This article is about the character from Once Upon a Time. For articles that share the same name, see Ariel.
Ariel is a recurring character who appears in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
She is based on both the character from the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen and the character of the same name from Disney's The Little Mermaid.
Background[]
Powers and abilities[]
Powers[]
- World-crossing: Ariel has the ability to travel between magical worlds at will.
- Human transformation: Once a year, Ariel's tail can change into legs, allowing her to walk on land, though only for twelve hours between tides.
Role in the series[]
In her debut episode, she saves Snow White from drowning after Snow jumps off a cliff to avoid the Evil Queen Regina's guards. Ariel tells Snow that once a year a mermaid can walk on land, though only for the twelve hours between high tides. She then tells Snow she saved Eric (played by Gil McKinney) a year before and has been in love with him ever since. Snow, knowing what love, at first sight, is like, understands the mermaid and convinces her to go to Eric's ball. At the ball, he is immediately drawn to Ariel and asks her to dance with him. While they dance he tells Ariel that he will be leaving the next morning on an adventure to see the world and asks Ariel to go with him. Ariel relays this information back to Snow, who tells Ariel to be honest with the prince. However, Ariel is reluctant as she does not want to be rejected by the prince by telling him she is a mermaid. Ariel is later seen at the seashore asking the Sea Goddess Ursula for guidance. After she seems to have given up, Ursula appears in front of Ariel.
However, this is not the true Ursula; this is Queen Regina in disguise. Regina gives Ariel a magical bracelet that will trade her tail to whomever she gives it to. Ariel gives the bracelet to Snow White, thinking that if Snow is a mermaid, she could escape into the sea and be free from the Queen. Regina then appears and reveals her deception. The Queen gives Ariel an ultimatum: either go and find her prince and let the Queen kill Snow White, or die along with her. Ariel, not willing to let her friend die, attacks the Queen with a fork, distracting her long enough for Ariel and Snow to get away. After Ariel and Snow have escaped to a nearby beach, Snow tells Ariel to go back to the Prince and tell him the truth. Ariel happily listens to Snow and returns to the dock by Eric's palace as she is about to yell Eric's name her voice vanishes. Regina appears on the dock and reveals that she took Ariel's voice so that she could never tell Eric how she felt, as vengeance for the mermaid's siding with Snow White against her. In tears, a muted Ariel heads back to the sea.
Ariel with Snow White.
28 years later in Neverland, Regina, working with Rumplestiltskin, returns Ariel's voice in exchange for her help. Ariel agrees to return to Storybrooke and retrieve a weapon from Rumplestiltskin's shop that will be strong enough to stop Peter Pan. If the mission succeeds, the Queen promises to make Ariel human permanently and be with Eric.
Ariel's next appearance in Once Upon a Time is titled "Dark Hollow". This episode immediately picks up after the events of "Ariel". Gold shows Ariel how to get to Storybrooke and tells her to find Belle and give her a sand dollar with a message from him. Though Regina chooses not to tell Ariel where to find Eric, she does warn her that she only has one hour. When Ariel arrives in Storybrooke, she meets with Grumpy, who takes her to Belle.
After learning that Ariel was sent by Rumplestiltskin, Belle takes her to Gold's shop, where Belle deciphers Gold's coded message and retrieves the item that he requires: Pandora's Box. However, before they can do anything, they are ambushed by John and Michael Darling, who is now working for Peter Pan. John and Michael the two of them up and take the item to destroy it. To get out of the ropes, Belle removes Ariel's bracelet, which allows Ariel to wiggle free from the ropes and undo Belle's bindings. Ariel then puts the bracelet back on and goes after John and Michael.
Belle and Ariel find John and Michael just before they destroy the box. Belle is able to stop them by activating a mine cart on the tracks, which throws Michael and John off their feet. Using the time to her advantage, she grabs the box and kicks their gun away. John and Michael reveal that the only reason they are working for Pan is that he has been holding their sister Wendy hostage. Belle manages to convince them, however, that if they help her, the ones in Neverland will be able to use Pandora's box to defeat Pan.
Ariel returns to Neverland and gives Pandora's box to Gold. As a reward, Regina enchants the bracelet, so that Ariel can become a human whenever she wishes. Before Ariel departs, she tells Regina and Gold about Wendy's situation. Regina exhibits no concern about Wendy since she only cares about Henry. However, Ariel manages to convince her and Gold to do what they can to help Wendy. Upon returning to Storybrooke, Ariel finds Eric working as a fisherman. The two of them are then reunited and reconciled.
After the fairy-tale characters are sent back to the Enchanted Forest, Eric is captured by the pirate Blackbeard. Ariel, however, believes that Captain Hook is responsible and tracks him down. Upon learning that Blackbeard also has his ship, Ariel and Hook agree to work together. To take his ship back, Hook throws Blackbeard over the edge without learning where Eric is. Ariel is forced to rescue Blackbeard so that she can rescue Eric. She eventually relocates with Eric to Hangman's Island.
The guilt Hook still feels for his nearly sacrificing any attempt to rescue Eric is later exploited by the Wicked Witch of the West. She impersonates Ariel so that she can get Hook to admit he loves Emma Swan in a "plea for redemption." Using this, she is able to curse his lips. She also reveals that Ariel and Eric are alive on Hangman's Island.
It is later revealed that after Hook sold the Jolly Roger back to Blackbeard, he used it to terrorize people, including Princess Anna and her fiancé, Kristoff, of Arendelle. After her return to Arendelle, Queen Elsa is trapped it in a bottle and Ariel accidentally becomes trapped inside as well. She is freed after Hook restores his ship in Storybrooke. After Ursula throws Hook overboard, Ariel saves his life and helps him discover a new plan to help restore Ursula's happy ending. She later helps contact Ursula's father, Poseidon and brings him to Storybrooke so he can reconcile with his daughter.
Aladdin, Jasmine, Ariel, and Hook meet Jafar.
After this, Ariel returns to Hangman's Island. A while later, she enters her hut to discover Hook, Jasmine, and Aladdin have broken in and triggered a trap. She is pleased to see Hook and Jasmine again and soon also becomes acquainted with Aladdin. After learning of their plight and that they were led to her hut while tracking Jafar, she brings out a lamp which she believes to be Agrabah. Jasmine takes the lamp and, assured by the presence of Ariel, Hook, and Aladdin, who she believes to be heroes, prepares to face her fears and Jafar. However, when Jafar emerges, he is easily able to break the genie curse, much to Ariel's surprise, and proceeds to freeze Ariel, Aladdin, and Hook in place, before he faces Jasmine alone. After Jasmine has used magical dust to transform Jafar into a staff, the trio is freed from the sorcerer's magic and regains mobility. Jasmine then reveals that Agrabah is inside the ring she has been wearing, and she now knows how to bring it back with true love's kiss, and proceeds to kiss Aladdin, magically transporting Agrabah back to its proper place and the four heroes with it. Now that the ring no longer contains the kingdom, Ariel asks for permission to keep it as a trinket. Afterward, Hook asks Ariel if she can get back home, and she states that she will be able to use her mermaid powers by swimming in the nearby Agrabah Gulf. Realizing that she can help with Hook's problem of being separated from Emma, Ariel offers a magic conch shell that Hook can use to communicate as long as there's someone on the other end. Hook begins to speak into it, telling Emma the truth of what happened, though he is unsure if she is on the other end.
Gallery[]
Promotional[]
Screenshots[]
Trivia[]
- While playing the role of a mermaid, Ariel's actress JoAnna Garcia Swisher couldn't swim in real life so a body double was used in the scenes with Ariel in the water.[1]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ "The Tale of Ariel.
Once Upon a Time The Complete Third Season on Once Upon a Time Wiki
