- “"Mother" means different things to different people. I tend to their needs, as I can tend to yours.”
- ―Gothel to Rumplestiltskin
Gothel, also known as Eloise Gardener, following the Dark Curse, is a character featured in the seventh season of the ABC fantasy-drama series Once Upon a Time. She serves as the main antagonist of the final season.
Gothel was a tree nymph who lived in a grove that served as the last refuge of magic in the land. After her fellow sister were massacred by the humans, Gothel in turn eradicated the entire population within the realm, and left for the Magical Forest. Over the thousands of years, Gothel began recruiting witches, to form a coven and destroy humanity for good. She also sought the Guardian, a powerful being of good, whom she initially believed to be Rapunzel. After becoming trapped within a magical tower, Gothel ployed a dalliance with a pirate, later giving birth, and allowing her to escape, while her daughter took her place as the towers prisoner. Following the Dark Curse, she is known as Eloise Gardener, a woman being held prisoner by Victoria Belfrey, the new cursed identity of Rapunzel.
History[]
Born a Tree Nymph, Gothel was groomed by her mother to take on the responsibility of "mother" in leading her sisters to maintain nature. However, Gothel becomes curious about humanity and befriends a group of humans who see her doing magic and apparently want her to teach them. This is just a ruse though as they actually believe magic to be an abomination and humiliate Gothel for being a Tree Nymph before heading to the Tree Nymphs' grove and destroy it, which in turn kills all the Nymphs but Gothel. An enraged Gothel confronts the humans and uses her magic to kill all the humans in the realm except Seraphina, a witch who hid her powers in fear of persecution. With all the magic in their land having been purged, Gothel uses a magic bean to transport Seraphina and herself to the Magical Forest, vowing to return and take vengeance of humanity once they come back.
Sometime during her life, Gothel becomes known as a famed Mother Nature and details about ways to summon her ends up in a spellbook. One night, Gothel catches Rapunzel stealing her magical herbs. In a bid to find the Guardian, she makes a deal with Rapunzel to secure her family's happiness by imprisoning her in a tower, but Rapunzel eventually escapes six years later. Gothel pays her a visit and provided her with a curse via toadstools from New Wonderland. Later, in the brink of death, Rapunzel brings Anastasia to her, where Gothel preserves Anastasia's last breath and threatens to keep Anastasia in her tower, but Rapunzel traps her instead. In order to escape, Gothel has to replace herself with a bloodline of hers, resulting in her deceiving Hook into bearing her child. Speeding up the pregnancy in a day, she gives birth to a baby girl and escapes the tower, leaving the child to replace her as the tower's prisoner. Eventually, she is sent to the Land Without Magic when the Dark Curse is cast.
In Hyperion Heights, Gothel ends up as a prisoner of Victoria Belfrey as Eloise Gardener. She is locked in shackles at Belfrey Tower, at the highest level, away from plain sight. After digging up her deceased daughter's coffin, Victoria brings it to her prison, hoping for her help to resurrect her daughter, but she declines. Days after, Ivy investigates the room with Roni to find dirt on her mother, but Eloise was gone at the time. Ivy later visits the room again, this time revealing that she was the one who asked Eloise to hide while Roni was around, with Eloise aware that Ivy too remembers her past life, much like Victoria. She then creates a potion for Ivy in order to wake up a cursed Roni. Eloise is eventually freed by Detective Rogers and teams up with Ivy to find Anastasia's body. After double-crossing Victoria and Ivy, Gothel plans to use Anastasia to gather together their followers like the ones who helped in the Dark Curse. In order to heal Lucy, Gothel plans to sacrifice Ivy as part of the resurrection amulet's magic only for Victoria to take her place instead. Gothel is eventually double-crossed by Anastasia when the latter makes amends with Ivy and leaves the Coven of the Eight. She eventually indoctrinates Tilly into the coven, planning to use her to cast a spell that will exterminate all of humanity.
Before the spell can be completed, however, the curse is broken when Henry gives true love's kiss to Regina. When Tilly arrives with Weaver, Margot, and Rogers, she stands up to Gothel. Gothel attempts to kill her, but Tilly blocks her attack and strikes Gothel instead. Gothel is unable to stop her transformation into a tree. Tilly sympathizes with her mother and promises to do better than her before creating hyacinth flowers on the roots of her tree.
Gallery[]
Photography[]
Screenshots[]
