Mary Margaret Blanchard

"Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a powerful thing, but living with that kind of belief... That's the most powerful thing of all."

- Mary Margaret

Mary Margaret Blanchard, later known as Snow White, 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.

Trivia

 * -|Character Notes=

Etymology

 * Mary Margaret's 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.
 * Snow White offered both "Mary" and "Margaret" as aliases when Red asked what she should call her.
 * Originally, Mary Margaret was supposed to be a nun, which is the reason why the character has a double name. Eventually, it was decided not to make her a nun, but the name was kept.
 * Ginnifer Goodwin asked the show creators about the name similarity to Maria Sophia Margaretha before they began the show. According to her, they acted surprised when she asked them about this, and "they were like, “What are you talking about?”."
 * Mary Margaret shares her name with the Virgin Mary of the Bible, who, like Mary Margaret, is the mother of the savior. Interestingly, Mary Margaret (who was originally supposed to be a nun ) can be seen wearing a cross in "Pilot" and "Welcome to Storybrooke".
 * 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". It was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from mry, meaning "beloved", or mr, meaning "love".
 * The name "Margaret" is of Greek origin derived from the Latin word "Margarita" and itself derived from the Greek "margarites" that means "pearl".
 * The surname "Blanchard" is of Old French origin derived from the word "blanchart" that means "whitish, bordering upon white".

Character Notes

 * Like her daughter and grandson, she enjoys hot cocoa with cinnamon.
 * Based on her mugshot, Mary Margaret is approximately 5'8".
 * Like her grandson, Mary Margaret has a large collection of clocks.
 * Although it has never been shown on-screen, Mary Margaret presumably knows how to drive. This is proven when Emma gives her her car key to give her a choice to run.
 * She also has her personal car.
 * During the first curse, she teaches fourth graders.
 * Can communicate with and understand the language of birds.
 * Because she was once poisoned with an apple, Mary Margaret dislikes apples.
 * Fittingly enough, one of her students gives her a pear instead of an apple.


 * -|Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The role of Mary Margaret was written specifically for Ginnifer Goodwin.
 * In the original "Pilot" script, Mary Margaret is both a nun and a school teacher.
 * Snow was supposed to be mentioned in the Season Seven premiere as having agreed on Henry's plan to leave Storybrooke after realising that "stubborness runs in the family". That part of the dialogue, however, did not make to the final cut.
 * -|Cultural References=

Disney

 * When zoomed up close, the back of a dish Mary Margaret is washing has a Disney logo on it.
 * Mary Margaret hits Jefferson over the head with a croquet mallet, a reference to Disney's Alice in Wonderland.
 * While under the influence of the Spell of Shattered Sight, Mary Margaret snidely remarks, "Still wanna hold hands, sing "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"?", a reference to the famous song from Song of the South.

Lost

 * 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.
 * Mary Margaret is grabbing an Apollo bar off the store shelf when she bumps into Kathryn.
 * While trying to get rid of the Wraith, Mary Margaret uses a bottle of MacCutcheon Scotch Whiskey to set fire to the railings.
 * There is a close-up of Mary Margaret's eye as David drips Regina's tear into it, and after Ingrid's spell is enacted. This is a recurring theme from Lost.
 * When Mary Margaret takes out her anger on her friends, she states that she's had eight hours of sleep in the last week, a reference to the second Lost number.
 * There is a close-up of Mary Margaret's eye as she awakens from the Serum Queen's Sleeping Curse, a recurring theme on Lost.

Popular Culture

 * David and Mary Margaret play hangman at the Storybrooke General Hospital.
 * The book Mary Margaret is reading in the diner is The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne.
 * This is also a reference to Lost, where the main location is a mysterious island.
 * While practicing archery in the woods, Mary Margaret listens to Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation".
 * While under the influence of Ingrid's spell, Mary Margaret refers to Anna as Swiss Miss. This is the name of a real-life brand of cocoa powder and pudding products sold by the American company ConAgra Foods.


 * -|Set Notes=

Props Notes

 * The Valentine's Day card David buys for Mary Margaret has a prince and princess on it.

Costume Notes

 * According to costume designer Eduardo Castro, they wanted to avoid a very generic look for Mary Margaret. Her outfits are meant to be whimsical, fun and interesting to look at.
 * Mary Margaret's outfit in the first nine episodes of the second season, is meant to have a 1960s vibe, and is inspired by Audrey Hepburn in the 1957 musical romantic comedy Funny Face.
 * The floral dress Mary Margaret wears for her date with Dr. Whale, is the same one young Emma wears at the Portland convenience store in "Tallahassee".
 * The necklace she wears in the first half of Season Two, as well as in the "The Shepherd" from Season One, is an Oval Key Necklace from Pyrrha. 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.
 * The ensemble outfit Mary Margaret is wearing in Camelot in "Nimue", "Birth" and "Broken Heart is the same outfit worn by her Wish Realm counterpart during a confrontation with the "Evil Queen" in "Wish You Were Here".

Appearances
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.