'Once Upon A Time' Retrospective

TV & Film

May 22

Warning: Spoilers for ABC’S Once Upon A Time below

Back in 2011, Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis found the key to making soap operas more believable. Just add fairy tale characters. The premise is as ridiculous as it sounds but the execution in the first season of the show was absolutely brilliant. The Evil Queen cast a dark curse to bring citizens of the Enchanted Forest to a land without magic or happy endings, our land. The show is set in the small hidden town of Storybrooke, Maine with fairy tale flashbacks that slowly reveal the identity and the motivations of the story’s heroes and villains. With a stellar cast of Lana Parilla playing The Evil Queen, before and after her descent into evil, Robert Carlyle as the villain with a plan Rumplestiltskin, Ginnifer Goodwin as the resourceful snow white, and Josh Dallas as the heroic Prince Charming, the series finds it footing early on. Jennifer Morrison joins the cast as its lead Emma, the Savior meant to break the curse.

Emma’s son, played by Jared S. Gilmore, whose youth doesn’t stop him from a captivating performance, starts the series by showing up at her door to bring her to Storybrooke where he lives with his adoptive mother, the Evil Queen Regina. Part of the fun of the first season is guessing each person’s fairy tale persona. The series doesn’t shy away from twists that keep audiences on their toes and a family tree so convoluted that would leave even the most astute students of Kingdom Hearts lore scratching their heads. As Emma spends time in this strange town, she starts to bond with her son and her parents although she doesn’t recognize them. The show often pits Emma and Regina against each other as they fight over Henry.

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When the initial curse is broken, the show struggles to find its feet and takes a risk by sending Emma and Snow back to the Enchanted Forest for about half a season. This season also includes a major turning point for the villains Rumple and Regina. Regina actively tries to be a better person for her son Henry, while Rumple’s love of Belle inspires him to use his powers for good. However, the two characters have a rocky road to conquer before they can leave their villainy behind for good. After the first two seasons, the series split their season with each half focusing on a main arc. The first half of Season 3 sees the heroes and villains team up to save Henry from the clutches of Neverland’s most feared villain. At the end of this arc, Regina gives Henry and Emma a life where they never lost each other while a new curse sends everyone else back to fairy tale land., showing her willingness to sacrifice for her son and her former enemy. Some fans consider this to be a perfect ending for the show although it’s a little bittersweet. This arc permanently puts Regina on the hero’s side although the series is reluctant to let the Evil Queen go.

From here the series turns ridiculous, although it still has its moments, especially with delightful performances from Rebecca Mader as the Wicked Witch. Strange trips to new lands, including a wish realm, and old villains finding different forms mar the plot and the experience. Throughout its latter half, the show tries to reboot itself several times from recreating scenes in the pilot to nudging Rumplestiltskin back toward the dark side. As the series went on, the show’s overarching storyline shifted from Emma embracing her role as the Savior to Regina finding redemption and her happy ending.

The seventh and final season works as an actual reboot with a grown-up Henry trapped under a new curse in Seattle rather than Maine. The series protagonist Emma takes on a cameo role in this season while Rumple and Regina get caught up in this new curse. Although the series frequently breaks its immersion with its experimental storytelling, there’s one thing that’s consistent through every episode. The show has heart, and not just the ones the villains crush. In the first season, Snow gives Henry a book of fairy tales because “Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing.” This belief is present in every season in the more ridiculous episodes and keeps fans returning to the charming town of Storybrooke.

For those interested in a fairy tale full of twists and turns and modern amenities, the entire adventure of Once Upon A Time is streaming on Disney+.

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