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 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.

During the Curse
After the casting of the curse, Mary Margaret becomes a timid and soft spoken school teacher in the town of Storybrooke. She is teaching her students to make bird houses, and shows them the care that must be taken in building one as it is the home of birds. Class ends, and mayor Regina Mills comes to speak with her. Mary Margaret wonders what she is doing here, and with a slight smile on her face, Regina asks how long she has been a school teacher. Mary Margaret replies she has been as long as she can remember. Regina has something to show her, and takes Mary Margaret to the hospital. She leads her to a room of a comatose patient, John Doe, and asks Mary Margaret if she knows who he is. Mary Margaret's response is negative; she has never seen that man in her life, but brightly suggests perhaps someone who loves him will find him someday. Grinning at the irony, Regina says that would be great for him, but not likely. After that, Mary Margaret goes into John Doe's room to take a closer look at him while Regina watches from outside the room with satisfaction.

Later on, Mary Margaret, carrying a handful of papers, accidentally bumps into Regina, and apologizes profusely for her clumsiness. The same event occurs on a different day, and Regina snaps at Mary Margaret for not apologizing. Mary Margaret is extremely docile, and agrees she should apologize. Her response bothers Regina, who questions why she does not fight back. Mary Margaret wonders why she would do something like that, and proceeds down the street.

Regina's adoptive son, Henry disappears from her sight the day after he left Storybrooke to find his biological mother, Emma Swan. Emma brings Henry back to Storybrooke, but now is nowhere to be seen. Regina and Emma go to the school to find out how Henry got Mary Margaret's credit card to use in finding Emma's address in Boston and tracking her down. The teacher insists that she knows nothing about Henry's actions. She even checks her wallet, and realizes her credit card is missing, and that Henry definitely must have taken it without her knowing so.

Angry, Regina realizes that Mary Margaret gave Henry the fairy tale book, which somehow has given him the idea everyone in town is a fairy tale character. The teacher defends herself; saying that he is 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 playground castle.

Later, Mary Margaret is volunteering at the hospital. She places many flowers on patients' beds and then goes to see 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 is 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 have met before. She believes that Emma is innocent, but Emma says that she is 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 has 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 does not know who he is, and Mary Margaret says that she does not. 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 does not believe it, but Henry insists that they have to remind him by having Mary Margaret read the story to the coma patient. His mother agrees but says that she will ask her. Emma then talks to Mary Margaret and suggests that she play along with Henry's idea so that he will realize that he is wrong on his own when nothing happens. Mary Margaret admits that it is a good idea, and Emma tells her that they will 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 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 has 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 does not 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 does not 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 will 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 could not 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 has 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 election 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 would not win the election, because she could not 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 would not 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 could not 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 was not 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 veterinarian says that the bird itself was fine, but its flock was migrating soon and if she did not 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 Boyd 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's Day's card, which turns out to be Kathryn's Valentine's 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 did not tell the truth about them to his wife.

He admits that he simply did not 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 did not 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 is 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 is 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 does not 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 pickax. 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 does not 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. She reveals that the human heart that Ruby found belonged to Kathryn Nolan, and that Mary Margaret's fingerprints were on the box the heart was in.

Mary Margaret is arrested for Kathryn's murder. She continues to insist that she is innocent while Emma is still trying to prove her innocence and assures Mary Margaret that she is on her side. When Mary Margaret finds a key to her cell, she decides to escape. This occurs after David asks is she really did murder Kathryn, causing a falling out between the two.

After escaping she is then captured by Jefferson and used as leverage against Emma. After escaping from Jefferson she agrees to return to jail with Emma.

She has a meeting with Storybrooke's District Attorney about her trial. The D.A. pressures her about Kathryn's disappearance, and Mary Margaret incriminates herself. The evidence continues to mount against Mary Margaret, and Regina Mills visits her the night before her trial. Mary Margaret pleads with the mayor, insisting that she did not murder Kathryn. In the middle of her speech, Regina cuts her off and assures her that she knows she did not kill Kathryn, but that she was going to Boston anyway. She then leaves the sheriff's office, leaving Mary Margaret stunned and silent.

The morning of her trial, Emma pleads with Mr. Gold to do something to prove her friend's innocence, and Mr. Gold replies that he'll try to "work a little magic." Suddenly, as Emma is visiting August Booth, Ruby discovers Kathryn herself behind Granny's Diner.

Mary Margaret is released due to Kathryn's reappearance. A "Welcome Home" party is thrown at her apartment, and the whole town shows up to celebrate. David tries to speak with her, but on Mary Margaret's cue, Emma makes up an excuse for her and hints that it is not really a good time right now.

One day, during school recess, Regina comes by and asks to see Henry. Mary Margaret confronts Regina about her role in Kathryn's disappearance, but reveals that she forgives Regina's torment of her. She then goes back into the schoolhouse.

When Emma attempts to leave Storybrooke with Henry, Mary Margaret is waiting in their apartment when she comes back. When she does, Mary Margaret criticizes her for leaving when Emma had insisted on the two sticking together, because they were "like family." Emma apologizes and claims that she just wanted what was best for Henry, and Mary Margaret scathingly replies that she wanted what was best for her. She tells her to figure out what is best for Henry and start acting like a responsible mother.

One night, she is approached by David Nolan. He tells her that he is going to use Kathryn's apartment from when she had planned on going to law school. Mary Margaret wishes him luck, and, when he asks for her to give him a reason to stay in Storybrooke, does not give him one.

When word gets out that Henry Mills has fallen under a coma, Mary Margaret reads his storybook by his bedside, possibly in hopes that he would wake up like David did. However, instead of awakening, his heart flat lines. The doctors usher a panicking Mary Margaret out of the room and attempt to save Henry's life.

Mary Margaret leaves the hospital and wanders around the town, dazed. Suddenly, a pulse of magic surrounds the town, breaking the dark curse that the Evil Queen had inflicted on Storybrooke's inhabitants. Memories of her life as Snow White hit her, and she joyfully reunites with David, who now remembers his former life as Snow White's true love, Prince Charming.

They stand together in the middle of the street as magic that Mr. Gold brought from the Enchanted Forest envelops the town.

After the Curse
Upon remembering her true identity as Snow White, Mary Margaret is happily reunited with several of her friends from the Enchanted Forest, including Red Riding Hood, Granny, and the Seven Dwarves. She is most excited to remember Prince Charming and her daughter Emma. While Mary Margaret is overjoyed to see Emma and realizes she saved them all by breaking the curse, she is a little stunned when Emma states she needs time and space to adjust to the new situation. Although Emma is relieved at the reunion with her parents, she never thought in a million years that she was truly the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. While Mary wishes to sit and talk about things, Emma prefers to set it aside for now in favor of the current crisis facing Storybrooke.

Mary Margaret is among the townspeople who go to protect Regina Mills when Dr. Whale leads a mob to her house in Storybrooke seeking vengeance for what she did to them. Mary then makes a speech to the mob after they calm down, stating that they must not stoop to Regina's level, and that killing her would not solve anything. She suggests for the time being to imprison Regina in the Storybrooke jail, which they do.

Mary Margaret, Emma, and David then visit Mr. Gold in his pawn shop. They accost and accuse him of double crossing Emma. Mr. Gold responds that a thank you might be more appropriate as Regina was defeated, the curse was broken, and Emma was reunited with her parents. As they are talking, the wind howls outside and the power flickers. Mary leaves with David and Emma to go to the Storybrooke jail as Mr. Gold said he released something to take care of Regina once and for all.

At the Storybrooke jail, Mary and her family arrive to find a wraith, a creature Mr. Gold had released by the power of the gold medallion, sucking out Regina's soul. Rather than letting her die, Mary gets a flammable substance and a lighter to drive the Wraith off with fire. David is all for letting Regina die at the hands of the Wraith, but Emma insists she will save Regina, due to the promise she made with Henry, while Mary looks on in admiration.

They take Regina to her office and Regina retrieves Jefferson's hat. The plan is to capture the Wraith within the hat's vortex and place it in a place of oblivion where it cannot hunt and harm again. However, when the Wraith arrives, Regina is unable to activate the hat. Mary fights off the Wraith with a lit broom until Emma's touch seemingly releases Regina's magic and the vortex opens. The Wraith is pulled in, but a blue whip of light snakes out of the vortex and seizes Emma by the ankle, pulling her in. Stating that she will not lose her daughter again, Mary jumps into the vortex after Emma. David makes a desperate attempt to follow, but fails just as the vortex closes. Mary Margaret ends up in the Enchanted Forest in the wreckage of a palace alongside Emma, and are discovered by Mulan and Aurora.

Shortly after, they arrive at the survivors' Safe Haven. Mary Margaret attacks Aurora in an escape attempt; but she and Emma are unable to get away. Emma and an unconscious Mary Margaret are put into "the pit" where they are greeted by Cora, the Evil Queen's mother.

Mary Margaret is tended to by Cora as she lies unconscious, and Cora reveals to Emma that she is Regina's mother. Upon awakening, Mary Margaret is unsettled by Cora's appearance, and later warns Emma that Cora is even worse than Regina is. Soon after, it is announced the leader of the survivors wishes to speak to the two of them, and they leave the pit to meet this person, who turns out to be Sir Lancelot, a knight of the round table. Mary Margaret is overjoyed at reuniting with an old friend, and Lancelot agrees to help them find their way home. He sends Mulan with them as they go on their journey.

Along the way, Aurora follows them secretly, and when the opportunity comes that Mary Margaret is alone, she holds a knife to her neck. Aurora blames her for Phillip's death, and wants revenge. Mary Margaret is quick in pushing Aurora off and pinning her to the ground. She says she knows what it is like to lose someone, too, but that is not her fault Phillip died.

They meet trouble in the form of ogres, and Emma is almost killed by one, but Mary Margaret is able to aim an arrow to bring the creature down. Emma is amazed at her skills, and asks how long has it been since she has fired an arrow. Shrugging, Mary Margaret says it has been about 28 years.

Eventually, they reach a castle. They enter the room that would have been Emma's nursery with the wardrobe still residing in a corner. Mary Margaret laments over the life they would have had together as a family; watching Emma grow up as a baby and all the things she would have taught her. Emma gets emotional talking about how it felt this entire time knowing her parents gave her up, but now she also understands Mary Margaret had to give up her whole world for her. She says she is not used to people actually caring about her. Mary Margaret and Emma embrace and bond over their strengthening relationship as a family.

Suddenly, Lancelot appears from behind. They are surprised to see him, but Lancelot says he was concerned for them. Mary Margaret explains they need magic to make the wardrobe work. She notices he is fixated on the wardrobe, though Lancelot claims he just wants to make sure they find their way home back to their family. Mary Margaret does not buy it, and realizes this is not Lancelot, but Cora disguised as him. Cora reveals herself, and admits she killed Lancelot because he would've never helped her anyway. She has her eyes on the wardrobe as her ticket to Storybrooke, and to be reunited with Regina as well as her grandson, Henry.

Cora uses her magic to force Mary Margaret in a choke hold on the wall, and twists vines around Emma, but then Mulan intervenes. The fight ends with the wardrobe burning, and Cora is forced to retreat. Mulan panics over the deception of Cora having pretended to be Lancelot, and has no idea what she will tell the others. Mary Margaret insists Mulan tell them the truth; that Lancelot died a hero. Now they have no leader in the survivors' group, and Mulan elects Mary Margaret as leader.

With the magic wardrobe burnt to ashes, they have no way of using it so they decide to leave. Mary Margaret takes one last longing look at the room before she exits.

On the way back to camp, Mary Margaret advises Mulan to be honest with her people about Lancelot's death. After arriving and finding the camp devastated, Aurora discovers Hook beneath a pile of bodies, and Hook attempts to deceive the four of them by stating he survived Cora's attack on the camp by hiding under some dead bodies. Emma threatens him with a knife and ties him to a tree to get him to tell the truth. Hook then reveals his true identity as a shocked Mary Margaret pulls his hook out of his satchel. He states that he was working with Cora, but will now join forces with Emma and her team. Emma then cuts him free. He leads them to a giant beanstalk stretching up into the sky, stating that there is a Enchanted Compass at the top, but first they must deal with a giant.

At the beanstalk, Mary Margaret volunteers to go up, as she says Emma is not used to this world enough, but is overridden when Emma says she will go up instead. After Emma departs, Mulan suggests that the remaining three women split time taking watch. Mary Margaret volunteers to watch first, but Aurora refuses to sleep, saying she is having nightmares since her sleeping curse. Mary Margaret reassures her, saying the dreams will go away in time. Later, Aurora wakes up screaming from a nightmare, and Mary Margaret comforts her as Mulan looks on. Aurora then tells of her dream, in which she is in a windowless, doorless room with blood red curtains and flames. Another person, a man, is looking at her from across the room, and she is scared. Mary Margaret comforts her and coaxes her back to sleep. Later, when Mulan moves to cut down the beanstalk, Mary Margaret protests. After Emma reappears, Aurora asks where Captain Hook is, and Emma replies that he is being temporarily watched and that the group has a 10 hour head start, so they should take advantage of it.

In the Enchanted Forest, Aurora awakes with a start from a nightmare, and Mary Margaret runs to comfort her. She is stunned along with Emma to hear Aurora mention in her nightmare that she encountered Henry. Mary Margaret listens as Aurora relates her encounter with Henry. While Emma is confused as to Henry and Aurora could possibly share the same dream, Mary Margaret speaks up and informs the group that she has been to the land that Aurora mentioned before. Aurora angrily asks her why she did not tell her this before, and Mary Margaret states that she did not want to worry Aurora anymore then she needed to. The group decides together that Aurora will go back to sleep and the other three stand guard over her while Aurora goes back to sleep. Suddenly the camp is attacked by Cora's zombies, and Emma and Mary Margaret stand and defend while Mulan and Aurora run off into the woods. After defeating the zombies around them, the two take off after Mulan and Aurora, only to find that Mulan is alone and that Aurora has been kidnapped. Despairing of a way to contact Henry again, Mary Margaret suggests that Mulan use some more Ground Poppy Dust to place her back under sleep so she can get the information they need from Henry, as she has been to the place they need to go to before. Mulan states that she knows of one place in the Enchanted Forest where poppies still grow, and that if they set out they can make some more dust before sundown.

On their way through the woods, Emma is upset because she blames herself for Henry falling victim to the sleeping curse. She reasons that as his mother, she was supposed to trust him even when no one else did. Mary Margaret says that they can play the blaming game all day, but it will not get them home. Emma agrees, but quietly says to herself "The one that's responsible is Regina," implying that she blames Regina for their current situation. A raven lands on Mary Margaret's shoulder and delivers a message from Cora, stating that she will trade the magical compass for Aurora's life as long as the compass is received by sundown. A distraught Mulan attempts to physically wrest away the compass from Emma, stating that they must save Aurora, but Mary Margaret and Emma are able to negotiate with Mulan that if they are unable to contact Henry before sundown, they will take the compass to Cora and retrieve Aurora. Mulan then leads them to the location of a single poppy, and proceeds to use her dagger to make the dust needed. Mary Margaret settles against a tree while Emma holds her hand. Mulan then blows the dust into Mary Margaret's face, putting her to sleep.

In the fiery Netherworld, Mary Margaret calls out for Henry, but finds him not to be there. She stumbles around until David smashes through the fiery ceiling above and lands in front of her. At first, Mary Margaret is overjoyed to see him, and David gives her the information that the key to defeating Cora is in a small jar of squid ink in Rumplestiltskin's former cell in the palace ruins. Mary Margaret acknowledges the information, but becomes distraught when she realizes that David is under a Sleeping Curse and that is how he was able to make it into the dream world. David attempts to comfort her, saying that true love's kiss will awaken him when she returns to Storybrooke. They try to hold each other, but discover that they cannot. A sobbing Mary Margaret fades away from the world, leaving David alone.

In the Enchanted Forest, Mary Margaret wakes up and scrambles to find some leftover poppy dust, stating that David is all alone in the dream world and she has to get back to him. Emma tries to comfort her, stating that they will be able to save and awaken David. Mary Margaret rounds on her, asking her how she is so sure of this. Emma states that she believes in the love that Mary Margaret and David have for each other. Mary Margaret smilingly acknowledges this, but the two then discover that Mulan has run off with the compass. The two of them go after Mulan, and an angry Mary Margaret nearly hits Mulan with an arrow, stating the next one will be between her shoulder blades. Mary Margaret tackles Mulan when she refuses to give her the compass, and nearly kills her before Aurora jumps in, revealing she has escaped from Cora's jail cell by way of Captain Hook. The four head off towards the palace ruins, unaware that Cora knows of their location.

As the group arrives at Rumplestiltskin's cell in the ruins of the palace, Mulan uses her torch to search the cell for any sign of the squid ink. After Aurora finds Rumplestiltskin's note, Mulan finds a small glass vial that is empty, although it may have contained ink at one point. They are then entrapped in the cell by Cora and Hook, and Cora reveals that she has Aurora's heart in her possession. However, Mary Margaret remembers Cora practicing magic when she was a child and blows the squid ink on the note written by Rumplestiltskin to open the cell and allows the group to escape. At Aurora's insistence that she cannot be trusted due to Cora holding her heart, Mulan reluctantly ties her to the remnants of the jail cell.

At Lake Nostos, she shoots an arrow to knock the Magic Compass out of Cora's hand to the ground. A battle ensues as Mary Margaret tries to catch Cora with her arrows and Mulan parries her magic with her blade. Cora vanishes in a puff of smoke after nearly getting hit, and the satchel carrying Aurora's heart is knocked off her person. It nearly vanishes into the portal, but Hook grabs it. He tosses it to Emma who gives it to Mulan. After Mulan leaves and Hook is knocked out by Emma, Cora reappears in front of Emma and Mary Margaret. She uses her magic to fling Emma aside, stating that she will be giving her daughter the one thing she wanted, which was Mary Margaret's heart. As she reaches forward, Emma jumps in and shoves Mary Margaret aside, causing Cora to reach into her heart instead. Cora cackles and tells Emma she is a foolish girl, then goes to remove Emma's heart. Cora instead finds to her shock that Emma's heart cannot be ripped out, and then a light similar to the one emitted by True Love's Kiss shoots out of Emma, knocking Cora unconscious and allowing Emma and Mary Margaret to go through the portal to Storybrooke.

They make it through and return to Gold's shop where she awakens David by true love's kiss.

While David and Mary Margaret are having some "intimate" moments, Henry and Emma walk in. The couple convince Henry they are just lying down and leave Emma very uncomfortable, to which she awkwardly excuses herself. David makes a joke that it is impressive how they can still provide Emma with traumatic childhood memories this late in her life.

A welcome home dinner is thrown for Emma and Mary Margaret at Granny's. Emma has invited Regina, which displeases some of the other guests, including Mary Margaret.

Due to Ruby seeing Regina confront Archie about sharing information from their sessions with Emma, Regina is accused of murdering the town psychologist. Regina is arrested and brought to the police station. David and Mary Margaret want to kill Regina, but Emma decides to let her go as there is no evidence and she believes Regina actually is changing for the better.

Emma, David and Mary Margaret go to see Mr. Gold, who gives Emma the dream catcher which allows her to see into Archie's dog's memories. The dream catcher depicts an image of Regina strangling Archie, but Emma drops the dream catcher in frustration before it can be revealed that the "Regina" is actually Cora in disguise. Now Emma has the proof she needs that Regina is guilty.

Because she has magic now and will be very difficult to contain, Mary Margaret and David suggest they trap her once more with fairy dust. The group goes to Regina's home where Emma tells her that they know she is guilty, that she will never change, and that she will never see Henry again. Mother Superior does attempt to freeze Regina with the fairy dust, but Regina catches it in midair and tosses it aside harmlessly. A truly broken Regina then disappears in a cloud of purple smoke.

When Emma struggles with telling Henry about what happened to Archie, she receives reassurance from both David and Mary Margaret, who says that if the two of them can figure out how to be parents, so can she. David adds that they would all figure out the entire situation together because they are family.

At Archie Hopper's funeral ceremony, Mary Margaret gives a eulogy in his honor in remembrance of his good deeds. After the funeral is over, she goes back to her apartment where other residents of Storybrooke are also gathered together to mourn the loss of Archie. Emma tries to offer food to a saddened Henry, who still cannot believe Archie is truly gone, and that Regina supposedly murdered him. She speaks to Mary Margaret about how sad Henry is, and how there is not much she can do to help. Leroy brings up the topic of wanting to return home. While Emma argues she and Mary Margaret did everything in their power to return to Storybrooke, Leroy is anxious about what is Regina's next move, and whether the broken curse means outsiders will have the capability to come into town. Ruby chimes in agreeance; she knows outsiders will not accept a shape shifting wolf well at all.

Much later in the day, Henry is on the phone. It's only after Mary Margaret picks up the other phone in the apartment that she finds out he is dialing Archie's number and listening to his answering machine. Mary Margaret and David try to comfort him when Emma walks in with Pongo, who she got from Marco. Henry cheers up at the sight of Pongo, and goes outside to clean him up. After he leaves, Mary Margaret brings up the subject of moving out with David to their own place. Emma and David are both bewildered at her suggestion. Mary Margaret says that, yes, she has always wanted the three of them to be a family, but she was not expecting the house to be so small.

Mary Margaret and David continue the house hunting idea at Granny's Diner. She shows him some possible home choices, but he does not like any of them. While she wants to find a new house, he wishes to return to the Enchanted Forest. Mary Margaret tries to make him see that even if they do go back, the land they once knew will not ever be the same with Cora in power and the ogres taking over everywhere. David thinks that would be a good reason to go back so they can fight for what is theirs and return things to normal. However, Mary Margaret states she is tired of always fighting, and wants a fresh start in Storybrooke.

After a car crashes through the town border, Emma shows up in her sheriff car along with Mary Margaret and David inside. They rush to the scene, and find an amnesiac Belle who accidentally crossed the town line, Hook got run over by the car, and a stranger is passed out inside his car. Mary Margaret tries to calm Belle down while David and Emma restrain Mr. Gold from beating Hook to death. Eventually the paramedics arrive, and the stranger is taken the hospital to tend to his injuries. Hook and Belle are also taken in to be treated. Mr. Gold shows up asking for Belle, but David refuses to let him go further because he was close to killing Hook. Leroy helps to hold Mr. Gold back until Dr. Whale comes to stop the commotion. Leroy, along with David, Mary Margaret, Emma and Ruby, attempt to break into the stranger's phone to learn more about him. Mary Margaret comments there must be a thousand different code combinations to try on the phone. David asks Leroy for help, but he replies humorously that pickaxing and phone hacking are two different things. Emma comes back from checking out paperwork the stranger had in his car, which shows his name is Greg Mendell. She hacks into the phone and from what they see on it, the man appears to be a normal person from the outside world. Dr. Whale comes back with bad news—the man is bleeding into his chest cavity. Emma tells him to fix the injury, but Dr. Whale is unsure if he can. When he consults with Mr. Gold in the hopes he can use his magic to fix the stranger's wounds, Mr. Gold refuses. He says the driver saw his use of magic, so they better hope he dies of his wounds instead of trying to save him.

David, Mary Margaret, Emma, Ruby and Leroy go into a separate room to debate about the pros and cons of helping someone from outside of town. Leroy does not think it is a good idea with the possibility the stranger could draw unwanted attention of the town's secrets to the world; particularly since outsiders are seem to be so inquisitive about magical beings and the way they study them to death. Ultimately, the decision is made to save the stranger's life no matter what. Dr. Whale leaves the room to prep for the surgery, and Mary Margaret remarks how drunk he appears to be. They realize someone must be looking for him. The phone rings a second time with contact labeled as "Her". Again, the call goes unanswered because the group fears it might be traced to Storybrooke. The phone stops ringing, and they wait for the surgery to be over with. A male nurse comes into the lobby looking for Dr. Whale, who he cannot seem to find even after he pages him. Dr. Whale's pager goes off from his lab coat pocket, which is found disposed in a nearby laundry basket. Ruby gets the scent of booze on it, and takes off to find Dr. Whale. Mary Margaret ponders if Dr. Whale does not come back, perhaps they can get Doc to perform the surgery, which Leroy heartily disagrees with.

Ruby returns with a sober Dr. Whale who is ready to perform the necessary operations on Greg. He comes out after the surgery is done to announce to the group the man will live. Dr. Whale also shares the news Greg is ready to talk. At first, Mary Margaret and David want to go in with Emma, but she insists it would look strange if as sheriff she brought her parents in with her as well. Mary Margaret understands, and says they will be waiting for her outside. Emma comes out of Greg's hospital room bearing the reliving news to them that he did not see any magic.

On that note, Mary Margaret, David and Emma return to the apartment for the night. Henry comes down the stairs to ask about what had happened. While they each have a late night snack of a bowl of cereal, Henry chats animatedly about the subject after they are finished telling him. He is surprised Dr. Whale is Victor Frankenstein because the Frankenstein story is neither a fairy tale, and the story does not exist in his fairy tale book. Suddenly, there is a knock at the door. The door is opened to reveal Mr. Gold, who comes to ask Emma to fulfill the favor she owes him. Mr. Gold wants Emma to leave with him by noon to New York City to find his son, Baelfire. Just before he leaves, Mr. Gold also warns if any harm comes to Belle while he is gone, he'll kill them all.

In the morning, Emma packs her bags along with Henry, who is going with her because she feels it is unsafe for him in Storybrooke with Cora on the loose. After they leave with Mr. Gold, Mary Margaret and David begin their search for Cora when Regina shows up on at their door. Again, she denies killing Archie, to which they apologize for suspecting her since Archie turned up alive. They also tell her Emma left town with Henry. Regina is upset Henry was taken out of town without anyone asking her, but is told Emma does not need her permission, which she half heartedly agrees with.

Hook is released and taken from the hospital by Mary Margaret, David and Leroy. They question his motives in Cora's plans in Storybrooke, but he does not know anything about them. Instead, he leads them to the invisible passage onto his pirate ship and shows them a caged shrunken giant Cora kidnapped from the Enchanted Forest. The three become extremely suspicious of Hook, but once again he denies knowing anything of Cora's next move. Hook gives them information about the giant while Mary Margaret opens the cage door to make sure he is alright. The giant, stating his name is Anton, asks if the witch—presumably Cora—is gone. He is furious upon seeing he is human sized, and lashes out further when he sees David, who he seems to recognize as someone. Mary Margaret stops his rampage on both David and Leroy after shooting an arrow at him. Anton leaves the ship, but promises David will pay for what he has done.

Mary Margaret and David take time at Granny's Diner to talk about what just occurred. She asks him if he knows the giant, but David is unsure. Soon, he realizes the giant mistook him for someone else. They are interrupted by a now bigger sized Anton, who, unbeknownst to them, was given a magic mushroom by Regina to eat so he could return to regular size. He takes out his anger on the humans of the town, and throws a car that misses Mary Margaret and David. David orders the town residents to take cover at the town hall, and find Leroy for him. Then, he tries to speak to Anton by telling him the one who harmed him in the Enchanted Forest was not him, but his twin brother, James. Leroy pitches in to convince Anton to stop by mentioning how Emma was given the enchanted compass by him. This catches Anton's attention, and he asks to speak to Emma. Mary Margaret, aghast, unfortunately has to say that Emma is out of town right now. With nothing else holding Anton back, he proceeds to chase the threesome down.

As Anton is going after them throughout town, Leroy asks about David's twin. There is much confusion over whether his name is also James, or is it Charming. Mary Margaret mentions Charming is a nickname she gave him. David tells Leroy his real name was David in the Enchanted Forest. Soon, they realize if they run any further they will reach the town line. David proposes a deal with the giant—he will allow Anton to kill him to spare the lives of the other residents of town. Anton agrees and as he tries to stomp David, the three of them are blown back by the debris as the impact of the pounds hits the ground. The effects of the mushroom begin to wear off, and a large hole remains where Anton's foot smashed the ground. When they approach the hole, they see a human-sized Anton holding on to an underground pipe to keep from falling through to the bottom.

The townspeople work together quickly to save his life. While Granny ties a rope to the back of David's car, Ruby and the dwarves stabilize the rope as David scales down the concrete edges of the hole. Anton is reluctant to accept a human's help, but with words of encouragement from David of choosing life over death, he grabs his hand and both are pulled to safety. Afterward, Granny leads the rescuers and Anton back to her diner to serve them food in celebration.

Everyone regroups at the diner where Anton is introduced to the town in an effort to make him feel at home. Worried about not fitting in, Anton mentions he will probably live in the woods, but Leroy assures him that Storybrooke is home to all kinds of creatures and he will live comfortably here. As they talk, Ruby serves them beer at the counter. Mary Margaret says they have made this land their home since there is no way to get back to their old land. At this, Anton shows them a stem of a beanstalk that could likely grow magic beans.

They take Anton to a place where he can inspect the soil content of the town. Anton thinks the soil might be viable for growing magic beans, but is hesitant because he knows Cora brought him to Storybrooke for this purpose. Mary Margaret reassures him they will not let her get to them. The seven dwarves arrive to accept Anton as a friend, and he receives his own named pickax "Tiny". Anton and the seven miners commence in digging into the soil to plant the beanstalk stem.

With another problem solved, David brings coffee to Mary Margaret and they begin talking about his twin. David wonders if he would have turned out the same if he had been the one to be raised by King George. Mary Margaret knows him and says he would not have. They discuss going back to the Enchanted Forest now that they have a way to grow the beans. Mary Margaret does not want to leave Emma in one world while she is in another. David assures her that Emma and Henry have each other and will always be safe.

Mary Margaret is seen talking on the phone with Emma after Emma has realized that Baelfire is not only Neal, but also Henry's father. Mary Margaret asks if this makes Mr. Gold Henry's grandfather, then offers Emma advice to be honest with Henry, and that the reason why Emma is holding Henry's father's identity from him might have more to do with Emma then Henry. Later, Mary Margaret and David try to figure out Henry's confusing family tree, and David quips that its a good thing they did not have Thanksgiving in the Enchanted Forest, otherwise it would have been one messed up holiday.

In Storybrooke, Mary Margaret is pacing nervously as she notices David making her pancakes. She asks what those are for, and David responds that she knows, and that now that Mary Margaret is in our world, she might feel differently about her birthday. Mary Margaret responds that she has not changed her mind and walks away, then notices a wrapped present on the counter. She turns to berate David, who says the package was left outside the apartment and he had nothing to do with it. She unwraps the package and finds the tiara that had been given to her by Eva as a little girl. Mary Margaret is overcome and David says he thought the tiara lost when they were sent to this world. She unwraps the card and finds that it was sent to her by Johanna. Mary Margaret is very surprised by this and leaves to find Johanna, kissing David on her way out the door and thanking him for understanding.

She discovers Johanna in her garden, planting flowers. The two hark back to their times in the Enchanted Forest, which includes their memories of Eva. During this discussion, Mary Margaret overhears a sound from the woods. Just as she enters the woods, she sees Cora and Regina discussing their plans to find Mr. Gold's dagger to force him to kill whoever they wish, both unaware Mary Margaret has overheard them. Following this sighting, she tells this information to David. She conceives a plan to instill doubt in Regina regarding Cora's motives.

In Granny's Diner, Regina reaches Mary Margaret, asking her about what news she promised to tell her. Mary Margaret admits that she lied about having information to talk to Regina. She tells Regina that she can stop faking, and that she knows that she has been working with Cora to find the dagger. She asks Regina to choose good, not evil. Regina becomes mad at her, telling her that she was always the queen, and that she is the one who put evil in front of it. Mary Margaret is not satisfied with this, asking Regina why she would do this after trying to change. She answers this by telling her that all she got in return was judgement. Before Regina leaves, Mary Margaret tries to get through to her one last time by telling her that Cora does not love her or Henry. In a blatant jab at Mary Margaret, Regina asks her what she knows about mothers.

She thinks that Mother Superior can manage to get the dagger first, so she asks her for assistance. When she uses her wand, it fails to break down the spell Mr. Gold cast on his shop. Just as things seem bleak, David gets a call from Emma, who tells him the dagger is in the clock tower. Afterwards they find the dagger on the hand of the clock in the tower. It appears that they have won against Cora and Regina, until they magically appear asking for the dagger. To get Mary Margaret to hand over the dagger to them, they summon Johanna, and rip out her heart. As soon as Cora tells her the same words the Blue Fairy told her counterpart in the Enchanted Forest, she realizes that Cora not only gave her counterpart the candle, but also killed her mother. Taunting her, Cora tells her to give up the dagger, or she'll lose someone else. Heeding her commands, she drops the dagger, falling with it with it, in a sign of defeat. Cora accepts the dagger, evoking Regina to place Johanna's heart back in her chest, but it's a waste because soon after, Cora pushes her out of the clock tower. Mary Margaret is left crying in David's arms, as Regina and Cora both exit with purple smoke.

While visiting Johanna's grave, Mary Margaret tells David that all her life she has been good, but only lost the lives of the ones she loves. Much to David's dismay, she tells him that she will kill Cora.

Mary Margaret is on the phone with David, discussing Mr. Gold's wound, and the dagger being with Cora. Unknown to both, Regina and Cora are listening to a phone tap of their conversation. When the Jolly Roger arrives in Storybrooke, Mary Margaret and David help Mr. Gold into the truck. Mary Margaret again brings up how she plans to kill Cora in order to protect her family. David argues that she will not be able to live with herself if she does. After they have gotten Mr. Gold to his shop, they prepare for battle against Cora and Regina. Mr. Gold catches Mary Margaret and asks her to get him a warmer blanket, and as she searches for one, she finds the candle that Cora—disguised as the Blue Fairy—had given Mary Margaret as a young child. She asks him why he has it, and he replies that he saved it for a rainy day. Mr. Gold says the candle can save him, but Mary Margaret asks why she should use it on him, when she did not even use it on her own mother. He tells her that their interests are aligned, and Mary Margaret realizes he wants her to kill Cora with the candle, and save him. But she remembers that in order to kill the person, you must light the candle over their body, and whisper their name. She obviously cannot do this, to which he responds a heart would work as well. He tells her to find Cora's heart which is outside her body, stick the heart back into her body, killing her. David agrees with her that Cora must be stopped, but not by Mary Margaret killing her.

As Regina and Cora break into Mr. Gold's shop, Mary Margaret slips outside. Cora sends Regina after Mary Margaret when she senses someone is in her vault. David and Emma realize that Mary Margaret is not with them, and David runs to find her. Meanwhile, Mary Margaret finds Cora's heart in the vault, holds the candle over it, whispers her name, and blows it out. Regina then finds Mary Margaret and she offers Regina the cursed heart, saying it is impossible for Cora to love Regina if Cora does not have a heart.

The scene cuts back to Mary Margaret sitting on the steps of the graveyard, holding her head. David runs up and asks what she did. The scene then cuts to Mary Margaret running into Mr. Gold's shop, yelling for Regina not to put Cora's heart back into her body. It is too late, and Regina vows to have revenge for Mary Margaret's horrible deed.

After Cora's death, Mary Margaret becomes despondent, and lays depressed in bed. Regina comes to steal her heart to create the curse of the empty-hearted, but she is guarded by Mr. Gold. Eventually, once Regina destroys the curse, Mr. Gold decides to leaves; his services no longer required. Before he does, Mary Margaret asks him how he lives with himself with all the terrible things he has done; slightly referring to what she did to Cora. Mr. Gold responds by saying it gets easier by telling himself he did the right thing.

She goes to Regina and begs to be killed. However, Regina, who realizes Mary Margaret's heart is becoming blackened; removes it from her chest and shows a dark spot inside it. Regina is pleased because this means the darkness will only grow in Mary Margaret's heart, and it will destroy the happy little family Mary Margaret tried so hard to create. She pushes the heart back in and asks Mary Margaret to leave; believing this way would be a worse punishment.

Mary Margaret is still having a hard time accepting what has come to pass since her confrontation with Regina, and tells no one about what occurred. She isolates herself by continuing to stay in bed. While David is quick to coddle her, and continues to make breakfast to put beside her bed, Emma believes enough time has passed for Mary Margaret to move past what she can't change. Mary Margaret lays awake under the covers listening to their conversation, and unexpectedly gets up to pack a few things into her bag before heading out into the woods to think things through. David wants to come with her, but she insists she must do this alone.

In the woods, she puts her music player on blast as she practices archery. Every arrow except one hits the tree trunk target, and when one misses, Mary Margaret takes off her earbuds and hears what sounds like something wooden moving. She travels deeper into the woods to investigate, and finds the arrow lying on the ground with a broken shaft. Following the trail, she comes across an old trailer. Inside, a completely wooden August is hiding; ashamed of his many mistakes in life. She tries to convince August he has no reason to hide, and the people of Storybrooke care about him; like Emma and his father, Marco. He refuses to go back, and does not want his father seeing him in this state. She explains many things have happened since he has been gone; such as Henry's father, Neal, returning. Neal stops her and asks if Emma and Neal are back together again. She says Neal is actually engaged to someone else he met in New York. August is saddened by the news. He had hoped though he purposely separated the couple years ago that they might be back together now. August wants redemption despite the bad things he has done, but he laments perhaps there are things someone can't come back from. Mary Margaret disagrees. Despite what he has done, everyone deserves a second chance. August explains it's easy for her to say so because she's never needed forgiveness or redemption; not knowing what has transpired between her, Regina and Cora. She states it is time for him to stop feeling sorry for himself, but he asks her to leave if she truly wants to help him.

She goes to the diner to find Emma, and runs into Regina on her way in. Regina curtly says she should try the fish special—a "blackened sole" as it suits her quite well. Mary Margaret is momentarily stunned by her words, but hurries to the counter where Emma sits waiting. Emma wonders what could be so urgent. Mary Margaret spills the beans about where August is, and Marco, who is sitting next to Emma, overhears and wants to see him. They have no means of helping him, but perhaps Mother Superior can, and they leave to speak with her.

Outside the nunnery, Mother Superior admits she knows about August's current dilemma. He came to her shortly after the curse broke to ask to be turned back to normal, but she could do no such thing if he has not stayed selfless, brave and true, which he did not. Mary Margaret agrees August has done some things which are regretful, but everyone should have a second chance. Mother Superior states if there is still a path of redemption for August, he must travel it on his own terms. Marco is sad over the news, but Mary Margaret believes there is hope for August.

Mary Margaret, Emma and Marco travel through the woods back to August's trailer. Marco says the state August is in at the moment is completely his fault, but Mary Margaret's perspective is the choices children make are their own decisions, and there is no use blaming himself. Marco finally comes clean about the true power of the wardrobe that could protect two people instead of one, and he selfishly wanted to save his son, so in exchange for carving the wardrobe, the Blue Fairy said the wardrobe could save only one so Pinocchio could go through, too. Mary Margaret is shocked at his confession, and in disbelief says she could have gone with Emma through the wardrobe. He is extremely apologetic, but a rage builds up in Mary Margaret at the revelation, and she hits Marco in the face. Emma asks what she is doing when Marco is apologizing, which Mary Margaret herself is just as surprised at her own action. Mary Margaret says she is not herself, and she forgives him because she would have done the same for her own child.

They finally reach August's trailer, but he is nowhere to be found inside. With no choice but to head back, Emma receives a phone call from August on their journey back into town. The phone call ends as abruptly as it began. The trio; joined on the way with David and Henry; go to the sheriff's office where August made the phone call. They nearly reach the front entrance in time to see August stumble out the door, and collapse onto the ground. Mary Margaret looks on with David and Henry as Emma and Marco attempt to help August. Before he dies, August tries to tell Emma something, but is unable to get the words out. Mary Margaret doesn't want it to end this way for August; still having the firm belief he is supposed to get a second chance.

Then, Henry realizes August can have a second chance because for the first time in a long time, he may have proven his actions to be selfless, brave and true. Mother Superior rushes over to the scene, and agrees if August's actions today have been selfless, brave and true, then she can restore him. She tests it out with her wand, and August reverts from wood back into a seven-year-old Pinocchio.

Afterwards, back in the apartment, Mary Margaret confesses to David she previously went to see Regina, and what conspired between them. David is furious because Regina could have killed her, and Mary Margaret says that's the reason she went in the first place. She could not deal with what she had done to Cora, and now her heart is starting to blacken as a result of it. David asks why she did not tell him, and she sadly states because if she did, what is happening now would be real and she wanted to believe it wasn't. Mary Margaret doesn't think there is a way to stop her heart from blackening, or to seek redemption. David sets August as an example that redemption is possible, though she notes it cost August everything to find his way back. David knows Mary Margaret is neither like August or Regina, and they will definitely find another way to help her because he believes in the goodness in her heart.

To protect the bean fields from being seen by outsiders, Mother Superior enacts a barrier to make the area appear as an empty field unless someone stepped inside the barrier. Mary Margaret and David surprise Emma by driving her to the bean fields and showing her what they are growing. Emma is perplexed that Mary Margaret has changed her mind about staying in Storybrooke. Mary Margaret reasons dealing with the aftermath of Cora's death has been tiring for her heart, and by going back to have a fresh start in fixing the land, perhaps she can heal her heart too. They believe if Emma comes with them, she can also have her happy ending that never was.

After sundown, David carpools Anton, Leroy, Happy, Bashful, Walter, and Doc and drop them off at the diner. Despite Leroy's invitation to have dinner with them, David and Mary Margaret head home for the night. From across the street, Regina waits for them to clear the area and uses a tracking spell on David's previous car route, which leads her straight to the hidden bean fields.

At the dock, Mary Margaret and David have a quiet evening sitting at a bench by the harbor. They discuss what will happen to Regina once they go back to the Enchanted Forest. While Mary Margaret accepts Regina is still Henry's mother, David dislikes the idea of bringing her along and allowing her to live among them. He suggests they give her an ultimatum to either stay in Storybrooke or live out the rest of her days in Rumplestiltskin's old cell. Secretly, Regina overhears their plan.

Leroy tags along with Mary Margaret and David for a drive to visit the bean fields. Mary Margaret mentions they will definitely need Leroy's help in fixing up the castle once they return home. They enter the outside barrier, and are troubled by the sight of whole rows of destroyed beans.

Armed with the suspicion Regina foiled their aim to return to the Enchanted Forest with the use of the beans, Mary Margaret, David, Emma and Henry hasten to the mayoral office. Upon entry, Regina is nowhere in sight and the stolen beans missing as well. Not believing Regina would leave Storybrooke without Henry, things seem even less right when Emma uncovers that someone used an override code to break into the office. She goes back to her assessment Tamara might be the one behind it, though Mary Margaret and David don't understand why Emma believes so strongly Neal's fiancée fits into the picture. Instead, Mary Margaret suggests the only one capable enough of overpowering Regina is Mr. Gold.

While Emma goes back to Neal to investigate further on the matter, Mary Margaret and David track down Mr. Gold at his shop. They interrupt him at his leisure with Lacey, who is exasperated at the intrusion. The twosome ask for a way to locate Regina, and he helps them due to being indebted to Mary Margaret after she saved his life from Cora. Bringing out a small bottle containing one of Regina's tears, Mr. Gold asks her to think of a bleak moment and shed one of her own tears. On command, Mary Margaret does and one of her tears mixes with Regina's in the bottle. Afterwards, he instructs she must put the liquid into her eye so a temporary bodily connection with Regina can be breached.

The two return to the apartment where Mary Margaret eyedrops the liquid in and begins experiencing shocking physical symptoms of Regina being tortured by someone. She gets a short, frazzled glimpse into Regina's surroundings in sight and smell, but after the link wears off, is unable to recall anything except a recollection of a strange scent of sardines. David reports back to Emma on Mary Margaret's findings. Instinctively, Emma realizes there is only one place in Storybrooke that smells like sardines, which is the town cannery. They meet up with Emma and Neal inside the building, and form a plan to secure the rooms. Mary Margaret and David race ahead and catch Greg in the act of electrocuting Regina to death. They stop him just in time. Though David wants to go after Greg, Mary Margaret is more concerned about the damage inflicted on Regina. After bringing her back to the apartment, Mother Superior heals Regina back to full health.

Mary Margaret is stunned to learn from Regina that she previously planned to use a trigger to erase Storybrooke and everyone in it for good. Regina expresses anger and justification for it as they planned to leave her in Storybrooke and take away Henry as well, but also brings up the grievous point the trigger is now in Tamara's hands. Emma returns to the apartment alone in a state of shock. Torn, she breaks the news to her parents that Neal is dead.

David, Emma and Mary Margaret head to the park via truck to pick up Henry, who has been watched over by Granny. Once there, they have a surprise encounter with Mr. Gold. The older man claims since Neal wants nothing to do with him, he's spending time with his grandson. Grimly, Mary Margaret tells Emma to speak with Henry first, to which she goes off to do. As her parents give Mr. Gold the news of Neal's death, she tells Henry.

Despite David and Mary Margaret's attempt at convincing Mr. Gold to help them stop the trigger, he refuses. The trio return to the apartment with Henry, where he has a warm reunion with a fully recovered Regina. Once the shaking subsides, Emma voices her hunch about what that was about. Regina admits the trigger was activated, which Henry takes to mean they are all going to die, but is reminded by her that he was born in this world and won't be affected. This gives him an even more dreadful conclusion of being all alone. Emma promises she won't let that happen and orders Regina to make the trigger stop, but there is no way of doing that. Tension fills the air when Emma blames Regina for the current dilemma, to which Henry intervenes. Just then, Hook strolls in; earning himself a punch from David's fist. Despite an undeniable wish for vengeance, Hook has decided to align himself away from Greg and Tamara since realizing revenge is not worthy if he is going to lose his own life in the process. Regina makes it clear there is no terminating the trigger and the best she can do is to slow it down. David suggests the delay will give them more time to steal back the remaining beans from Greg and Tamara, use them to open portals, and traveling to the Enchanted Forest. Emma points out no one knows their current whereabouts, though Hook chimes in he knows. To keep the pirate from betraying them, David goes along with him. A plan assembles for everyone else in the group; Mary Margaret will take Henry to gather up the rest of the townspeople while Emma brings Regina to the mines to stall the trigger's power.

Having retrieved at least one magic bean, David and Hook return to the diner where some of the townspeople are grouped. Henry questions where his adoptive mother is, and Emma tells him that she is in the mines slowing down the trigger, but will not be able to make it out. This angers Henry; comparing this event to the Wraith attack and how are things different this time around. This gives Mary Margaret an idea--they can send the trigger through a portal just like they did with the Wraith. Emma doesn't believe anyone is willing to go through with such a risky plan, but Archie persuades her it's the right thing to do. He talks about in the past when Mary Margaret was Snow White and David was Prince Charming, who led all of them without fail, and asks who is inclined to allow them to do it again, to which everyone follows suit in agreement. Mary Margaret knows she and David haven't had a lot of time to be parents, but asks for chance to be trusted, though Emma is concerned Henry will be alone and grow up just like herself. Another rumble tremors through town, which pushes Emma to think they'd all be better off making it out now by using the bean, but Mary Margaret's lingering guilt about Cora forces a moral obligation to do otherwise. She pleads to Emma that Cora's death was the easy way out as well as a mistake, and this time around they must take the hard path to building a future not at the cost of Regina's blood. Emma finally agrees, but as David tosses her the bean container, Hook snatches it in mid-air. She makes him give it back, which he pretends to do by handing back the box and makes off with the actual bean.

Down in the mines, Henry and his family meet up with Regina, and he announces it is their turn to be heroes. Mary Margaret, Henry and David stand back as Emma prepares to take out the bean, but discovers Hook tricked them. Regina's frustration in not being able to contain the trigger causes Emma to realize she does not have enough strength on her own, but perhaps together they do. Combining their magic powers, an impact blow in deactivating the trigger causes everyone present to be thrown back onto the ground. After the danger is over, David expresses relief since they listened to Henry about not leaving Regina behind. However, Henry is nowhere to be seen. They find his backpack on the ground with torn straps. Emma deducts he has been kidnapped.

They rush off to save Henry from Greg and Tamara, but are not fast enough. Horrified, they watch as a portal opens in the water and Henry is forced to jump in along with Greg and Tamara. After the portal closes, Mary Margaret and David have to hold back a anguished Emma. Mr. Gold and Belle pass by the harbor and overhear their discussion about Henry's disappearance to another realm. Regina begs him to help, but he says there is no way to go across lands unless a portal can be opened. The whole group is despondent until Belle, transfixed, stares out at the ocean's distance and points out a ship, the Jolly Roger, still sitting in port. After discovering Hook didn't leave using the magic bean he stole, the pirate allows them to board the ship in going after Henry.

Aboard the Jolly Roger, Mr. Gold conjures the magic globe and spills his own drop of blood onto it; showing Henry's current location to be in Neverland. After Hook casts the magic bean into the water to open a portal, he, Mary Margaret, David, Emma, Mr. Gold and Regina set sail for the land.

Journeying through the portal, Hook steers the ship until it lands in the nighttime waters of Neverland. Cautiously, everyone on board looks around to assess their new surroundings until Emma asks aloud if they are at the proper destination, which Hook affirms, as they sail towards an island.

At the railing, Emma blankly stares out to sea when she is approached by her parents. Mary Margaret offers consolation by saying what happened to Henry and Neal was not Emma's fault. Emma responds she doesn't, and actually blames Mary Margaret. In stunned silence, Mary Margaret and David listen to her regret the decision of being swayed by "good always wins" and rejecting the ideology of it as she did not grow up in a fairytale land and learned to live in a world of realistic expectations. In defense, Mary Margaret states she and David also have their expectations to go by, and want to share their worldly wisdom with her. Emma retorts though they are trying to be parental, the bottom line is both of them are the same age as her, and therefore have an equal amount of wisdom as herself. Near tears, she recounts the bad decision of breaking the curse, and instead should have just left town for good with Henry. Mary Margaret agrees if Emma had, Henry could be together with her. She tries to explain in words how difficult it was for herself and David to lose Emma, and it's something that haunts them everyday. David chips in by saying that's the reason why they are here now so Emma won't have to go through the same thing they did. Having reached her limit, Emma angrily berates Mary Margaret and David's unyielding optimism when the situation is so grim. David responds it's who they are, though Emma has a hard time understanding why because ever since their memories were restored, things have not exactly been ideal. Despite that, he sees the one good thing has been finding Emma, but she counts off how many lives of people have been lost since then. Mary Margaret chides that letting go of hope is like losing all optimism that somehow, someway things will get better, and promises they will find Henry.

Mr. Gold, now garbed in his old Rumplestiltskin outfit, coolly interrupts to state they won't, and draws Hook and Regina's attention as well. With a calm determination, he announces his intent to get Henry back on his own. Annoyed, Regina reminds him they agreed to go on the search and rescue together, but he replies there was no such agreement. Mr. Gold asserts Emma has never truly believed in her parents, in magic, or even herself, and this is what will be a complete failure in her rescue of Henry. Deciding he would do better off on his own, Mr. Gold disappears to the island with a spin of his cane.

Later, at the helm, David and Mary Margaret steer as something is causing the ship to sway erratically. Regina investigates what they are doing while Hook calls for everyone to prepare for an attack. Having no idea what he means, Regina expresses confusion, but Hook urges her to grab a weapon. High pitched screeches ring from beneath the waves, and Emma asks what is out there. They all look over into the waters to discern what creature it could be, and see bodies of swimming mermaids, which only Hook is unsurprised to inform them of. He attempts to quicken the ship to outrun them, but there are too many. David goes to fill a cannon with ammunition and repeatedly fires it at the swarm of mermaids while Mary Margaret and Emma throw a fishing net into the sea and catch a mermaid on the line. As they pull the creature in, Regina remarks it's only one, and takes matters into her own hands by continuously conjuring fireballs into the water until the other dozens of mermaids disperse away from the ship. Still struggling with the weight of the mermaid on the fishing line, Regina hauls and teleports it onto the deck.

Disgusted, Hook calls for the mermaid to be thrown off his ship, but Regina disagrees as it might be helpful to have a hostage. David sides with Hook and wants the creature away from them. Regina proposes they should find out why the mermaids were attacking while Mary Margaret wonders if she means to torture it, to which the latter is open to. Sneakily, the mermaid grabs a conch shell that was also tangled in the fishing line and blows into it to signal a warning; eliciting the sound of thunder from the sky as a response. She threatens them all with death if they don't free her. David attempts to interrogate the mermaid about what exactly she did by sounding the shell, while the half-fish half-human being pleads to be let go. Regina refuses, and warns she will use force if no answers are given. Frustrated, Mary Margaret states threatening someone isn't a way to get a response, though Hook clues everyone in that a mermaid's word absolutely cannot be trusted. Mary Margaret suggests perhaps the mermaid is afraid of Pan and letting her go would be best, but Regina hints if that happens, it's just as likely the whole horde of them will be swimming right back to kill everyone. With an air of confidence, the mermaid sneers she doesn't need her friends to slaughter them, and they will do it themselves.

Unexpected loud thunder claps brewing from the sky startle everyone; making Hook realize the mermaid previously called the storm to arms. Using authority with a sword, David presses the creature to stop the storm, and then they will let her go. She refuses, and an impatient David moves to prepare slashing open her neck as Regina incites him to go through with it. However, a shocked look from Mary Margaret deters him away from doing so. During Hook's struggle to motion the ship into speeding away from the storm, more bickering follows Mary Margaret and Regina's disagreements over what to do with the mermaid. Eventually, Regina decides for the group to freeze the water nymph into a wooden statue so the storm disturbance will cease, but instead, speeds it up into a downpour of rain and gigantic sea waves.

Emma tries to help Hook turn the ship at the steering wheel when tensions are reaching a breaking point with Mary Margaret and Regina. Their ongoing dispute over whose fault it is for the current situation turns into an all-out jab of personal remarks until they both begin trading physical punches. David hurries over to break it up, but Hook incurs his wraith by using an unintended insult towards Mary Margaret, and the two start a fist fight. Emma tries to stop it, but even her attempts at informing everyone the real reason for the storm's cause--everyone's animosity towards each other--falls on deaf ears. Too busy brawling, neither Mary Margaret or the other three notice anything is amiss until they all see Emma jump head first into the water. In the process, a rigging rope pulley block snaps from the sail and falls into the water; knocking Emma unconscious. Panicked, Mary Margaret requests Regina to bring her up, but she is unable to without knowing Emma's exact location underwater. David volunteers to retrieve Emma, which quickly helps assemble a group effort to tie a rope around his waist so they can pull him in later. Beneath the waters, David grabs hold of Emma and surfaces; signaling Hook, Mary Margaret and Regina to haul them back onto the ship. The hard work pays off, and both are out of harm's way. On the soaked deck, Emma's parents cradle her until she finally comes to just as the ocean begins to calm and the moon peeks from behind the dark sky.

The Jolly Roger, damaged by the storm, causes a change of plans, and those on board take a rowboat towards the island shoreline. On their ascent off the boat, Regina advocates towards another alternative plan instead of going through the jungle; she can fix the ship with magic and follow through with what Hook intended to do. Emma thinks it'd be better to save up the magic for later use, and notes they should stop running away as Pan already knows of their presence. She proclaims Mr. Gold was correct in that Neverland is fueled by the power of believing, and it didn't sit right that everyone was busy being at each other's throats to be believers. Emma also admits she was wrong, too, and the best thing is to not believe in magic, but in each other. Quizzically, Regina interprets her words to mean that, after all strain in their relationships, she wants to be friends. Emma doesn't expect that, and states there doesn't have to be friendship; just cooperation to save Henry. David doesn't think they can with Hook and Regina, but she insists it's possible to succeed by being who they are and sooner or later each person's individual skill will be needed. Regina questions what Emma's skill is. Emma responds, in turn, that she is a mother as well as a leader, and to help her get Henry back or step aside. With that, she walks off into the jungle. Mary Margaret and David quickly follow suit as does Hook, and Regina trails behind.

Trivia

 * 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".
 * The middle name "Margaret" is of Greek origin derived from the Latin "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".
 * In the original "Pilot" script, Mary Margaret is both a nun and a school teacher.
 * In "Pilot", Mary Margaret receives not an apple from her student at school, but a pear. This is fitting as she does not like apples.
 * Enjoys her hot chocolate with cinnamon like Emma and Henry.
 * She teaches 4th grade.
 * Snow White offered both "Mary" and "Margaret" as aliases when Red asked what she should call her.
 * Based on her mugshot, Mary Margaret is approximately 5'7".
 * Mary Margaret can communicate and understand the language of birds.

Appearances

 * Mary Margaret appears in a photo in "The Crocodile".
 * Mary Margaret's name appears on the list Tamara has in "The Evil Queen".