Once Upon a Time 4.1 - A Tale of Two Sisters
I heard some griping about the season 4 premiere, but I rather enjoyed the episode.
Yes, it was heavy on Frozen. But I kind of expected that, based on the finale, and the fact that the hashtag for the episode was #OnceisFrozen. And I suppose if you haven't seen Frozen, this episode was probably really boring for you. And quite possibly incredibly confusing.
I must say that the casting for Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff is pretty spot on. Especially Anna. I can tell that the writers really got the cadence of her speech from the movie. And the actress was quite good at playing the character.
Of course, I must talk about Sven. I think that damn reindeer stole the scenes he was in. I hope we get to see more of him, but I don't know how he's going to fit in to the rest of the season. Or, rather, the first half of the season. If the past couple seasons are any indication, the Frozen storyline will be over by the winter finale. Hopefully, though, they can keep the characters we like and just send whoever the main villain is going to be away. I'd kind of like to see Elsa and Anna stay around and mix it up with the other regular characters.
I'd especially like to see Regina and Elsa bond. I think they have a lot in common, especially with people calling them or both of them thinking of themselves as monsters. Of course, they'll probably clash at first, as people who have a lot in common often do on TV shows. But I think they could become pretty good allies.
I'd be remiss in talking about the Frozen part of the storyline without mentioning the special effects. Sure, they weren't great, but the snow monster and Papa Troll did look better than I expected. Of course, the only thing I could think of when the snow monster was brought into being was that someone needed to give him a crown to make him happy and stop attacking people. But the people of Storybrooke wouldn't know that tidbit. And Papa Troll was rendered amazingly well. He's so cute. I still expected the rest of the rocks to come alive and break into song, though.
Enough about the Frozen storyline, which was basically just exposition to introduce the characters. Let's chat a bit about the characters we know and love.
First off, the Rumple/Belle story had some lovely moments. Using the Beauty and the Beast costumes and the actual music warmed my heart a little bit. I was quite intrigued as to the hat that Rumple made appear by waving his dagger above it. Or, I think he waved his dagger. I couldn't really tell. Anyway, I happened to read somewhere that it is the wizard's hat from Fantasia. That could be quite interesting. I'm not sure how they'll work it in, but I have faith that it can work.
The other main story is the Regina/Robin/Marian triangle. Obviously, we're supposed to be rooting for Robin/Regina, and I am, but it's a rare thing when the triangle has equal rooting value between the two people of the same gender. And honestly, I love the Robin has some standards and is going to stay with Marian because of his vow to her. That'll just make it that much sweeter when he and Regina do eventually get together.
I don't know how I feel about Regina's plan to find the writer of the storybook and getting him/her to change it to make sure she gets a happy ending. I have a feeling that this is going to backfire on her. I am interested in seeing who the writer is. And if she pulls in Henry on this, that would be lovely. I think he'd be willing to help her.
It was also nice seeing Sidney again, and it was a nice nod to the fans that Regina kind of forgot about him. It kind of seemed like the writers did as well. It probably didn't help that the actor was busy on Breaking Bad (I think), so he couldn't be available. I totally don't remember Regina locking him up, though. It's entirely possible that she did, but I just don't remember it.
All in all, it was a very strong premiere episode, and I'm on board to see where this Frozen storyling is going. Provided that we don't forget about the characters we already know and love. I have some faith that they won't go overboard with Frozen. What did you all think?
Yes, it was heavy on Frozen. But I kind of expected that, based on the finale, and the fact that the hashtag for the episode was #OnceisFrozen. And I suppose if you haven't seen Frozen, this episode was probably really boring for you. And quite possibly incredibly confusing.
I must say that the casting for Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff is pretty spot on. Especially Anna. I can tell that the writers really got the cadence of her speech from the movie. And the actress was quite good at playing the character.
Of course, I must talk about Sven. I think that damn reindeer stole the scenes he was in. I hope we get to see more of him, but I don't know how he's going to fit in to the rest of the season. Or, rather, the first half of the season. If the past couple seasons are any indication, the Frozen storyline will be over by the winter finale. Hopefully, though, they can keep the characters we like and just send whoever the main villain is going to be away. I'd kind of like to see Elsa and Anna stay around and mix it up with the other regular characters.
I'd especially like to see Regina and Elsa bond. I think they have a lot in common, especially with people calling them or both of them thinking of themselves as monsters. Of course, they'll probably clash at first, as people who have a lot in common often do on TV shows. But I think they could become pretty good allies.
I'd be remiss in talking about the Frozen part of the storyline without mentioning the special effects. Sure, they weren't great, but the snow monster and Papa Troll did look better than I expected. Of course, the only thing I could think of when the snow monster was brought into being was that someone needed to give him a crown to make him happy and stop attacking people. But the people of Storybrooke wouldn't know that tidbit. And Papa Troll was rendered amazingly well. He's so cute. I still expected the rest of the rocks to come alive and break into song, though.
Enough about the Frozen storyline, which was basically just exposition to introduce the characters. Let's chat a bit about the characters we know and love.
First off, the Rumple/Belle story had some lovely moments. Using the Beauty and the Beast costumes and the actual music warmed my heart a little bit. I was quite intrigued as to the hat that Rumple made appear by waving his dagger above it. Or, I think he waved his dagger. I couldn't really tell. Anyway, I happened to read somewhere that it is the wizard's hat from Fantasia. That could be quite interesting. I'm not sure how they'll work it in, but I have faith that it can work.
The other main story is the Regina/Robin/Marian triangle. Obviously, we're supposed to be rooting for Robin/Regina, and I am, but it's a rare thing when the triangle has equal rooting value between the two people of the same gender. And honestly, I love the Robin has some standards and is going to stay with Marian because of his vow to her. That'll just make it that much sweeter when he and Regina do eventually get together.
I don't know how I feel about Regina's plan to find the writer of the storybook and getting him/her to change it to make sure she gets a happy ending. I have a feeling that this is going to backfire on her. I am interested in seeing who the writer is. And if she pulls in Henry on this, that would be lovely. I think he'd be willing to help her.
It was also nice seeing Sidney again, and it was a nice nod to the fans that Regina kind of forgot about him. It kind of seemed like the writers did as well. It probably didn't help that the actor was busy on Breaking Bad (I think), so he couldn't be available. I totally don't remember Regina locking him up, though. It's entirely possible that she did, but I just don't remember it.
All in all, it was a very strong premiere episode, and I'm on board to see where this Frozen storyling is going. Provided that we don't forget about the characters we already know and love. I have some faith that they won't go overboard with Frozen. What did you all think?