Once Upon a Time's winter finale this December 14 will have the characters of Storybrooke saying goodbye to the Frozen theme, but show producers already have something exciting up their sleeves with the arrival of the Queens of Darkness.
The official synopsis of "Heroes and Villains" reveals that "In the aftermath of the Snow Queen's spell, our heroes try to pick up the pieces and Regina has to make a difficult choice. Hook's fate hangs in the balance as Gold's quest for power threatens everything he holds dear. Meanwhile, in the Enchanted Forest flashback, an intrusion during Belle's stay at Rumplestiltskin's dark castle will wreak havoc in both the past and the future."
With the exit of Frozen comes "the trio of darkness," as producers fondly call them. Next year, fans will see Maleficent (Kristin Bauer Van Straten), Ursula (Merrin Dungey) and Cruella de Vil (Victoria Smurfit) teaming up to get their own happy endings.
"You have three leaders who all want to lead. Of course, only one can. For us, what's interesting is watching villains take a page from the hero playbook. Heroes always work together and never put their ego first. Villains so often put their ego first and lose. These are smarter villains coming back to correct the mistakes from their past," show producer Edward Kitsis told Entertainment Weekly.