Once Upon a Time Post-Mortem: Did Cora Have to Die?

SPOILER ALERT: if you have not watched this week’s Once Upon a Time episode, do not read ahead. Seriously. Stop right now. Major plot points are about to be discussed.

Simply put, “The Miller’s Daughter” was an epic hour of television, as big happenings took place that will stir up story for the rest of Once Upon a Time Season 2 - and possibly beyond.

Below, creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz fill fans in on how the big decisions got made and where this is all heading...

Where is Hook?
Don’t worry that the eye-linered, leather-panted one wasn’t in the episode. “We’ve not seen the last of Hook,” teased Kitsis, while Horowitz added: “When and how he returns is a surprise we’re excited to unveil.”

One thing you’ll want to remember is that Hook may have some catching up to do since he probably assumes his poisoned hook killed Gold  “As of right now, if I’m Hook, I think I won,” said Kitsis. “So the real question for me is what will he do if he finds out he didn’t win?”

Emma’s magic…WTF?!
We saw Emma work some magic again last night, so when will we find out the capability of her powers? “I think as we saw with Cora and Regina in their training that finding out your full capabilities is not an easy thing and right now the only one that’s offered to kind of help her through it is Rumpelstiltskin,” Kitsis explained. “I think it’s going to be a long process. Luke didn’t learn to use the force right away so I don’t think Emma will either…I think there’s also part of her that is kind of in denial that she has it.”

Regina & Snow…NOT BFFs!
Since Snow had a big part of Cora’s death, she’d be wise to watch her back when it comes to Regina. “In a lot of ways,” Kitsis said, “I think [Regina] now definitely has a huge reason to hate Snow White and if people thought she should have gotten over the fact that Snow whispered a secret while being conned into to killing your mom, my guess is she will not handle that very well at all.”

Did Cora really have to die?
Horowitz: “Cora was designed as a character with an arc for this season and this was the culmination of the arc and it played out exactly how we wanted to do it. So while it’s a traumatic thing to actually kill a character is part of the fabric of having a show with real stakes and real ramifications and things can happen.”

Kitsis weighed in and said there needed to be a grand showdown but “the saddest part of all of it for us and the real reason to do it is you realize at the end of the day all Regina wants is her mom’s love…she is still trying to find lightness and love.”

So have we seen the last of Cora – either Barbara Hershey or Rose McGowan version?
Kitsis quickly answered, “No, absolutely not. They’re too delicious not to have... but for this season yes.”

Is Charming going to be pissed at Snow for her actions?
“For me the question is when he finds out this information, what is he going to do?" said Kitsis. "I believe he’s the kind of guy that’s going to stand by her in good times and bad times. We saw him literally take an arrow to save her heart, so I can’t imagine he wouldn’t do it again.”

Jim Halterman is the West Coast Editor of TV Fanatic and the owner of JimHalterman.com. Follow him on Twitter.