Why, Cruella of course!

Last week’s trip to the Underworld was just the beginning of our beloved characters’ dealings with the dearly, or not so dearly, departed.

“Souls of the Departed” brought us face to face with Neal, Cora, Prince Henry, Peter Pan, the blind witch, and gave us a glimpse of Cruella’s famous Zimmer Golden Spirit. Many of us wondered when we’d get to see her, and weren’t sure if she’d make it into the 5x13 “Labor of Love” episode, considering the promo and sneak peeks all reference Hercules.

5x13 promo

5x13 sneak peek #1

5x13 sneak peek #2

That is until Victoria Smurfit, the talented actress who portrays Cruella, tweeted a reminder that this week’s episode number is 101!

Now it appears that the puppy-loving villain of devilish dealings might pop up to help or thwart our team. Do you think she’ll be interested in making a coat out of Cerberus? Anybody else curious as to what her unfinished business might be?

We are not alone in our excitement at having the deliciously glamorous Cruella back on Once Upon a Time. Returning to the show has been on Smurfit’s mind since Cruella’s unfortunate departure. In fact, she attempted to keep Cruella alive, at least twice. During one of the panels at the 2015 Dragon Con, she admitted that while recording her falling scream voice over, she continued with “I’m OK, I’m fine. Be back up there in a minute.” She also devised a plan for Patrick Fischler (the author) to rip open her casket, find nothing in it but a wig and look up to see black and white fur disappearing into the forest!

Congratulations on your return, Victoria Smurfit! We’re super excited to have you back and we hope to see you alongside John Whitesell (Hercules) and Kacey Rohl (Meg) in “Labor of Love” on March 13 at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC.

We will be live tweeting again. To join in, follow our @celcafe_live account.