Once Upon A Time Season 3 Speculation: Will Neverland Be A Permanent Destination?

We’ve given a lot of thought about how our Storybrooke residents might end up in Neverland, but not much to what happens when they get there. Because, the thing is: if they go to Neverland, they’ll be in Neverland. And, from what we remember, that’s not the sort of trip you take lightly. What if this trip is less of a vacation and more of a move? Some fans are speculating that the trip to Neverland could stretch into Season 3.
Time to Get the Heck Outta Dodge!
Things have not been going well in Storybrooke. Outsiders with questionable motives are running around left and right. Residents still can’t cross the town line without forgetting who they are. And Regina is back to her Evil Queen self. Let’s just say, it’s not the home away from home Snow White seems to want it to be.
We know that OUAT likes game-changing endings, and have speculated about how they will end Season 2, but a mass relocation should be added to the list as a possibility. The issues that plague Storybrooke right now are not ones that can be easily magicked away, which means if the residents of Storybrooke do high-tail it out of there, they might not be coming back for a while. Our best guess at their new home...

Neverland Forever and Ever?
With the final two episodes of Once Upon A Time’s second season entitled “Second Star to the Right” and “And Straight on ‘Til Morning,” it’s been hard not to see Peter Pan around every spoiler corner. The OUAT Powers That Be have said that we will see Peter Pan — just not this season ... But what about next season?
Even though we have not yet seen Peter Pan, the show has spent a lot of time building the Neverland mythology with moves like the introduction of Captain Hook (and his ship) and the implication that Neal was in Neverland before coming to our world. They just cast young actress Freya Tingley for an upcoming guest star role, and we wonder if the Australian beauty could be Wendy. We think OUAT may be ready to explore a whole new world. (Stop singing, Aladdin! You’re not a character yet.)
I Call Mermaid Lagoon!
If done badly, this concept could seriously suck, but if done right, an extended trip to Neverland could be pretty fun to watch. Who would snatch up the waterfront property in Mermaid Lagoon (warning! it’s not as nice as it looks)? Would Henry get to hang out with the Lost Boys? Are grown-ups besides Hook even allowed there? The world of Peter Pan is rich with characters and stories to explore that go far past its title character, and the story’s theme of abandoned children fits in so well with a central theme of the show.
If the show does spend some time in Neverland, we hope that it maintains its connections to the worlds of the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke ... which may be too much to ask. We’ve enjoyed this past season, but it has suffered from an overabundance of characters and a neglect of the original ones we know and love. We don’t mind OUAT going in new and interesting directions — we encourage it — we just don’t want them to forget about the paths they’ve already starting walking down.
Do you think there is any truth to the speculation that Season 3 will find our fairy talers in Neverland for a while? Let us know your theories in the comments below!
Catch the next episode of Once Upon a Time on Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.