Ever since ABC’s fantasy TV series “Once Upon a Time” started in 2011, a lot has happened to its characters. A collection of fairy-tale and general fiction characters have been engaged in a seemingly never-ending battle with forces that are keeping in place a curse which trapped many of them in the present-day world.
At the center of this subdued yet epic conflict is unlikely heroine Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), a bail bond agent turned savior of realms due to being the daughter of Snow White and her Prince Charming. With six seasons’ worth of fantastical struggles against darkness and evil, and with a seventh “OUAT” season believed still coming, Morrison has announced that after the latest season finale she will exit the show as a regular, and her character with it.
Long Runner
While no official word has yet come from ABC on whether or not “Once Upon a Time” will get yet another season, it’s almost a certain deal at this point. Jennifer Morrison has already been slated to make one more appearance as Emma Swan for, at the very least, one full appearance before dropping out of regular (and main) character status.
The reason for her opting out was rather reasonable. “OUAT” has run six seasons for the better part of six years. Morrison has been kept rather busy by her television roles; in addition to this, she was in “How I Met Your Mother” for a year, and then in “House” for six. While she has assured interviewers that she cares greatly about “OUAT” and her role as Emma, the grind of the better part of a decade did get to her.
“I needed personally to move on to new things,” Morrison tells Entertainment Weekly. “It just was time.” The actress went on to say how much she looks forward to being able to spend time with her family.
Hedging bets
The season six finale for “Once Upon a Time” is so grand in scale that it needs two hours on ABC to tell it. While creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz have said that a great many hanging plot threads will get some modicum of closure, in the end, they will also plant the seeds for whatever narrative will drive the still-theoretical seventh season.
Jennifer Morrison remarked that Kitsis and Horowitz had bittersweet feelings when she announced her bowing out of the Emma Swan role. While they had wanted her to remain a regular should the show move on, they also understood her desire to move on.With regards to future projects, Morrison has mentioned starring in an off-Broadway play called "The End of Longing" at the MMC Theatre.
