Once Upon a Time - Season 7 Prospects

[Outlast]

So they're bringing back yet another villain (reformed?) for season seven. Fine by me as long as the story is good (and boy do I have major doubts about that!).

A rumor I've been reading is that the new Alice may be Rumple and Belle's daughter. The rumor stems form the fact that the new Alice looks like Emilie (Belle) from certain angles. I like the idea since it gives Rumple and Belle more to do and I'm always happy to expand the Stiltskin family tree, but with Gideon and Black Fairy being a bit disappointing story wise, I'm trying not to let my hopes go up for this rumor. Granted at this point my expectations for season seven are so low it wouldn't take much to surpass them.

[LindaM]

Okay -- I've done a presentation back in the days of "Ever After" about fairy tales and know that legends exist in almost all countries.  Cinderella has the Chinese version wearing fur slippers!  Here's my understanding on Beauty and the Beast.  The original is 100 pages and it is most definitely French.  Alice is definitely British as Wizard is American.  Reinventing a "new" fairy tale doesn't make sense.

[Merry Prankster]

MP has noted that OUAT has been shifted to a Friday night time slot.  Normally not a good sign for a show's longevity.  He MIGHT give it a try to see just how good (or bad) the revamped version is.

[LindaM]

Expect a reboot.  Looks like another curse.  While only three of the original cast are returning, the story seems to basically be the same.  They are now stuck in Hyperion Heights community of Seattle.

Oh yes, Friday the "dead zone."  Add to that Inhumans is bad and follows the show.  The replacement . . . a 50s show (either What's my Line or something on that order).

[Outlast]

Watched it this morning, let's see...

(Poetic opening line goes here)

It's ridicules to me that Regina would sign off on Henry going on a one way trip to some other realm just to find himself. I know he's supposed to be 18 here, but I don't think any parent let alone Regina would be ok with that. Plus obviously unless she was under a sleeping curse or something Emma should've been there for this ridicules send off.

FAIRYTALE REALM 458 (or whatever number system they have to explain the multiple Cinderalla realms)

Colin was right, where does Henry get the gas for that bike?
 
I'm still not sold on the multiple Cinderella/Alice/whatevers. The twist with Cindy wanting to kill the prince felt weird. I know they twisted the Snow White tale to make her a bandit, but that didn't really change the tale, it just gave it a twist. Having Cindy want to and her step-mum actually murder the prince wasn't so much a twist as a destruction of the Cinderella story.

IN THE CITY
I didn't really enjoy anything in the city with Roni's bar or Mr. Cluck's or step-mommy dearest. Hook aka Rogers was dull, but then again he has been for quite some time now. Lucy was basically beat for beat a Henry clone. Which is fine I guess, but I'm not in love it it. She doesn't look like either of her parents! Baelfire didn't look like either of his parents either (or his younger selves for that matter). Casting could really do better on that score. I did grow to love older Baelfire and forget that he didn't look like a good casting choice for Rumple & Milah's son so maybe I'll get over the Lucy casting too after a few episodes. 

But you know what I did love? ALICE! I don't really know what's going on with Alice, but I loved her. I was lukewarm on Wonderland's version of Alice (didn't like the way Adam/Eddie act like it never happened though) so if this can be the 'real' version of Alice I would be cool with that. I love that she's weird and views wonderland as just one trip. She says she knows Rumple and it didn't really sound in this episode like she's his daughter, but it's not impossible and I would love it. Rumple was good in his two tiny bits - holding a guys head underwater and bragging about breaking a suspects finger (that was hard to hear) as Weaver...I have to imagine that he's awake right? There hasn't been a curse yet that could fool The Dark One so why should Lady Tremaine the cheap knock-off of Regina, be able to cast a curse that could separate Rumple from his memories.

It does feel weird that only Rumple, Regina and Hook are here. I don't think at this point that they've found a good excuse for why they're the only ones who crossed over from Storybrook yet.

All things considered - my expectations were low coming and I think it wasn't too bad of a premiere based on those criteria. Big pluses for Alice and some minuses with Cinderella and her storyline and Roni's bar stuff. 

[LindaM]

Your review is almost verbatim what I'm reading at other sites.  My take on the show got distracted with the dagger which you didn't even pick up on.  Here's my take.
 
The "off to another realm" could make sense in that everyone knows him in Storybooke.  Most kids go to college.  Maybe Henry felt the option was to visit lands he had never seen and felt London, Paris, etc. didn't fit the bill.

On to Cinder -- of which there is a book by that name where Cinder is a schemer -- the whole thing felt rushed.  What did the prince do to her father? Was she not supposed to be at the ball?  Was the ball open to all the town?  Is that how Henry got in which brings me to the main problem:  Where did he get a dark dagger with his name on it.  Does he have dark one powers.

Rumple needs to be detailed more.  Only two small scenes.  We do now know that Alice is apparently Rumple's grand child (by Giles I take it) and wants Henry gone because of the fact you can't mess in other stories.  Question:  Hasn't Rumple in his way by granting magic.

Contrived names:  Hook = Rogers.  Rumple/Gold = Weaver.  Can't quite grasp why Roni for Regina.
Good news -- Zelena will still be Roni's sister.

[Outlast]

Where did he get a dark dagger with his name on it.  Does he have dark one powers.

Rumple needs to be detailed more.  Only two small scenes.  We do now know that Alice is apparently Rumple's grand child (by Giles I take it) and wants Henry gone because of the fact you can't mess in other stories.  Question:  Hasn't Rumple in his way by granting magic.

Whoa whoa where did this Alice is Rumple's granddaughter from? I haven't read that anywhere (granted I haven't read anything since last week to even know what everyone is saying. In the show she said something about knowing Rumple and that his grandpa (Henry's grandpa) was looking out for him. Plus Gideon was a baby again at the end of season six so he'd only be 15-20 now max (depending on how long Henry has been gone) so unless magic intervenes (very possible in his lineage) he can't possibly have a grown daughter. Now Rumple and Belle could have a daughter in the 13-18ish range that could be Alice (again magical aging could fit this too).

The dagger was (as far as I know) just a dagger wasn't it? It had his initials, but otherwise it looked normal enough. I'd cheer if they made Henry the Dark One because that would be a huge surprise and an interesting direction to take.

I liked the Rumple scenes just because I was happy to see him, but on reflection they are a bit annoying. Didn't he just vanquish the black fairy and get invited to the hero table? Why is he a big bad again here? (Again I believe he must have his memories like every other cursed time). The writers do this all the time with him. They make him good and then they yank it all back for little to no reason just because they need another villain too help/match wits with the main villain of the season.

 

[Outlast]

Oh on the Roni-Regina thing - the only thing I can think of is that Once Podcast sometimes referred to The Evil Queen (when she and Regina were split) as 'Ronda' though why they did it eludes me at the moment and I doubt the writers would give a nod to a podcast anyway.

If I here a better theory I'll post it.

[LindaM]

No -- Cinder read the name (I think it was Cinder, could have been stepmommy).  Somehow I just got the impression that Alice was Rumple's granddaughter.  I'll try to remember where.

The shot from episode 4 showed Rumple with adult Giles.  Mathney talked about how good it was to be on set.

More latter.

[Merry Prankster]

Twice Upon a Time (TUAT)

[/b]

Overall Assessment:  MP feels it would be unfair to assess TUAT based soley upon a premiere episode that was heavy on new character introduction/exposition by necessity.  He needs to see three or four episodes before coming to any kind of conclusion.  Suffice it to say that K&H have taken a big gamble---hoping to attract new viewers by attempting to recapture the magic of season one of OUAT while introducing enough new characters/story elements to hold on to the loyal fans.  It’s understandable for a show that is teetering on the edge of the ratings abyss.  Whether the gamble pays off remains to be seen.

MP will offer some random observations and limit his comments primarily to the four corners of the episode.  MP is not even in the same zip code as Outtie and LindaM when it comes to knowledge of what has come before.

Characters:  MP believes adult Henry is an upgrade from Emma.  MP always thought Morrison was a little too wooden and lacked the strong, dynamic, charismatic presence required to hold the center against the centrifugal forces of OUAT.  Can Gilmore pull it off?  We’ll see.  MP thought he saw a spark of romantic chemistry between Henry and Cinderella, although it might have been the Maker’s Mark combined with wishful thinking.  Cinderella/Jacinda and Lucy were OK.  Gabrielle Anwar (Burn Notice) was a good casting choice for a villain but K&H need to give her more leash to pull off Tremaine/Belfry convincingly.  Think Cora, K&H, think Cora. MP hopes the fairy godmother gets her dust together and returns.  TUAT needs an eccentric, off-center, funny recurring character.  That is why MP liked Cruella (and her car) so much even though she didn’t fit the bill completely.  Alice made a brief but impressive appearance.  Regina/Roni---what to make of that?  K&H continue to commit a crime against humanity by so underutilizing/misusing the talent of Parilla.  Rumple/Hook as two Seattle detectives with British accents?  OMG!  If the BBC aired a British drama featuring a pair of Scotland Yard DIs with NYC accents the show would be laughed off of the telly!  Too little and too early to tell WRT this pair.

Story/Writing:    Obviously Season One 2.0.  Perhaps OUAT is finally out of beta.  The substitution of Cinderella for Snow White as the central fairy tale?  Who knows?  The substitution of an urban, gritty, run-down, multi-racial/ethnic enclave for a remote, WASPy, idyllic small town?  Who knows?  Alice, Wonderland?  If it is an indication that K&H intend to more fully mine the fables of Lewis Carroll they have struck a rich vein indeed.  MP hopes they do justice to Carroll.  Regarding the writing, the usual mixed bag.  By the end of the show, if MP had heard “story” one more time, e.g., “it’s not your story,” “you need to find your story, ” “I need to find out what my story is,”  etc., he would have jumped off of the 12th story.  Note to K&H:  If you want to give a character some sort of momentous monologue, find some writers who can write above the level of mediocre.

Bottom line:  MP is not yet ready to bill ABC for the time he has spent laboring through TUAT.  He continues to harbor embers of hope that K&H can realize some of the enormous potential in utilizing the power of fairy tales with a contemporary twist to captivate a small-screen audience.  Find YOUR story, K&H, one we can all enjoy.

[LindaM]

Maybe Spoiler Alert:  Emma comes back Friday night.  Rumor has it that one still picture from the episode shows that she could have a bun in the oven thus cannot stay behind to help Henry.  I remember her saying in the promo -- are you happy here?  Or do you want to stay?  That might be what a mother says if she knows she can't be present to help that child.  The real question is:  Two Hooks?

One supposition is that it's two Hooks because one returns to Storybrooke with Emma  The one thing I know is if they kill Emma, they will have a bunch of upset fans. Making her pregnant makes people  happy.  But explain two Hooks with crushes on Emma . . .

[Outlast]

On Episode Two aka that really bad fanfiction episode that accidentally made it on air...

Magic Beans…they’re everywhere! I guess Tiny and the dwarves must’ve finally found a way to grow those things by the bushel because they are evidently cheap and easy to find now. And if they’re so easy to find and use now…why hasn’t anyone been in touch with Henry? It sounded like this was the first time they’d seen him in ‘many years’ yet he was only a bean-ride away all that time?

Henry and Rumple – One of my biggest gripes with Once is how they almost totally ignore the ties between Henry and Rumple. Even as an adult Henry is acting like Emma, Regina, Snow/Charming, and to a lesser extent Hook are his only family. As Baelfire said back in season 3 ‘family meant something to dear old dad’ so why do they write the show as if Rumple doesn’t give a hoot about Henry and vice versa? It's frustrating.

Regina and Henry – I love that Regina stays with Henry to help him on his quest. It makes total sense and it’s nice that something in this episode did.

Emma – she was basically wasted here. Not that that's anything new at this point. Regina and Hook’s sad looks about Emma were nothing but death bait. But hey I guess pregnancy over forty can be dangerous. They could’ve at least made her 9 months pregnant or something where it would be reasonable to say she shouldn’t be jumping through magic bean holes right then.

(sigh) Wish Hook – Well this one is confirmed. OK so there are now two Regina’s living separate lives and two Hooks. Great. It’s not like there was a better choice to split, perhaps a delightfully quippy (and insane) little imp who might liven up some of these flashbacks perhaps? Kidding aside (not that I was kidding) the ‘old rummy’ version of Hook was funny for a minute in the wish realm, but those double shots were painful to watch and this from someone who thought Emma’s wig looked just fine. The daughter subplot makes me worry that they’ll make Alice his missing daughter and ruin the fun of her being a Rumple or Jefferson descendant. I really hope this daughter is Rapunzel instead as has been suggested elseware. The one good point in all of this is that now they have a real chance to reset Hook back to the fun version…and yet I sense they won’t. Captain Hook always worked best to me as a pirate. Not as a boyfriend or a husband or a father…but as a pirate. Dashing, flirty and nefarious, with an occasional good deed tossed in to keep him interesting.

By the way if there was even a doubt left that Regina shouldn't get points for killing the WishCharmings.... I think this proves that they were real too. If WishHook and Wish Evil Queen were real alive people…so were the wish Charmings.

I did like the grayness of Weaver though. It's very season one Rumple and I think he is awake and trying to help Henry without giving the game away to Lady Tremaine. Though the elbow to the face of his grandson was not something I liked (see note above on Henry and Rumple).

Overall this season is still a mess to me. The timelines are too vague. The characters ages are glossed over. Magic beans are growing on trees now. Would it really be so hard to put a firm date on things and say Henry met Cinderella five years after leaving home and to say Emma, Hook ect. aren’t any older because of magic whatsits and that Tiny’s bean-field had a bumper crop this year. Just the basics. And if Henry could at some point acknowledge and show some affection for his other grandpa and vice versa, I would truly appreciate it.

[LindaM]

Rumple's episode is #4 so not that far off.  Here's my take:

Total waste of Emma definitely.  All she did was tell us she was preggers and "save" Wish world Hook.

Two Hooks -- well, at least "real" Hook will be with Emma.  I'm slightly different and wf illing to give new Hook a chance to see if he can change his heart from black.

And exactly how many children have died or gone missing?  If I didn't know better I would say it was May -- ABC's traditional Dead Baby Month from the 90s. 

Contrived way to get into the ballet.  How did they know who to contact?

Weaver/Rumple not be completely dumb to what is going on.  He sees through Lady Tremaine.

What will make Henry wake up.  Hook2 (as some refer to him) is wondering about Emma and kept a memory that she saved him even if the memory is foggy.

Could Regina be beginning to have doubts.  I also loved how she stayed behind. 

Last -- are they going to Hook 2 with Roni/Regina?

[Outlast]

Last -- are they going to Hook 2 with Roni/Regina?

My thoughts have been for some time that they should've paired Hook with Regina and not with Emma. But at this point...I just wish they'd drop all the coupling and focus on other things. Except for Rumbelle or course. I'd actually like more couple stuff from them because they've been given short shrift for a long time.

[LindaM]

Twitter thinks they're hiding something "bad" about Emma from Henry because Hook wouldn't tell Henry what was "really" going on.  I tihnk they aren't but I'm not about to get into that argument.  And I'm more and more convinced that the years advance differently in each "kingdom".