With the curse broken, the residents of Storybrooke struggle with resolving their original and cursed memories, left wondering about the fate of their land. When Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold successfully introduces magic into the real world, some of the Storybrooke residents try to figure out how to return home, leading to an incident with the Mad Hatter's teleporting hat that causes Emma and Snow White/Mary Margaret to be accidentally transported to the Enchanted Forest.
They discover that part of the realm was spared from the curse, keeping the remaining inhabitants frozen during the 28 years. Among them are allies Aurora and Mulan, along with enemies Regina's mother Cora, and Captain Hook. The latter two follow Emma and Mary Margaret as they successfully make it back to Storybrooke, with Cora wanting to get even with Regina, and Hook wanting to kill Rumplestiltskin for taking his hand and his lover.
Meanwhile, Rumplestiltskin works to bypass the protective boundary and leave Storybrooke to find his missing son Baelfire, who is revealed to be Henry's father. The magical boundary around Storybrooke starts to falter, allowing strangers from the outside world to enter the town, including outsiders Greg Mendell and Tamara, who secretly work for a mysterious organization tracking and eliminating magic. Their actions lead to Henry's captivity in Neverland.