Mermaids, pixie dust and pirates were to await fans as the season three premiere of ABC’s hit show “Once Upon A Time” aired this past Sunday. 

After the first season of the show came out around two years ago, many viewers weren’t so sure that the show would ever make it past the first season. However, two years and millions of viewers later, the show has become an extremely popular fan favorite. 

Highly hyped at Comic Con this summer, the third season of “Once Upon A Time” was one of the highly anticipated fall TV premieres.

All of the same cast of characters are back, and this time the action takes place in the beloved storybook setting of Neverland; although, this Neverland is a dangerous and dark place not at all closely similar to the happy-go-lucky Disney version. 

For those who aren’t familiar with “Once Upon A Time,” the show is famous for taking well-known fairy tale stories and adding its own twists and tying many of the characters stories together. 

At the end of last season the show briefly showed Peter Pan’s story and the legend of Neverland itself being an ominous place and not at all like the magical land most people know it to be. 

The foreshadowing from last season was created for a perfect opener for this new season. 

Beginning from where season two ended, the first episode of season three starts with main characters Emma, Snow White, David (Prince Charming), Regina (Evil Queen), and Rumpelstiltskin are all on a journey to save Emma’s son, Henry, who has been kidnapped. Although all of the characters have dysfunctional family relationships with each other, they still have the same goal in common: rescuing Henry. All together on the famed ship of Captain Hook, the characters battle storms, gorgeous yet deathly mermaids and their distaste for one another. 

What makes season three so different from the earlier seasons is that instead of focusing on one character’s story, all of the stories are now combining together as they all interact with one another. 

In the meantime Henry is on Neverland Island already running for his life from the lost boys, who greatly resemble the Death Eaters from “Harry Potter” rather than cute kids in furry animal costumes, while he is accompanied by another young boy also running from the lost boys. As Henry begins to trust his newfound friend, the boy then reveals himself to actually be the feared Peter Pan of the island and lures Henry into what seems like certain death, when the episode abruptly ends.

The alteration of the Peter Pan story for the show is very intriguing and it will be interesting to see how the writers create their own world of Peter Pan and Neverland. Season three seems to be taking a more darker role than the past two seasons which will create more drama and more surprises. Viewers will be excited to be introduced to two more loved fairy tale characters this season: Robin Hood and The Little Mermaid. 

Robin Hood was briefly introduced in the first episode of season three and many fans have already posted teasers about the introduction of Ariel on various blogs and websites for her episode coming up in a couple weeks.

Fans of “Once Upon A Time” are also looking forward to the spin-off “Once Upon A Time In Wonderland,” which will debut Oct. 10. With the same fairy tale-to-modern day premise as the main show, it will focus on Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland while adding its own twists to the story line. 

“Once Upon A Time” and its new spin-off will definitely add some magic to this fall television season.