Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Once,Ep 6 Title

Question: Any spoilers on Once Upon a Time? —Patti
Ausiello: Matt Mitovich just got off the horn with series creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis, and they caught us up on some of the backstory gaps that will be filled in via flashbacks during Season 3. Episode 2 is Snow/Charming-centric, covering the time between the former’s awakening from the sleep curse and when they encountered Regina on the battlefield. “How did the queen react to that? And who first told her?” Horowitz wonders.  Episode 3 will relate Tinkerbell’s origin, featuring The Blue Fairy (but not Amy Acker’s Nova) and addressing the question: “What makes a fairy?” Also on tap for fall is a new chunk of Rumple’s past, the tale of how Hook became a pirate and the self-explanatory Episode 6, titled “Ariel” (and yes, Eric is being cast/will not be an existing character).

Question: I’d like some Once Upon a Time in Wonderland scoop, please. —Mason
Ausiello: The Once spin-off will, in its third episode, sic no less than Beowulf‘s Grendel on Alice and The Knave. Envisioned (via an actor in prosthetics) as a “large, warted, ogre-like beast,” the cannibalistic Grendel will pose a mortal threat to its dinner the genie-seeking pair — though in typical Once fashion, there is more to this beast than meets the eye. But don’t go brushing up on your Old English just yet. “It’s a wink-and-a-nod, as opposed to a real deep-dive into Beowulf,” says series cocreator Adam Horowitz of the creature’s clash with Alice.