Once Upon a Time is a popular show with millions of fans, one of the best fantasy television series that offers viewers an immersive experience. The show premiered in 2011 and ran for seven stellar seasons with a wide range of unforgettable characters, thrilling plot points, exciting adventures, and creative storytelling. Each season of the show is based on a core theme that helps frame the narrative and creates an exciting world filled with mythology, while promoting universal values like family bonds and self discovery.
Now that it has finished its run on ABC, let’s take a look back and rank the seven seasons of Once Upon a Time.
1 – Season 5
With a great season overall, as it featured some of the best plot twists, creative episodes and complex character arcs, Season 5 of Once Upon a Time is an easy contender for the most entertaining of all the seasons.
Plotwise, it brought the return of the original Dark One, Rumplestiltskin, and introduced the mysterious Author, played by Patrick Fischler. The season follows Emma’s struggles as Dark One, as she battles the monsters of her past and learns to accept her identity as the Savior.
Themes like betrayal and redemption weave through the 21 episodes of this season, and there’s plenty of action to keep fans engaged. Plus, it was the first to introduce main characters like Merlin, King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake.
2 – Season 6
The sixth season of the show was mainly focused on the Enchantress and her evil plans, and it was full of heroic conquests, battles, and magical elements. It introduced us to many new characters, such as Aladdin, the Princess Jasmine, and Jafar.
Audiences were also thrilled and filled with admiration as Emma parted ways with the darkness and became a light half-sister. The episodes marked her heroism and strength, as she gave up her own magic to protect her loved ones, leading to a great season finale.
This season also saw original characters return as well, like Henry’s mother, Regina, and ongoing themes like the struggle for power, coming to terms with the past, and the importance of family bonds are represented throughout.
3 – Season 1
Although season 1 was shorter than the others with only 22 episodes, it’s the season that truly kicked off the show. It started off with introducing us to the main characters like storybrooke as a mysterious town, the main protagonist in Emma, with her adoptive parents and son Henry, and everything that comes with fairy tales like curses, false memories, and plot twists.
Season 1 also introduced us to some of the show’s most beloved characters like Snow White, Prince Charming, The Evil Queen and Rumplestiltskin. The season’s finale ends with an epic battle in the Enchanted Forest, aka the home of the Fairytale characters, with plenty of heartbreak, plot twists and finally some joy.
The season was an overall success and set the perfect foundation for future episodes and seasons.
4 – Season 7
The seventh season of the show was a pleasant surprise, as it changed the narrative we’d come to expect by throwing us into a world where the heroes don’t know each other and the villains have become the heroes – in other words, a world where the status quo was completely turned upside down.
This season focused on a new Dark Curse, as the old one had been broken, along with the Garden of Eden, aka the new magical location. Characters like Facilier and Gothel played a prominent role in this season, adding an extra layer to the mythology.
It also introduced a series of new characters, notably Tiana from the Princess and the Frog and Drizella, the half-sister of Cinderella. Each character had a great story arc that evolved as the season progressed and interacted with the show’s core themes.
5 – Season 2
The second season of the show was a bit slower than the first and the last season, but it had its own exciting plot that took fans to some interesting places. It introduced us to present-day Storybrooke, filled with all sorts of mysteries, and the previous Fairytale world.
The main plot point of the season was to rescue Prince Charming from a sleeping curse and to discover the truth behind Rumplestiltskin’s powers. The Fairy Tale characters were seen to be driving forces of the plotline, as they take on their own side quests to save the kingdom from destruction.
The season also brought us Captain Hook’s backstory, as well as some interesting villains like Cora and Zimmeran. It all built to a great climax and a happy ending in the end.
6 – Season 4
Season 4 of Once Upon a Time, while still providing treasures of plot twists and character journeys, was largely overshadowed by its predecessors who provided a much more thrilling story overall.
Season 4 focused on the power of true love and the relationships between characters like Emma and Hook, Regina and Robin, and the newly introduced Elsa. While, overall, these season-long arcs played out well, it tends to culminate in an anti-climactic ending that pales in comparison to other season finales.
New characters were plenty, such as Ingrid from Frozen, but ultimately it was hard to root for them when the show had built so many interesting and complex characters in previous seasons.
7 – Season 3
The third season of the show introduced a number of new characters and continued the main plotline of season two with an even more intense arc focused on Fairy Tale characters.
Throughout this season, leading up to the 3rd season finale, several villains appeared, including Peter Pan and Queen Zelena. We also got to see some of the show’s favorite characters and their struggles, as they faced their darkest sides.
The season also included some interesting plot points, such as Necessary Sacrifices involving Rumplestiltskin, Rumple and the Three Fates weaving amongst each other, but ultimately the lack of resolution with key players involved put a dent on the overall excitement of the season.
So that’s our ranking of all seven seasons of Once Upon a Time! Our ranking includes the best plot twists and complex character arcs, emotional journeys, villains, new settings and new characters.
It’s amazing to see how we’ve grown to love and admire these characters and their stories. No matter which season is your favorite, watching all seven has surely left its mark and no one can deny the success and power of this series.
Thanks for the journey, Once Upon a Time!
