Once Upon a Time season 7 spoilers: When will we meet Tiana?

There are many interesting Once Upon a Time season 7 questions, and there is certainly one pertaining to Tiana. When are we going to meet this famed heroine of The Princess and the Frog fame? It’ll be within the first few episodes of the season, but also not so far in that she starts to feel like an ancillary character. She’s important to this story, and judging from the photo below (via TVLine), she will also have a connection to the new Cinderella (Dania Ramirez on the series).

When the character first turns up, however, it’s not going to be in the present-day Hyperion Heights, the Seattle community that is being designed as the new Storybrooke. Instead, it’s going to be back in the past. Speaking on this subject in a new interview with the aforementioned website, show executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis had the following message to pass along:

“We meet Tiana in a fairy tale realm in turmoil … She’s a princess with a mission — to restore freedom to her people.”

The two also did their part in order to share a few more thoughts regarding what we’re going to see from this character personality-wise — luckily, she’s going to be another strong woman entering the mix:

“Tiana’s most defining characteristic is her strength. She’s been through a lot when we meet her, but she never wavers even when doubting oneself would seem to be the most logical, and safe, course of action.

“She has her share of enemies, but that goes with the territory when one is fighting for a just cause.”

When you go back to Hyperion Heights, she’s not going to know about her past and what defined her. Instead, she’s going to have her own struggles and issues to deal with. Mekia Cox of Chicago Med is playing the role, and it was recently reported that she will be a series regular on the upcoming season. That’s great news for her, and while we would understand that you would want to see the character right away given that you know she’s coming, consider this: It makes more sense for the writers to give you something to look forward to for a while down the road. That’s why it is effectively a good thing that they give you something to be excited about, and the writers don’t cram too much content into a short period of time. Were they to do that, they’d probably find themselves in some trouble trying to balance everything that is going on with the other characters right away. We’d compare this in some way to Belle, who wasn’t introduced until later on in the first season and eventually became a key part of the story.

We’ll admit that we haven’t seen The Princess and the Frog — therefore, we’re as excited as anyone in order to see this story develop.

What do you want to see on Once Upon a Time season 7 for Tiana?

Be sure to share some of your thoughts on the matter in the comments! (Photo: ABC.)