Once Upon a Time(line)
Keep track of events on the show with this compiled list of flashbacks put into chronological order. The order of events in the timeline are apt to change as more information is revealed.
Enchanted Forest
- Rumpelstiltskin is called to the front lines of the Ogres War
- A Seer tells Rumpelstiltskin that his wife, Milah, is pregnant and that his actions on the front lines will leave his son fatherless
- Parts of the Seer’s prophecy begins to come true and so Rumpelstiltskin injures himself to go home to his family
- Milah abandons her family for Captain Killian Jones
- Rumpelstiltskin seeks a way to keep his son Baelfire from being drafted into the Ogres war
- Rumpelstiltskin becomes the Dark One
- Baelfire seeks help from the Blue Fairy to cure Rumpelstiltskin
- Baelfire travels to a new world; Rumpelstiltskin doesn’t go with him
- Rumpelstiltskin searches for a way to reunite with Baelfire
- Rumpelstiltskin confronts Killian Jones and discovers Milah
- Rumpelstiltskin rips out Milah’s heart and kills her; he then cuts off Killian’s hand
- Killian travels to Neverland to plan his revenge
- Rumpelstiltskin reunites with the Seer from his past and absorbs her power to see the future
-time gap-
- Jiminy procures a potion from Rumpelstiltskin that will free him from his parents
- Jiminy’s parents switches the potion with rain water to give to Gepetto’s parents
- Jiminy asks the Blue Fairy to turn him into a cricket so he can watch over Gepetto
-time gap-
- Cora is humiliated by Princess Eva and her father King Xavier
- Cora crashes the ball in which Prince Henry is to find a wife and boasts to the king that she can spin straw into gold; he calls her bluff and locks her into a tower filled with straw
- Rumpelstiltskin offers Cora his help and teaches her how to spin straw into gold in exchange for her first born
- Cora becomes engaged to Prince Henry after demonstrating her new ability
- Cora, in love with Rumpelstiltskin, wants to run away with him and Rumpelstiltskin alters the contract to “their” first born
- King Xavier convinces Cora that love is weakness and so she rips out her own heart and decides to marry Prince Henry; she reminds Rumpelstiltskin of the change in the contract and so he doesn’t get her baby
- She gives birth to a baby girl, Regina
- Snow’s mother Eva becomes ill a few days before her birthday
- Cora, disguised as the Blue Fairy, gives Snow a candle that will trade her mother’s life for another
- Unable to use the candle, Snow confesses to her mother and watches her die
- Cora orchestrates Snow’s horse going wild
- Regina saves Snow’s life and as a result becomes engaged to King Leopold
- Snow catches Regina kissing the stable boy, Daniel, and promises not to tell
- Cora, Regina’s mom, tricks Snow into telling her about Daniel
- Regina & Daniel try to run away together but Cora stops them & crushes Daniel’s heart
- Regina finds out that Snow told Cora about Daniel
- Regina summons Rumpelstiltskin to free her from Cora
- Rumpelstiltskin gives Regina a portal disguised as a mirror to push Cora through
- Regina agrees to let Rumpelstiltskin teach her magic
- Regina marries King Leopold
- Victor Frankenstein’s father Alphonse refuses to continue funding his experiments
- Rumpelstiltskin gives Victor gold to continue his work and teach him some of it
- Victor goes grave digging and is discovered by his brother Gerhardt who is than shot by a Sentry as they flee
- Victor tries to bring Gerhardt back to life unsuccessfully and Alphonse is disgusted and angry on discovery of this
- Rumpelstiltskin offers to help Victor if he returns the favor
- Jefferson brings Rumpelstiltskin an orb from the land of Oz
- Rumpelstiltskin fires Regina as his apprentice because she’s still holding on to Daniel
- Jefferson offers his services to Regina and introduces her to Victor
- Regina gives Victor a heart from Cora’s vault to bring Daniel back to life
- Victor performs the surgery and fails
- Regina returns to Rumpelstiltskin more dedicated to do what is needed to learn dark magic
- Rumpelstiltskin rewards Victor for breaking Regina’s hope of reviving Daniel
- Victor returns to his world with the magical heart and brings Gerhardt back from the dead
- Gerhardt isn’t himself and beats his father to death in defense of Victor
- Victor visits Gerhardt in a cell and contemplates killing him, something Gerhardt also wants, but Victor vows to cure him
- King Leopold finds the magic lamp and meets the Genie, whom he frees with his first wish
- The Genie professes his love to Regina and gives her a mirror
- Regina manipulates the Genie into killing King Leopold
- The Genie is trapped inside the mirror when he wishes to always be with Regina
- Regina hires a huntsman to kill Snow
- The Huntsman shows mercy towards Snow and lets her go
- Red catches Snow stealing eggs and invites her to stay with her and Granny
- Red discovers she is the wolf terrorizing her village after eating her boyfriend
- Snow helps Red flee from an angry mob
- Red meets her mother and her pack; they teach her to control her wolf side
- Red kills her mother in defense of Snow
- The Ogre wars have started again; Sir Maurice calls upon Rumpelstiltskin for help
- Rumpelstiltskin agrees to protect the village in exchange for Sir Maurice’s daughter, Belle
- Robin Hood tries to steal a magical wand from Rumpelstiltskin who captures and tortures him
- Belle shows Robin Hood mercy and sets him free and he steals the wand on his way out much to the dismay of an angry Rumpelstiltskin when he discovers what Belle has done
- Rumpelstiltskin forces Belle to accompany him on his hunt for Robin Hood and the two discover that he’d stolen the wand to cure his sick and pregnant wife; with Belle begging him not to kill him, Rumpelstiltskin lets Robin Hood live
- Rumpelstiltskin decides to keep Robin Hood’s magical bow and arrows
- Belle falls in love with Rumpelstiltskin but decides to leave anyway
- Regina changes Belle’s mind by telling her of true love’s kiss
- Belle tries to cure Rumpelstiltskin with true love’s kiss and he casts her out in anger
- Antoine, the Giant, climbs down the beanstalk in his curiosity of humans
- King George informs Prince James of the Giant running amok and that they could use him to get out of debt
- Prince James along with his companion Jacklyn “Jack” befriends Antoine
- Antoine offers to give Prince James some treasure from his home to help him out of debt but the Prince and Jack betray him and slays all of his brothers in an attempt to steal their beans
- Arlo, Antoines father, kills Jack and gives Antoine a seed to plant so that he can grow more beans when he finds new land
- Prince James escapes back to his kingdom with some stolen treasure
- Prince James is killed and his father, King George summons Rumpelstiltskin
- Rumpelstiltskin agrees to procure another Prince James in exchange for a fairy’s location
- Rumpelstiltskin convinces Prince James’ twin (Charming) to step into his role as Prince
- Charming fills the role of Prince James and slays the dragon for King Midas; as a result he becomes engaged to King Midas’ daughter Abigail
- Charming says goodbye to his mother, Ruth, and she gives him the “true love” ring
- Snow robs Charming’s carriage
- Charming tracks Snow down to get his mother’s ring back only to discover it was sold
- Snow and Charming embark on an adventure to get the ring back and part ways afterward
- Nova meets with the Blue Fairy spills a little fairy dust that lands on an egg
- The egg hatches early to reveal a dwarf
- The rest of the dwarves hatch and are informed of their purpose in life; they are given magical axes that gives them their name; the 1st dwarf becomes Dreamy
- Nova loses a bag of fairy dust and Dreamy saves it for her; Nova subtly asks him out but he doesn’t get the hint
- Dreamy feels weird and Belle explains that he is in love and that Nova probably feels the same for him
- Dreamy meets up with Nova and asks her to runaway with him and she agrees
- Belle meets Dreamy again and he convinces her to go after the creature everyone wants to hunt; He gives her some fairy dust.
- The Blue Fairy intercedes Dreamy and convinces him to give up Nova and let her follow her destiny
- Dreamy’s name changes to Grumpy when his axe will no longer work for him and he has to get a new one
- Belle tricks the men she is riding with to go to the wrong location of where the creature is hidden
- Belle finds the creature and it almost attacks her but she is saved by Mulan who gets angry when the creature escapes
- The men Belle tricked finds her and assaults her but Mulan steps in to defend her; Mulan asks Belle to team up with her to find the creature again
- Belle and Mulan tracks down the creature but Mulan is too hurt to go after it so she gives the task to Belle
- Belle lures the creature into a trap and realizes that it needs help. She pours the fairy dust on it and the creature transforms into Prince Phillip who had been cursed.
- Belle takes Prince Phillip to Mulan so that he can help her get back to her village
- The men Belle tricked turns her in to Regina who locks her away
- Rumpelstiltskin gives Snow a potion to remove her feelings for Charming in exchange for a strand of her hair
- Charming sends a letter to Snow professing his love and asks to meet
- Snow breaks into King George’s castle to meet Charming but is captured
- Snow is placed in a cell next to Grumpy who she meets for the first time
- Stealthy breaks Grumpy and Snow out of prison and is killed in the process
- Snow rejects Charming to protect him and returns to the dwarves
- Hansel and Gretel are separated from their father and meet Regina
- Regina manipulates Hansel and Gretel into stealing a poisoned red apple from the Blind Witch in the candy house
- Snow consumes the potion she got from Rumpelstiltskin
- Charming calls off his wedding to Abigail
- Abigail offers to help Charming
- Charming heals Abigail’s love, Frederick, with water from Lake Nolstos
- Charming tries to find Snow with help from Red who fends off King George’s men
- Snow decides to kill Regina
- Snow procures a bow and arrow from Rumpelstiltskin and Regina’s location
- Charming goes to Rumpelstiltskin and trades his coat for Snow’s whereabouts
- Charming finds Snow and tries to restore her memory with true love’s kiss but fails
- Snow is thwarted from killing Regina by Charming
- In realization that Charming cares for her, Snow kisses him and regains her memory
- Rumpelstiltskin creates a true love potion using Snow and Charming’s hair
- King George’s men captures Charming
- Regina procures Charming from King George
- Snow and her friends breaking into King George’s
- Snow discovers that Charming is being held by Regina and agrees to meet her
- Regina tells Snow the truth about Daniel and gives her the poisoned red apple
- Snow willingly bites into the apple in exchange for Charming’s life
- Charming escapes from Regina but she transports him into the infinite forest
- Rumpelstiltskin offers to help Charming if he puts an egg encased love potion into a dragon
- Charming goes to Maleficent and discovers she is the dragon; he inserts the egg into her
- Rumpelstiltskin enchants the ‘true love’ ring to help Charming find Snow
- Charming awakens Snow with a kiss and they vow to defeat Regina and King George
- Snow and Charming are planning a battle against King George when they are ambushed
- Snow is captured and King George poison’s her so she becomes barren
- Ruth is injured and they travel to Lake Nolstos to heal her
- Ruth sacrifices herself so that Snow can have the last drop of healing water to cure her curse
- Charming and Snow are married by Lancelot before Ruth dies
- Snow and Charming defeat King George
- Regina is led into a trap by Snow and imprisoned
- Charming decides that Regina must be executed for the safety of the Kingdom
- Henry begs Regina to show regret for the pain she caused in the hopes that mercy would be shown on her
- Regina doesn’t show regret but Snow stops her execution anyway and proclaims that they must find another way
- Rumpelstiltskin offers Snow a way to test rather Regina can be rehabilitated
- Regina fails Snow’s test and learns that Rumpelstiltskin had given her and Charming a protection spell against her
- Rumpelstiltskin kills Cinderella’s fairy-godmother—who is associated with King George—for her wand
- Cinderella makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin in exchange for his help to get to the ball
- Regina manipulates Jefferson into using his hat to take her to Wonderland
- Once in Wonderland, Regina rescues her father, Henry, and leaves Jefferson behind
- Jefferson is decapitated on Cora, the Queen of Hearts, orders and sentenced to make a new hat that will travel to the Enchanted Forest
- Rumpelstiltskin taunts Regina on Snow’s wedding day and informs her that the protection spell he gave Snow only works in their land
- Regina threatens Snow and Charming with a curse at their wedding
- Cinderella marries Prince Thomas; at the celebration Rumpelstiltskin informs her he’s taking her first born
- Cinderella informs Prince Thomas of the deal she made with Rumpelstiltskin
- Rumpelstiltskin is captured and Prince Thomas disappears as a consequence
- Regina steals the curse from Maleficent and gathers minions to enact it (incorrectly)
- Snow and Charming visit Rumpelstiltskin to find out what Regina is up to; he tells them that their unborn daughter, Emma, is the savior in exchange for her name
- The Blue Fairy asks Gepetto to build a wardrobe using a magical tree
- Gepetto bargains with the Blue Fairy to save Pinocchio
- The Blue Fairy lies to Snow and Charming about there being only one passenger for the wardrobe
- Regina visits Rumpelstiltskin in prison and he tells her how to enact the curse correctly for a price
- Regina kills her father, Henry.
- Killian “rescues” Belle and questions her of a way to kill Rumpelstiltskin; when he finds her useless he tries to kill her but Regina stops him
- Regina offers to help Killian with his revenge if he kills Cora; she enchants his hook to rip out Cora’s heart
- Killian travels to Wonderland to rip out Cora’s heart but discovers she had moved it
- Killian switches his allegiance to Cora and they fake her death so she can kill Regina
- Regina says goodbye to Cora’s “corpse” and admits her love to her; because of this, Cora has a change of heart
- Cora protects a corner of the land from the curse
- Gepetto places Pinocchio in the wardrobe
- Snow gives birth to Emma and Charming fights his way, one armed, through the castle to get Emma to the wardrobe
- Snow stumbles into the nursery to discover Charming injured and Emma saved; Regina shows up to gloat
Before Storybrooke
- Bae lands in 19th century London after falling through the portal; he lives on the street rummaging through garbage bins for food until he befriends Wendy Darling when stealing food from her home
- Wendy’s parents discovers her hiding Bae in her room and decide to take him in
- Bae discovers that a shadow has been visiting Wendy and her brothers and tries to warn them against the dangers of magic
- When Wendy informs Bae of how cruel the shadow really is and that he plans to take one of her brothers to Neverland forever, he decides to help her family and ends up sacrificing himself to the shadow to ensure her family stays intact
- Bae allows the shadow to take him to Neverland but before they could touch ground he fights him off to fall in the water where he is rescued by Hook
- Pinocchio (August) arrives through the portal first and waits for Emma
- Pinocchio (August) takes Emma to a café
- Kurt Flynn and his son Owen are camping in the woods when the curse arrives and they take shelter in their tent
- Kurt and Owen discover Storybrooke which wasn’t there before and venture into it
- Regina gleefully explores the town of Storybrooke, gloating over her win
- Regina meets Owen and Kurt and begins to feel threatened
- As the days in Storybrooke repeat again and again, Regina begins to become bored and yearns for something different; she invites Kurt and Owen to her house
- Kurt refuses Regina’s offer to move to town and later catches her using magic to try to keep him and his son there
- Kurt tries to escape with Owen but is stopped at the border by Sheriff Graham; he tells Owen to run for it and to keep running
- Owen escapes Storybrooke but returns with the authorities only to find that Storybrooke is no longer there (it has been shielded by Regina) and the authorities don’t believe his story; he vows to return for his father
- August abandons Emma in foster care to run off with other foster kids
- Emma meets Neal Cassady in Portland after stealing a car he’d already stolen
- After sharing a life of crime, Emma and Neal flirt with the idea of settling down
- Neal discovers that the authorities are still looking to arrest him for a heist he committed before meeting Emma
- Emma retrieves the stolen goods from Neal’s heist so they can run away together
- August confronts Neal and convinces him to leave Emma to perform her destiny
- Emma is found wearing one of the stolen goods Neal gave her and is arrested
- 2 months after Emma’s arrest, Neal meets up with August and gives him an envelope full of cash and the keys to his car to give Emma
- Emma receives the car keys but not the cash while in prison and also discovers that she is pregnant
- Emma gives birth to baby Henry and gives him up for adoption
- Emma spends time in Tallahassee
