End of the Yellow Brick Road: Jennifer Morrison Quitting 'Once Upon a Time' After Season 6

The blonde bombshell has played the part of Emma Swan since the show's start back in 2011 and has gone on to be as powerful a female lead as Buffy or Xena. We have already lost Emma's fictional parents this season when Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas revealed they won't be back for a seventh run of the Disney drama.

Certainly as the show begins to wane and we run out of characters from the vault of Walt to introduce, could Morrison's departure be the final nail in the coffin for Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz's show?

And They All Lived Happily Ever After

Taking to her Instagram, Morrison broke the news to her fans on May 8 with an emotional farewell:

"I am absolutely blown away by the passion and commitment of the Oncer fans. I am so honored to have been a central part of such a special show.""I will be forever grateful to Adam, Eddy, and ABC for giving me the gift of playing Emma Swan."

Over the character's history we have seen her find her biological son, hook up with Captain Hook, and even take on a dark persona. Don't worry though, Emma Swan will be getting a swansong, and Morrison confirmed that if ABC pick up the show for another run, she will reprise her role for one final episode. This seemingly confirms that Swan will at least make it out of Season 6 alive, although her return could be in a flashback capacity.

The news will undoubtedly send panic through the network, because losing your lead actor is never a good sign. Shows like LOST and Desperate Housewives had a large ensemble cast, but even losing one of their big players would've been disastrous for the story. Given the fact that Emma was the de facto center of the piece, her departure will take some serious rejigging of the show's planned future. It is now left to Lana Parrilla's Regina Mills to do what she does best and steal the show.

The Final Chapter?

Alongside other cast members Lana Parrilla, Robert Carlyle, and Colin O’Donoghue, Morrison was invited to extend her contract in a show that was already promising big changes if it were renewed. The Season 6 finale is set to introduce two new characters as a "reset" on the series, so the loss of Emma may not be as catastrophic as we think.

Co-creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis paid tribute to Morrison in a statement to TV Line as we prepare for her farewell:

"The past six years of collaborating with Jennifer as Emma Swan have been truly magical. Watching her breathe life into Emma, she accomplished more than we could have dreamed possible – she gave life to a brand-new Disney Princess, filled with strength and intelligence and an incredible closet full of red leather jackets."“We’ll miss seeing her every day, but her imprint upon Once Upon a Time is indelible. She will always be a part of the show and its heart and soul.”

However, it will still likely come as a shock, breaking just days before the Season 6 finale. As the fifth most popular show on ABC, Once Upon a Time ranks just behind Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Designated Survivor, and How to Get Away with Murder, and still pulls in some impressive ratings. Showrunners confirm that the narrative of Season 6 was already set up for the departures of any cast members, and that no questions will be left when it wraps the season. While Morrison may be out for now, the creators promise that they will leave the door open for Emma's return if she desires. In the meantime though, it is time to leave that glass slipper behind and ride off into the sunset in a giant pumpkin.