Three episodes in and Once Upon a Time is still in the table-setting phase. Each episode switches back and forth between the two worlds--the fairy tale part explaining backstory while the modern part moves at one slow step at time. While the tone of the show remains solid along with the great CGI (which put Grimm's to shame), the premise of the show has stagnated.
Everything is one-dimensional to the point where we can expect almost everything that happens next. Snow White and Prince Charming had love at first sight, despite Snow saying the opposite. The one-time use spell in a bottle is used to save the prince instead of killing the Queen. See how much she cares about him already?
In the modern world, it isn't much different. Comatose John Doe responds to Mary's touch and snaps out of it eventually. But John Doe has a wife! Mary cries afterwards, seeing her true love with someone else. Henry continues to blather on about the fairy tale while Emma and Mary indulge his ideas for the time being. When will the story pick up?
Score: 8.2/10
Showing posts with label Once Upon a Time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Once Upon a Time. Show all posts
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Review - Once Upon a Time Season 1 Episode 2 The Thing You Love the Most
The pilot set the stage of Once Upon a Time, introducing the two separate worlds and the character counterparts, all in a very broad sense. "The Thing You Love the Most," though, focuses on Regina/the Evil Queen, and gives the audience a real enemy to root against. It's firmly established that the Queen, in both the fairy tale and the present, is heartless and there is little question who the bad guy is at the end of the episode.
By the end of the episode Henry and Emma are on board with "Operation Cobra" and have their targets set. Emma, motivated by Regina's duplicity, is now much more invested than she was last week. What remains to be seen, however, is whether she really believes Henry's stories or is just going along so he doesn't think she thinks he's crazy.
Score: 8.6/10
By the end of the episode Henry and Emma are on board with "Operation Cobra" and have their targets set. Emma, motivated by Regina's duplicity, is now much more invested than she was last week. What remains to be seen, however, is whether she really believes Henry's stories or is just going along so he doesn't think she thinks he's crazy.
Score: 8.6/10
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Review - Once Upon a Time Season 1 Episode 1 Pilot
Much of Once Upon a Time's pilot is spent setting up everything, because it's actually pretty complicated despite the friendly nature of fairy tales. Even at end of the episode there are tons of questions left at the end of the episode, but we get a decent idea what happened. What the pilot doesn't answer, however, is how the show will proceed in later episodes.
The setup in a nutshell: Familiar fairy tale characters, like Snow White and Prince Charming, get their memories wiped by the Evil Queen and are sent to present-day Storybrooke. The mayor the town is the Evil Queen, who also had her memory wiped unless there's a twist later on. The mayor's adopted son, Henry, is biological son of Emma, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming who is supposed to save everyone. Henry tracks Emma down in Boston, and Emma brings Henry back to Storybrooke where she decides to stay.
With the rest of the fairy tale characters sans memories, there are lots of pieces the writers can work with. But the pilot doesn't offer much in terms of a story. Things happen, but it's all introduction, showing viewers the fairy tale characters and modern counterparts. We don't get any idea how the fairy tale affects the modern world or how Emma is supposed to save everyone. Given that the show is written by Lost writers, clear answers may be hard to come by.
Score: 8.5/10
The setup in a nutshell: Familiar fairy tale characters, like Snow White and Prince Charming, get their memories wiped by the Evil Queen and are sent to present-day Storybrooke. The mayor the town is the Evil Queen, who also had her memory wiped unless there's a twist later on. The mayor's adopted son, Henry, is biological son of Emma, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming who is supposed to save everyone. Henry tracks Emma down in Boston, and Emma brings Henry back to Storybrooke where she decides to stay.
With the rest of the fairy tale characters sans memories, there are lots of pieces the writers can work with. But the pilot doesn't offer much in terms of a story. Things happen, but it's all introduction, showing viewers the fairy tale characters and modern counterparts. We don't get any idea how the fairy tale affects the modern world or how Emma is supposed to save everyone. Given that the show is written by Lost writers, clear answers may be hard to come by.
Score: 8.5/10
