Top 10 Once Upon A Time Characters the Show Totally Forgot About

This version of Bo Peep is not the innocent young lass from the fairytale you grew up with. She is a warlord who rules her land with intimidation, and the townspeople are her sheep. She charges heavy land taxes and brands those who don’t pay up with her magic shepherd’s crook. Bo Peep was introduced to provide a villain for a young David, before he was Prince Charming, and to serve as a common enemy to push David and Anna together. Unfortunately, this twisted Bo Peep was literally a one-off, and only appeared in a single episode.

Yet another unfortunate one off, Nova is an aspiring fairy godmother who falls in love with a very special dwarf named Dreamy. Their Storybrooke counterparts live a very similar story, as town drunk, Leroy, falls for nun, Astrid. Back in the Enchanted Forest, the two decide to leave their worlds behind and run away together. However, the Blue Fairy intervenes and convinces Dreamy that their plan will cost Nova her wings. Dreamy decides that Nova’s dreams are more important than their love, and returns to the mines a very changed dwarf. Nova played an important part in Dreamy becoming Grumpy, but after her debut, she more or less disappears.

When his son, Prince James, dies in a battle, King George tracks down the boy’s long lost twin brother, David, and threatens him into taking on his brother’s identity and marrying Princess Abigail. Instead, David actually marries Snow White, and George never quite gets over it. In the Enchanted Forest he attempts to use his influence as King to hunt down and kill David. In Storybrooke, he is the shark lawyer, Albert Spencer, who uses his cunning to discredit the Charmings. He was a formidable – and nearly successful – foe…right up until he’s locked away and seemingly forgotten about.

Whale provided some comic relief and dramatic irony in season one as Mary Margaret’s one-night-stand. He also provides palpable anticipation throughout the season, because while the show slowly reveals all the Storybrooke character’s true identities, Whale’s remains a mystery all the way up to season two, when he is revealed to be Dr. Victor Frankenstein. While he still appears sporadically throughout the show, most of his story takes place in flashbacks, and his life as Dr. Whale doesn’t really get examined any further. His absence probably has to do with the fact that his actor, David Anders, has been busy dealing brains on iZombie.

The last of his kind, Anton was once a friendly giant, fascinated by humans, but he grew bitter and vengeful after Prince James slaughtered his family for their magic beans. Finding himself in Storybrooke and given a magic mushroom to increase his size, Anton plans to destroy the town and kill David, who he believes to be Prince James. After David rescues Anton and restores his faith in humans, Anton reveals his secret beanstalk field. A fun character with a sympathetic backstory, it’s a shame this gentle giant doesn’t show up more often.

The sea witch arrives in Storybrooke with Cruella De Ville and Maleficent as the Queens of Darkness, a villainous trio bent on taking all the happy endings for themselves. While her story is a complete and satisfying one, it is unfortunately short lived. Her father, Poseidon, forces her to lure pirates to their death with her voice, but she just wants to sing. Aided by Captain Hook, Poseidon steals her voice, so she takes his Trident and turns herself into a sea goddess even more powerful than him. Ursula’s fleshed-out backstory and personality make her a very fun character to watch, which is why it’s so sad she wasn’t given more to do.

Maleficent’s long lost daughter has revenge on her mind when she arrives in Storybrooke. After reuniting with her mother, Lily is only concerned with getting back at the Charmings for infusing her with darkness, while Maleficent wants to forget the past and build a future. Disappointed in her mother’s softened nature, Lily decides to take care of things herself, and she attacks the town in her dragon form, until she is finally convinced to move on. Lily’s story is an interesting one as it casts the Charmings – usually presented as heroes – in a villainous light. Too bad the refreshing change in perspective vanishes with her character.

Just before Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother grants her deepest wish, Rumpelstiltskin appears and kills her, but offers to grant the wish anyway. Unfortunately, all magic comes with a price, and Cinderella unknowingly promises the Dark One her first-born child; a promise that also applies to her real-world counterpart, Ashley. An intriguing set-up to a storyline that wraps up in a particularly magical fashion, it still seems like a missed opportunity that such a famous and well-established character doesn’t appear more often.

This fan favorite was crucial to the initial story arc. When Emma denies the uncanny similarities between the townspeople and the fairytale characters in Henry’s book, Jefferson is the one who makes her believe, as he still remembers life before the curse, especially the daughter he was separated from. Jefferson eventually ends up back with his daughter, but much to the fans’ disappointment, their lives in Storybrooke are never explored. This probably has something to do with the fact that Jefferson traded in his magic hat for a metal arm, because actor Sebastian Stan is now playing the deadly Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Before we unveil are top pick, here are some honorable mentions.

Will Scarlet

Sidney Glass/Magic Mirror/Genie

Greg Mendell/The Outsider

Perhaps the most neglected of the forgotten characters, Mulan never quite got her own story, and was instead saddled with the sole purpose of serving other people’s plot lines. She is introduced in the show’s sophomore season, along with Princess Aurora, for whom she harbors some unfortunately unrequited feelings. Mulan proves to be a badass in her own right, and has the potential to be one of the series’ strongest characters, but most of her appearances in the show either relegate her to playing second fiddle, or are glorified cameos. Time will tell if this fierce warrior will be given her time to shine in the future.