Every Season Of Once Upon A Time, Ranked By IMDb Average

Although most fans of the series would agree that Once Upon A Time was never a bad show, a lot of them do feel like the quality dipped in later years. The series often found fun ways to spin classic tales like Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and many others.

Of course, some of these worked better than others. That’s part of why the early era of the show was beloved, as some of the later stories didn’t click as well. That makes it interesting to look back and see which seasons were received the best by the fans. Is the first set of episodes really the best? Was it a middle season? Did the show end stronger than some fans might think? The ratings on IMDb are a good place to look.

7 Season 7 (7.9)

The only season of Once Upon a Time to not average at least an 8.0 on IMDb is the final one. That makes sense given how different it is from the rest of the show. Most of the main cast moved on, with Jennifer Morrison, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, and others leaving. Only Colin O’Donoghue, Lana Parrilla, and Robert Carlyle stuck around as part of the main cast.

This season saw the show jump ahead to the future, with Henry being a grown man. It went back to the season one well where an adult Henry had to be convinced that magic and fairy tales were real by the daughter he never knew he had. While most of the episodes were met with a mild response, a few stood out. “Beauty” was a highlight, centering on Belle and Rumpelstiltskin’s relationship, while the finale “Leaving Storybrooke,” scored the highest rating of the season.

6 Season 6 (8.0)

In many ways, the sixth season actually feels like the final one for the show. With it being the last one to include all of the regular cast members, it wraps up many storylines while season seven tells a new story. It’s similar to the last two seasons of Scrubs in that way. This set of episodes featured multiple villains, including the Evil Queen version of Regina, Mr. Hyde, Gideon, and the Black Fairy.

Although most aspects were strong, the season did struggle with balancing so much as it also brought in characters like Aladdin and Jasmine. The second half was particularly strong, putting the focus on a villain with ties to a main character (The Black Fairy being Rumple’s mother) and sending off Emma in style with a heroic story and her wedding to Captain Hook.

5 Season 5 (8.1)

In terms of an interesting setup, not many seasons could top what was in store for this show’s fifth run. The previous season ended on a stunning cliffhanger where Emma became the Dark One in an attempt to prevent it from happening to Regina. The first half of season five dealt with that as Jennifer Morrison got the chance to play a whole new version of the character and the entire show’s dynamic was altered. It also allowed Regina to become the hero for a change.

It made for captivating television and it came to a strong conclusion. The issue with this season was the back half. The trip to find Hook in the underworld felt like it dragged on too long in the eyes of many viewers. While some of the ideas were cool, like the twist on Storybrooke’s appearance, Hades didn’t quite click as a great villain. This season also featured “Ruby Slippers,” one of the lowest rated episodes of the entire series.

4 Season 2 (8.3)

Season two was highly anticipated. Since the first season was all about building towards Emma breaking the curse, the follow-up put the focus on how life would change now that everyone knew who they really were. The first half of the season took place in various locations from Storybrooke to Wonderland to the Enchanted Forest. It introduced key characters like Mulan, Hook, and Baelfire, revealing the intertwined history of the latter with Emma and Rumple.

A lot of the season saw the heroes battling Regina’s mother Cora, who had help from Hook along the way. Of course, he would get redeemed but Regina had trouble in her redemption as she bonded with her evil mother again. Snow White killing Cora marked the darkest turn for her in the series. The final few episodes missed the mark a bit as Greg and Tamara weren’t the most engaging of villains.

3 Season 1 (8.4)

The charm of Once Upon a Time was evident from the very first episode. Young Henry visited his birthmother, convinced her to come to Storybrooke, and then kept trying to get her to break the curse that only he seemed to believe in. The show’s ideas were still fresh and unique at this point, so audiences were wowed by things like Rumple being Beast and Red Riding Hood actually being a werewolf.

The guest stars were a ton of fun, with two highlights being Sebastian Stan’s turn as Jefferson/The Mad Hatter and Jamie Dornan as Graham/The Huntsman. While it could get frustrating to see Emma and so many others deny the truth in front of them for so long, the payoff in the final few episodes was spectacular and made it all worth it.

2 Season 4 (8.4)

Around the third season, Once Upon a Time began to really split their seasons into two major arcs, with each lasting around eleven episodes. Season four did that expertly and started with a bang. The show unexpectedly brought in Anna and Elsa of Frozen fame right around the time when the film was at its highest popularity. It seemed like Elsa would be painted as the villain but that turned out to not be the case, with the Snow Queen instead taking on the role.

The second half moved away from the Frozen storyline and brought in multiple baddies. Villains like Cruella, Ursula, and Maleficent were brought in, as the concept of the Author also became a reality. The great season is capped by arguably the show’s best finale, with “Operation Mongoose” sending Hook and Emma on a great adventure through time that brings them closer together.

1 Season 3 (8.6)

By season three, this show really seemed to figure things out. They knew which characters to pair up and that fans wanted them to visit new places. Season three started with a trip to Neverland as Peter Pan proved to arguably be the greatest villain they faced. The reveal that he was Rumple’s father and had a history with Baelfire only added his presence. The battle against Pan dragged a bit at points but ended tremendously.

It sent Emma and Henry out of Storybrooke and with no memories as a new curse hit. The second half of the season dealt with their return (thanks to Hook) and a fight against Zelena from Oz. These storylines were gripping, connected to the characters the fans already cared about, and made for some of the show’s best moments.

About The Author