'Once Upon A Time' scoop: Snow White's mom, Cora's past and more

As the people of Storybrooke continue to move on with their magically hybrid lives, we will begin to learn even more about their past lives in Fairytale Land.

Over the holiday hiatus, creator Adam Horowitz tweeted upcoming episode titles, since then, we have been given a little more detailed scoop on the fresh faces that join the ‘Once’ community, the latest casting calls for new characters, and episode titles that will provide clues on more tales that will be explored in season 2.

‘Once Upon A Time’ has cast Rena Sofer as Snow White’s mother, Queen Eva. Earlier this month, TVGuide revealed that we will meet Snow’s mom in a two-part storyline that will give us closer look at the fair princess’ childhood. William Keck reports:

"The Snow White story usually begins with the stepmother trying to get rid of her," says executive producer Edward Kitsis, "so we thought it would be fun to explore what Snow's mom was like. Her name is Eva, and she's the person who taught Snow White how to be Snow White."

Likely airing in late February and early March, the two-part episode, featuring the return of child dynamo Bailee Madison as Young Snow, will naturally take a dark turn. Says exec producer Adam Horowitz: "Snow's mother has a surprising connection to someone we know."

Yesterday, TVGuide shared the following information on Sofer and her new role:

Former General Hospital star Rena Sofer has been cast as Queen Eva, the mother of Ginnifer Goodwin's Snow whom we'll see in flashbacks, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively. […]

We may know Queen Eva's fate is ultimately grim, since Regina (Lana Parrilla) came to marry Snow's father King Leopold (Richard Schiff), but the journey to her death should be very interesting.

What do you think, Oncers? Does Sofer seem like the right choice? Did you have another actress in mind when the role was first announced? Share your thought below!

If programming continues as scheduled, then the two-parter will probably air as episodes 17 and 18 on February 24 and March 3. No titles have been released for these episodes, but over the holiday hiatus, ‘Once’ creator Adam Horowitz tweeted a series of titles and teasers for season two.

Episode 12: “In the Name of the Brother”

As we reported earlier, next Sunday’s episode, “In the Name of the Brother,” will focus on Dr. Whale’s family history. In the past, Victor tries to live up to his father’s expectations by trying to save his brother and prove that his radical procedure works. To refresh your memory, here is ABC’s full description (WARNING: the following contains SPOILERS for this week’s episode, “The Outsider”):

“In the Name of the Brother” – Dr. Whale is tasked with mending Hook’s wounds and performing surgery on the stranger whose car crashed upon entering Storybrooke. But some of the townspeople fear that the stranger may have seen magic -- which could expose their true identities to the world -- and think that leaving him to die would be the best solution. Meanwhile, as Mr. Gold tries to reunite with a despondent Belle, Cora attempts to reunite with daughter Regina; and in the land that was, Victor desperately wants to prove to his disapproving father that he can, indeed, bring back the dead, on “Once Upon a Time,” SUNDAY, JANUARY 20 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“Once Upon a Time” stars Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret, Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan, Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David, Emilie de Ravin as Belle, Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills, Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood/Ruby, and Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr.Gold.

Guest starring are Lee Arenberg as Leroy/Grumpy, David Anders as Dr.Whale/Victor, Barbara Hershey as Cora, Colin O’Donoghue as Hook, Ethan Embry as stranger, Nelson Wong as paramedic no. 1, Janet Pinnick as nurse no. 1, Gregory Itzin as Alphonse, Chad Michael Collins as Gerhardt, Yurij Kis as Igor, Ian Harmon as sentry and Scott McAdam as orderly.

”In the Name of the Brother” was written by Jane Espenson and directed by Milan Cheylov.

We know Ethan Embry’s “Mysterious Stranger” makes his debut in this week’s episode. Judging by some of the promo footage and this summary, it seems like “The Outsider” will end with a bit of cliffhanger when the Stranger’s car crash rattles the people of Storybrooke. Given some of the Storybrookers’ skepticism, maybe we have reason to believe that the Stranger’s crash was no accident. It doesn’t really seem like Storybrooke is on the way to another destination or else they would have had other unsuspected visitors before the Stranger. Do you think the “Stranger” has a hidden agenda?

The summary also confirms that Rumple gives Hook a proper beating for threatening Belle. Rumple and Hook had a very gripping confrontation when they first squared off in “The Crocodile,” so this fierce re-match will definitely be fun to watch. However, this time around, Belle witnesses their brutal showdown and she will see the dark side of Rumple once again. Will she be able to forgive him? Did he prove that he has changed by allowing Hook to live?

Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitsis have been saying that they will speed the frenzie along in Storybrooke and they seem to be doing that even faster than anticipated. This week Hook shows himself to Rumple and next week Cora will reach out to Regina. Did you expect the mother-daughter reunion to happen so soon? Will Regina be easily manipulated by Cora again?

Lastly, the episode’s primary focus will be on Dr. Whale and his troubled past. Earlier this season, we discovered his alter-ego, Dr. Victor Frankenstein. What compelled the doctor to challenge fate by bringing back the dead? Was it because he loved his brother and wanted him back? Share your theories.

Episode 13: “Tiny” (Airing on Feb. 3, Super Bowl Sunday)

A little while ago, we learned that Jorge Garcia will reprise his role as the Giant in “Tiny.” Since then, there have been a few casting calls that might help us gain a little insight into this episode.

E-Online reports:

Prepare for the arrival of a new princess: Helena! Confident and well-bred, this brunette knows her way around kings and courts and can wrap any man around her finger. Still, don’t let the sweet-talking fool you: She’s a warrior and has slain many deadly creatures; she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty to get what she wants.

Spoiler TV adds that she is “a 30-year-old,” “sophisticated lady” and “a fierce hunter of deadly creatures.”

They are also casting the role of Arlo. Spoiler TV describes him as “about 40 years old, tall and fat, and also wise, spiritual, and fatherly.”

Any thoughts on what fairytale we are dealing with here? Legends have been told about Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine. She eventually became the patron saint of self-discoveries. Given that Arlo is a religious man, maybe ‘Once’ will be a adapting a tale from history books that evolved into folklore long ago. Share your theories.

Episode 14 “Manhattan

Last week, MichaelRaymond-James confirmed Neal Cassady’s return during a twitter chat with his fans. He revealed that Neal will appear in “Manhattan” and “The remaining eps this season.” It looks like Henry will have a chance to spend some quality time with his dad. Do you think some family time will rekindle a little romance between Emma and Neal?

In addition, Spoiler TV reports a nameless casting call for the episode:

She's a quick-witted, defiant 10-year-old prisoner of war who can see the future, and shows little fear against the soldiers.

Can you think of any fairytale child psychics or foreseers?

Episode 15: “The Queen Is Dead”

No episode details for this one either, but we do have a major casting update. TVLine reported that Sonequa Martin-Green has been cast in the reoccurring role of Tamara:

TVLine has learned that the actress, whose TV credits include The Walking Dead and The Good Wife, will appear this season in multiple episodes as Tamara. No further details on the character were made available, though TVLine’s previous intel indicates that Once was initially angling to cast an African-American with a British accent in the part, and that Tamara could spill over into Season 3 of the ABC drama.

Spoiler TV further describes Tamara “as African American and late 20’s to early 30’s. She's beautiful, artistic, relaxed, friendly, charming and smart. She's also ambitious, fearless and a born leader, and she won't stop until she gets what she wants.”

Do you have any thoughts on this one, Oncers?

Episode 16: “The Miller’s Daughter”

Judging by the title, this one should gives us Cora’s back-story. We found out last year that Cora is indeed the fabled Miller’s Daughter. We may assume he is the same miller who struck a deal with Rumple. We also know that Rose McGowan has been cast as young Cora. The following casting call from SpoilerTV should help us figure out more episode details:

For episode 2.16, the guest role of "King Xavier" is being cast. He's 45, has a mean sense of humor, and worries about being able to maintain his extravagant lifestyle since gold has become more scarce in his kingdom. Also being cast is the co-star role of a 20-something "Prince Henry" (Regina's father as a young man), whose marriage could change King Xavier's fortunes.

Sounds like this episode will be full of some conflict. In the fairytale, Rumple spins gold for the miller in exchange for his daughter. However, we know that Cora ends up marrying Prince Henry. It looks like this marriage of convenience went both ways. Cora gains power and Prince Henry’s father, King Xavier, gets his gold. If there was shortage of gold, why didn’t they just call upon King Midas? Hopefully this episode will help explain why Cora became so heartless. Was Cora, like Regina, robbed of her True Love? We can’t wait to find out.