Once upon a time Snow White was a thief, Prince Charming was murdered, and the Evil Queen lived happily ever after. That’s how the story went, right? Season one of Once Upon A Time, the ABC hit series, introduced a new telling of classic fairytales. Viewers get to see the intertwined stories of their beloved childhood tales and witness the power of magic. Bringing to life characters never-before-seen on film, such as Rumplestiltskin, could prove to be a challenge. However, writers Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis, Jane Espenson, and Liz Tigelaar do an immaculate job. They were able to capture the essence of the classic fables yet put a unique spin on the stories themselves. What’s even more impressive is that in doing so, they create extremely dynamic characters that we come to love or love to hate. In case anyone is new to the series or needs a recap of season one, here is a short list of everything you need to know about StoryBrooke and it’s inhabitants:
- The Evil Queen, Regina, sought revenge on Snow White and Prince Charming and cast a curse over all of Fairyland, bringing all the fairytale creatures into the real world.
- Once these creatures made the crossover into the real world, they were confined to a small town named StoryBrooke. In StoryBrooke, none of the creatures or people from Fairyland could remember who or what they had been except for Regina and a man named Mr. Gold (Rumplestiltskin).
- Before the witch Regina had cast her terrible curse, Snow and Charming sent their newborn daughter, Emma, into the real world so she would escape the effects of the spell.
- 28 years passed and Emma Swan grew up in Boston leading a normal life until a young boy named Henry claiming to be her son contacts her.
- Henry brings Emma into StoryBrooke and attempts to make her believe that the people living there are actually the characters from his storybook.
- A sheriff’s badge, a poisoned apple-tart, and a dragon-slaying later, Emma finds herself believing Henry and breaks the curse over StoryBrooke, restoring everyone’s memory.
- As the season comes to an end, Rumplestiltskin can be seen pouring a potion into a well as purple smoke blankets the town and uttering the words, “Magic is coming.”
Season 2: Episode 2 - Opinion Piece
After watching last week’s episode and seeing the reunion of Snow White and Prince Charming, I felt like I could breathe again. There was nothing I wanted more than those two sexy people to finally share true love’s kiss. We women, and the occasional man though he’ll never admit it, need lip action! I mean, come on, you can’t tell me Charming doesn’t get you excited? And that gorgeous, green-eyed Snow has him all to herself. I have fictional envy, how bizarre! However, while I got my kiss I was not prepared for the bomb that the writers threw at me when they made both Emma and Snow disappear through the Mad Hatter’s Hat. Just when my sanity may have been restored, they ripped it away!
Now I really am madder than the Hatter because of this week’s episode. I’m quite miffed actually. For starters they teased us with pretty-boy August but he was all wood and no action. Poor Sneezy is burdened with the effects of the curse again but I think we’re all thankful it wasn’t Dopey. I for one would love to see if his personality lives up to his name. However, my favorite part of the whole episode has to be when Henry calls Charming “Gramps.” It’s something so simple yet it made me laugh hearing it.
There are so many characters involved in the show that it’s hard to keep track of them. What’s even more challenging is keeping all their stories and relationships straight. Personally, my favorite character is Rumplestiltskin. Robert Carlyle does an incredible job making the infamous trickster believable and so darn lovable! His ability to then make his alter-persona, Mr. Gold, the complete opposite just as admirable is truly a great feat for any actor. As far as the dispute between him and Regina goes, it is extremely hard to tell at this point which one is least dangerous for StoryBrooke. I believe that neither can, nor should, be trusted. One question that still bothers me is why the curse didn’t affect Rumplestiltskin? Does this mean that he’s more powerful than Regina or was there a previous agreement?
Theory hunting and rumor spreading has always been a huge part of Once Upon A Time and rightly so. Mr. Gold’s shop has an incredible amount of trinkets and if you study them long enough, you’ll find hints to upcoming episodes. One item in particular was a pirate ship model during the first episode that seems to hint at the upcoming Captain Hook. We are entering the second season of the show and we still do not know half of the characters living in StoryBrooke. Dr. Whale remains elusive, though we did see him looking to get it on with a Nun in this latest episode. Rumple’s son remains missing and who was the mystery man at the opening of episode one? I must say the way Regina dispatches her over-bearing mother by shoving her through a mirror-portal was clever. It shows the start of the Queen’s obsession with mirrors.
“If you hold onto someone too hard it doesn’t make them love you,” was a revealing quote from Regina. I was pleasantly surprised when Regina let Henry go home with David after she had all but kidnapped him. The discussion Henry had with her really seemed to strike a chord; she does not want to become her mother. Hopefully that means we’ll see a change in character for Regina. I have a feeling Rumple has big plans for StoryBrooke and our heroes may need to put aside differences in order to tackle whatever comes after them. Seeing the dwarves emerge with their pickaxes I couldn’t help but sing their little jingle of “Hi, Ho.” Shutting my windows beforehand may have been a good idea though. I may have insulted the man waiting on the corner just outside my house.
The end of the episode sees us off with the reveal of the Queen's mother, Cora. What are your latest theories about the show? Tell me what you would like to see in future articles and I will do my best to appease you all. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week!
