Once Upon a Time rapidly evolved into the darling of the ABC Network as both nostalgic adults and fantasy-enamored youth flocked to the re-imagined fairy tales in the modern world. Part of the show's allure stemmed from the familiar stories and the need to find out just how every tale might pan out each week, but an even larger aspect that quickly grew the fan base was simply the characters themselves.
Inspiring, cunning, brave, and highly flawed, the characters of Once Upon a Time were a times more of a trainwreck none of us could turn away from, even when seasons became cringe-worthy and more commercialized than clever. The hardest heart could be kind and the most innocent and loving could be cruel. Fans never knew if their favorite character might be a hero or a villain any given week.
Much of the show's character development rested upon each character's strengths and weaknesses. Characters who demonstrated phenomenal, even supernatural strength, might be the weakest of all when it came to their emotions. Meanwhile, those who appeared meek surprised us all as they turned a corner in the name of love or justice. While many fans mourn the show, they will always hold onto the incredible stories and the characters, both weak and strong, who made them so unforgettable.
From the bravest heroes who turned bad to the villains who gave it up and surprised us all, here are the 13 Strongest (And 12 Weakest) Once Upon A Time Characters, Ranked.
25. Strongest: Rumplestiltskin
He is the original bad boy of the series and his power has never been doubted.
Mr. Gold, also known as Rumplestiltskin, walked a long gray line between good and evil, constantly causing everyone to guess where his alliances truly lay throughout the entire span of the series.
Robert Carlyle portrayed this character so masterfully that the Beast simply couldn't be written off, with rumors of his demise routinely being greatly exaggerated.
The one thing that keeps Gold from being a stronger character? His own greed and fear. Rumple is his own worst enemy.
24. Weakest: Prince Philip
As far as prince stories go, the tale of Prince Philip is a little unorthodox. Sure, he awakens Aurora with a kiss, but not only is he frozen in time but he also ends up being the Yaoguai, a terrible beast.
Twice he's been bested by evil witches and both times he had to be rescued by someone else.
While many fans enjoyed this reversal of the woman in the refrigerator trope, it did paint a less heroic version of Philip than the Disney one would have us believe.
Then again, in the original telling of Sleeping Beauty, the prince is a creep, so perhaps it's still an improvement.
23. Strongest: Baelfire
It's difficult to leave a parent, particularly one who is dependent on you, lies to you daily and enforces the belief that your own mother abandoned you.
Baelfire, who grew up to be Henry's father, managed to do just that, leaving behind a world of magic when his own father refused to do so. Once he landed in our world, Bae adhered to a less stringent moral code, adapting to life as a thief, but it wasn't as if he had a lot of choice without any parents or a job.
While Bae's physical strength is average, his strong ethical com is what gains him a spot on the list of strongest characters.
22. Weakest: Jiminy Cricket
A man who should have been listed among the strongest characters when it comes to ethics is actually one of the weakest people in Storybrooke.
He has no magic or physical strength.
Not only is Jiminy responsible for attempting to poison his own parents, no matter how wretched they were, and inadvertently transforming an innocent couple into wooden dolls, but he was also complicit in some pretty dark plots. He gave poor counsel to Henry just because his mother ordered him to do so.
For someone who is meant to be a conscience, Jiminy isn't as strong as he should be.
21. Strongest: Blue Fairy
Time and time again, the Blue Fairy proved to be one of the strongest people in the history of the show.
Though she's supposedly the most powerful creature in all the land, she is not without limitations-- or mistakes as it was she who ultimately instilled the idea of the Storybrooke curse.
She also translates the spell to summon the Black Fairy without meaning to do so, prompting viewers to wonder how someone nearly omnipotent could not only make so many mistakes but could also be so hard on other fairies. Still, she does come to the rescue often and her powers are nearly unrivaled.
20. Weakest: Cinderella
Although Cinderella has a kind heart and usually has a positive attitude, she's easily one of the most boring and helpless characters on the show.
Indebted to Rumpelstiltskin with her baby, she doesn't seem to be able to do much for herself at all.
While other princesses turn into strong fighters for justice or at least their own families, Cinderella just isn't very impressive.
It's not that she's a terrible person, but the odds are stacked against her if she's going to be this milquetoast. She's one of the fairy tale characters whose story the show didn't mess with much.
19. Strongest: Ursula
The sea witch of Little Mermaid fame always got a bad rap when she was the most powerful thing in the ocean. With all of that power and charisma, Ursula should have been an incredible plus-sized force to be reckoned with. Many authors have re-imagined her tale with these twists.
Once Upon a Time did, not only making her one of few people of color on the show but also a villain with a tragic backstory who betters herself and those around her.
Her defiance of the darkness that other villains could not fight makes her one of the strongest characters.
18. Weakest: Sheriff Graham
Easily taken out by Regina the moment he started regaining his memories, Graham did her bidding in Storybrooke.
Regina holds his heart hostage, making him a victim of her control and assault.
Though he was stronger as the Huntsman who afforded Snow White her freedom, Graham's ineptitude as sheriff is magnified as we witness other similarly non-powered characters manage to evade Regina for years.
After Hook gets his heart back, fans especially wondered how Graham couldn't have received a better conclusion to his story.
17. Strongest: Granny
Always there with a crossbow and some major attitude, Granny is one of the most steadfast characters in Storybrooke.
When it's revealed that Widow Lucas is also the fierce protector of her granddaughter Ruby, who happens to be a werewolf, she transforms the old kindly grandmother fairy tale trope into something new and exciting on the show.
Although Granny often butts heads with her headstrong granddaughter, as guardians often do, her heart is almost always in the right place. She's someone everyone would want on their team.
It's just too bad that her character didn't get any deeper episodes following that initial revelation.
16. Weakest: Magic Mirror
We can't help but pity Sidney, the Genie of Agrabah, who fell in love with the Evil Queen and did her bidding with the hopes of winning her heart.
We also despise him for taking out the person who granted him his freedom in the process: King Leopold.
Sidney Glass never learns his lesson, going as far as to punish them both by vowing to never leave her side, causing him to become the Magic Mirror.
It's one of the cleverest spins on a fairy tale in the series but it's also the complete desecration of the beloved Robin Williams Genie everyone knew and loved.
