‘Once Upon a Time’ season 5 spoilers: New actors cast for mental-hospital story

Is “Once Upon a Time” about to become a little more like “American Horror Story: Asylum”? We wish we had a firm answer to that, but after reading the latest slice of casting news for the ABC series, it is relatively hard to know just what is going on precisely.

For the time being, here is what we do know for certain. Per a report from Deadline, “The Man in the High Castle” actor Hank Harris and also Sam Witwer of “Being Human” fame are being cast for a story coming up later in season 5 that will have a mental-hospital theme to it. Harris will be Nathaniel, a described “meek” person who is admitted to this hospital and is struggling under the control of the warden, Jacob. We wonder if there is any symbolism in the name of some sort of power figure being named “Jacob” in the “Once Upon a Time” world given co-creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz’s previous attachment to “Lost” … but we may be reading too much into that based mostly on our own history.

Is it possible that this is a story that could extend into season 6? We suppose so, given the timing of the announcement is rather strange. After all, production should at least be starting to near its end at the moment, even if we are still many episodes away from getting there on the show itself. The series was officially renewed for a sixth season recently, and we will just have to wait and see what happens there.

To get some more news regarding the “Once Upon a Time” episode airing on Sunday night, be sure to head over to the link here.

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