Once Upon a Time: Favorite Moments #1

I've decided to begin a series in which I will discuss my favorite moments from season one, and perhaps the current second season as well, of the show Once Upon a Time.  The moments I will choose to talk about won't follow any sort of pattern; they will be chosen from various episodes, most likely out of order. 

One of my favorite episodes from Once Upon a Time, is called "Hat Trick".  It was episode seventeen of season one.  I thought the episode was brilliant from beginning to end, but what really struck me was a certain quote.  I thought the conversation between Emma Swan and Jefferson was very well written and thought out;  it left a strong impression on me.  I always agreed with this idea, this philosophical perception of reality vs. fantasy.  So to hear it being spoken aloud in this show made me so happy, I felt like squealing and jumping up and down at the same time while watching it.  I was practically fist-pumping the air when this dialogue began.  This is the quote I'm raving so much about:

Emma:  "They're just stories.  The mad hatter is in Alice in Wonderland, a book.  A book I actually read - "
Jefferson:  "Stories.  Stories?  What's a story?  When you were in high school, did you learn about the Civil War?"
Emma:  "Yeah, of course."
Jefferson:  "How?  Did you read about it, perchance, in a book?  How is that any less real than any other book?"
Emma:  "History books are based on history."
Jefferson:  "And storybooks are based on what, imagination?  Where's that come from?  It has to come from somewhere.  You know what the issue is with this world?  Everyone wants a magical solution for their problem, and everyone refuses to believe in magic.  Now get it to work."
Emma:  "Here's the thing Jefferson.  This is it.  This is the real world."
Jefferson:  "A real world.  How arrogant are you to think yours is the only one?  There are infinite more.  You have to open your mind.  They touch one another, pressing up in a long line of lands, each just as real as the last.  All have their own rules.  Some have magic, some don't.  And some need magic...like this one."

I love this moment.  It's like the characters actually turned around and analyzed themselves, or the whole concept, the whole idea this show is based on.  It almost felt as if they were "breaking the fourth wall" in that scene.  It made this world feel so real, as if it could be happening right now, in our world, so that one forgets that Once Upon a Time is just a T.V. show, and not really happening.  Moments like this make me love this show more and more.  For me, this was definitely one of the best moments from season one of Once Upon a Time. 

Once Upon a Time

As of late, I have been really enjoying a show by the ABC (American Broadcasting Company).  As you can tell from the title of this post, the show is called Once Upon a Time.  Once Upon a Time has been a favorite T.V. show of mine for a long time now.  It's the kind of show that you easily grow fond of.  I came to know of it because I had seen the trailer for it when the show had just begun, and was instantly captivated by its enchanting atmosphere.  Being a fan of folklore, I was easily drawn in, and I was not disappointed when one day I decided to give it a try.  After seeing the first episode I knew I would love this show, and I have loved it ever since.  Usually I watch quite a few episodes before deciding whether or not I like a show, but with Once Upon a Time, I didn't have to.  And that's always a good sign, when you know you like a show just from watching the first episode.    

This is one of the trailers from when Once Upon a Time was first being introduced. 

I love how they have their own take on the original stories and twist them so that they somehow connect with each other.  It's very cleverly done.  I like what they did with the character of Rumpelstiltskin, for example.  It's extremely interesting to watch the twists and turns in the story unfold.  Part of the fun for me, when I first began watching this series, was guessing who was which fairy tale character.  For instance, when I saw a man walking down the streets of Storybrooke with an umbrella, I immediately guessed that he was Jimeny Cricket, and sure enough, later in that same scene he mentions listening to one's conscience during an exchange with one of the other characters.  This is an example of how Once Upon a Time leaves clues in places for the viewer to pick up, when guessing which fairy tale character a character was in their past.  

It's true that the fairy tales in this show are inspired by Disney's versions of the stories, ABC being owned by Disney, but since I grew up with Disney and love many Disney films to this day (particularly the classics and those that were made during the 90's, otherwise known as the Disney Renaissance), this isn't an issue for me.

One element that I find fault with in this show is the special effects.  Let's just say the special effects could....well....you know, be improved.  Because of their poor quality, the suspension of disbelief in this show suffers whenever special effects are being displayed on the screen.  Another fault may be that from time to time this show is slightly cheesy, just slightly, but I find that this contributes to the personality of the show.  It makes Once Upon a Time endearing.  Because of this, the occasional cheesiness is not a flaw in my eyes.    

I mentioned before that I become annoyed when villains are given tragic backstories in order to make them appear sympathetic. Unfortunately, Once Upon a Time does this a lot with their characters, as in the cases of Captain Hook, Rumpelstiltskin, and the evil queen from the story of Snow White, to name a few.  Surprisingly, the various tragic backstories don't bother me too much, and overall I think they are done well.  The backstories all seem to follow the same pattern.  Every character in Once Upon a Time, good or evil, has someone in their past that they cared about or lost.  Relationships seem to be a major theme in Once Upon a Time - relationships the characters have with the people in their lives, relationships with magic, relationships with the past, the relationship with themselves as an individual (their past self when they were a part of the fairy tale world vs. their present modern-day self), and many more.  This is something interesting that I have noticed.

Once Upon a Time does an excellent job of having their viewers constantly guessing who is who and what will happen next.  The premise is interesting and has so much potential, which has been proven true.  This is because of the talent of the creative writers, who continue to impress me with each new episode.  Once Upon a Time just seems to get better and better the more it progresses. 

I look forward to the next episode with anticipation!

P. S.  If I were asked which character is my favorite, I would choose Snow White.  I love all of the characters (each character is so well developed, after all) but Snow White has always been my favorite fairy tale character, and I like how she is portrayed in Once Upon a Time.