Emma Swan
Emma Swan
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Emma Swan

Emma Swan is a fictional character and the protagonist of ABC's television series Once Upon a Time. She is portrayed by Jennifer Morrison as an adult, by Abby Ross as a teenager, and by Mckenna Grace as a child. Emma appears in the series' pilot as a bail bond agent in Boston, Massachusetts, until she meets her biological son Henry, whom she gave up for adoption 10 years before. She learns she is the long lost daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming who gave her up shortly after her birth 28 years ago so she wouldn't die at the hands of Regina Mills, also known as the Evil Queen. Sadly, she doesn’t learn this vital information until the beginning of season two. Henry tells Emma of her true identity; she is the prophesied “Savior” and is destined to break the Evil Queen’s curse, saving the fictional town of Storybrooke, Maine, and restoring the residents’ (all cursed fairy tale characters) happy endings.

Morrison described her character at the beginning of the first season as "broken, damaged and worldly." During the fourth season finale, "Operation Mongoose," Emma absorbs the power of the Dark One into herself to save Regina. In order to successfully create a dark version of Emma, Morrison explained that "In order to build Dark Emma, I've been doing a bunch of research there with some of their mythology books and old fairy tale books and just looking back through the history of swans and the etymology of 'Swan'" and explained that Emma's rate of evolution "challenged [her] on a daily basis." Emma became the primary antagonist of the fifth season's first half, until the end of the season's eighth episode when it is revealed that she was never actually evil and was an anti-villain during that time.

Morrison's portrayal of Emma has received praise, with some reviewers noting a feminist twist in the depiction of fairy tales and a strong female lead. She is loosely based on the title character of the fairy tale "The Ugly Duckling," a swan which was lost and raised by ducks, before finding its birth family and recognizing its true nature, while her Dark One persona is loosely based on Odile from the ballet Swan Lake. It is revealed in the season 6 episode "Tougher Than the Rest" that she chose the last name Swan when she was young after a friend mentioned that story.

In the early stages of the conception of the character, Emma's name was Anna, and she was supposed to have three children, but she ended up having just Henry. In the original script of the pilot she is described as "Late 20s. Beautiful, with great strength behind classic features. But also not quite at home in her skin."

It was reported that actress Katee Sackhoff auditioned five times for the role of Emma but, according to her, the producers really wanted Morrison to play the part, and she accepted a role in the television series Longmire. In the end, Morrison was hired for the part of Emma. Morrison explained her character as someone who "help[s] her son Henry whom she abandoned when he was a baby and who seems like he's a little bit emotionally dysfunctional," but noted that Emma does not start out believing in the fairytale universe. Morrison has described Emma as being like an overgrown teenager who does not know how to properly do certain things, like eating or taking care of herself; this is due to Emma not growing up in a family unit. Morrison said that when she does not know what to do with Emma, she thinks, "What a 14-year-old boy would do?" According to the creators of the series, the name Swan is "very symbolic and fairy tale name and it just felt right for her and for the journey we are creating for Emma."

After Emma became the "Dark One" at the end of the fourth season of the series, Morrison began doing research with mythology books and old fairy tale books and looking back through the history of swans and the etymology of 'Swan' to prepare for this new trait of her character. Morrison said that it was a great opportunity to now play a villain and it was challenging for her to portray a character that is constantly evolving.

Emma is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, older sister to Prince Neal, wife of Killian Jones/Captain Hook and mother to Henry Daniel Mills and Hope Swan-Jones.

When Snow White becomes pregnant, Geppetto forms a magical wardrobe for her and Charming, after Rumplestiltskin informs them that their daughter is the key to breaking the Evil Queen's curse in 28 years. Emma is born shortly after and placed in the wardrobe along with Pinocchio, successfully traveling to the new land. Pinocchio leaves Emma in the foster home, which brings Emma to live alone.

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