Oh, man, Im fired.
As actress Jennifer Morrison puts it, The heartbeat of the show hasalwaysbeen hope.
Thats hopefully where it will endure.
Jack Rowand/ABC
When we wrote it, we didnt realize,Kitsis says.
At the time that we made the pilot, no one was doing anything like this, says Goodwin.
Honestly, these guys wrote a truly female-driven show.
‘Once Upon a Time’.Jack Rowand/ABC
It was instrumental then in my choosing to take the part.
Goodwin notesOUATs female-forward approach was also used behind the scenes she was No.
1 on the call sheet for years until Parrilla took the top spot in season 7.
Jack Rowand/ABC
That was never more apparent than with the character of Regina Mills.
The show even birthed a short-lived Wonderland-set spin-off.
But audiences waned without the original cast, seemingly losing hope at the worst possible time.
Jack Rowand/ABC
It breaks my heart.
Even the characters ofOncemay come to lose hope as the series heads into its final episodes.
Its like taking the best of all seasons and jamming it into one literally.
Jack Rowand/ABC
West concurs: The finale is maybe the single most massive episode that the show has ever done.
And I mean that in all sincerity.
These people will now be friends forever, because of a TV show that we made thats really special.
For some, its much more than that; the mark thatOUAThas left is indelible.
Through the show, theyve met other people who felt the same way and realized theyre not alone.
That blows me away.
Working with [returning stars] Ginny and Josh as well has hammered that home even more.
(Read who else is returninghere.)
We saved Reginas happy ending for the end, says Kitsis.
Once Robin died, it was really hard to foresee another love in her life.
But Im happy with where her happy ending is at.
ODonoghue, meanwhile, offers that Hooks fate is intrinsically tied to Rumples.
