Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26392556-20150321102507/@comment-1916997-20150323020630

I think this is how it goes: Goddess Ursula (a half woman/half octopus creature) lived a thousand years ago and granted mermaids the power to walk on land one day a year. By the time we get to the Enchanted Forest of Regina and Snow though, she is either dead or in a deep slumber. Posiden, a god, had a child with something (human, nymph, demi-god, basically anything that can die) and named his daughter, a mermaid, Ursula, after the ancient goddess. Ursula being a mermaid is normal as Posiden's children were many strange things in Greek Mythology. Urusula turns herself into a octopus creature, as we saw in the episode. She slowly gets older (I'm guessing mermaids are not immortal, but have significantly longer lifespans than humans), and we see her at her present age in the Enchanted Forest of Regina and Snow. It is this Ursula threatning Regina through the statue. Regina later learns that this Ursula is not the ancient goddess, and is no longer afraid of her. Posiden, being a god, is immortal, which is why he did not age in over a hundred years.