reference for Dark Swan, "The Queen and the Murderer", which sort of parallels Emma's journey. This fairytale is also known as "The One Handed Murderer", and is from Italo Calvino's collection of Italian Folktales. In the story, a woman is haunted by a murderer, and her father does not believe that the murderer is threatening her, so the murderer haunts her her whole life until she finally stands up to him and actually has kill him.
 * Emma appears in a special, non-canon promo for Season Five, in which she is imprisoned in the Dark Dungeon. A jailer brings her food, and she grabs him through the bars. The jailer says, "They said you were a monster", and Emma replies, "Only on the inside", before she rips out his heart and crushes it.
 * The scene parallels a deleted scene from "Pilot", where an imprisoned Rumplestiltskin, watched over by the Jailer, is brought food by a guard. As the guard places the food in the cell, Rumplestiltskin grabs him and tells him, "It has begun".
 * The Dark Swan's white hair, was achieved by using a powdery spray color, which gave the hair a special kind of depth and texture.


 * -|Cultural References=

Disney

 * On her birthday, Emma wishes on a candle shaped like a blue star, an allusion to the scene in Pinocchio, in which Geppetto wishes on a blue star and his wish is granted by the Blue Fairy.
 * When Henry is playing Space Paranoids, which is from the Disney film Tron, Emma's line, "It's all in the wrists", comes directly from the movie.
 * While in Neverland, Emma notes Captain Hook's appearance in the animated film Peter Pan as sporting a "waxed mustache and a perm".
 * When discussing her brother's naming ceremony with her parents, Emma mention the movie The Lion King as an example of a royal baby coronation.
 * When Emma goes back in time, the clasps on her cloak are in the shape of Mickey Mouse.
 * The show creators have said that they view Captain Hook as their version of Han Solo from the Star Wars franchise. Fittingly enough, Emma's alias in the Enchanted Forest is Princess Leia, Han Solo's love interest.
 * In "The Apprentice", Emma says to Hook, "You look...", and Hook answers, "I know". This is a reference to the scene in The Empire Strikes Back where Princess Leia tells Han Solo that she loves him, and he answers, "I know". In "The Price", the lines are reversed, with Hook saying, "Swan, you look...", and she answers, "I know", mirroring the scene in Return of the Jedi, where Han Solo tells Leia that he loves her, and Leia answers, "I know".
 * The Star Wars connection is further alluded to in "Operation Mongoose Part 2", where Henry and Hook rescue Emma from prison, and Henry refers to this as the "Wookiee prisoner transfer" ploy. This is a reference to the scene from A New Hope, where Han Solo and Luke Skywalker enter the Death Star's detention area to rescue Princess Leia.
 * In Isaac's story, Emma is locked in a tower by her "mother", just like Rapunzel was in the Disney movie Tangled. Following the rescue, Emma is dressed in an outfit which resembles the one worn by Flynn Rider.
 * Emma calls Hook a "regular Jack Sparrow"; a reference to the famous pirate from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
 * When Emma was young, she watched The Sword in the Stone in a movie theater.
 * While having lunch with Hook aboard the Jolly Roger, the candle in a bottle and the table cloth on the table that Emma conjures, are similar to the ones seen in the famous spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp.

Lost

 * There is a Geronimo Jackson sticker on the back of Emma's car, a reference to the fictional band on Lost. The motif is from "Dharma Lady", a single by the band.
 * There is a close-up of Emma's eye after she wakes up from the car crash. This is a recurring theme from Lost.
 * Emma's room number at the inn is 4. This is a reference to John Locke's number on Lost.
 * Emma lived in Tallahassee for two years, where she and Neal planned to star ta new life together. This is a reference to the episode "The Man From Tallahassee".
 * While talking about Mary Margaret's feelings for David, Emma and Mary Margaret share glasses of MacCutcheon Scotch Whiskey. This was a fictional brand on Lost.
 * When traveling to New York City, Henry, Emma and Mr. Gold take an Ajira Airlines flight, an airline that appears on Lost. The total time of their flight is 42 minutes; a recurring number on the show.
 * The number 23 is seen over Emma's bed in the prison hospital. 23 is the fifth of the Lost numbers.
 * Emma buys Henry an Apollo candy bar at the drug store in New York City. This was a fictional brand on Lost.
 * Young Emma steals an Apollo bar from a movie goer's pocket.
 * In "Lily", Emma and her foster family have takeout from Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack for dinner. This is a famous fast food franchise in the show.

Popular Culture

 * During her date with Ryan, Emma says that images found on online dating sites could be "Stolen from the Victoria's Secret catalog"; a reference to the popular lingerie retailer.
 * While Emma is "fixing" a toaster, the song she's listening to is "Kool Thing" by Sonic Youth.
 * While Emma speaks to August about his plan, she refers to it as a "Magical Mystery Tour" which is a reference to the famous Beatles song of the same name.
 * When Lancelot presents chimera as a food source, Emma asks if it's like turducken; a dish consisting of de-boned chicken stuffed into de-boned duck and then stuffed into a de-boned turkey.
 * While interrogating Hook, Emma says, "So much for fortune favoring the brave", referencing to the Latin phrase, "AVDENTES FORTVNA IVVAT", quoted in Virgil’s Latin poem Aeneid as allegedly the last words of the Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder.
 * When Henry is making blueprints, Emma jokingly asks if he's plotting his escape from Shawshank. This is a reference to the fictional Shawshank State Penitentiary, from the 1994 movie The Shawshank Redemption, which is based on Stephen King's novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.
 * Emma's work business in New York City is called "Big Apple Bails Bond".
 * In "The Jolly Roger", Emma says they just checked on Ariel on "Skype", a reference to the popular computer software which specializes in providing video and voice calls over the Internet.
 * After going back in time, Emma makes references to Marty McFly and the 1985 movie Back to the Future.
 * The Portland flashback scene with Emma and Neal at the fairground is an homage to the famous scene from the 1954 movie On the Waterfront, where Marlon Brando is sitting in a swing in a children's park and handles a white glove dropped by Eva Marie Saint as they recall earlier days.
 * When Emma blasts the snow monster with magic, she says, "Take that, Frosty"; a reference to the popular song "Frosty the Snowman" from 1950, which was subsequently adapted into the 1969 television special of the same name, which has been aired annually ever since.
 * After the encounter, Emma sarcastically asks Hook if he wants to go home and watch Netflix, the popular video streaming service.
 * Emma calls the Snow Queen "Dairy Queen", a reference to the ice cream franchise of the same name.
 * Emma makes a joke about the ice cream flavor Rocky road while searching the Snow Queen's truck.
 * When Emma says goodbye to Hook before heading off to the Temple of Prometheus, she quotes a lyric from the song "Working My Way Back To You" by The Four Seasons.


 * -|Set Notes=

Props Notes

 * The inn room key Granny hands Emma has an ornament with an engraving of a swan.
 * Granny's entrance key to the diner has the same design, as does the Underworld version of Neal's room key.
 * Emma possesses a star charm keyring.
 * Owns a cup which says "I ♥ Boston". She brings it with her to the sheriff's station when she takes over as sheriff.
 * The day after the curse, the newspaper Regina reads is dated October 23, 1983 (the show premiered on October 23, 2011). This means Emma's birthday is either October 22, or October 23, depending on whether she was born before or after midnight.
 * Adam Horowitz has stated that Emma's birthday is October 23. However, the show itself indicates that her birthday on October 22. In "Pilot", Emma celebrates her twenty-eight birthday on this date; the day she arrives in Storybrooke (which was the day before she spends the night behind bars and decides to stay; she even says to Regina that "yesterday was my birthday"). This is further confirmed when August's wooden state is triggered in Thailand at 8:15 A.M. on October 24—the very same moment that Emma accepts the room key at 8:15 P.M. (the time zone in Phuket is twelve hours ahead of Maine's timezone).
 * While dining alone in her palace, Regina's dish of choice is roast swan.

Set Dressing

 * Henry's bedside lamp has a shadow figure of a swan.
 * The mobile over Emma's baby crib at the Boston foster home has two wooden pieces with a crown and a castle.
 * There is a swan-shaped fruit bowl on the table of Emma's New York apartment.
 * The lounge of Granny's Bed and Breakfast has two porcelain figurines of a swan—a small one and a big one.
 * There is a photograph of Emma on the work desk in Walsh's furniture shop.

Costume Notes

 * The producers have stated that Emma represents color coming into the drained world of Storybrooke, as seen in her yellow car and red jacket.
 * Dons a necklace with a small swan engraving on it, which she fashioned out of a key chain that was given to her by former boyfriend Neal.
 * The necklace is a jewelry piece called a "Swan Talisman Necklace" and can be purchased online.
 * Emma's secondary necklace, in the shape of a circle, was chosen specifically by Jennifer Morrison herself. She states the circular shape draws symbolism to ancient Celtic art of swans, which "are pictured with rings around their necks to represent the connection between divinity and humanity".
 * Wears a shoelace from Sheriff Graham's boot around her wrist, as a tribute to him. She keeps his boots, missing one lace, in her office at the sheriff's station.
 * Emma used to wear glasses, but later, she switched to contact lenses.
 * Young Emma's floral dress is the same one Mary Margaret wears for her date with Dr. Whale in "Snow Falls".
 * In the close-up of Hook's hand as he clutches the magic bean aboard the Jolly Roger, the ring on his index finger has a heart design on the side with an engraving of a silhouette of a swan's head.
 * The dress Emma wears in Prince Charming's nightmare in has swan-like feathers.
 * At King Midas' ball, Emma is wearing the same headpiece from her father's dream in "The Tower".
 * The pink dress Emma wears in Snow White's vision of the Idyllic Garden is the same one Violet wears for her date with Henry in "Dreamcatcher", but with longer sleeves.
 * In Isaac's alternate reality, Emma is wearing a pair of dagger-shaped earrings; a reference to the Dark One's Dagger.
 * When Emma emerges from the vault, she is wearing the same dress that the Evil Queen wore when she was imprisoned in "The Cricket Game", but with a different cloak. In addition, the sleeves on Emma's cloak have swan-like feathers.
 * Jennifer Morrison helped create her Dark One's signature look and outfit.
 * After Emma fully transforms into the Dark One, she is wearing a hair ornament reminiscent of the wings of a swan.
 * The white ethereal inspired gown worn by Emma in Camelot was Jennifer Morrison's idea. She even brought in her own sheets and fabric ideas.

Appearances
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.