Madame Leota

This article focuses on the New Enchanted Forest character.
For the Land Without Magic character with a similar name, see Madame Faustina.

You dare interrupt my séance?! I am Madame Leota, maestro medium.

—Madame Leota to Hook (Wish Realm) and Zelena^src

Madame Leota is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. She débuts in the tenth episode of the seventh season and is portrayed by co-star Suzy Joachim.

Madame Leota is based on the character of the same name from the Disney attraction's storyline The Haunted Mansion.

History

After Fourth Curse

During her life, Leota gained a large reputation as a medium in her shop Memento Mori, to the point where Gothel considers her to be one of the most powerful beings in all the realms. At an unknown point in time, Leota loses her corporeal form, but her soul does not fully surrender to "the other side," allowing her to continue her existence in a crystal ball. ("Secret Garden")

When Gothel begins her plans to assemble a coven of witches, she recruits a young aspiring witch by the name of Robin, promising help in developing the young witch's skills in magic. Gothel takes Robin to Memento Mori, planning to use the resurrection amulet to exchange Robin's life for Leota's. Zelena, Robin's mother, with the help of Hook, tracks down the location of Memento Mori and try to convince Robin not to join Gothel. Leota traps Zelena and Hook in Memento Mori, making the door vanish, and electrocutes Hook when he threatens Gothel. Robin tells her mother she does not need saving and tells Hook and Zelena to leave, summoning the door. Zelena and Hook leave, but Hook convinces Zelena to go back for her daughter. Meanwhile, Gothel begins the resurrection ceremony, revealing her true intentions to Robin. As the ceremony commences, Zelena and Hook interrupt, and Zelena tells Gothel to use her life instead of her daughter's. As the second ceremony begins, Robin uses a bow and an arrow she finds in Memento Mori to shoot the Resurrection Amulet out of Gothel's hand, and Hook quickly picks it up. Following their defeat, Gothel and Leota teleport out of Memento Mori. ("Secret Garden")

At an unknown point in the following eight years, Leota regains her corporeal form. ("The Eighth Witch")

As a member of the coven,^[1] Madame Leota is considered to be one of "the worst of the worst" witches of her time. Under the leadership of Gothel, Leota and the other members of the coven appear at Tiana's palace, during Lucy's birthday party. Then, they combine their magic to free Drizella, who had been turned into a statue via blood magic eight years before, before disappearing with her. Later, after Henry has been captured by the coven, Leota and the rest of the group appear at their lair, where they wait for Regina and her group to come to her son's rescue. When Drizella reveals that the witches poisoned Henry's heart, Regina is forced to help the coven to cast the curse, by adding her blood to the seven other ingredients, including Leota's. Then, everyone present at the coven's lair is taken to Hyperion Heights, where they start assuming new cursed identities. ("The Eighth Witch")

Magical Abilities

Witchcraft - Ability to cast spells and/or curses.

Energy Blasts - Ability to create magical blasts to harm the enemies and the objects in the most effective way.

Teleportation - Ability to magically teleport oneself and/or others from one location to another.

Trivia

Character Notes

Madame Leota is featured in the title card for "Secret Garden".^[2]
Madame Leota is the first character to be adapted from a Disney attraction's storyline and one of the few fairytale characters to not be adapted from written material.

Production Notes

Her casting announcement describes her as "a powerful gatekeeper to a haunted house".^[3]

Disney

Several of Leota's lines are taken directly from her The Haunted Mansion counterpart's lines or the Ghost Host's lines in the attractions.

Appearances

Once Upon a Time: Season Seven
"Hyperion Heights":	"A Pirate's Life":	"The Garden of Forking Paths":	"Beauty":	"Greenbacks":	"Wake Up Call":	"Eloise Gardener":	"Pretty in Blue":	"One Little Tear":	"The Eighth Witch":	"Secret Garden":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Appears
"A Taste of the Heights":	"Knightfall":	"The Girl in the Tower":	"Sisterhood":	"Breadcrumbs":	"Chosen":	"The Guardian":	"Flower Child":	"Is This Henry Mills?":	"Homecoming":	"Leaving Storybrooke":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

References

↑ Abrams, Natalie (December 15, 2017). Once Upon a Time bosses on rise of new big bad. Entertainment Weekly. “Alas, the OUAT bosses are coy to reveal any of the Coven member’s identities, only teasing there will be a pretty major new face among them. "I think there's going to be some surprises," Kitsis says. "What happens with the witch story line hopefully will also be surprising. We will be seeing someone in episode 11, which is a reference we've never done before, which is from the Haunted Mansion."”

MacDonald, Lindsay (December 15, 2017). Once Upon a Time Bosses Preview "Iconic" Witches of the Coven of Eight. TV Guide. “Will we be able to recognize any of these new witches? Kitsis: We'll definitely recognize a few of their names, absolutely. These are witches from iconic fairytales or Disney lore.”
↑ File:711Title.png
↑ Abrams, Natalie (February 22, 2018). Spoiler Room: Scoop on Jessica Jones, The Blacklist, Timeless, and more. Entertainment Weekly. “Once Upon a Time scoop is welcome! — Bryan Suzy Joachim (Being Erica) has been tapped to play Madame Leota — ahem — whom I hear is described as a powerful gatekeeper to a haunted house. Not only will we meet the famed character from Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, but we may also hear some iconic lines parkgoers will recognize.”

[debut-1] Abrams, Natalie (December 15, 2017). Once Upon a Time bosses on rise of new big bad. Entertainment Weekly. “Alas, the OUAT bosses are coy to reveal any of the Coven member’s identities, only teasing there will be a pretty major new face among them. "I think there's going to be some surprises," Kitsis says. "What happens with the witch story line hopefully will also be surprising. We will be seeing someone in episode 11, which is a reference we've never done before, which is from the Haunted Mansion."”

MacDonald, Lindsay (December 15, 2017). Once Upon a Time Bosses Preview "Iconic" Witches of the Coven of Eight. TV Guide. “Will we be able to recognize any of these new witches? Kitsis: We'll definitely recognize a few of their names, absolutely. These are witches from iconic fairytales or Disney lore.”

[2] File:711Title.png

[3] Abrams, Natalie (February 22, 2018). Spoiler Room: Scoop on Jessica Jones, The Blacklist, Timeless, and more. Entertainment Weekly. “Once Upon a Time scoop is welcome! — Bryan Suzy Joachim (Being Erica) has been tapped to play Madame Leota — ahem — whom I hear is described as a powerful gatekeeper to a haunted house. Not only will we meet the famed character from Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, but we may also hear some iconic lines parkgoers will recognize.”

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