Once Upon a Time took a more intense approach to the Brothers Grimm fairy tales than Disney ever did, creating seven seasons with a base of fairy tales and classic Disney characters at the helm. Throughout seven seasons, Once Upon a Time answered a series of questions that Disney films had left alone. What if the Evil Queen won? Following Regina's story from villain to hero involved a long term redemption arc that allowed the heroes and villains alike to show their good sides and bad sides. None of the villains were born evil, and that is one detail the series distinguishes from the Disney counterparts that do not bother to go into as much detail about the backstories of the villains.
Once Upon a Time relied on classic stories, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, and Peter Pan, to more modern Disney tales, including Frozen and Brave. The characters are not exactly what viewers of the original movies had seen, which allowed the show to be something unique and different. Each season introduced new familiar characters but allowed everyone to come out of the storyline as a more complex person, regardless of if they were introduced as a hero or villain.
7 Season 7: 43%
Once Upon a Time's final season is its worst for various reasons. Season seven's soft reboot completely removes everything that had worked about the series for the previous six years, including most of the cast and the setting. The final episodes work off the show's original premise, centering on an adult Henry, along with Regina, Rumple, and Wish Realm Hook, who are now affected by the Dark Curse. They have no memories of their lives before, but the biggest change is that the new town they exist in is also open to the regular public world, and unlike Storybrooke, does not only include the cursed residents.
Although the final season uses a similar formula to season one, in some cases, it is almost too identical. However, it lacks the same charm, magic, and mystery that the first season established so well. Rather than concluding the series with a bang, the entire last season feels like the show is a ghost of its former self that is never quite able to grasp what had made Once Upon a Time so intriguing in the first place.
6 Season 4: 62%
Each half of the season follows a different villain, and while it means there is less time spent on having to deal with each antagonist, it also holds the show back. Once Upon a Time uses the first half of season one to rely on Frozen's popularity by bringing Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff to the mix, while also introducing a new antagonist in the Snow Queen. Frozen, unlike many of the other characters up until that point, had not been a Disney classic.
Although the back half of the season tries to lean back into classic Disney villains with Ursula, Cruella de Vil, and Maleficent, it was also working overtime with Rumple's Dark One arc, a storyline that ended up being a better catapult for season five.
5 Season 3: 75%
Once Upon a Time takes a chance at deviating from Storybrooke, at least temporarily, to introduce Peter Pan and Neverland. Season three holds on to some of the magic of the show's earlier seasons, but plenty of energy is spent on the love triangle between Emma, Neal, and Hook. While Once Upon a Time makes a fun change of pace by turning Peter Pan into a villain instead of a hero, introducing Zelena as the Wicked Witch in the second half of the season ends up being the decision that helps the show craft a new antagonist that makes things personal for Regina.
4 Season 1: 81%
The heart of Once Upon a Time rests in season one. Each episode works double-time to introduce Storybrooke's cursed residents, while each plot also introduces the truth of who they are in the Enchanted Forest. Throughout each storyline, Emma must confront and help people whose stories are suspiciously similar to the events in Henry's book. Season one sets the tone of the show with the heroes, villains, and the question of how and if the Dark Curse will ever be broken. The payoff when Emma finally believes in magic after a season of denial is one of the biggest that the series has to offer.
3 Season 6: 89%
As a close to the original cast and characters, season six brings back a lot of nostalgia to the show's early seasons. Splitting Regina in half offers the chance at seeing Regina's good side battle the Evil Queen. It grants Regina a much-needed self-love and acceptance arc, which is the perfect closing chapter to her long-lasting redemption arc. For Snow and Charming, returning to the days of a sleeping curse, forcing one to be awake while the other sleeps, is a callback to the original sleeping curse.
Giving Regina the ability to lead the team in determining what will save them from the curse is a perfect moment to recognize how much everyone has grown. The season finale calls Emma's belief into question, bringing her back to her days of cynicism. It also pushes Emma and Henry's relationship to the forefront as the series finale is a door into the past, recalling the days of the show's first season, with Henry desperate to get Emma to believe the truth.
2 Season 5: 100%
Season five turns the story on its head by turning the leading protagonist into the central villain. Emma's sacrifice to take on the darkness to prevent Regina from going back on how far she has come in her growth means that Emma, who has no prior experience with darkness, must take on the role of the new Dark One. Throughout the first half of the season, Emma's family and friends must unravel the truth about what happened in Camelot after Emma removes their memories. But, while the first half of season five offers plenty of twists and turns with Emma as the leading villain, it never does enough with her as the antagonist.
Nearly all of the fifth season is about Hook. The big plot twist at the end of the first half reveals that Emma had turned Hook into a second Dark One. The back half of the season is all about the group going to the Underworld to bring him back to Storybrooke.
1 Season 2: 100%
Following everyone getting their memories back, Emma, Snow, and Charming are separated once again when Emma and Snow are dragged to the Enchanted Forest while Charming must stay in Storybrooke with Henry and Regina. While in the Enchanted Forest, Emma gets a glimpse at the world she should have grown up in, as Emma and Snow are finally able to confront the struggles Emma has in opening up to the parents she thought had abandoned her years ago.
Season two brings magic back to Storybrooke, but it also allows for the beginning of Regina's redemption arc when Henry makes it clear who he wants to spend time with, and that he may be open to having a relationship with Regina if she proves herself capable of stepping away from villainy.