Maleficent

"Whoever created that monstrosity makes the two of us look positively...moral." — Maleficent, about Mr. Gold.

Maleficent is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. She is a dark sorceress who is known for being the enemy of Sleeping Beauty, and was temporarily the guardian of the dark curse. Maleficent is portrayed by actress Kristin Bauer van Straten.

Before the Curse
A man named Rumplestiltskin gives David Nolan the task of hiding a golden egg inside the belly of a beast. David goes to the Forbidden Fortress, where he finds Maleficent sitting on her throne. He is confused at Rumplestiltskin's definition of beast and comments that he will need a smaller egg. However, Maleficent throws him to the floor and blows all the candles out, before transforming into an enormous dragon. David dodges the dragon's fiery breath, and manages to throw the golden egg in through the dragon's gills on the side of its head, before leaping out of the window into the lake. The dragon sticks its head out the window and angrily breathes fire before returning back inside the Forbidden Fortress.

Maleficent is later visited by her friend, Regina. The two talk casually for a moment, before Regina reveals her intentions for visiting - she wants the dark curse. Maleficent, who has it kept in the glass orb above her staff, refuses to give it to her and says it is hidden for the good of all. Regina turns hostile and she battles Maleficent for a brief moment, before attempting to attack Maleficent's pet unicorn. Maleficent wastes her time on protecting the unicorn instead, as Regina had intended her to, and defeats Maleficent. Regina smashes the glass orb and takes the dark curse, and Maleficent suggests that Regina should go ahead and kill her if she wants kill her. Regina denies this, stating that Maleficent is her only friend. Maleficent tries to talk Regina out of enacting the curse, stating that releasing it will create a void inside of Regina that she will never be able to fill, but Regina takes this all in stride. When Regina enacts the dark curse, Maleficent is consumed by it.

Season 1
Maleficent, along with everyone else hit by the dark curse, is sent to Storybrooke. However, Maleficent's fate is different to everyone else's, in which she is trapped as her dragon form and exiled in a cavernous underground lair deep beneath the clock tower. Emma Swan is assigned to slay the dragon in order to retrieve the golden egg, which has a potion inside - bottled True Love. She is given her father's sword, and Regina tells her that Maleficent is angry with her because of what she did to her regarding the curse, and so Emma must go down alone. Emma goes down the elevator underground, until she reaches the cavernous lair. There, the sleeping dragon awakens and attacks. Emma attempts to use her gun and shoots at the dragon, but it has no effect. Realising that she must use the sword, she manages to stab it deep in the chest where the dragon stores its fire, causing the dragon to roar in agony before it explodes into fire and disintegrates into ashes. Emma finds the golden egg upon a pile of ash, and goes back up the elevator.

Relationships
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Appearances

 * S1, E2: "The Thing You Love Most"
 * S1, E22: "A Land Without Magic"