Snow White

"Aren't you a real Prince Charming?"

- Snow White to Prince Charming

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 (with guest star Bailee Madison as her childhood self) and is the Enchanted Forest counterpart of Mary Margaret Blanchard.

Snow White is based on the titular character from the fairytale, "Snow White".

History
Snow White is born in the Enchanted Forest to her father, King Leopold, and her mother, Queen Eva. Her mother dies when she is very young.

Early in Snow White's life, Snow White attempts to ride a horse only for it to go out of control. Luckily, Snow White is saved by a woman named Regina. Snow White tells her father that Regina saved her, so her father goes over to Regina's house and proposes to her.

Later during the evening, when Snow White tries to ride a horse again, she catches Regina kissing the Stable Boy, Daniel. Snow White runs away to tell her father, but Regina catches her and explains that she does not love him and how her mother Cora made her accept the proposal. Snow White promises not to tell Cora, saying that Regina belonged with Daniel, but eventually breaks that promise when Cora tricks her into telling her by saying that she does not want to lose Regina.

While Regina is getting fitted for the wedding, Snow White admits to telling Cora about her affair with Daniel and how she does not want her to lose her mother like she did. Regina tells Snow White she was not mad, even though she is, and tells Snow White that she is going to be her stepmother and that she cannot be happier. Snow White leaves the room feeling happy; not knowing that Regina blames her for Daniel's death. Regina states bitterly that she should have let her die on the wild horse and thus, starting their conflict. ("The Stable Boy")

In King Leopold's castle, Regina sits with a young Snow White, braiding and adorning her hair with flowers. Snow White admires her new look, then notices a necklace in Regina's jewelry box which she puts on. Snow White asks Regina where she got the necklace and Regina tells her it was a gift from Daniel. Snow White's face becomes concerned, and she says it is the same Daniel that loved Regina and left her. Regina corrects her; stating he did not leave, but was killed. She says he was killed because Snow White could not keep her promise. As a horrified Snow White takes this in, the necklace begins creeping up her neck until it goes taut. Snow White's eyes widen as her fingers jump to her throat. Regina begins choking Snow White to death. Regina tells a dying Snow White that her mother corrupts young souls. Just as it seems the life is going out of Snow White's face, the scene changes to show Snow White wearing the necklace happily. It was all in Regina's imagination. ("We Are Both")

When Snow White is older, she meets her father's new friend, whom he found on a walk by a river. This new friend, the Genie of Agrabah, becomes close to Leopold for the short time he was at the castle. During Leopold's birthday celebration, he speaks to everyone who was in the banquet hall about how happy he is to have his daughter as she reminds him of his first wife, being the fairest of them all.

A few days after the celebration, King Leopold is found murdered in his bed. After a search of his room and the castle, the royal guards found an Agrabahn viper, native to the land the Genie came from, though the Genie himself is never found. ("Fruit of the Poisonous Tree")

After the death of King Leopold by the poisonous viper, Snow White weeps over her father's casket while her stepmother Regina begins to look for someone to kill Snow White, as Snow is very popular in the kingdom and thus Regina cannot do it herself or else she would lose favor with the citizens.

During an outing in the woods, Snow White walks with a knight, who is uncomfortable in his armor. He has been sent by Regina to watch over her. Snow White knew he is not a knight because he does not give his condolences once he meets her, like all the other knights does. She hits the Huntsman with a bag of apples and escapes, but she is found again later in the day, and he tells her that he is sent by the Queen to kill her and take her heart.

The Huntsman finds Snow White, she is writing a letter to the Evil Queen hoping her death would end her suffering, and she would rule the subjects of the kingdom justly. When the Huntsman reads it, he takes pity on her and lets her escape. He also makes her a whistle, instructing her to use it to call for help if she ever found herself in trouble.

The Huntsman uses the heart of a deer as Snow's heart, which he brings back to show his job was done, as instructed by the Evil Queen. He also hands her Snow White's letter, who is on the run and hiding in the woods of her father's kingdom. While the Evil Queen rules from King Leopold's palace, she has wanted posters of Snow White posted throughout the kingdom, offering a reward for her capture. ("The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter"), ("Child of the Moon")

Not long after running from the huntsman, she wanders to a village. When she hears howling during the night, she takes shelter in a nearby chicken coup where she tries to steal eggs only to be caught by Red Riding Hood the next morning.

The young woman is surprisingly not upset but concerned for her. When asked her name, Snow White gives the aliases of Frosty and Margaret before settling on Mary. She explains that she would rather not say what her true name is because someone is looking for her. Red understands and offers Snow White to stay with her and Granny. Snow White later finds the bodies of the hunting party after which she is informed about the wolf.

When discussing the relationship between Red and Peter after the town meeting, Snow White comments it is sad that the wolf stands between their relationship to which Red says they should kill it. Snow objects but eventually accompanies her. They are successful and find tracks but they lead to Red's window.

Snow White later uses Red's cloak to cover for her at night (since they believe Peter to be the wolf) but is discovered by Granny. They have to go rescue Peter and Snow White learns the truth about Red from Granny. After they arrive too late to help Peter, it is Snow White who helps the reluctant and disoriented Red escape the approaching hunting party. ("Red Handed")

Red and Snow run through the woods to escape the townspeople, but also to escape the soldiers of the Evil Queen. Snow leaves with the promise to seek Red out later. Later, Snow discover the sunken city of the "Children of the Moon", a group of people that turn themselves into wolfs, like Red. The respite is short lived when Snow enters. Red convinces Anita, the leader of the tribe, and the others than Snow means no harm, but Snow was followed by the Queen's guards. The guards shoot Quinn, an ally of Anita, and kill him. Anita is furious and makes preparations to execute Snow. However, Snow is saved by Red who transforms into a wolf and tackles Anita, causing her to land on a pike and killing her. Red and Snow bury Anita and Red thanks Snow for supporting her to be both wolf and human. ("Child of the Moon")

Snow White later becomes a thief, stealing valuables from the carriages of the Evil Queen, saving enough to leave the kingdom behind and start a new life somewhere she would not have to worry about the Queen's wrath. Upon stealing from a carriage as a woman screams, Snow White finds herself being chased by a man whose valuables she had stolen. As the man throws her from her horse, he is surprised to discover the thief to be a woman. With that moment of surprise, Snow White escapes, looking back at the man and smirking as he swears he will find her.

After some time, the man indeed finds her again and catches her with a trap, right outside her makeshift home—a large tree stump in the woods. He introduces himself as Prince James, though Snow White says he looks more like a Prince Charming to her. The prince knows that she is Snow White, who is wanted by the Evil Queen.

Charming says he will not take her in if she gives back a ring she stole, as it sentimental to him. She tells him that she sold it to some Trolls, but she agrees to help. Snow White assists him until they stop by a stream, where she hits the prince with a rock and runs right into the Evil Queen's knights. Once captured, they are about to kill her until Prince Charming saves her by killing the knights who held her captive.

Since Charming saved Snow White from a horrible death, she decides to take him to the trolls' campsite, under the Troll Bridge. While they walk, he asks about the powder she wears around her neck. She tells the prince that the powder is a fairy dust which when used would bring a terrible fate.

She also explains that she is wanted by the Evil Queen because of something she did to her when she was younger, unknowingly destroying the Queen's happiness. Before they arrive at the bridge, Snow White instructs James not to say anything about being of royalty, or the Trolls would use his position for their gain.

Once at the bridge, Snow White and Prince Charming try to bargain with the trolls to get his ring back, but they find it curious that she would pay for a ring she sold earlier. Finding Snow White's poster in her bag, the trolls figure that the prince is of royalty and attack. James blocks the trolls as they try to apprehend Snow White and tells her to leave.

Looking back at the struggle, Snow White runs back to save the prince, throwing the fairy dust at the trolls and consequently turning them into bugs. After she hands him back his ring, Snow White and Prince Charming part ways. ("Snow Falls")

During the month since Snow White's adventure with Prince Charming, she cannot stop thinking about him, realizing that a month has passed already when her friend Red Riding Hood, Red for short, comes to give her food. Snow White asks Red if the wedding of Prince Charming and Abigail is still on, which Red confirms. Snow White says she wishes she could find a way to forget about the prince she has fallen for.

Upon hearing this, Red says nothing, but Snow White can tell by the look on her friend's face that she knows something. Red tells her that there is a man who can help her for a price - Rumplestiltskin. After traveling through a dark swamp as she ties up her boat, Snow White meets Rumplestiltskin for the first time, telling him of a love she cannot forget. He gives her a potion to forget about the prince, wanting only a lock of her hair for payment.

As Snow White is about to drink the potion, a bird arrives with a letter. It is from Prince Charming, asking her to see him before the day of his wedding. If she sees him and feels the same way, he will run away with her as he does not love the woman he is going to marry. Traveling to the castle, she easily enters without notice until she is caught after seeing the prince walk by. The guards take her down into the dungeon where she is placed in a cell next to a dwarf, who introduces himself as Grumpy. He too has a love story that brought him into the dungeon.

After a few minutes, Stealthy, one of Grumpy's friends, arrives to unlock the cell and releases him. As Snow White bids him farewell with the hope that he finds his love again, Grumpy unlocks her cell. As the three work their way out of the dungeon, Snow White tries to tell them to use another exit, but Grumpy goes his own way and gets caught again.

The guards kill Stealthy, and Grumpy is saved by Snow White when she threatens King George that she will burn down the castle if he does not let him go. She is taken to a private chamber where King George demands that she tells the prince she does not love him, or the king will kill him without a second thought.

Going to the prince's private chamber, Snow White tells him that she does not love him, and he should marry King Midas' daughter Abigail. Leaving the castle in tears, she meets Grumpy and six Dwarves in the forest. Grumpy takes pity on her and asks if she would like to stay with them until she is ready to go off on her own again.

Broken-hearted, Snow White begins to open the potion bottle Rumplestiltskin gave her, but Grumpy stops her, reasoning that heartache is what makes us who we are. Later, Grumpy finds out through Red Riding Hood that Prince Charming called off the wedding and is searching for her, only to find that she has taken the potion and forgotten all about her true love. ("7:15 A.M.")

Snow White's behavior changes after taking the potion. Now a hateful person, she has forgotten all about love. Her friends stage an intervention with the help of Jiminy Cricket, but Snow decides to kill the Queen. While visiting Rumplestiltskin, he gives her a bow and arrow to do just that. Along with a map to find the right place to kill the queen.

James finds her and kisses her, which has no effect as she does not remember him or her feelings for him. Snow knocks out James, ties him up, and leaves to continue her mission; however, James escapes and jumps in front of Snow's arrow, striking him in the shoulder. He declares that he would rather die than see her become evil.

Touched, Snow kisses him, this time causing the potion's effects to wear off. She regains her memory just as King George's men arrive. She tries to help James and is nearly killed for it. The soldiers take James away and Snow yells after him, "I will find you, I will always find you." Repeating the phrase coined by Charming himself. She returns to the cottage to apologize to the dwarves and announces that James has been taken by King George's guards. They offer to go with her to rescue him. ("Heart of Darkness")

In an effort to rescue Prince Charming, Snow White, Red, Granny, the dwarves, and numerous fairies stage an attack on King George's castle. The attack is successful, but when Snow arrives in the castle dungeon, she discovers King George traded Prince Charming to the Evil Queen. Snow is able to speak to Charming and Regina through a magic mirror of the Queen. The Queen tells Snow to meet her alone and unarmed, and Snow agrees.

Snow meets with the Evil Queen, and the Queen tells her that if she willingly eats an apple cursed by the Sleeping Curse, Prince Charming will not be harmed. Snow White take a bite of the apple and almost immediately loses consciousness. Her friends discover Snow White in a deathlike state. ("An Apple Red as Blood") Snow is placed in a glass coffin. Prince Charming later arrives and breaks the spell with true love's kiss. ("Pilot") ("A Land Without Magic")

She and Charming plan to take back the kingdom, but King George stands in their way. Snow White is captured by Sir Lancelot, a former knight of the round table. She is brought to King George, and given a cup of water to drink by Lancelot on orders of the king. King George tells her the water was poisoned so that she can never bear children. Afterwards, she is let go, but Lancelot follows her into the forest. Snow White is furious, and attacks him. He begs her to spare him because he, too, was unaware of the poison the king put into the cup. She allows him to come with her, and together they return back to Charming and his mother, Ruth.

By the time they get back, Charming has defeated all of King George's men who tried to capture him, but his mother has been injured by a poisoned arrow. They journey to Lake Nostos in the hopes of obtaining some of the lake's waters that can magically heal wounds. On the way there, Snow White tries to make Ruth as comfortable as possible. Ruth shows her a necklace her own mother had given her while she was pregnant with her twin boys. She says it has the power to predict the gender of a woman's first child. She tries it out on Snow White, but nothing happens. Later, Snow White admits she was cursed so she cannot ever have children. She says perhaps it is for the best since she grew up without a mother, and cannot imagine being one herself.

The lake's waters are completely dried up, but Lancelot finds a few droplets left. Ruth thinks it would be a good idea if Snow White drank it so her curse would be lifted, but she refuses. So, Ruth takes the water, but it does not heal her wounds. Charming runs off to look for more of the water, but Ruth stops him. She knows she is going to die, and her last wish was to have seen her son and Snow White get married.

Snow White wants to make Ruth's wish happen, so she asks Lancelot to conduct the marriage ceremony, which he has the power to do as knight of the round table. During the ceremony, Lancelot fills a cup with water. He says the cup is believed to have magical properties to make someone immortal. Snow White drinks from the cup.

Afterwards, when Charming is burning a candle for his mother, Snow White is apologetic that he had to lose the last of his family. But, Charming is glad because he still has Snow White, and that one day they will have children of their own. Snow White is visibly distraught, especially when Charming pulls out the necklace Ruth had previously shown her.

Charming is telling Snow White about the necklace's predicting ability just as she is about to tell him about her inability to have children. Miraculously, the necklace begins to swing. Snow White is astonished at how the curse was broken. She realizes Ruth only pretended to drink the lake water, and that Lancelot switched the actual water into the cup she drank from during the marriage ceremony. ("Lady of the Lake")

Sometime during Snow and Charming's war to take back the kingdom, the Evil Queen joins forces with King George. Near the end of the war, King George's armies succumb to defeat first. Snow sets a trap for the Evil Queen, and her enemy is frozen in fairy dust by the Blue Fairy.

There is a war council meeting to discuss the Evil Queen's fate. Snow does not want to have the Queen killed, and Jiminy Cricket agrees with her. Her husband is able to convince her otherwise, and the execution is planned. At the execution, Regina laments that she is sorry that she has not been able to cause more pain. The executioner's arrows are fired, but Snow orders them to stop and the arrows are frozen by the Blue Fairy just before they hit Regina. The Evil Queen is then taken back to her cell.

Snow discusses her decision to spare her former step-mother with Charming. He thinks she is too dangerous to be left alive, and that she will never change. Snow believes that she does have the ability to change, and that there is some good left in her. She believes this because Regina has saved her life in the past. Later, in the courtyard, Rumplestiltskin offers Snow White a way to prove if Regina is capable of changing. He enchants a knife that cannot harm Snow or her prince.

Snow White visits Regina in her prison cell. The Queen, Snow says is free to go, as Snow has given her the opportunity to change. The cell door is opened, and the two walk out, but right as they leave Regina chokes Snow White and finds the enchanted knife and attempts to plunge it into Snow to no effect. Snow tells Regina that she has failed to change, and she is banished from the kingdom, and Snow warns her that if Regina ever attempts to harm anyone in her kingdom again, she will be killed. ("The Cricket Game")

Soon after Snow and Charming rule their kingdom together and decide to become husband and wife officially. At the wedding of Snow White and Prince Charming, during their vows, the Evil Queen crashes the wedding. As she walks up to the couple, Snow White shows no fear as she takes her prince's sword and threatens the Queen. She watches as the Evil Queen smirks at her and vows that she will have her revenge both on the couple and everyone else at the wedding who has had a happily ever after. ("Pilot")

At some point in time, Snow White and Prince Charming attend Cinderella's wedding to Prince Thomas together as a married couple. ("The Price of Gold")

Sometime after her own wedding, Snow White becomes pregnant with Emma. While Snow White is pregnant, she shares her fears of the Evil Queen's revenge with James. Willing to do anything to ease her mind, he agrees to let her meet with Rumplestiltskin. Snow White then makes a deal with Rumplestiltskin for information on the Queen's revenge in return for her unborn daughter's name.

After Emma is born, she tells James to place Emma in the magical wardrobe. She later finds him lying on the ground, severely injured, next to the wardrobe. She has a brief encounter with her stepmother as the Dark Curse envelops them. ("Pilot")

For events occurring after the casting of the Dark Curse, see Mary Margaret Blanchard.

Trivia

 * When Snow White first meets Red Riding Hood, she asks her to call her Margaret, then Mary. Mary Margaret is her counterpart's name in Storybrooke.
 * Her looks are noted to be uncannily close to her dead mother Eva, as said by her father - "[her mother] was the fairest in all of the land."
 * Snow White is similar to her daughter Emma. Both have given up their only child. Snow gave up Emma at birth, and Emma gave Henry up for adoption with the intention of wanting their children to have "their best chance." Both had become outlaws—Snow became a thief while Emma had trouble with the law before becoming a bail bonds person.
 * Snow White has shared similar experiences with her daughter, Emma. Both have run-ins with the Huntsman. Snow White, in the Enchanted Forest, after he spared her life, and Emma in Storybrooke with Sheriff Graham, who always tried to help. Both also met Grumpy/Leroy in a similar situation of being thrown in jail. The first words Enchanted Forest Grumpy said to Snow were, "What are you looking at, sister?" in King George's dungeon. Leroy says the same thing to Emma the first time he sees her in the holding cell. Grumpy/Leroy whistles the tune, "Whistle While You Work" in both encounters.
 * The friendship between Snow White and Red Riding Hood is a reference to Snow-White and Rose-Red.
 * Snow White is one of only three characters so far with flashbacks to both her childhood and her adulthood that takes place in the Enchanted Forest. The other two are Geppetto and Jiminy Cricket.
 * Snow White is the first Disney Princess to appear on the show.
 * Snow White hummed "With A Smile and A Song". ("Heart of Darkness")
 * Snow White has a birthmark above the top left part of her lip.
 * Snow White was married twice with Prince Charming, both times by a black man. First was Lancelot ("Lady of the Lake"), and then a black bishop ("Pilot").
 * Snow White was the one to give Prince Charming his nickname. ("Snow Falls")

Appearances
Blanche Neige Blanca Nieves Snow White Królewna Śnieżka Branca de Neve