Once Upon A Time
ABC’sOnce Upon A Timeis a thaw sight of every song and dance under the Dominicus . From the Brother ’s Grimm fairytales toDisneyprincesses , every character in the serial publication represents an aspect of Graeco-Roman minor ’s literature . As is to be expected , they ’ve done quite a bit to change up the classic stories .
Rapunzel Tremaine , a prominent theatrical role in the show ’s final season , is base on the report of a princess who is trapped in a tower for many class and is known for her excessively long pilus . However , she is shown to be much more three - dimensional than that , and she differs in many ways from her Brothers Grimm similitude .
Updated September 2, 2022 by Meagan Bojarski:
The popularity of recent films likeThe Princessand the enthusiasm for upcoming labor likeThe School for Good and Evilprove that song and dance adjustment are needed now more than ever to look into the true substance of respectable and evil . Once Upon A Timewas one of very few series - duration exploration of the classic tales , and its twisting and repurposing of cock-and-bull story character reference like Rapunzel and Cinderella ’s malevolent stepmother remind viewers that everyone has the potential to be both a Hero of Alexandria and a villain depending on how they react to the challenges life befuddle at them .
She Goes Into The Tower Willingly
In the original story , Rapunzel was taken to the tug as a child as defrayal for her parents ' theft . She did n’t have intercourse any other aliveness , which led to the twisted parental human relationship she work with Mother Gothel . InOnce Upon A Time , she really goes into the tower willingly , because Mother Gothel promises that her captivity will ensure her husband and kid ’s health .
This is a bragging change from the archetype because it think Rapunzel knew precisely what she was missing . She had a genuine family out there , and while she wanted to see them again , she also do it that being away from them was for their protection . She was the one in ascendence , not Gothel .
Rapunzel Has Two Daughters Named Anastasia And Drizella
While Disney fans may not bed it establish onTangled ’s version of events , the fairytale reading of Rapunzel does have child . In many interlingual rendition , her maternity is how Mother Gothel finds out that she has been conform to up with her prince , and she gives birth to Twin Falls alone in the wilderness . Here , Once Upon A Timemay actually be kinder .
Rapunzel Tremaine has two daughters before she goes into the tower , and she devotes all her energy to them . Tying in with theCinderellaside of her character , the two lady friend are known as Anastasia and Drizella , the names Disney chose for Cinderella ’s half sister . Unlike the Disney version , however , Rapunzel Tremaine favor Anastasia to Drizella , which seduce it that much harder for her when Anastasia die .
She Escapes From The Tower Herself
Rapunzel is lock in in the tower with little more to do than wait in the classic fairy tale . Her prince promise to rescue her , but they end up being get by Mother Gothel , who casts Rapunzel into the wood . She does n’t have any delegacy , and her escape terminate up being more of a punishment than a assuagement .
However , Rapunzel Tremaine was able-bodied to be a minute more resourceful , proving thatRapunzel is a proper hero . After being imprisoned in the tower for six eld , Rapunzel make out off her highly foresightful hair and , attach it to a hook , climbs down from the towboat . She then trace a bunch of float lantern back home . No prince or punishment require .
She Works As A Servant For Her Husband
Rapunzel , in the original cock-and-bull story , is happily plug into to her prince as his wife . Rapunzel Tremaine , unfortunately , returns home after six twelvemonth to find her husband , Mark , espouse to a fair sex key Cecilia . To make matters worse , he has welcomed her daughter , Ella , into their family .
To reconnect with her daughters , Rapunzel has to work as a maid under her own ceiling . Though the family is tolerant to her , she is treated like an outsider . Her daughter Drizella ’s continued distance and her jealousy at Mark ’s cultism to Cecilia get Rapunzel to grow dark and take what she wants by force .
She Is Much More Ruthless
The original Rapunzel is a sweet and overmodest lineament , but Rapunzel Tremaine is much more remorseless . After Anastasia is killed , Rapunzel fight back , attempt to poison her married man ’s raw married woman and enslave her daughter , who she refers to as Cinderella . She had been tested for her purity and goodness , and soundly failed .
During the Fifth Curse , she becomes the moth-eaten and cruel chief executive officer of Belfrey Developments . Not only does she forcibly take custody of her granddaughter Lucy , but she also goes out of her direction to make it impossible for Jacinda , the girl ’s mother , to even see her daughter . Her backstory may be tragic , but she responded to it with cruelty .
Rapunzel Becomes Cinderella’s Evil Stepmother
The big change between the Hellenic story andOnce Upon A Time ’s reading is that Rapunzel ’s character is motley with another : Cinderella ’s evil stepmotherLady Tremaine . This was her name before she was air to the tower , but she becomes more exchangeable to the flick character after she break out .
When Rapunzel returns to her family , she finds that they have go on without her , with her husband marrying a charwoman whose girl is mention Ella . While technically Rapunzel was Marcus ’s first wife , she terminate up becoming Cinderella ’s stepmother after her escape .
Rapunzel Blames Cinderella For Her Daughter’s Death
In the original version ofCinderella , the wicked stepmother detest Cinderella simply because she is n’t her biological daughter . Sometimes , this is exasperate by her frustration with her husband ’s continued idolatry to his late wife . But in Rapunzel ’s case , she has a real cause to detest her stepdaughter .
While the folk was partake in a playfulness day out on a frozen lake , the ice crack and Ella and Anastasia fell in . Marcus Tremaine jumped in to save them but could only take hold of one . Ella . This sealed Rapunzel ’s hate for her , because she believed that Marcus chose Ella over Anastasia , and that choice led to her favorite fry ’s end .
She Attempts To Get Gothel On Her Side
In the original fairytale , Rapunzel is promised to an nameless sorceress before her birth , who work a purely villainous role in the story . Tangledcomplicates this narrative by establishing an tender relationship between Mother Gothel and Rapunzel , even as she goes out of her style to keep Rapunzel subdued .
WhileGothel is likewise villainousinOnce Upon A Time , Rapunzel ( AKA Victoria ) tries to get Gothel to work with her in resuscitate her girl . Gothel uses her conjuration to preserve Anastasia ’s body , but her true motivation soon become cleared . Rapunzel get laid that Gothel is selfish and malign , but she still tries to get her to do what she wants , forming an alliance that her fairytale counterpart never would .
Rapunzel Punishes Cinderella With Her Own Fate
When Rapunzel reelect home , she was forced to be a maid for her own family , and this is precisely the lot that she drive on Cinderella . In the original stories , there is no indication that Rapunzel ever penalize anyone after she escaped , and Cinderella ’s stepmother never seems to have stand in her own right .
By make this a cyclical penalization , Once Upon A Timeactually does a ripe job of showing the potential cycle of abuse that can happen when someone who has been ache takes that out on others . It is one ofOnce Upon A Time ’s strongest messages and terminate up foreshadowing the grandness of reformed villain break the pattern .
She Locks Gothel In The Tower
Rapunzel is famously get laid as the princess in the tower , but what she does after she elude says a lot about her quality . In the original fairytale , she wanted nothing more than to populate blithely with her prince and children . However , Rapunzel Tremaine superintend to become the tables on her captor .
When Gothel reveals that she intends to capture Anastasia for her pure heart , Rapunzel negociate to utilise the witch ’s magic against her and locks her in the tower . During the Hyperion Heights storyline , Gothel is a captive in Victoria ’s building . While some version of the fairytale do admit Gothel winding up trapped in the tower herself , it ’s never shown as a shape of vengeance like it is inOnce Upon A Time .
Rapunzel Succeeded In Ruining Cinderella At The Ball
Turning back to Rapunzel Tremaine ’s function as Cinderella ’s stepmother , she has alike motivations to her fairytale counterpart , but with far more impressive results . In the original stories , Cinderella ’s stepmother tries to keep Cinderella from going to the ball totally , a task she finally fail at . However , Rapunzel Tremaine seduce somemajor changes to theCinderellastory .
Once Upon A Time ’s version of Cinderella come to the orb to kill the prince , and Rapunzel knew it . She kill Cinderella ’s fairy godmother to keep her from getting external help and then frame Cinderella for the prince ’s death . While the traditional stepmother failed , Rapunzel Tremaine bring off to take everything from her stepdaughter at the prince ’s egg .
She Has Magical Abilities
In the original fairytale , Rapunzel is just an average woman who is keep open by sheer lot . InOnce Upon A Time , however , she has magical abilities , though they ’re somewhat limited . She can use blood magic and faery magic , which allow her to twist the earthly concern in her favor .
There are some variate where Rapunzel watch legerdemain , like the NeopolitanPetrosinella , but it ’s never shown as an vile baron . That element has to come in from Rapunzel ’s other song and dance counterpart . InCinderella III , Lady Tremaine gets control of the fairy godmother ’s sceptre and uses it to undo Cinderella ’s happy end — exactly what she tries to do in the show .
She Is A CEO
In the original fairy story , Rapunzel is very two - dimensional , existing only to be saved by the prince . Tangledgives her a mo more profundity , but she also seems contented with living with her parents and prince in that populace . Rapunzel Tremaine , however , has higher ambition , being re - incarnated as Victoria Belfrey in Hyperion Heights .
There , Rapunzel is the CEO of Belfrey Developments and works purposefully to terminate the cursed house physician of the metropolis to keep them from remember each other . Her girl , Ivy , is her personal supporter and the pair go out of their style to make everyone around them miserable .
She Doesn’t Live Happily Ever After
Like many fairytale heroines , Rapunzel is reunited with her prince after some time apart , and she live on happily ever after in his kingdom . Rapunzel Tremaine , however , was not that lucky . When she finally returned from the tower , her husband had remarried , and she was thrust to live as a maidservant in her own home .
By the clock time of her ill-timed death , she is broken and dusty . She even tells her footstep - granddaughter , Lucy , that she " sacrifice everything for [ her ] menage , and the only affair [ she ] ever got in regaining was pain . " Neither playing the hero nor the scoundrel gave her the happiness that so many others were able-bodied to welcome .
She Sacrifices Herself For Her Daughter
While Victoria is presented as a heartless and account woman throughout her story arc , she eventually gets a spark of redemption that even her fairytale counterpart do n’t have . After Victoria succeeds in revive her girl , Anastasia , Gothel kidnaps the miss to force her into her coven .
Gothel then plans to enfeeble Ivy ’s life force to wake Lucy . In a desperate effort to salve her girl , Victoria sacrifices herself in place of her daughter , rationalise to her with her dying breath . The character was a baddie for most of her liveliness , but she had a better hero ’s destruction than most princesses can claim .
NEXT:10 Once Upon A Time Filler Episodes That Are Still expectant