Regina Mills

Regina Mills, also known as the "Evil Queen", is a central character and the main antagonist-turned-protagonist of the ABC fairy tale drama Once Upon a Time. Regina is the Evil Queen of the Enchanted Forest, who casts a dark curse that transports everyone to the real world in a town called Storybrooke. From Season 2 on, Regina works to redeem herself for her adoptive son Henry's sake and eventually because she no longer wants to be a villain anymore. Before the breaking of the first Dark Curse, she was the Mayor of the town of Storybrooke, but her former identity in the fairy tale world is Snow White's evil stepmother.

What makes her sympathetic?[]

She was raised by a very strict mother, Cora, who wanted to make her a queen but didn't allow her to have any personal freedom or attachments to other people.
Regina was very close with her older sister, Zelena. When the two of them found out they were related, their mother, Cora, separates them and has the guards take Zelena away while the two girls hold their hands while Regina vows they would always be sisters no matter what. Cora forces the girls to drink a magical potion which makes them forget about one another.
She fell in love with a stable boy but the two of them had to keep their love a secret, since Regina was supposed to marry someone wealthy and wasn't allowed to marry a stable boy named Daniel.
When she saw that Snow White is about to fall from her horse and die, the young Regina saved her life.
The stable boy and Regina (who is about to marry King Leopold) try to escape because they want to be together. However, Cora catches them and crushes the young man's heart much to Regina's horror.
Rumplestiltskin used her trauma and subtly manipulated her to become his apprentice and also become more ruthless in the process.
Regina's marriage with King Leopold was loveless as he spent more time with his daughter and mourned his previous wife who had passed away.
When Rumplestiltskin demands from her to tear off an unicorn's heart, she balks because it reminds her of how her lover died.
She befriends a fairy named Tinker Bell but the two of them later drift apart.
She attempts to resurrect her lover but her spell fails.
When Regina travels with Snow White under disguise. When Snow White mentions that she believes the Evil Queen (refering to Regina) was someone who was once good but is in constant pain and could change, Regina is moved to tears.
Even though she massacres entire villages to capture Snow White, she spares a boy at one of those villages and smiles at him.
She tries to save Daniel's brother, William.
While she shrinks and traps her own father, she later restores him to normal size because she genuinely loves him.
Even though she kills her mother, Cora, she is remorseful about it.
Even though she kills her own father to use his heart in her revenge against Snow White, she is remorseful about it and puts a rose on his grave.
She adopts a baby named Henry, takes care of him and grows attached to him.
When Kathryn is afraid that David is drifting further away from her, Regina encourages her to be with her love. She also intervenes with her magic to make sure that the two stay together.
Her evil actions are driven by insecurities and by feeling lonely.
When her son's life is in danger she is terrified and tries to save him. When he runs away, she breaks down into tears and tries to assure him that she, indeed, loves him.
When Henry tells her that he doesn't want to become like her, Regina is hurt and allows him to go, apologizing that she attempted to keep him by force.
She starts a therapy to better herself for Henry.
When Daniel, her former lover, is resurrected she is forced to kill him because he is driven to attack other people. She breaks down into tears after wards.
Regina is horrified when her son starts receiving burns all over his body and tries to save him.
When she learns that her evil mother, Cora, is planning a way to Storybrooke, Regina is full of apprehension and works to stop her.
She tries her best to become a better person for Henry's sake but despite her efforts, she is still excluded from the community.
Regina is framed for a murder she didn't commit and is forced into hiding and is afraid that her own son thinks she is still a bad person.
When Cora (disguised as her son, Henry) appears before her, she thinks it's Henry, lets her in and tries to explain that she didn't murder the person.
When Regina accidentally causes Cora's death, she feels remorse and mourns her mother.
When she recognizes Owen Flynn, she is happy to see him initially.
Regina tries to destroy the whole town of Storybrooke, so that she can get back her son but later has a change of heart and decides to save the town even at the risk of her own life.
She suffers from an insecurity that villains like her don't deserve a happy ending.
During their travels, Regina starts forming a bond with Hook, Emma and Mary.
When Regina insults Emma by accident on one occasion, she later apologises.
She advises Tinker Bell to choose love and hope over hate and not make the same mistakes Regina herself had made.
Regina returns the voice she had previously stolen to Ariel and also gives her the ability to have human legs (though she does this partially for self-serving reasons).
When Peter Pan rips out her son's heart, Regina is horrified that she might lose him. However, later she manages to save him and casts a protection spell on his heart, so that no one would ever be able to rip it out again.
When the group returns home and Regina gets praise, she is surprised by it.
Regina reverts the Black Curse and sacrifices her happy ending for her son and to stop Peter Pan.