After Going To hell and back 'Once upon a time' returns home for season 6

Season 6 of the hugely popular ABC fantasy-drama 'Once upon a Time’ returns to our screens on 25th September for explosive storylines, set to unfold in the series’ hometown of Storybrooke. Here our heroes encounter some uninvited and agitated guests and find themselves discovering more about their personal duality through the interactions they have with them.

The new characters threaten Storybrooke with dark forces, being brought from the Land of Untold Stories by the now malevolent Mr Hyde who has become separated from Dr Jekyll. The dark half of Regina (the Evil Queen) declares war on the heroes after being unburdened by a conscience.

Season 6 Explores the Dark Side of our Heroes

The show’s producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz say they wanted to explore the conflicting aspects of the heroe's personalities that make them who they are. In season 6 the Evil Queen returns literally split into two, revealing the duality between two sides of her nature as they battle it out with each other. Horowitz says that they wanted to use the setting of Storybrooke as an opportunity to explore what makes each character tick and whether they can control the villainous tendencies within themselves.

What about Rumple's 'Bumpy' Ride?

In Season 5 we saw Rumple selling Storybrooke to Hyde in exchange for awaking Belle and the upcoming Season sees him trying to win back her love. Bearing in mind there’s now a baby involved, Belle’s priorities have changed and she has concerns that Rumple is not the best man to raise her child. Nevertheless, 'Once upon a Time’ is supposed to be full of happy endings and so there’s hope that one day, Rumple and Belle will find happiness with each other.

Belle and Rumple at season 5

'Once upon a Time’ – The Cast

Stars that have confirmed their return to Season 6 include Emilie de Ravin, Lana Parilla, Robert Carlyle as Rumpelstiltskin, Rebecca Mader playing Zelena and Jared Gilmore as Henry Mills. It has recently been announced that Hank Harris and Sam Witwer have signed up to play two new characters on the show. In late August, it was announced that both Jonny Coyne and Tzi Ma will be rejoining the series for season 6, reprising their roles as Dr Lydgate and the Dragon respectively.

Is Robin Hood Returning in Season 6?

If the reported 3,000 tweets every few seconds is true, fans of the magical drama series have been desperately hoping to see the return of Sean Maguire as Robin Hood, despite his soul being obliterated by Hades. At the Season’s premier just a few days ago, Kitsis and Horowitz exclusively revealed that the character is unlikely to return, telling fans simply that 'I’d say, dead is dead'. They explained that Season 6 will focus more on the character of Regina and her battle with her own duality, hinting that she deals with loss and moves on with her life after a spectacular run of bad luck in the show.

Regina and Robin Hood

Other things to look out for in the latest season of 'Once upon a Time’ is a developing relationship between Regina and Zelena who become roommates and Mr Gold’s continued attempts to awake Belle from the sleeping curse she’s under. There’s also speculation that Hook and Emma could finally come out in the open with their relationship although with Emma’s dark secrets, it’s uncertain how long the romance can last.

'Once upon a Time’ Season 6 is set to be as gripping as the story so far and with the addition of new and controversial characters into the cast, the dynamic is sure to be as explosive in Storyville as anticipated to be by the show’s many fans.

Aladdin and Jafar make their debut in season 6's opening scene