Nerdy Girl Contributor Leah shares with us her hopes for the upcoming season of Once Upon a Time (premiering September 30 at 8 p.m. on ABC).

As we’re getting closer to the Season 2 premiere of ABC’s Once Upon a Time, I’ve become more and more excited for what the cast and crew have in store for us this year. While there are many things I’d love to see in Season 2 (more magical creatures, more of the dwarves, more of the female friendships), here are a few of the big things that I’m wishing on a star to see in this sure-to-be magical second season.

Number One: A Charming Family Reunion
One of my favorite things about Once Upon a Time is the importance it places upon families and parent-child relationships. We’ve seen throughout Season One that being abandoned by her parents has had a profound effect on Emma, and her tearful confession in the pilot to Henry that “[…] at least she [Regina] wants you” makes us hurt with her from the start. Between that scene and the sequence (also from the pilot) that depicts Snow White and Prince Charming making the gut-wrenching decision to give the newborn Emma “her best chance” by sending her to safety through the wardrobe, I can’t help but yearn for a tearful, happy reunion for my favorite fairytale family. I know that the scene may not come right away, as Emma undoubtedly still has hurt and anger over being abandoned for all these years, but I trust that, with these writers, the payoff will be more than worth it.

Number Two: Continue to Build Regina’s Complexity
In Season One, we got a good taste of the depth of this character, brilliantly played by Lana Parrilla and wonderfully written by the Once Upon a Time writers. As we come to see on the show, Regina is not your black-and-white evil villainess. The complexity that is brought to her by the genius of the Once cast and crew is one of my favorite parts of this show, and in “The Stable Boy,” where we see the origins of the darkness residing in Regina’s heart, we also see that she used to be incredibly warm and loving. In the finale, “A Land Without Magic,” we see Regina display vulnerability when it comes to her son Henry. Parrilla’s performance makes you believe that Regina truly does love him, and your heart breaks for her, even though you know that she has caused so much pain herself. I’m anxious to see how Regina and Henry’s relationship will be impacted now that the curse is broken, and to continue to see Regina being a fierce, strong villain while still retaining the humanity that makes her such an interesting character.

Number Three: A Moment of Triumph & Reunions
The first season of Once built up to the moment where Emma believes in and breaks the curse. Now that it has happened, I’d like to see the show take at least a few minutes in the premiere episode of Season Two to let us feel Emma’s victory and see how the characters react to remembering who they are. A moment of triumph where we feel that good has won a battle versus the Evil Queen and a confrontation with her before she is able to go back to her extremely successful manipulations (and we get back into the thick of the war), will give even more strength to the Season One finale and let us pause for a moment before the whirlwind of Season Two truly begins.

I also would like to see the reunions between more characters than just who we saw in “A Land Without Magic.” I would love to see how Red and Granny react now that they remember who they are, as well as Dreamy/Grumpy and Nova, Snow White and the seven dwarves, and even more.

Number Four: Emma the Mother
We’ve seen Emma grow into her relationship with Henry in Season One, but I want to see how their dynamic changes in Season Two now that Emma knows Henry was telling the truth about the fairytales the whole time—and now that Regina may be less of a force in Henry’s life. I’m looking forward to seeing Emma grow in her role as Henry’s mother, and I hope that at some point she consults with her own mother (Snow) on how to deal with something in Henry’s life.

Number Five: Baelfire
We’ve seen that Baelfire is of huge importance to his father, Rumplestiltskin, and now that we know that he seems to have been sent to “our world” by the magic bean, I want to learn more about what happened to him once he arrived. Has he been near Storybrooke at all? Was he even transported to the United States, or was he sent to a different country? What has he been doing all these years? Has anyone in Storybrooke run into him unknowingly already?

Number Six: The Beauty and the Beast
The Once writers’ spin on the classic “Beauty and the Beast” story was one of my favorite fairytale twists, and the relationship between Belle and Rumplestiltskin was beautifully played out in “Skin Deep.” We saw a short reunion in “A Land Without Magic,” but I hope to see more of Belle’s backstory, both in Storybrooke and Fairytale Land. How did she get locked up? Does she know any of the other main fairytale characters? I also want to see how Rumplestiltskin bringing magic back into Storybrooke affects their relationship. I doubt Belle will be happy that Rumplestiltskin seems to still be obsessed with power, and I’m interested to see their relationship as the season goes on.

Number Seven: Henry’s Father
Henry’s father has barely been mentioned in the series so far, but seeing that Emma lied about him to Henry (and why she says she lied) makes me incredibly curious as to who he is and where he is now. Some of the fan theories about who Henry’s father is (Is he a fairytale character himself?) also have me excited and wanting to see (or hear) more about him.

Number Eight: Make New Friends But Keep the Old
As we move forward into Season Two and onto new characters, my wish is that we still continue to learn about all the characters we grew to love in Season One while discovering the others. This is a big cast, but I have faith that the writers can handle the balance of old and new.

Number Nine: Rumplestiltskin’s Favor
Some of you may remember that at the end of “The Price of Gold,” Emma makes a deal with Mr. Gold in order for Ashley (Cinderella) to keep her baby. That deal was for a favor at some point in the future, and I want to see that favor come into play in the big way that I’m sure the writers have planned for it. It’s sure to be a dramatic moment, and I’m curious to see whether Emma will go by the deal she made with Rumplestiltskin or if she will be able to say no without magical consequences since she is the “savior.”

Number Ten: The Fate of the Alter Egos
Now that all the residents of Storybrooke remember their fairytale selves, what happens to the lives they have been living for 28 years? I, for one, hope that all of their characters’ interactions in Season One Storybrooke are still a factor in events in this new Storybrooke. As much as I love the fairytale characters, I also grew to love the Storybrooke versions as well, and I am not quite ready to give up Mary Margaret, Ruby, David, Kathryn, Archie, and the rest of the group.

Honorable Mentions
• The Charmings and Henry: While I desperately want a reunion between Emma and her parents, I’m also looking forward to seeing Henry interacting with Snow and Charming now that they know they have a grandson.
• A Big Twist: These writers are the kings and queens of creating plotlines that twist and turn, and with each episode I watched I was surprised by something. I am sure they will continue to blow my mind, and I hope they reveal something in Season Two that is another game-changer.
• What Happened to August?: At the end of Season One, we saw that August (Pinocchio) turned back into wood. Now that magic is back in Storybrooke, will he be a real man again, or will it take something more to change him back from his wooden form?
• More of Sheriff Graham (The Huntsman) and Jefferson (The Mad Hatter): I loved these two characters in Season One, and I truly hope they’ll be back in Season Two. If nothing else, I hope we see the Huntsman in flashbacks, and I hope we see Jefferson reunited with his daughter after all that he’s gone through in being forced to remember his true identity for 28 years while (practically) no one else did.
• More Strong Female Characters: I love how the writers have portrayed the female characters in this series so far, and I can’t wait to see new ones. A few who I’d love to see in Season Two (or at some point in the show) are: Meg from Disney’s Hercules, Ariel, Mulan, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, and Jasmine.

What about you? Are there certain things you hope to see in the upcoming season of Once Upon a Time? Let me know what you think in the comments below!