While heroes like Emma Swan and Snow White are inspiring, it is the villains who often made Once Upon a Time such a memorable and fun show. Able to pull from fairy tales, mythology, and Disney movies, the show never had a shortage of villains to use to spin its dramatic narratives and provide compelling antagonists for the show's heroic characters.

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Some villains inevitably stood out more than others and, in each season, one or two villains, in particular, would stand out from the pack. The best villain in each season were those who were particularly formidable, complex, and would challenge the show's heroes in unique and meaningful ways.

Season 1: The Evil Queen/Regina

Split Image Once Upon A Time Evil Queen and Regina

As the Evil Queen in the flashbacks and as Mayor Regina Mills in Storybrooke, Lana Parrilla did an excellent job being the show's first big villain. Killing her father--the last person who still supported her and loved her unconditionally--in order to cast the first Dark Curse proved how ruthless she could be as the Evil Queen. She proves to be just as cruel in Storybrooke as she keeps everyone trapped under the Dark Curse, with everyone having no memory of their real identity, family, or past. Things stayed this way for 28 years and would've probably continued indefinitely if Emma Swan hadn't come to Storybrooke and eventually broken the Dark Curse.

As the truth starts to unravel, Regina goes to brutal lengths to keep her secrets and her control, such as murdering Once Upon a Time fan-favorite Sheriff Graham, convincing her son Henry that he is crazy, and framing Mary Margaret for a heinous crime that she didn't commit. The depths of her evil in season 1 make it all the more remarkable that Regina ends the series with the ultimate redemption story as the Good Queen of the United Realms.

Season 2: Cora

Cora Mills from Once Upon A Time

Cora is the main villain for most of Once Upon A Time's second season and is by far the best one. Season 1 flashbacks proved how horrible Cora could be when she killed her daughter's lover Daniel because she thought he was too lowly for her. Cora proves to be just as awful in season 2. She is revealed to be responsible for killing Snow White's mother Eva. In order to get the Dark One Dagger from Snow White in Storybrooke, Cora threatens the life of Snow's childhood maid Johanna, one of the last living ties to Snow's mother. Even though Snow gives up the Dagger to save Johanna, Cora still hurls Johanna out of the clock tower and plummets to her death, an act that is both unnecessary and cruel.

Cora manipulates her own daughter and her desperation to be reunited with Henry, just so Cora can get the Dark One Dagger and the power she desires. In many ways, Cora is a more manipulative and merciless version of her daughter. While Regina is struggling to become a better person, Cora impedes her progress for her own selfish gain. The tragedy of Cora's character is that when her heart is rejoined with her body in her heartbreaking final moments on Once Upon a Time, she admits that Regina would've been enough, proving that Cora didn't have to be a power-hungry villain for most of her life.

Season 3: Zelena

Rebecca Mader as Zelena The Wicked Witch on Once Upon A Time

Even by season 3, Cora and her children continued to be some of Once Upon A Time's strongest villains. Zelena proved she was not a villain to be trifled with as she manipulated Baelfire and Belle into resurrecting Rumplestiltskin. The plan allowed Zelena to control Rumplestiltskin through the Dark One Dagger, something even Cora was unable to achieve. It also meant the death of Baelfire, a death that could not be reversed.

She is a cunning villain, but Once Upon a Time fans feel bad for Zelena as it becomes clear that everything she is doing is to create a time travel spell so she can change the course of her tragic past. Her mother abandoned her as a baby, she was raised by an abusive adoptive father, and when she thought she found someone who valued her--Rumplestiltskin--he rejected her because her love for him didn't work with his plan to have her cast the Dark Curse. Zelena struck the perfect balance of being a complex villain that fans could sympathize with and hate.

Season 4: Ingrid/The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen/Ingrid (Elizabeth Mitchell) in Once Upon A Time

Season 4 has some other strong villains like Rumplestiltskin, Cruella de Vil, Isaac Heller, and Zelena, but the Snow Queen is the most compelling of them all. She has powers like Elsa in Frozen, but unlike Elsa, Ingrid accidentally killed one of her sisters, and her other sister trapped her in an urn. Ingrid essentially became an evil version of Elsa who felt rejected by those closest to her and who went to immoral lengths to find replacement sisters who understood her.

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Ingrid's plan also involved unleashing the Spell of Shattered Sight on the people of Storybrooke, which made everyone see the worst in each other. She challenged everyone in Storybrooke in a unique and devastating way, making them understand what it is like when someone is even feared and hated by their loved ones.

Season 5: Hades

Hades (Greg Germann) blackmails Rumplestilskin in season 5 of Once Upon A Time

The first half of season 5 (one of Once Upon a Time's worst-ranked) was overcrowded with villains from King Arthur and Zelena to every Dark One that ever existed. The second half of season 5 mostly took place in the Underworld and had a tighter narrative focus. Hades was the villain that made the Underworld story and the second half of season 5 work so well. Hades' villainy is best remembered for killing Robin Hood and obliterating his soul with the Olympian Crystal.

This was the rare death of a major Once Upon A Time character that could not be undone. In addition to killing Robin Hood and destroying his soul so he would not live on in the afterlife, Hades kept countless individuals imprisoned and tormented in the Underworld. To further his own power, Hades was clever enough to successfully blackmail Rumplestiltskin into doing his bidding and making Zelena feel like she loved the Lord of the Underworld. He is an impressive villain for successfully manipulating the powerful Rumplestiltskin and Zelena for as long as he did.

Season 6: Fiona/The Black Fairy

The Black Fairy (Jaime Murray) wields the Dark One dagger in Once Upon A Time

The biggest villain of season 6 is Rumplestiltskin's mother Fiona, who is also known as the Black Fairy. Obsessed with preventing her son from being killed, Fiona creates the Dark Curse and uses the Shear of Destiny to ensure that Rumplestiltskin will not become the Savior. Despite the good intentions that she started with, Fiona now values her power more than her family. When she is banished to the Dark Realm, she spends many years kidnapping children and bringing them there and even does this to her own grandson Gideon by kidnapping him from his parents.

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She possesses her own grandson to do her dirty work for her. Fiona casts the fourth Dark Curse and ignites the final battle for Emma that if she loses will mean the destruction of realms. Once Upon A Time could've ended with season 6 and Fiona would've been a satisfying final villain, one who threatens the very existence of the realms, and who challenges Emma to fulfill her Savior destiny in the final battle for her belief.

Season 7: Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin

Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) kills Dr. Facilier with the Dark One dagger in Once Upon A Time

Between Mother Gothel, Victoria Belfrey, Ivy Belfrey, and Dr. Facilier, season 7 of Once Upon A Time had too many villains and none of them were as developed as they could have been. With all these villains defeated or redeemed heading into the series finale, Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin became the show's final big bad and the best villain of season 7.

He served as a formidable final villain and made a dramatic entrance as he revealed himself in Hyperion Heights after stabbing Dr. Facilier in the back during one of Once Upon A Time's best cliffhangers. Due to the fans and characters' familiarity with Rumplestiltskin, he didn't require the same level of development as the less effective villains of season 7. As the worst version of himself, Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin served as a perfect final test for the original Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold/Weaver. The original Rumplestiltskin got a fitting ending that demonstrated how far he'd come as he sacrificed his life and his power to save everyone from Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin.

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