Jane Espenson discusses the next episode of Once Upon a Time, which centers on Rumpelstiltskin, the cross-overs between fairytales and how working on the show differs from Buffy and Torchwood.

Speaking to Blog Critics, Jane Espenson discusses the first episode back in January, ‘Desperate Souls,’ which she wrote. She teases:

It does reveal more about Rumple.  Lots more.  You’ll learn about where he comes from and what drives him.  It’s also got a fun Storybrooke story where we see more of how Emma is going to fit into this wonderful insular strange little town.

She also talks about the ambiguously evil duo of villains, Regina and Rumpelstiltskin, saying:

We are fortunate to have two amazing villains in The Evil Queen/Regina and Rumple.  And I really love how both of them can justify their own actions.  Regina has a yet-to-be-revealed beef against Snow, and you’re going to learn a lot more about the source of Rumple’s dark energy soon.  And, yes, you’re onto something.  Rumple’s agenda is very complex.  Look not just to episode 8, but to episode 12 and beyond to learn more about it.  You’ll have to decide for yourself if it’s evil or not.

On cross-overs in the fairytale world, expect more! Jane says:

We LOVE to cross these characters into each others’ stories.  So I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the Evil Queen was involved in a story like Hansel and Gretel, for example.  And we’ve recently learned that Jiminy became a cricket very early in our Fairy Tale timeline – he was around all those years while Geppetto aged.  Where was he during those years?  Who did he help?

Comparing her work on Once Upon a Time to that on Buffy and Torchwood, she says:

Torchwood was a very different process from everything else, since it functioned as a sort of hybrid version of the UK system – less room time, more one-on-one with the showrunner.  Once is more similar to Buffy – we work in a writers’ room figuring out the story, and then we take turns writing complete drafts that are then polished by Eddy [Kitsis] and Adam [Horowitz].  And, also like Buffy, we’re being allowed to make the show that the guys envisioned.  It’s a very smooth and very productive process.

There’s much more to this great and insightful interview with Jane Espenson here at Blog Critics!