Once Upon A Time 1-3: Snow Falls
There is a town in Maine, and if I were Regina, that town would be Silent Hill and it would the be the most epic crossover fanfic ever. Someone please write this because I will love it forever!!!
Once Upon a Time moves surprisingly quickly for a show that can avoid ever having anything happen thanks to the amount of backstory they can exploit. When I saw the first couple of episodes, I figured that it would take weeks for anyone to figure out where Charming is in Storybrooke and then a certain amount of time after that would be devoted to getting him and Snow/MaryMarg together. I figured that Emma would have to break the curse by sorting out one story at a time, while the influence of the curse begins to crumble at the edges. I figured that it was a brilliant set up, because you could go on for a season or three and viewers would stick around, either because they loved the overarching story or because they were waiting for episodes that would deal with their favorite tales. But why bother with pacing when you can move things along at warp speed?
We're all just really lucky that the actors do such a great job of selling the Charming/MaryMarg story because the story really doesn't. In fact, from this point forward, the writers are going to do everything in their power to make us hate this pairing as much as Regina does. Oh. Goodie. Well, let's get to it!
Charming and a blonde woman are riding in a carriage. We don't know who the woman is, but we do know that we're not supposed to like her because she complains about the carriage ride (note- we'll find out later that her gripe is actually valid) and because she is not Snow White. They are attacked by a highwayman and Charming chases the criminal down only to discover that it actually is Snow White, and they have one of those little moments that make us think they are meant to be, before she smacks him and escapes. Snow White is surprisingly clever and resourceful and it's a fun new take on her story.
Back in Silent Hill, MaryMarg is being chased by the horrific demons of her subconscious guilt and frustration... no, wait, this is Storybrooke and she's having a bad date with Dr. Whale because not getting a man's full attention means your life is pure hell on earth. On the way home, she runs into Emma who has to live in her car now, but luckily she still has access to blow-dryers, curling irons and styling products. MaryMarg offers Emma a place to stay but Emma's a lone wolf who can tough it out, so she says no.
The next day, MaryMarg's class is decorating the hospital, including the coma ward, apparently. I'm not sure it's safe, but we'll give it a pass. Henry recognizes Charming and reports back to Emma who reacts exactly the way any sane person would. Did I mention that this story is moving really fast? Snow/Charming has been set up as the most important relationship in this entire show, outside of Emma/Henry. You would think that they would spend more time on letting us wonder when Henry will figure out that Charming is alive and then maybe he could search for him, while we scream at the screen because we totally know the answer and then Regina could try to stop them from waking him up and so on. But, nope, less than ten minutes into episode three, Charming has been found and the waking is in process. Emma's plan is for MaryMarg to read to him from Henry's book, and she agrees. The plan is that Charming won't wake up... dammit show, how can you come up with stuff that is so clever and unexpected and at the same time be so dumb???? Emma and MaryMarg will use the power of cynicism to help Henry recover from his delusions. I'm kind of rooting for them on this one.
MaryMarg reads about the flashback we just saw and Charming reacts. He grabs her hand. We also find out that it wasn't really love at first sight between them, because they realized they were in love at a later time on the "Troll Bridge." MaryMarg gets Whale who insists that she must have imagined things, then calls Regina to report that something actually has happened. Meanwhile, MaryMarg is reading the storybook, but has helpfully backtracked a bit so that we can see what's been happening.
Charming has tracked Snow down and catches her in a trap just outside her lair. He drops a recurring line, that he will always find her. It turns out that "Charming" is actually a snarky nickname that Snow gave him. Awesome. Charming wants his treasure back, including a ring that he means to give to his fiancee. Snow is as cynical as MaryMarg about love, and it's revealed that Charming's betrothal is not based on love and affection. Charming threatens to turn Snow in to Queen Regina unless she helps him get the jewels back, and she has no choice but to agree.
Back in Storybrooke, MaryMarg reports back to Emma and Henry that the coma patient responded, which means that Henry's plan worked and their plan failed. MaryMarg's faith in love is renewed, but when they go to see the coma patient again, he's disappeared. Regina turns up and Henry accuses her of being involved. It turns out that Regina is the emergency contact. She found the comatose guy by the side of the road. You have to wonder why she didn't just murder him if she hates these people so much. Meh, I'm calling it now, Regina is a big woobie who needs love. They check the security tapes and they discover that the coma guy is headed for the woods. By the way, Grumpy (Leroy) is the hospital janitor.
Returning to the fairytale, Snow is having an exposition dump. We learn that her necklace contains evil fairy dust that can turn people into bugs. The conversation then turns to how she ended up alone in the forest. The story is a familiar one but with a great twist. The queen didn't hate Snow White for her looks, she blames Snow for ruining her life. When Charming asks if Snow really did, her response is a curt "Yes." I'm thinking they should have re-shot that one scene from the pilot because now it sounds a little bitchy for Snow to say that the problem was Regina thinking that Snow was prettier than her. We now know that was never the issue.
Snow tries to get away from Charming and runs right into the Queen's guards. I tend to think that Snow is smarter than this, given how often she pwns Charming but we need a reason for her to like him. He rescues her from the guards. Again, I think Snow is clever enough to get out of this situation on her own, but the plot needs her to be rescued and at least this shows us that Charming is not really a jerk. Snow seems somewhat floored to have met a genuinely decent person (actually, we'll discover that she's met a few). They head off to meet the trolls who have the jewels. Charming tell Snow that his real name is James (only it sort of it isn't, but we'll get to that later on.)
The trolls are kind of like budget orcs. Snow wants to buy back the jewels but the deal quickly goes sour and the trolls assume it's a set up because of Charming. When the trolls find a Wanted poster of Snow in Charming's bag, they decide to turn in Snow for the reward. A fight ensues and this time Charming is the one getting his ass handed to him. Luckily, before the orcs can drag him back to Mordor, Snow comes back and uses her fairy dust to turn them into bugs. Why does she even have that? That stuff is nasty. On their way back, they talk about how they both got what they wanted, even though the subtext is that they both now know that what they really want is each other. . Snow tries on the engagement ring
that was the cause of all the trouble. The two of them part, but Snow gazes wistfully back.
Back in Storybrooke, it's night somehow. Emma and MaryMarg are in the woods looking for Charming the coma-patient. Henry shows up to tell them that Charming is looking for MaryMarg and he knows where to go. They trail him back to the Toll Bridge where they find Charming. There's a nice inter-splice between scenes with the Troll Bridge cutting to the Toll Bridge. MaryMarg gives Charming mouth to mouth in an echo of the famous wake-up kiss scene. He doesn't remember who he is. They take him back to the hospital where Regina shows up with the blonde woman from the carriage ride. She is Charming's wife, Katharine and his Storybrooke name is David. She had no idea where he was because they had problems and she assumed that he had left her. Now, they will have a second chance. MaryMarg tries to be kind, but we can see her heart breaking.
Henry insists to MaryMarg that she's the one David really loves, but all she can do is gaze sadly at his reunion with Katharine. Emma confronts Regina because she can sense that something is wrong. She doesn't think that Regina's claim to have only just found Katharine adds up. She claims that David has been calling out for Katharine in her sleep. Regina lays it on as only a true mean girl can, finishing off with a dig about how much it sucks to be alone. That one will come back to haunt her. David gazes longingly at MaryMarg, who looks down at the ring that's been driving the plot for most of the episode. we cut to Emma showing up at MaryMarg's apartment and asking if she can move in.
You guys, I really like Katharine and her fairytale counterpart but I hate the whole Katharine plotline with a passion. From this point until the end of the season, David (Charming) will yank these two women around and we're supposed to accept it because of the curse. I guess the curse can turn people into douches. On a positive note, I do like the idea that not being alone does not mean you have to seek out a romantic partner. The relationships on the show are more varied and interesting than that. The message is that a caring relationship is what's really important, but it need not be a romantic one and in a world where romance plots have to be grafted onto just about every single film, that's awesome.
Next time, we will finally get around to Cinderella. However, I have a show opening in two weeks and recital in three, and I'm in the midst of a new round of Novel in 90, so next time may not be as soon as I'd like. We'll see what happens...
Once Upon a Time moves surprisingly quickly for a show that can avoid ever having anything happen thanks to the amount of backstory they can exploit. When I saw the first couple of episodes, I figured that it would take weeks for anyone to figure out where Charming is in Storybrooke and then a certain amount of time after that would be devoted to getting him and Snow/MaryMarg together. I figured that Emma would have to break the curse by sorting out one story at a time, while the influence of the curse begins to crumble at the edges. I figured that it was a brilliant set up, because you could go on for a season or three and viewers would stick around, either because they loved the overarching story or because they were waiting for episodes that would deal with their favorite tales. But why bother with pacing when you can move things along at warp speed?
We're all just really lucky that the actors do such a great job of selling the Charming/MaryMarg story because the story really doesn't. In fact, from this point forward, the writers are going to do everything in their power to make us hate this pairing as much as Regina does. Oh. Goodie. Well, let's get to it!
Charming and a blonde woman are riding in a carriage. We don't know who the woman is, but we do know that we're not supposed to like her because she complains about the carriage ride (note- we'll find out later that her gripe is actually valid) and because she is not Snow White. They are attacked by a highwayman and Charming chases the criminal down only to discover that it actually is Snow White, and they have one of those little moments that make us think they are meant to be, before she smacks him and escapes. Snow White is surprisingly clever and resourceful and it's a fun new take on her story.
Back in Silent Hill, MaryMarg is being chased by the horrific demons of her subconscious guilt and frustration... no, wait, this is Storybrooke and she's having a bad date with Dr. Whale because not getting a man's full attention means your life is pure hell on earth. On the way home, she runs into Emma who has to live in her car now, but luckily she still has access to blow-dryers, curling irons and styling products. MaryMarg offers Emma a place to stay but Emma's a lone wolf who can tough it out, so she says no.
The next day, MaryMarg's class is decorating the hospital, including the coma ward, apparently. I'm not sure it's safe, but we'll give it a pass. Henry recognizes Charming and reports back to Emma who reacts exactly the way any sane person would. Did I mention that this story is moving really fast? Snow/Charming has been set up as the most important relationship in this entire show, outside of Emma/Henry. You would think that they would spend more time on letting us wonder when Henry will figure out that Charming is alive and then maybe he could search for him, while we scream at the screen because we totally know the answer and then Regina could try to stop them from waking him up and so on. But, nope, less than ten minutes into episode three, Charming has been found and the waking is in process. Emma's plan is for MaryMarg to read to him from Henry's book, and she agrees. The plan is that Charming won't wake up... dammit show, how can you come up with stuff that is so clever and unexpected and at the same time be so dumb???? Emma and MaryMarg will use the power of cynicism to help Henry recover from his delusions. I'm kind of rooting for them on this one.
MaryMarg reads about the flashback we just saw and Charming reacts. He grabs her hand. We also find out that it wasn't really love at first sight between them, because they realized they were in love at a later time on the "Troll Bridge." MaryMarg gets Whale who insists that she must have imagined things, then calls Regina to report that something actually has happened. Meanwhile, MaryMarg is reading the storybook, but has helpfully backtracked a bit so that we can see what's been happening.
Charming has tracked Snow down and catches her in a trap just outside her lair. He drops a recurring line, that he will always find her. It turns out that "Charming" is actually a snarky nickname that Snow gave him. Awesome. Charming wants his treasure back, including a ring that he means to give to his fiancee. Snow is as cynical as MaryMarg about love, and it's revealed that Charming's betrothal is not based on love and affection. Charming threatens to turn Snow in to Queen Regina unless she helps him get the jewels back, and she has no choice but to agree.
Back in Storybrooke, MaryMarg reports back to Emma and Henry that the coma patient responded, which means that Henry's plan worked and their plan failed. MaryMarg's faith in love is renewed, but when they go to see the coma patient again, he's disappeared. Regina turns up and Henry accuses her of being involved. It turns out that Regina is the emergency contact. She found the comatose guy by the side of the road. You have to wonder why she didn't just murder him if she hates these people so much. Meh, I'm calling it now, Regina is a big woobie who needs love. They check the security tapes and they discover that the coma guy is headed for the woods. By the way, Grumpy (Leroy) is the hospital janitor.
Returning to the fairytale, Snow is having an exposition dump. We learn that her necklace contains evil fairy dust that can turn people into bugs. The conversation then turns to how she ended up alone in the forest. The story is a familiar one but with a great twist. The queen didn't hate Snow White for her looks, she blames Snow for ruining her life. When Charming asks if Snow really did, her response is a curt "Yes." I'm thinking they should have re-shot that one scene from the pilot because now it sounds a little bitchy for Snow to say that the problem was Regina thinking that Snow was prettier than her. We now know that was never the issue.
Snow tries to get away from Charming and runs right into the Queen's guards. I tend to think that Snow is smarter than this, given how often she pwns Charming but we need a reason for her to like him. He rescues her from the guards. Again, I think Snow is clever enough to get out of this situation on her own, but the plot needs her to be rescued and at least this shows us that Charming is not really a jerk. Snow seems somewhat floored to have met a genuinely decent person (actually, we'll discover that she's met a few). They head off to meet the trolls who have the jewels. Charming tell Snow that his real name is James (only it sort of it isn't, but we'll get to that later on.)
The trolls are kind of like budget orcs. Snow wants to buy back the jewels but the deal quickly goes sour and the trolls assume it's a set up because of Charming. When the trolls find a Wanted poster of Snow in Charming's bag, they decide to turn in Snow for the reward. A fight ensues and this time Charming is the one getting his ass handed to him. Luckily, before the orcs can drag him back to Mordor, Snow comes back and uses her fairy dust to turn them into bugs. Why does she even have that? That stuff is nasty. On their way back, they talk about how they both got what they wanted, even though the subtext is that they both now know that what they really want is each other. . Snow tries on the engagement ring
that was the cause of all the trouble. The two of them part, but Snow gazes wistfully back.
Back in Storybrooke, it's night somehow. Emma and MaryMarg are in the woods looking for Charming the coma-patient. Henry shows up to tell them that Charming is looking for MaryMarg and he knows where to go. They trail him back to the Toll Bridge where they find Charming. There's a nice inter-splice between scenes with the Troll Bridge cutting to the Toll Bridge. MaryMarg gives Charming mouth to mouth in an echo of the famous wake-up kiss scene. He doesn't remember who he is. They take him back to the hospital where Regina shows up with the blonde woman from the carriage ride. She is Charming's wife, Katharine and his Storybrooke name is David. She had no idea where he was because they had problems and she assumed that he had left her. Now, they will have a second chance. MaryMarg tries to be kind, but we can see her heart breaking.
Henry insists to MaryMarg that she's the one David really loves, but all she can do is gaze sadly at his reunion with Katharine. Emma confronts Regina because she can sense that something is wrong. She doesn't think that Regina's claim to have only just found Katharine adds up. She claims that David has been calling out for Katharine in her sleep. Regina lays it on as only a true mean girl can, finishing off with a dig about how much it sucks to be alone. That one will come back to haunt her. David gazes longingly at MaryMarg, who looks down at the ring that's been driving the plot for most of the episode. we cut to Emma showing up at MaryMarg's apartment and asking if she can move in.
You guys, I really like Katharine and her fairytale counterpart but I hate the whole Katharine plotline with a passion. From this point until the end of the season, David (Charming) will yank these two women around and we're supposed to accept it because of the curse. I guess the curse can turn people into douches. On a positive note, I do like the idea that not being alone does not mean you have to seek out a romantic partner. The relationships on the show are more varied and interesting than that. The message is that a caring relationship is what's really important, but it need not be a romantic one and in a world where romance plots have to be grafted onto just about every single film, that's awesome.
Next time, we will finally get around to Cinderella. However, I have a show opening in two weeks and recital in three, and I'm in the midst of a new round of Novel in 90, so next time may not be as soon as I'd like. We'll see what happens...