Top 10 Best Once Upon a Time Characters

Once Upon a Time was the kind of show that took everything you thought you knew about fairy tales and said, "Cool story, now let's make it weird." And we loved it for that.

With characters bouncing between realms, double and triple identities, complicated family trees, and more curses than a sailor stubbing their toe, OUAT built a world where no one was ever just one thing. Heroes did terrible things. Villains cried. And somehow, everyone was related.

You stuck with this show through all the twists, time jumps, and, yes, the occasional dragon. You watched fan favorites rise and fall, get cursed, uncursed, re-cursed, and sometimes get their memories wiped clean like three seasons never happened. So now it's time to settle the question: Who really was the best character?

1. Regina Mills / Evil Queen / Roni

   

   I loved her in Season 1 because that's when she tried to do her best to get rid of Emma. It was so awesome and sweet at the same time because she was trying to keep Emma from her son, who she cared about so much.

   Thanks to Cora, Regina was not able to have kids, which is why this is so sweet. It's awesome because I love when Regina goes all dark because she is so cool when she does. You can see how much she doesn't care. It shows that she would do anything to get what she wants and shows how much effort she puts into what she wants.

   Regina, out of everyone, has had the most significant and touching journey during the course of the show. She was corrupted by dark magic at a very vulnerable stage in her life, which almost destroyed her completely, but her love for her son brought her back.

   She fought relentlessly for years to find her happiness with all the odds stacked against her and got her happy ending. I have so much respect for Regina and immense gratitude to Lana Parrilla for giving this beautiful character to us.

2. Rumplestiltskin / Mr. Gold / Det. Weaver

   

   He is completely misunderstood. Belle is the only one who gets him.

   From the beginning, he became the Dark One to stop a horrible war and save his son. He never meant to let his son go and spent around 200 years trying to get him back. That's a long time. He cared a lot. He might have done some bad things, but he was trying to reunite with his son.

   When he meets Belle, he loves her so much, even if he messed up by making her leave. For someone to be my favorite character, and I think it's the same for a lot of people, they have to do some bad things. A character who is good at heart but does some bad things makes their character deep and awesome.

   That's why I hate Neal/Baelfire. Even though Rumplestiltskin spent about 200 years looking for him, he couldn't forgive him. Even if he was just a villain (which he's not) with no good heart, he would still be awesome because he is funny, manipulative, and great with deals. If that was the case, he would have just been a great villain.

   He may have done some bad things, and he may be a coward, but he has a good heart and cares about the people he loves, which makes him my favorite character.

3. Killian Jones / Hook

   

   I really liked him in Season 2 and even Season 3. But after that, he became more or less a lapdog puppy totally infatuated with Emma Swan.

   I find this very strange because he used to be a really witty and layered character. Now he is just twisting himself into bizarre situations in which he must prove himself to be worthy of Emma Swan by being good. Captain Hook shouldn't care how he is labeled. He is a bloody rapscallion pirate, and he only cares about living life and living by his code. That's all.

   Well, Hook is the best character to have ever existed on Once Upon a Time, but I disagree with that first paragraph. As much as I loved him in Seasons Two and Three, I loved him even more since he began dating Emma Swan and redeeming himself.

   He and Emma bring out the best in each other. Along with Regina and Snowing, in my opinion, they are the reason why this show is so good.

4. Emma Swan

   

   How is she not above Rumple? She is perfect in an imperfect way. She has many flaws and has gone through many hardships but is still very heroic, not in a Mary Sue type way. She resisted darkness, whereas all Rumple ever does is go back and forth between being good or evil, claiming love for one of his sons or Belle. Clearly, he doesn't care enough about them to turn good.

   He also doesn't have any character development. He just randomly is good or evil for an episode before he is on the good team for the last episode.

   Emma Swan is by far the best character I've ever encountered. She's a real badass, but she's also relatable in so many ways. She's so nicely developed, and Jennifer Morrison does a wonderful job portraying her.

   Of course Emma Swan the savior is great. Of course she's awesome being all fearless and dauntless and stuff. But what is even more beautiful is the way she puts up walls, and how broken she is. Emma Swan is a masterpiece.

5. Red Riding Hood / Ruby Lucas

   Red was an amazing character! After that one episode with her and Dorothy, I was just like, that girl is one of my favorite characters now. I couldn't even explain why. I just loved her so much.

   Ruby was one of my favorites from the beginning. She has a heartbreaking backstory, but she is a strong female character and absolutely gorgeous.

   Beautiful chemistry between her and Dorothy, as well as the fact that she is layered and deep. Ruby will always be a favorite in my book.

6. The Huntsman / Sheriff Graham Humbert

   Everybody loves him. His death was sad, but not as much as people say. He was a nice character, but I think Neal and Killian are hotter. #SorryNotSorry

   I felt awful for him when he died! It was sad because Emma was finally opening up to him, and then he died.

7. Henry Daniel Mills / The Author

   I really loved Henry in Season 1 and Season 2. He fought for everything.

   The only thing I want to know is how exactly he left Storybrooke. That, in flashback, would have been a cool episode, like the flashback in "Save Henry," where he got the book and had to battle with the idea that his mum didn't want him. But, through his faith and intelligence, he brings Emma to Storybrooke and tells her he understands that she gave him up because she wanted to give him his best chance.

   In Season 2, he told Gold that his son might understand why he gave him away, and it was really cute when he had the hot dog. Honestly, there used to be so many cute Henry scenes, like in "The Name of the Brother," where Henry has a horse, but later it disappears. I was like, "Wow, Henry has a horse!"

   But when Henry meets Violet, he doesn't seem sure about her horse. Like, what?

8. Malcolm / Peter Pan / Pied Piper

   Definitely the best character and villain on Once Upon a Time. He kept Wendy to make John and Michael (her brothers) do his bidding.

   Spoiler alert: he tricked Greg and Tamara into doing his work. He also took Henry's heart to ensure that the magic of Neverland did not run out. He used his Lost Boys to attempt to ambush the team after they cheated by using the map Pan had given to them and a locator spell. The boys' arrows were laced with Dreamshade, and it wounded David. Rumplestiltskin had to sacrifice himself to defeat Pan (though he was revived due to Baelfire's sacrifice).

   Even though some people say Zelena killed Baelfire, I think it was really Pan since defeating him was the cause of his death. If you think about it, Pan was the only villain who needed a sacrifice to die, and he was the toughest villain to beat.

9. Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard

   

   Okay, Snow White/Mary Margaret is my absolute favorite and always will be. She is the fairest of them all, obviously. I love her relationship with Charming and Emma, and she would die to protect her family.

   They turned a stereotypical princess into an actual character.

10. David / Prince Charming / David Nolan

    David/Prince Charming makes the perfect ship when put up next to Snow White/Mary Margaret. He, like Snow, wants to do anything to protect his family but tries to go about it the right way. He is courageous, and may I mention... hot!

The Newcomers
11. ?

    Duke of Weselton

12. ?

    Prince Hans

The Contenders

13. Belle French / Lacey

    She's both strong-willed and compassionate, motivated towards goodness but still able to see light in characters like Rumple. I love that she's not just a beautiful woman there to give the bad guy a love interest but a well-rounded character, intelligent and independent, and not afraid to do what's right.

    It's amazing how she could love Rumplestiltskin even after all he's done. I love how she sees the light in everyone and always is the better woman. She never wants revenge but still knows how to stand up for herself. Plus, she's gorgeous and really smart.

14. Zelena / Wicked Witch of the West / Kelly West

    

    I seriously loved her. She reminds me of myself sometimes. I tend to get envious most of the time. I also felt extremely sorry for her.

    She was abandoned by her mother, raised by an abusive 'father' who didn't even want her, and then bullied by Regina endlessly. Of course, Regina and Zelena eventually make up and finally become sisters, but Regina still acts like the overprotective sister and even blames Zelena for the death of Robin Hood, even after she saved her life from Hades!

    Seriously, she is such an iconic character. I love her when she's an antihero. She's just saving the day but desperately wants to use dark magic and be mischievous while doing so. I also adored her wickedness! She was having fun using her powers, and she enslaved Rumplestiltskin, something that not even Cora was able to do!

    Let's not forget about the part where she hid right under our noses as Marian just to get pregnant with Regina's true love to ruin her happy ending.

15. Mulan

    

    Baelfire: "They made a movie about you. It's actually pretty good."

    Mulan: "What's a movie?"

    Seriously, if only she knew how much of a badass she really is! She is a determined warrior and does whatever needs to be done. I felt so sorry for her when she was heartbroken over Aurora revealing she was pregnant. Poor Mulan, not being able to tell her how she felt about her.

    Then when we thought she would have a happy ending with Ruby, Ruby ends up with Dorothy instead. Mulan stood there just chillin' while she is the series' first lesbian character. GIVE HER A TRUE LOVE ALREADY! SHE DESERVES IT!

    The part where it was revealed that she is in love with Aurora shocks me. It broke my heart when I saw the heartbroken look on her face when Aurora told her that she is pregnant. I loved her right there!

16. Baelfire / Neal Cassidy

    I LOVE Neal! I was shipping him and Emma from the start, and I was so mad when they killed him off! I still ship them together. Even though I also ship Emma and Killian, Emma and Neal are by far my favorite ship.

    Kind, brave, strong, vulnerable, and complex. An amazing, relatable character since he was young until becoming Neal Cassidy.

    Yes! He is one of my favorite characters. After all the ships/romances Emma has gone through, he is my favorite.

17. Jefferson / Mad Hatter

    Sebastian Stan is my all-time favorite actor. He's been amazing in everything I've seen him in (most of his roles), and I think that he played Jefferson perfectly.

    You can feel the pain he feels and see the pain in his eyes. I think the thing that made Jefferson the perfect character was how he says he's not crazy until the end, where he freaks out when Emma and Snow escape. It shows us how easily some mental patients can act. Perfectly calm one moment and out of control the next.

    They need to bring Jefferson back. Plus, Sebastian is an adorable puppy, and everyone loves puppies.

    He was all right because all he was trying to do was get his daughter back since he loved her so much.

18. Queen Elsa

    Her character on Once was well-written and had great chemistry with the cast, especially with Emma and Regina.

    My favorite character in Once Upon a Time!

19. Robin of Locksley / Robin Hood

    Regina deserves her happy ending too.

20. Pinocchio / August Wayne Booth

    I absolutely loved this guy and was really upset when he died. Always hoped that Emma and August would become a couple.

    He's cool, and I love how he got his happy ending by turning back into a boy.

21. Cruella De Vil / Cruella Feinberg

    

    Of all the villains portrayed thus far, she is the ONLY one who doesn't have a motive to become evil. It's clearly stated that she was a troubled child. She poisoned her own father and both of her mother's subsequent husbands for no specific reason.

    She was born a true sociopath. She takes the things you love and destroys them. She watched her own mother get ripped apart by dogs, and then killed them also. The only thing she wanted from The Author was what he took from her: the ability to kill again. She is a TRUE villain in this series.

    In conclusion, she deserves the Evilest Villain award.

22. Princess Anna

23. Tinker Bell

24. Tiger Lily

    I love Lily because she is the daughter of Maleficent. I like that because it means that the generation of dragons is not over.

25. Genie / Magic Mirror / Sidney Glass

26. Ingrid / Snow Queen / Sarah Fisher

    

    It's not fair. She never deserved to die, and neither did Helga or Gerda. Let's face it, Ingrid would've been there to meet her equally empowered niece, Elsa, during Elsa's childbirth. Helga would've been there to meet her other niece, Anna, during Anna's childbirth too if those stupid, idiotic writers of Once Upon a Time hadn't killed Helga off or put Ingrid in that urn back then.

27. Prince Henry Mills