Five things fans want to see now that everyone is back in Storybrooke

After a relatively truncated winter break (for network shows, anyway) ABC’s ‘Once Upon a Time’ returns tonight and fans are chomping at the big to see what happens.

So, where did we leave things?

After weeks of separation from their loved ones, Snow White and Emma managed to return to Storybrooke – where Snow woke Charming with true love’s kiss and Emma was reunited with Henry.

Despite doing the right thing in the end, Regina felt shut out when Henry happily ran off with Emma and his new family, and Rumplestiltskin couldn’t stop himself from rubbing Regina’s misery in her face.

The last shot we saw before the show broke for Christmas was a happy Cora and Captain Hook as they descended on Storybrooke from the seas.

With a new – and bigger – foe on the horizon, I’m sure the denizens of Storybrooke are going to have their hands few.  I do have a few things I want to see now that everyone is reunited:

5. The side character need to be featured more: Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see them take over the show, but I want to see more of Grumpy, Red, Belle and Jefferson. Because of the characters being separated for the bulk of the first half of the season, the secondary characters we’ve already grown to love were really left in the lurch. Only a handful of them have seen any character growth at all. Now that everyone is back together, it will be fun to see everyone join together against a common enemy.

4. Emma needs to get to know her father: I don’t begrudge Emma and Snow the time they spent together. It was necessary. The thing is, Emma and Snow already knew each other as friends. While it will be hard for Emma to accept Snow as her mother, at least they already have a framework to work on. The same can’t be said for David and Emma. For the most part, David and Emma’s interaction has almost completely revolved around crimes. Now that they’re reunited, I would like to see the two of them sit down and have a serious discussion. I thoroughly enjoyed David’s bonding with Henry, but David and Emma seriously need to have a conversation with one another that doesn’t revolve around murder suspicions and affair doubts.

3. Snow and Regina come to an uneasy truce: Look, I don’t expect these two to start braiding each others' hair, but as long as Emma is around, Regina will be protected. I never understood how Regina could hold a grudge against a small child for so long – but it’s time to get over it. I don’t blame Snow for being upset that Regina killer her dad – but it’s time to let bygones be bygones. These two have done a lot of damage to each other – and not a real threat is coming to town that is probably going to take the both of them working together to defeat.

2. Captain Hook exacts his revenge on Rumplestiltskin: Mr. Gold is one of those villains you love to hate. I often find myself rooting for him – while actively detesting what he’s doing. It’s an interesting dichotomy. Still, Hook has established himself as a charming rogue – in eyeliner, no less – and I’m ready for him to go head-to-head with Rumplestiltskin. The fearsome foursome of Rumple, Hook, Regina and Cora is going to have reverberations for a very long time in Storybrooke. Let the games begin.

1. Emma and Neal come face-to-face: We all know now that Neal – aka Henry’s father – was the man that we saw get the telegraph of Storybrooke in the opening shot of the season. Now that Emma is back – and reunited with Henry – I want to see the duo have a heart-to-heart about what happened and how Emma became a single mother who was forced to give her up child. Emma has a lot of love choices in Storybrooke, especially if Neal returns. We still don’t know where Pinocchio went – and Captain Hook seemed to have a soft spot for her. Still, I think Neal is Baelfire – and he’ll have other ties to Storybrooke that are separate than the ones we already know about. I still miss the Huntsman, too. They shouldn’t have killed him off so quickly.

What do you think? What do you want to see happen in Storybrooke?