'Once Upon A Time'
Actress Jennifer Morrison and creator and executive producer Adam Horowitz, on the new series "Once Upon A Time" speak during a panel sesssion at the ABC Summer TCA Press Tour in Beverly Hills , California August 7, 2011. Reuters/Fred Prouser

Evil isn't born; it is made. Following this philosophy, “Once Upon A Time” season 7 will trace the journey of the new villain Lady Tremaine (Gabrielle Anwar) and reveal why she turned out the way she did. The character is also more experienced than the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) and will use that experience to diminish the chances of those against her.

The ABC TV series has the tradition of introducing complex villains with interesting backstories explaining their motivations. The upcoming season will continue that tradition.

“Lady Tremaine doesn’t like Cinderella very much and she’s got an agenda. But there is something broiling beneath that’s personal and painful that is driving all of this,” executive producer Adam Horowitz said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. It is important for the new villain to be royal, crushing anyone who stands in her way, the producer revealed.

One way Lady Tremaine is different from the Evil Queen is that she has learned wisdom from all the villains and curses that came before. What she noticed is that whenever the heroes come together, they find a way to beat the bad guys. To stop that from happening, Lady Tremaine will scatter the heroes around different locations.

Lady Tremaine is in charge of Hyperion Heights, a magical town part of Seattle. People inside and outside fairy tales live here. Thus the villain is trying to push out all the characters and bring in new people.

The producers also teased that Lady Tremaine may be the villain, but she was not the one who cast the new curse. The premiere episode will not reveal who, so fans will have to wait for a while to find out.

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