"Once Upon a Time" season 5 introduced a new and exciting character named Merida (Amy Manson), who is inspired by the lead character in the animated film "Brave."
For the upcoming episodes, Manson's character will going on a journey to help save her family and reclaim her heart from the Dark Swan (Jennifer Morrison), and she has even enlisted the help of Belle (Emilie de Ravin) to do so.
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Manson revealed that her depiction of Merida is entirely her own. "Believe it or not, I hadn't seen the movie," she shared. "Initially, when the sides came through, the synopsis wasn't Merida. The name was Evanna, and she was coming into the show as Rumplestiltskin's mother."
"I put my own spin on it and my own take, and labored on the pain of a mother-daughter relationship more so," she further said. "I sent those tapes away and then Eddy (Kitsis) and Adam (Horowitz) got back to me and said, 'Can you do the scenes again, but with humor?' Then I did those tapes and sent those back and then here I am."
Another surprising fact about Manson is that she has never shot with a bow and arrow her entire life, and that is why when she was first given the props during the San Diego Comic-Con, she was at a loss.
"I got a bow and arrow stuffed in my hands, like, 'Right, on you go,' quite quick. I had about an hour before we shot that with an archer. Then I requested if I could have maybe a couple days with proper archery lessons, which really helped and I thoroughly enjoyed," she said.
Throughout her journey, Merida will form a friendship with Belle, despite the two's initial distrust over one another. Merida will also remind the Dark Swan of her good side. Even after the Dark Swan threatened Merida, the archer strongly believes that there is still some good left in Emma.
"In episode 9, she repeats something that Emma has taught her before, so yeah absolutely," Manson said. "What Emma said to Merida is having an affect on her because she repeats some of her lines from previous episodes."
Manson is pretty happy with her character, and she is actually a fan of Merida's "heart and spirit."
"The fact that she just never gives up. She wears her heart on her sleeve. She is that 'Brave' character. She's a warrior, but she does it for the love of her family. She does what's right. She'll always do that over being mean to anyone," Manson said.
