‘Once Upon a Time’ season 3 spoilers: A surprise with Giancarlo Esposito’s return

For anyone who loves “Breaking Bad,” and there are over five million of them based on the ratings for the show’s fifth-season premiere, you have to be thrilled about seeing more of Giancarlo Esposito on “Once Upon a Time.” While it’s not Gus Fring, Sidney Glass was the first character that he played after a certain face-melting experience over on AMC; so to see that he is coming back, even for just a brief appearance on the show, is something still worth celebrating.

As for the context surrounding the imprisoned man’s return to the world of Storybrooke … let’s just say that for the time being, it is a pretty guarded secret. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in a new interview, all that executive producer Edward Kitsis would offer up is the following:

“I think you’re going to see a moment that you didn’t realize you never saw but then realize you really wanted to see … It’s one of those low-hanging fruits where we realized, ‘Wait, we didn’t see this?! Oh my God!”

We’ve all been in that situation sometimes, haven’t we? We’re just happy that for the sake of the show, Kitsis managed to find whatever sort of nugget that he is talking about here for Esposito’s character, and this can then in turn enrich the story. “Once Upon a Time” needs to have some big events take place in Storybrooke, given that for the time being, the town is rather empty with many of the main characters on board the ship to Neverland. Only Emilie de Ravin’s Belle remains from the crew of series regulars, and she could become the de facto leader despite spending so many years locked up.

In case you missed the big news about casting from earlier this weekend, the actress playing Ariel has been booked for the show! Find out who is playing her over at the link here, and keep checking back for more news prior to the return of “Once Upon a Time” on September 29.

Photo: AMC