Of "Once Upon a Time" and "Frozen": Where Should They Go From Here?

**UPDATE AT THE END OF THE PAGE**

Earlier today, I made on a comment on Facebook about the upcoming Season 5 premiere of ABC's "Once Upon a Time," a show my family is utterly addicted to. It got me thinking...where could OUAT go after Anna and Elsa are gone? What storyline is left unfinished? What mysteries have yet to be solved?

If you couldn't already tell, I wholeheartedly love the show and am eagerly awaiting the premiere. It feels like this hiatus has taken forever...

...but I am somewhat disappointed that they chose to do "Frozen" at this time and I hope it doesn't take up the entire season. 

What would I like to see happen instead? Need you even ask?

After seeing Lancelot in previous episodes...

...and being a huge Arthurian fan, I have been hoping that the next new world we see in "Once" is Avalon: learning about the fall of Camelot and how Lancelot ended up being one of the Enchanted Forest's last defenders. 

Not to mention the mystery surrounding the Lady of the Lake.

Who is she? What happened to her after the curse destroyed the lake? 

And wouldn't she naturally blame a certain someone for it?

Morgan le Fay would be an excellent foil for Regina (and it's certainly possible that the Lady is Morgan.) Or perhaps a better rival could be found in the infamous Madam Mim from Disney's version of "The Sword in the Stone." 

I've brought this up in other forums only  to be told that the SITS is "just not a popular Disney film." Well, neither was "Robin Hood," and we have Robin & Marian anyway. But I digress. 

Let's say the show abandons the loose threads Lancelot left in his wake...for now. Would it be too much to ask for one of the live-action films in Disney's vault to make an appearance? "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," which also centers around a powerful sorceress and a magic book, would be a great addition. 

I have often wondered what happened to the bedknob-holding child in that story...as he still has magic he never renounced entirely at the end of the film. Perhaps the bedknob is in Rumple's vault of powerful magic...and its owner wants it back?

Exploring a "Bedknobs & Broomsticks" storyline would also give the series a chance to bring back a fan favorite: Ariel. 

We know (thanks to the Wicked Witch's confession to Hook in the last season) that Ariel finds her Prince on an island untouched by the curse. Could it be the Isle of Namboombu? Is that perhaps where her friends like Flounder and Sebastian are from? 

And there's even a dangerous magic afoot in that film...an object that either could be or should be in Rumple's vault. An object that completes the awesome spell of Substitiary Locomotion: 

It has potential, no doubt about it. And while I'd certainly love to see that story arch develop, I am first and foremost an Arthurian fanatic...and thus I want to see SITS make a Storybrooke appearance above all else.

We've seen Lancelot, and been given some tantalizing clues that beg to be resolved (his assertion that his downfall was due to the love of a barren woman; when asked if he was a Knight of the Round Table he answered, "Not anymore.") And this is a show that loves foreshadowing...leaving those threads loose seems atypical of this program.

But as much as I love Lance, and want to see his story unfold...I love Merlin more. So where is the most famous wizard of all time? How would he fit in to the "Once" world?

Merlin is known for prophecy. Perhaps HE wrote Henry's book? 

That fifth book does look awfully familiar...

The book and its origins are already one of the fans' favorite mysteries. It's spawned many fan theories, such as this very popular one:

That would be very much in keeping with Belle's personality. It would give her a chance to be a heroine in her own right, separate from Rumple, and would give her job as Storybrooke's librarian a much-needed purpose.

Belle is, after all, known for her love of books and her formidable research skills. 

It's difficult to believe that she would take over the boarded-up collection and yet never yearn to find the answer to the question staring her in the face: "Why was the library closed for so many long years...and what happened to the former librarian?"

Could he be...

And beyond the mysteries of the book and the library, what else could Merlin have up his famous blue sleeves? 

Perhaps Merlin sent the former Dark One to Rumple...his replacement? 

We even have an idea of what Merlin would look like in Storybrooke...

...and is it just me, or does he look like the kind of man who might draw one particular woman's eye? 

Not that she'd make it easy on him...

Madam Mim could fit in here quite nicely: as a rival for Merlin's heart. My money's on Granny. Mim may be a powerful sorceress who can turn herself into a young, purple-haired beauty...but Granny was a changeling herself, and in a fight a giant wolf beats a Suicide Girl any day. 

But substitute Mim for the Lady of the Lake? That one just might give Granny a run for her money! 

Disney's "Sword in the Stone" was primarily based on the T.H. White classic, "The Once and Future King." I hope that if a Merlin DOES in fact make a visit to the "OUAT" world, that the writers make use of an interesting aspect of that version of Merlin: he's traveling backwards in time. 

While his living-in-the-opposite-linear-fashion is always good for a much-needed comedic break...in this case, it could also be a major plot device. After all, SOMEBODY wrote Henry's Book of Happy Endings. Endings that even a powerful curse from the Evil Queen or her Wicked Witch of a sister could not re-write.

It's almost as if someone knows exactly how all of this would end...in the future...

And finally, we come back yet again to Lancelot. A hero whose heart is broken, and whose heart needs to learn to love again. 

That is the central, recurring theme of OUAT, and I cannot believe for one minute that Lancelot would be the one character for whom true love doesn't provide a much-needed cure. 

Maybe he could find someone to rescue? Someone who, in turn, could rescue him? But who still needs rescuing at this point in the series...?

Come on, writers & producers for OUAT. Make this happen. It's high time we had a little more Camelot in our Storybrooke! 

**UPDATE**

Today's Season 5 premiere was interesting. They show Rumple and Belle on their honeymoon in a beautiful manor house...whose owner is unknown. "No one as yet has claimed it," according to Belle. 

We quickly forget about this mystery because OMG THEY ARE WEARING THE OUTFITS AND DANCING TO "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST!" 

The main room of this most unusual Honeymoon Suite is round and full of books, which Belle naturally sees as a "perfect setting." 

However, Rumple is immediately suspicious, referring to the as-yet-unknown owner as having "interesting taste." He seems to be drawn to a certain interesting box. When Rumple uses his infamous dagger of magic on it, he finds....a long light blue Wizard's hat.

Now, whose could that possibly be? 

Also of note: the narrator makes a point of telling us that Rumple is "the greatest bearer of dark magic in any world." 

Leaving us to wonder just who is the greatest LIGHT magic bearer.

And what is Regina doing during all this? Trying to find out who wrote Henry's book. She sees the book as "immutable," and thinks a trip to the past will circumvent Maid Marion's happy ending. She's got a newly-imprisoned Sidney on the case, and at some point she will likely contact Storybrooke's resident bibliophile: Belle. 

As for Anna? She's trying to find out what happened to her and Elsa's parents...who vanished on a body of water while searching for a magic land called Misthaven. She then takes a ship (perhaps the Jolly Roger that Hook sold last season in order to save Emma?) in search of the answers. 

A land in the mists...now where have I heard that before....?

Storybrooke may be frozen...but Avalon could save the day!