Tamara

Tamara, also known as Her, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. She débuts in the fifteenth episode of the second season. She is portrayed by Sonequa Martin-Green.

During the Curse
Before the breaking of the Dark Curse, at the exact moment Emma Swan enters into Storybrooke, August goes to Hong Kong to find someone called "The Dragon," who runs a small clinic, because he is turning back to wood. He meets another patient, Tamara. When she is called into The Dragon's office, she drops her phone and August offers it back to her. Tamara removes her sunglasses and thanks him.

Later, after August meets with the Dragon, he encounters Tamara at a restaurant. She waves him over and offers him a drink to celebrate; revealing a large envelope of cash. She tells August that she had been all over the world to search for a cure to her cancer, and she finally found it in the Dragon. She gave the Dragon a photo of herself and her grandmother, and though she regrets losing it, the sacrifice allowed her to find a cure. After speaking with August, Tamara's phone rings and she walks away to answer it. While she is away, August steals her cash and runs out of the restaurant.

August uses her money to obtain the magical potion from the Dragon. Once outside, Tamara encounters him on the fire escape and runs after him; shouting for him to stop. He runs, but eventually stops and falls to the ground in agony as his body becomes more wooden. In the process, he drops the potion and Tamara takes it. She looks at August and says that he deserves what he has, then vanishes into the streets.

Tamara goes back to speak with the Dragon while holding the bottle of magic she obtained from August. She admits to The Dragon that she does not really have cancer, but has been searching for magic across the world for a long time; and that the world is full of frauds except him. She asks the Dragon how come the potion does not contain any element from Earth, and the Dragon says because he treats things that are not from this world. Tamara states she cannot let anyone know she has been there, and takes out a taser. The Dragon attempts to attack her, but Tamara thrusts the taser into his chest; killing him. Then, she grabs back the photo of herself and her grandmother and strides out of the room.

In New York, Tamara stands a few feet away watching through a compact mirror of August and Neal conversing. With perfect timing, she walks right into Neal carrying a cup of coffee as he turns to leave, and bumps into her knocking the scalding liquid onto her shirt. Tamara acts surprised and upset as she is just heading to work. Apologetically, Neal offers her his scarf to cover up the coffee stains.

After the Curse
Neal and Emma on the street of Manhattan as they prepare to take her car to go to Hook's ship. She shows up and hugs Neal, asking him where he is going. She notices Emma and introduces herself, and then Neal tells Emma that Tamara is his fiancée. Tamara comes to Storybrooke after gathering some bags of stuff for herself and Neal, who wants her to be there. She arrives and meets up with Neal, Emma, and Henry at Granny's bed and breakfast. When prompted by Henry, Tamara happily tells the story of how she and Neal met; mentioning that he ran into her on her way to work and knocked her coffee all over her blouse. Neal offered her his scarf and said that she could either keep the scarf or call him, and she decided to call him, and they hit it off.

Emma and Henry leave, and Neal attempts to share with Tamara his past life in the Enchanted Forest. Tamara is in complete disbelief at the tale he is feeding her, and rebuffs him; saying that she believes that Neal is still has feelings for Emma, and this is a ploy to get her to leave him so he can rekindle his relationship with her. Neal assures her that this is not the case, but she angrily storms out; telling him that when he is ready to tell her the truth, then he can find her.

At Granny's Diner, Tamara overhears Mary Margaret tell Emma and Marco that she found August living in the woods of Storybrooke. As they leave, Tamara decides to take that tidbit and heads into the woods to find August's trailer. She knocks on the door; greeting him. August is shocked to see her, and wonders if she is also from his land when she makes note of his wooden state. She admits to August that she has no magic of her own and that she is very much human. She makes it perfectly clear to August it is none of his business why she is in Storybrooke, and that she is here to offer August a deal. She tells him to leave Storybrooke and if he goes to her apartment in New York City, he will find the bottle of potion that will allow him to change from wood back to a man. August does not want to, but Tamara tells him that he is the same man she encountered in Hong Kong all those years ago.

August is on his way out of Storybrooke, but turns around after realizing he is being tricked when he sees the photo of Tamara and her grandmother in the car. He goes to the sheriff's office to call Emma, and attempts to tell her about Tamara. The phone line is cut off abruptly by Tamara snapping the wire. August knows she was the one who killed the Dragon, and threatens to reveal her to Emma. Tamara tases him to death to prevent it from happening.

Later, Tamara sees August transform into Pinocchio as she meets up again with Neal. She gets nervous when Emma tries to question him about what he was trying to warn them about, but is relieved when Pinocchio cannot remember. Tamara tells Neal that she is here for him, and she loves him.

At Granny's Bed and Breakfast, Tamara calls Greg on his phone, showing she is "Her" who he has been in contact with this whole time. As he asks where she is, Tamara knocks on his guest room door and he goes to open it. She tells him Neal is currently in the shower, so they do not have much time. Greg says they must take advantage of the moment, and the two kiss and embrace.

Trivia

 * Her casting call describes her as "African American, Late 20s to mid 30s. She's beautiful, artistic, relaxed, friendly, charming and smart. She's also ambitious, fearless and a born leader, and she won't stop until she gets what she wants."
 * The name "Tamara" is of Biblical descent, meaning "palm tree".  It was also used in England as the name of a river goddess.
 * Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz said Tamara has no equivalent in the world of fairy tales and is just a person from the world without magic.
 * She is the first outsider to enter into Storybrooke safely.