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Once Upon a Time 1-18: The Stable Boy

The big question of the season for me has been, what did Snow White do to Regina to make Regina hate her so much. That was finally answered last night. (And I really did think they’d hold that until season two.) It fits with the universe they’ve created, and I can understand much of what has come since. However, it was predictable. Which is probably why they focused more on Storybrooke.

What the story lacked in, well, story, it more than made up for in makeup and casting. They did a great job of giving us a younger version of Regina. And the actress they hired to play the young Snow White was amazing in how she captured the looks and mannerisms of Ginnifer Goodwin. If I didn’t know better, I would have said they used the regular actress, but the budget wouldn’t have covered the special effects needed to create her as a child.

And let’s start in Fairy Tale.

When we first see Regina, she is riding a horse and jumping over obstacles. Her father praises her, but then her mother appears and starts to berate her for not acting like a proper young lady. When Regina starts to argue, her mother starts using magic against her, first raising her off the ground and then squeezing her until she backs down.Read More »Once Upon a Time 1-18: The Stable Boy

Once Upon a Time 1-17: Hat Trick

I’ll admit, when I learned that Once Upon a Time was going to introduce The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland into the mix, I was both worried and curious. This definitely stretches the definition of a fairy tale character. A series of books I enjoy with a similar idea has included characters from that story in its fairy tale characters. And at the same time, it could be interesting. Fortunately, it turned out to be both entertaining and fit into the framework they’ve created for the show so far.

I was going to break with tradition and start with Storybrooke, but there are a couple of things we learned in Fairy Tale that came up later in Storybrooke, so we’ll keep with convention.

Our first shot of Jefferson (aka the Mad Hatter) in Fairy Tale is of him running through the forest. He’s trying to get away from…his daughter Grace. But she finds him right away. Unfortunately, Hide and Seek time is over and they need to get to the work at hand – finding mushrooms to sell in town the next day.

When they get home, they find Regina waiting for them. Jefferson sends Grace into the woods to hide before finding out what the Queen wants. She wants Jefferson’s help in retrieving something from “there.” He refuses, stating he won’t leave his daughter. “You just don’t leave family.” He’s not even tempted by her offer of making sure Grace never wants again. These two definitely have some kind of history as Regina makes some references to his past, but we have no idea what it is.Read More »Once Upon a Time 1-17: Hat Trick

Once Upon a Time 1-15: Red-Handed

I never in a million years would have guessed where they were going with last night’s episode of Once Upon a Time. Well, okay, maybe I figured some of it out early on, but they still managed to throw some twists I wasn’t expecting. I think this was the darkest trip to Fairy Tale we’ve had yet.

I find it easiest to break the episode into the two settings, so I’m going to keep doing that, starting with Fairy Tale. We meet up with Red as she is flirting with Peter, her long time friend turned boyfriend through the window on Granny’s cottage. But it doesn’t last long because Granny insists that the cabin be locked up tight. A group of hunters even comes to the door talking about tracking and killing the wolf that terrorizes the village, but Granny says the best approach is to stay inside and wait out his time, two more days. Granny also insists that Red wear her famous red cloak because it repels wolves.Read More »Once Upon a Time 1-15: Red-Handed

Once Upon a Time 1-13: What Happened to Frederick

When I saw the title of this episode, I was wondering who exactly Frederick was. I was wondering if he was someone we’d met before, but he wasn’t ringing any bells. Fortunately, he wasn’t someone I’d forgotten, and I loved his twist to the story.

Plus tonight we found out a little more about Snow White and Prince Charming (aka James). Their story in Fairy Tale is just fascinating to me since they have added so many twists to it. All told, it was another great episode.

I should start this recap by admitting something I haven’t had to since I started the recaps. Read More »Once Upon a Time 1-13: What Happened to Frederick

Once Upon a Time Episode 1-12: Skin Deep

I love Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time (along with Monster’s, Inc. and Up). So I’ve been looking forward to seeing how Once Upon a Time would tackle the familiar tale ever since I learned that that had cast Lost‘s Emilie de Ravin in the part. I was not disappointed.

Not only that, but this episode featured the return of another couple characters and a huge revelation I had suspected all along. Plus psych‘s Sage Brocklebank (recurring character Buzz McNab over there) also guest starred as Gaston.

While this episode felt jammed packed, I also felt it was fairly simple in some regards. And I think the story is best told as they told it – alternating between Storybrooke and Fairy Tale.Read More »Once Upon a Time Episode 1-12: Skin Deep

Once Upon a Time 1-11: Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

Is it any wonder I love this show? This episode had me feeling sorry for Regina and agreeing with her at times but also so angry at her I wanted to yell at her. All this while learning the origins of someone else in Storybrooke and watching Emma behave stupidly.

Shall we get to it? Let’s start this week with the Fairy Tale KingdomRead More »Once Upon a Time 1-11: Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

ABC’s Once Upon A Time – Four Featurettes

ABC’s “Once Upon A Time” promises to remake the idea of fairytales updating them for the modern world with a unique story structure. The show launches on Sunday, October 23rd (8:00pm-9:00 p.m., ET), but in the meantime, DIsney has released four featurettes to give us an insight into some of the main characters:

Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White/Mary Margaret)

Read More »ABC’s Once Upon A Time – Four Featurettes

Teaser Poster for Pixar’s Brave Released

The teaser poster for Brave, Pixar’s next film after Cars 2, has been released. Brave will be Pixar’s first foray into fairy tales. It is set in the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland and features a female protagonist (also a first for Pixar). “Brave”… Read More »Teaser Poster for Pixar’s Brave Released