Venturing INTO THE BADLANDS

Article originally published as INTO THE BADLANDS Review on Seat42F.

Daniel Wu as Sunny - Into the Badlands _ Season 1, Epsiode 1 - Photo Credit: Patti Perret/AMC

 

AMC’s newest drama, INTO THE BADLANDS, premieres tonight. Set in a future where guns have been eradicated, the territory is broken up into domains runs by Barons, who use teams of assassins to keep their subjects in line. This makes the setting seem more like the past, but don’t think on that too deep. Instead, just enjoy the gratuitous violence.

The description of the series may sound a bit flip, but so is the show itself. There are numerous fight scenes, which have been the focus of much of the promotional materials for the show. Is there ever any reason we need to see extended fight scenes where one supernaturally gifted combatant takes out an entire gang? Nah, but it’s fun, and that’s why this type of material exists.

INTO THE BADLANDS does have substance, too. The characters are interesting, and the political machinations between those who seek to extend their power provide engaging drama. But I’m simply pointing out that by mixing it with light entertainment, it makes INTO THE BADLANDS slightly less than, say, The Walking Dead, which uses fighting for one’s lives to enhance scenes, rather than making it the center of sequences.

At the center of INTO THE BADLANDS is Sunny (Daniel Wu, The Man With the Iron Fists), the lead protector for the land’s most powerful Baron, Quinn (Marton Csokas, Klondike). Sunny is a loyalist who is comfortable with the current system, until he’s not. Mysteries from his past are brought up when he finds a kid, M. K. (Aramis Knight, The Dark Knight Rises), with inexplicable powers and a coincidental symbol. This, combined with news from his secret girlfriend, Veil (Madeleine Mantock, The Tomorrow People), make Sunny question everything he values and believes to be true. He begins a real hero’s journey.

It’s because of this compelling character that I want to watch INTO THE BADLANDS. Sure, it’s entertaining, but that in of itself is not enough these days. Thankfully, this program doesn’t just rely on that, even though that’s the most obvious, flashy thing about it.

There’s also an enticing sexual component. Quinn is married to Lydia (Orla Brady, American Odyssey), and will soon take a second, much younger, wife, Jade (Sarah Bolger, The Tudors). AMC stops short of showing any real nudity, as basic cable usually does, but there’s certainly sexiness in the power wrangling that is just getting started. While this plot doesn’t cover any new ground, at least not yet, it does add another interesting layer to the proceedings.

The Widow (Emily Beecham, The Village) ensures the boys won’t be the only ones having fun. She’s a new Baron who is at odds with Quinn and has her sights set on M. K. When she shows up, she immediately grabs the spotlight, and she clearly has some physical attributes of her own. This character should help ally fears that INTO THE BADLANDS is only set to attract male viewers. She’s beautiful and badass.

All of these characters exist in a fully realized world. Great thought has gone into building this system, incorporating historical context, while twisting it enough to be unfamiliar to students of the past. The result is a setting believable and strange at the same time, and one well-suited to the people who populate it. The product design is excellent. It’s almost a sci-fi / fantasy show, while managing to stay more grounded than what is typical of that genre. It’s hard to strictly categorize it, but I see that as a plus, showing originality.

For all of these reasons, INTO THE BADLANDS is worth checking out, even if you’re not into the martial arts. It airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on AMC.

ONCE UPON A TIME "Dragon" This Year

Article originally written for Seat42F.

ONCE UPON A TIME rarely fails to let fans down these days, and this week’s episode, “Enter the Dragon,” is no different. In the hour, Regina (Lana Parrilla) goes undercover with the Queens of Darkness, ditching her friends to do so. In flashback, we see her at the beginnings of her evil journey, hinting that her status as a spy may not last. Elsewhere, Rumple (Robert Carlyle) does one of his worst deeds yet, with absolutely no real remorse in sight.

The first thing the Queens do when Regina joins up with them is to test her, which has many flaws. They do this by parking on a train track and daring Regina not to save them. She waits until the last minute to do so, but in the end, she poofs them away. What did they want her to do? Save herself but not them? Die at the hands of the train? And why does Rumple tell them they may be able to trust her in the first place, having witnessed Regina’s growth arc before he is banished from town?

Despite Regina ‘failing’ the test by allowing them to live, Maleficent (Kristin Bauer van Straten) decides to give her a second chance. This may seem strange at first, until we see young Regina help Mal get her groove back during the semi-traditional unfolding of the Sleepy Beauty fairy tale. Mal is defeated when Regina finds her, Regina still in the early days of her magic training. Because of Regina, Mal is able to put Aurora (Sarah Bolger) to sleep and win the day. It’s no wonder the dragon feels some degree of sympathy towards Regina, Maleficent being the least obviously evil of the three new villains, and the most kindred to the current Regina.

Regina is told that the Queens are after The Author in hopes of changing the game, letting all the villains have happy endings at the expense of the heroes, whose lives are ruined. This seems evil for evil’s sake, not something worthy of Maleficent, who usually acts with defined purpose. So either they are lying about their plan, a real possibility, or, as in many other ONCE UPON A TIME plots, the motivations shown don’t make sense.

The one bright spot from this story is that August (Eion Bailey) returns! Formerly a main character, August was turned back into the boy Pinocchio (Jakob Davies) and has no memory of his former life. August knows things about The Author, so Rumple restores him from the child, whom Regina kidnaps. Setting aside that the Queens aren’t suspicious of how long Regina takes to nab the kid and that Rumple used to be redeemed, so should have restored August back when this first happened if he had the power to do so, it’s really good to see the character return to ONCE UPON A TIME.

The way Rumple has reverted makes me worry for Regina. Rumple is an excellent character, the show’s best, for two and a half season before being completely scrapped in the past year in favor of a flat bad guy. Not long before Rumple was ruined, Regina began her own redemption journey, which has been fantastic, making her the best deep, consistent part on the show. “Enter the Dragon” teases that she may lose that, and while she could go evil again in a convincing plot, it’s much more likely ONCE UPON A TIME would ruin her character if they choose to go that route, as they have done Rumple’s, negating what he previous did. I really, really like the Regina who has struggled for her happy ending, and I want to see that continue.

Rumple has the worst story, in “Enter the Dragon,” though, taking on Hook’s (Colin O’Donoghue) to trick Belle (Emilie de Ravine) into giving up the dagger that controls him. He then goes back to Belle to ask about her relationship with Will Scarlet (Michael Socha). This is cruel and stupid, and if Rumple ever really loved Belle, he wouldn’t do it.

In short, despite some wonderful acting from Parrilla and Bauer van Straten, “Enter the Dragon” is another disappointment in a long series of them. I don’t know why ONCE UPON A TIME went downhill so much after the near-perfect Neverland half-season, but it seems viewers should have taken the warning of the uneven first few episodes of the show and never got invested. Now, those of us who have put in the time are waiting around for it to end, teased by the occasional good hour, and hoping against hope the overwhelming problems will be fixed, which isn’t likely to be the case.

ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

ONCE UPON A TIME Reveals the Secrets of "The Snow Queen"

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review Season 4 Episode 7 The Snow Queen on Seat42F.

In this week’s installment of ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME, we see the origin story of “The Snow Queen,” including her relationship with her sisters and their falling out. At the same time, her plans for Storybrooke move forward as she manipulates a vital piece of the puzzle to fall into place.

Once, The Snow Queen (Elizabeth Mitchell), Ingrid, had a strong relationship with her two sisters, Helga (Sally Pressman, Army Wives) and Gerda (Pascale Hutton, Canada’s Arctic Air). They shared a very special bond, looking out for one another and protecting each other. Ingrid had to hide from the world, but not from her family, who loved her as she was. We even get a glimpse of them quite young, with The Walking Dead’s Brighton Sharbino easily sliding into the episode’s titular role.

Then, Ingrid makes a mistake. In trying to punish the Duke (Jonathan Runyon, Miami Medical), a sleazy suitor trying to gain power from the sisters, she accidentally kills Helga. It’s a mistake, but an extremely costly one, which ruins the bond between Ingrid and Gerda, too. In retaliation or self-defense Gerda locks Ingrid in a bottle and wipes her memory from all the land.

“The Snow Queen” is a tragic tale of love gone sour after an unspeakable sin is committed. Ingrid is surely as upset with herself as Gerda is, even if she resists going into her prison, but in the intervening years, her pain turns to evilness. Ingrid is not only out to recreate that once perfect happiness she had, thinking she just needs two sisters with powers (to allow greater understanding between them), but she also has stopped caring about others. She feels wronged, an understandable emotion, and a fitting backstory for this season’s ONCE UPON A TIME villain.

In order to fulfill her desires, Ingrid needs two new sisters. Elsa (Georgina Haig), her niece, is an obvious choice because they share the same lineage and exact talents. Emma (Jennifer Morrison) may be a little different, but Emma’s feelings of abandonment and alienation are close enough to Ingrid’s experiences for easy manipulation. It takes almost no effort for Ingrid to get Emma in the mindset she wants, and while Emma won’t betray her loved ones, she is feeling separate from them. Though Ingrid may already have tried and failed with Emma, Emma’s memory of their previous time together being missing. Elsa will be a tougher nut to crack, unless wiped memories can assist.

Ingrid’s plan is not fully exposed, but “The Snow Queen” is on the right track there. Ingrid still needs three ribbons she and her sisters gave to Rumpelstiltskin, and he’s amiable when she gives him what he wants. The upcoming weeks should reveal all, and this installment puts us well on the path to an acceptable end game.

Rumple’s sourness is less digestible. He seems positively gleeful at whatever dark task Ingrid tells him he must do. As I’ve mentioned before, this twist negates Rumple’s entire character arc in ONCE UPON A TIME before this subplot, and it’s hard to imagine he really wants to go out and control the larger world. It just doesn’t make sense, given what we’ve seen of him before.

The other side story serviced in “The Snow Queen” finds Robin Hood (Sean Maguire) unable to fall back in love with his wife, so he kisses Regina (Lana Parrilla) once more. To do so, he must break his code, which doesn’t bode well for his continued heroics. Yet, Regina has tried to do the right thing and get over him many times. While their love may be less than pure, it’s hard not to root for the two to find a happy ending together, which may be where ONCE UPON A TIME is taking them. I just hope service is paid to why this isn’t completely a good idea. Since Regina is the cast member being best handled this year, that seems likely-ish.

One complaint I have about “The Snow Queen” is the way-too-brief appearance of Aurora (Sarah Bolger) and Ashley (Jessy Schram) in Mary Margaret’s (Ginnifer Goodwin) mommy class. It’s a fun scene, if a bit corny, and it contributes nicely to Emma’s arc, but why bring back these familiar faces only to waste them in such a quick moment? Will they be recurring in this capacity, or will Ashley disappear for another three years with no explanation?

“The Snow Queen” is one of the better episodes ONCE UPON A TIME has delivered this fall, a huge step back from the pit of last week. The characters are consistent within the hour and the season even if some of them, mainly Rumple, don’t match their series journey. I was very worried about what came after “Family Business,” but this has calmed much of that.

ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

ONCE UPON A TIME "Serenade"

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review Season 3 Episode 12 New York City Serenade on Seat42F.

*WARNING: The following contains light spoilers for the mid-season premiere of ONCE UPON A TIME. I tease a number of scenes and plots, necessary because this episode is so different from where we last left the tale, but I refrain from giving away any big twists or surprises.

ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME is doing things a little differently this year, presenting two mini-seasons instead of a full year’s worth of episodes in a single arc. The fall run took our heroes to Neverland as they sought to defeat the cruel Peter Pan. Now, this weekend, the second half begins with “New York Serenade,” bringing with it a new villain, a new curse, and a new mystery.

“New York City Serenade” jumps back and forth between two settings. One year ago, the residents of Storybrooke returned to the Enchanted Forest. There they encounter Aurora (Sarah Bolger) and Phillip (Julian Morris), then set off to find their castle. Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Regina (Lana Parrilla) have decided to team up for the good of the realm, but an unexpected attack and a powerful shield spell present challenges they didn’t expect.

One year later, in New York, Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) arrives to convince Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) that the life she is living, happy with her son, Henry (Jared Gilmore), and doting boyfriend of eight months, Walsh (Christopher Gorham, Covert Affairs), isn’t real. Emma is resistant at first, having no memories of her time in Storybrooke or among the fairy tale people, but a trip to Neal’s (Michael Raymond-James) apartment and a blue potion are Hook’s plan to fix that.

It seems like every episode of ONCE UPON A TIME named after a place just happens to be good. “Tallahassee” and “Manhattan” certainly delivered, as does this newest installment. Coincidence? Perhaps.

ONCE UPON A TIME often divides itself between flashbacks and the present day. Given the structure of “New York City Serenade,” it seems like the flashbacks in the back half of this third season may only go back a few months at a time. We are left pretty much clueless as to what transpires between the events shown in this hour and Emma’s current situation, even though whatever transpired seems to be very important.

Now, I don’t think that means ONCE UPON A TIME will abandon the longer-ago timeframes completely. But like the series Lost, which shares some writers, showing the past prior to the beginning of the series only works for so long before it needs supplemented with something else. “New York City Serenade” is ONCE UPON A TIME’s Oceanic Six moment, and like those plane wreck survivors, Emma and Henry have to go back. Or, at least, Hook will try to convince them to.

I’m not saying “New York City Serenade” copies Lost, though. The story may even be considered the opposite, with some of the Lost obstacles removed in a single hour, and other, different challenges facing the characters. But I digress.

We do get some really great moments in both realms this week. In the Enchanted Forest, Regina and Snow have a really cool scene in which Regina is considering her path, whether to try to cope with the pain of loss, as most people do, or follow her mother’s evil path. There’s another terrific, similar bit involving Hook and Charming (Josh Dallas). Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and Neal share their thoughts about the departed Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle, who does not appear this week, but remains on the cast list). And, what may be best of all, is the part in which Regina, Snow, and the others encounter Robin Hood (Sean Maguire) and his Merry Men, a sequence sparking with chemistry and fantastic dialogue.

There are equally memorable moments in New York between Henry and Emma and between Emma and Walsh. Emma and Henry in their current state, thinking they’ve always been together, have an enhanced relationship based on what was already established for them, making for a neat bond. Walsh, on the other hand, is easily accepted by Henry and he knows and loves Emma, despite her flaws. Emma is fond of him, too. If you’re wondering what kind of guy Emma and Henry could let into their family in such a short time, Walsh is exactly who you’d pick.

Of course, this being ONCE UPON A TIME, there are some really surprising developments, especially late in the hour. All is not as it seems in either setting, and viewers will be left with far more questions than answers. Suffice it to say, the writers have taken advantage of the two-story season and have cooked up something really cool and different for this second arc, serving the characters we love, but not repeating themselves in any way.

This episode is not perfect. Jiminy Cricket has resorted to chirping, presumably because Raphael Sbarge, the actor who plays him, wasn’t available. I also wonder how Emma and Henry can have such a fully furnished and decorated apartment one year after they “lost everything in a fire.” But these are minor gripes, and no glaring missteps stick out.

In short, “New York City Serenade” is an enjoyable, exciting episode that makes a fine return for ONCE UPON A TIME. The series airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

MIXOLOGY A Bad Brew

Article first published MIXOLOGY Review on Seat42F.

ABC’s MIXOLOGY, a new sitcom about ten single people spending one night in a bar, premieres this Wednesday. In the first half hour, “Tom & Maya,” we are introduced to most of the cast and the premise as Tom (Blake Lee, Parks and Recreation), recently dumped by his fiancé of eight years and dragged out by a couple of friends, hits on Maya (Ginger Gonzaga, Legit), a ruthless, ball-busting lawyer.

MIXOLOGY is a little bit of an anthology series with a tone similar to the quickly canceled Love Bites because it will jump around from person to person each week. But it’s not quite an anthology because the main story only takes up a little bit of the episode, with other players being featured throughout the half hour, too, even when their names aren’t in the title.

This structure is very confusing. The characters are easy enough to tell apart, to be sure, but there’s a lot of them for a sitcom, and the pacing is rapid enough to really prevent the viewer from learning even the names of the characters. After two installments, I’m still having to use the show’s website for help in telling you who these people are.

There’s Tom, of course, and his well-intentioned, but kind of douchey, friends, Cal (Craig Frank, 8.13) and Bruce (Andrew Santino, Crafty). Maya is there to meet her wishy-washy friend, Liv (Kate Simses, What’s Your Number?), who chooses the safe relationship over passion. Jessica (Alexis Carra, Incredible Girl) asks her sister, Janey (Sarah Bolger, Once Upon a Time), to go with her to meet a date she set up online. The man Jessica is meeting turns out to be Brit Ron (Adam Campbell, Touch), who is having the worst day of his life. And their waitress, Kacey (Vanessa Lengies, Glee), tries to break up with the jerk bartender, Dominic (Adan Canto, The Following).

To make matters more confusing, Janey disappears before episode two and is replaced by an annoying friend of Jessica’s, Fab (Frankie Shaw, Blue Mountain State), whom we don’t really get a read-on yet. This means a character who has a touching interaction with Janey has to immediately forget about her and turn his attentions elsewhere. Plus, flashbacks grow the cast even more, making MIXOLOGY one hard show to follow.

Not that viewers will be tempted to try to puzzle it out because there isn’t a single likable character in the whole group to connect through. Tom may be the stereotypical “nice guy,” but he’s a wimp and way too much of a pushover to be the hero. And will anyone really want him to get with Maya after they see just how cruel she can be? It’s not like she’s an obvious happy ending for him. The others are equally flawed and detestable, with horndog men and easily manipulated women who like being put down.

To be fair, the setting of MIXOLOGY, a bar where people come to hit on strangers and many of them just want to get laid, isn’t the ideal place to find good people. Good people go to bars, sure, but the types of friends we’re used to seeing portrayed are either frequenting those establishments while enjoying one another’s company, or are having a bad day and acting a bit out of character. Rarely do they make a habit of trolling. Now, this series asks us to see this as a viable place to find love and change one’s life for the better, and that just doesn’t work.

The premise also extremely limits the structure. As mentioned, the episodes do take time to show us other places and events, but the main story is confined to a single place and time. This will grow old week after week. How I Met Your Mother is getting mixed reviews doing its final season over the course of one weekend. Having multiple seasons, assuming the series goes on for any length of time, on one night is just not tenable. Either it needs some serious changes, or it can’t possibly last.

Two episodes was more than enough for me. I don’t think I’ll be checking back in on it again, assuming it even lasts beyond that pair of installments, which is not a certainty at this point.

MIXOLOGY premieres Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

"Common" Installment of ONCE UPON A TIME

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Recap Season 3 Episode 3 Quite a Common Fairy on Seat42F.

This week’s episode of ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME is called “Quite a Common Fairy.” The Operation: Save Henry team in Neverland search for Tinker Bell (Rose McIver, The Lovely Bones), hoping she can help them gain access to where Henry (Jared Gilmore) is being held. Unfortunately, Regina (Lana Parrilla) has a past with Tinker Bell, and that may make the fairy pretty unmotivated to help.

ONCE UPON A TIME frequently takes license in putting its own spin on the traditional telling of a familiar tale. However, I am not sure how Tinker Bell fits into the current understanding. She is in the Enchanted Forest realm when the Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy) takes away her powers and wings, then is seen as a normal human in Neverland. So has Tinker Bell never been a fairy in Neverland? Or, is the Enchanted Forest the second chance the Blue Fairy spoke of, and Tinker Bell was a fairy in Neverland earlier before screwing up somehow? Maybe by trusting Pan (Robbie Kay) when she shouldn’t have? We know Tinker Bell has a complex to save those who have gone bad, based on this episode. This definitely begs further exploration, even if Tinker Bell is not a major character, only putting in her first appearance here.

It’s pretty cool that Tinker Bell is tied into the existing fairy world, though. Viewers have gotten to know the Blue Fairy fairly well, and we’ve seen her interact with others of her species. It makes since for Neverland’s famous fairy to not only be running in that social circle, but also to not quite fit in, given her isolation and separation from the group. This is very well handled.

Tinker Bell wants a home. She has been abandoned by many, and not found her place. Snow and Charming (Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas, who recently got engaged off screen) offer her this in exchange for her help. It’s kind of fun to see the pair take in yet another stray, but it seems to be their specialty, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have a fairy or ex-fairy on their side. I just wonder how the Blue Fairy would react if Tinker Bell goes to Storybrooke…

Once more, we’re treated to a backstory of how Regina makes wrong choices. Tinker Bell, seeking to save Regina’s soul, tries to provide Regina with the key to happiness, leading Regina to a man she could be content with. Regina decides against approaching the man, choosing the wrong path yet again, though she doesn’t fully realize it until, late in “Quite a Common Fairy,” Tinker Bell points out Regina is selfish by depriving the man of his happy ending, too.

There’s a lot to dissect in this sequence. For one thing, Regina doesn’t often think about others. However, clearly that has changed, as Tink’s last words about being selfish wound her. Regina also has found happiness in raising Henry, even naming her mission in Neverland as Henry would, which is why she is able to throw herself at Tink’s mercy, risking her own heart and life to try to save Henry. She has changed.

It is revealed that the man Tink leads Regina to is none other than Robin Hood (Sean Maguire). Now, Robin already has had love and has a son, Roland (Raphael Alejandro). Maid Marion doesn’t seem to be currently around (maybe I missed that explanation?), but does this mean that, despite the trouble Robin goes through for Marion, they aren’t destined to be one another’s soul mates? Might Regina really belong in this relationship? At least she’d finally have a son to dote on who might appreciate her.

Those who make ONCE UPON A TIME have promised more of Robin Hood in the back half of the season, so I wonder if this is the direction the show will take. Season three seems awfully early to redeem Regina and let her find a happy ending, and yet, after how far she’s come and all she’s been through, it’s hard not to root for her to find her man and child. Maybe this season could be the end of Regina’s story, which would be sad, but it would be a very satisfying exit for her.

Speaking of being with the wrong person, Mulan (Jamie Chung) is ready to confess her love to Princess Aurora (Sarah Bolger), only to stop short when she finds out Aurora is pregnant. So Mulan joins Robin’s band of Merry Men instead.

Unfortunately, this probably won’t be resolved anytime soon. With Neal (Michael Raymond-James) making his way to Neverland, only recurring characters, no main ones, are left in the Enchanted Forest. ONCE UPON A TIME tends to only follow those guest stars when the central cast is around, so we probably won’t see any more development with them this fall.

With all of these new people introduced, there could be room for a few characters to exit the story, and the cast to be expanded again. Fairy tales are all about a finite journey with a happy ending.  What if we’re nearing the conclusion for more than just Regina? Might ONCE consider moving the story in completely different directions with new protagonists? It’s an interesting concept to ponder, though one that seems unlikely to occur.

“Quite a Common Fairy” does an excellent job of really developing more minor players, not serving too many of the main ones very much, but still an enjoyable hour. It isn’t perfect, with Mulan’s plan seeming too neat both before and after it is enacted, and the CGI still a few years away from being truly great on a television budget. But it mostly works, and I’m very interested to see the things that happen in other installments because of occurrences in this episode, of which there should be plenty.

ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

ONCE UPON A TIME Has "Heart"

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Recap Season 3 Episode 1 The Heart of the Truest Believer on Seat42F.

ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME returns for a third go-round with “The Heart of the Truest Believer.” Six people are on the Jolly Roger, come to Neverland to find the missing Henry (Jared Gilmore). But when they get there, they discover Neverland is not quite what they expect. This goes double for the duo that kidnapped Henry, soon learning the Home Office hasn’t been entirely truthful with them.

The Home Office is, apparently, Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) and the Lost Boys. Pan needs “The Heart of the Truest Believer” for some unknown purpose, and for anyone who has ever watched even a little bit ONCE UPON A TIME, you will know immediately that said heart belongs to Henry. Henry has always held the faith that fairy tales are true and good win will, even when others falter. Now the question is, can Henry keep his heart in his chest, and what does Pan want with it?

The twist in “The Heart of the Truest Believer” is a pretty predictable one. Given the nature of the Neverland jungle and the ease at which the boys move around in it, I assumed immediately that the “turned” lost boy was none other than Pan. I wasn’t sure about his motives, but it makes sense that Pan would want to confirm Henry really is whom Pan is seeking before doing anything more to the boy.

I’m surprised to see Greg (Ethan Embry) and Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green) meet their fates so swiftly. True, Martin-Green has a full-time gig on The Walking Dead, but considering that the pair were the villains for much of season two, one expects there to be more to their tale than being cut down by boys in the woods. However, ONCE UPON A TIME is moving into a new chapter, so I suppose it’s appropriate that the bad guys are new, too. Plus, I like the way this episode ties into last year and makes the viewer rethink things seen previously.

Actually, the Lost Boys don’t straight up kill Tamara; she hangs around just long enough for Rumple (Robert Carlyle), who has magically left the Jolly Roger, to find her and extract a little information. This is the cruel side of Rumple, returned in full force. We see that Rumple is determined to save Henry at the end of last season, willing to sacrifice himself, but apparently he doesn’t mind dipping back into his old bag of tricks to do, as reformed as her might have seemed.

Neverland seems the perfect place for Rumple, extremely well versed as he is in all things magic. Neverland is bursting at the seams with magic, much more so than the Enchanted Forrest, so it makes sense that the character who flourished with the element should have better command of it than the others. This prompts Rumple to ditch them, whether that’s because he thinks they’ll slow him down or he just doesn’t care about them, he’s at home here.

But Rumple has a weakness, too, and that’s his family. An old straw doll is enough to stop him in his tracks and bring him to tears. We don’t know why, as “The Heart of the Truest Believer” breaks format and abstains from doing a full flashback story, but assumedly we’ll get to that soon enough, and Rumple has been to Neverland before.

Of course, this weakness leads Rumple to dabble in blood magic, which provides a way for Neal (Michael Raymond-James), stuck in the Enchanted Forrest with Mulan (Jamie Chung) and Robin Hood (Sean Maguire, recast from Robin’s previous appearance), to locate Emma. He’ll need more help than just them, and Aurora (Sarah Bloger) and Phillip (Julian Morris), to reunite with his loved ones.

I like very much that Neal’s assistance comes in the form of familiar faces. These characters were seen quite a bit early last season, then disappeared. ONCE UPON A TIME does have quite a few people to serve, but it’s satisfying that it’s beginning to reuse those that haven’t been fully explored, rather than just continuing to add new ones all the time. The quartet Neal gets involved with deserve the screen time, and I look forward to seeing how they can help him next, as well as to how long they will stick around this time.

The more help Neal can bring with the better, as Neverland is full of dangers, a reflection of the erratic children who run the land, left to their own devices without guidance or structure, which Emma, Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin), Charming (Josh Dallas), Hook (Colin O’Donoghue), and Regina (Lana Parrilla) soon find out. They are beset by mermaids and drive them off, only to be further threatened by their hostage (Natasha Wilson) with a rough storm. It’s too bad Rumple leaves them, as they could sure use his help!

It’s really cool how the storm is mirroring the discord within this group, feeding off of them and ramping up their hostility at the same time. It may be an obvious metaphor, but it’s an effective one, making for a tense scene.

Emma is the one that saves the day. In all of this, Emma has remained the most neutral, and she is able to do that because she exits outside of the Enchanted Forrest web of relationships, not having lived in that place. Emma and Charming want to be her parents, and so love her as mothers and fathers do, but not having grown up with them, Emma is hesitant to let them in, still holding onto anger towards them. Emma saves Regina so Regina respects her, but they feud over Henry, so they won’t be buddies anytime soon. And Hook takes a fancy to Emma, even giving her Neal’s sword, but Emma isn’t about to hop into bed with a known scalawag.

When Emma jumps in the ocean, though, they all work together to save her. I think they realize that Emma is their best chance at getting what they want, whether it’s family or sex or a way to get back to one’s world. Emma is a powerful force, as is Henry, and they are driving factors in this show.

The one flashback we do see is Emma (Jennifer Morrison) giving birth to Henry. It’s telling that this moment is chosen, as the episode is not about Emma’s relationship with Henry. I believe this means Henry’s origin story and how he came to Storybrooke, as well as what his destiny is, it vital to the plot this fall.

“The Heart of the Truest Believer” isn’t just an exciting story and the beginning of fresh plots in a new world; it’s also reestablishing the role both Emma and Henry play in the show, as leads. It reorders the relationships, Emma taking command over the other four on the ship. It reminds us of what the show is about and why it works in the first place. In short, it’s pretty much the best season premiere one could ask for from the show.

ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Once Upon a Time tugs at our hearts

ABC's Once Upon a Time ended its fall run this week with "Queen of Hearts." The various plots that have been playing out for the past few months all converge and mostly end, avoiding a dramatic, violent showdown (though we get a small taste of such a thing), instead playing more to the emotional depth of the characters. It's also an episode heavy on revelation, making it a tasty treat that should tide fans over until January.

The biggest message to come out of "Queen of Hearts" is the power of true love. Emma (Jennifer Morrison) discovers her name written in magic ink in a cell, which enables her and her friends to escape after being locked up. Cora (Barbara Hershey) learns that she cannot remove Emma's heart. Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) admits he has nothing to do with, and doesn't even know the full extent of, Emma's power. It feels like a bit of a Harry Potter rip off, but clearly true love is the most powerful force in Once Upon a Time, and it will make sure, as Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) asserts, that good will always triumph over evil.

This means that Emma's focus in the series should not lessen as the show goes on. She already plays out her role as the savior last year, and her family relations to several other main characters mean that she won't be going anywhere. But now that magic has returned, and the fairy tale and real worlds begin to intermingle, one might think that Emma's lack of experience with the former would handicap her. Instead, she will still likely be the best hope everyone has of surviving, given this new development.

And survive, they must. Cora and Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) are temporarily defeated in the fairy tale realm, but by the end of the episode, they are sailing into the harbor of Storybrooke on Hook's ship. This does feel a little liked a cheat. So much effort is exhausted to thwart them, and yet, off screen, they suddenly manage to achieve their goal anyway. However, there is still a battle to wage, so the excitement will not lack concerning them when the show returns.

Cora and Hook's emergence in Storybrooke points to signs that Once Upon a Time may not visit the fairy tale world for awhile, other than in the frequent flashbacks. True, Mulan (Jamie Chung) and Aurora (Sarah Bolger) are still there and have a new quest to embark on, but they are not main characters, despite what it has seemed like this fall, so it is likely that we will see very little, if any, of their mission. Instead, the bad guys have broken into our world, so that is probably where most of the action will stay.

Emma has huge talents that we are just beginning to glimpse, but she cannot stop Cora and Hook alone. She merely holds them off so that she and Snow can make their escape before, and now that things will be deteriorating, she will need all the help that she can get. The problem is, most of the talents of good guys on the show are limited, standing little chance against great mahic, so her best bets for helpful allies are Rumplestiltskin and Regina (Lana Parrilla), whose allegiances are circumspect.

Rumple just wants to find his son. He can't leave Storybrooke, so he's stalled in this desire, but he has no particular loyalty to anyone else here, save Belle (Emilie de Ravin). He helps in "Queen of Hearts" and the events leading up to it because of his soft spot for a boy, Henry (Jared Gilmore), who may remind him a bit of his own child, and because he really doesn't want Cora coming to this world, as she could get in his way. If he can run away and avoid confrontation, he likely will, just as he is coldly willing to sacrifice Emma and Snow in this episode if it will keep Cora from crossing over.

Regina is a bit more of an enigma. She desperately wants to be good again, at least in Henry's eyes. But no matter what she does, she isn't figuring as an important person in his life. She absorbs Rumple's deadly spell so that Snow and Emma can get home, which could cost her something that hasn't been revealed yet, given her looks of pain. And yet, after a quick hug and word of praise, Henry runs off with Emma again. How hard would it have been to invite Regina to come along with them, considering how much she played a role in their safe return? By excluding her, they risk alienating Regina, leaving her vulnerable to Cora's influence. If Regina sides with her mother, Storybrooke could really be in trouble.

Much praise has to be given to Parrilla, who can definitely be argued to be this season's MVP, much as Carlyle dominated last year. She plays the layers of complexity that make up Regina expertly, balancing all of the facets of her personality so, so well. She makes us care about someone who started off the series as the most villainous member of the world, and her vulnerabilities as a mother, no matter who Henry's flesh and blood are, make her someone to root for. Even if Regina trends dark again, I hope that Parrilla is given the opportunity to make her a hero in the end.

The "Duh!" moment in "Queen of Hearts" is when Cora is revealed to be the Queen of Hearts in Wonderland. Given her penchant for stealing the blood pumping organ from people, this is something I should have seen coming from a mile away. And yet, like many of Once Upon a Time's great twists, I somehow did not put the pieces together until the last moment. It's touches like this, the seeds planted months, even a year, beforehand, that prove that this show has some of the best writing on television. Other awesome callback bits in "Queen of Hearts" include a return to the lake, Rumple's use of the fairy wand, seeing Cora create the dome that saved part of fairy tale world, and the logic leap many viewers are making that Rumple planned very well in advance, allowing himself to get captured before the curse.

Once Upon a Time will return in January on ABC.

Want to read some of my fiction? It's on my website, JeromeWetzel.com! Also, for the latest updates and article links, as well as commentary on episodes I don't fully review, please follow me on Twitter!

Article first posted on TheTVKing

Once Upon a Time in "Tallahassee"

Last night's installment of ABC's Once Upon a Time may have been called "Tallahasse," but not a single moment of the episode took place in that Florida city. Instead, "Tallahassee" is a dream. It represents home and family for Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), a chance to be with the man she loves and raise a kid together.

But this dream is dashed eleven years ago, as we see when Emma finally gets her own flashback. Yep, the backstory of "Tallahassee" tells a fairy tale in the real world. Thief Emma meets another criminal, Neal (Michael Raymond-James, Terriers, True Blood), and together they become a sort of Bonnie and Clyde. Seeking to prevent a tragic ending, August (Eion Bailey) arranges for Emma to end up in jail and Neal to step back until Emma has fulfilled her destiny.

How might Emma's life be different if August hadn't been "protecting" her? Neal seems to really love her. Maybe they could have had a happy ending together. Yes, a content Emma might have been harder to drag to Storybrooke, but she would have been a less angsty person. If August really wanted to help, shouldn't he have thought about this? Not to mention, why couldn't August get her to her destiny much sooner?

That aside, though, we now know the meaning of the opening scene of season two, and who the Mysterious Man is. He will surely come for Emma, as his apartment showed no signs of him having moved on without her. Will Emma be able to start to forgive him, the way she is doing with Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and David (Josh Dallas), who abandoned her for equally noble reasons? As a "normal" human, what will Neal's introduction to the fairy tale world be like? What has he been doing in the intervening years? And what is in August's box that moved Neal to listen?

In this very Emma-heavy episode, Once Upon a Time also follows her in the story book land. She climbs a beanstalk with Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) to get a compass from the last giant (Jorge Garcia, Lost, Alcatraz). She completes the quest, of course, in her own unique way, and earns her battle stripes in this world, no longer the fish out of water she began as a few episodes ago.

What viewers are reminded of in this episode, though, and what Emma already well knows is, people are complicated, and you can't always take what they say at face value. Who is the real bad guy in "Tallahassee," the giant or Hook? The giant hates people and almost kills Emma, but his people were slain by men, so there's no wonder he holds a grudge. And once Emma spares his life, he does her a favor AND allows her to leave. So he's clearly not unreasonable.

My question is, though, how believable is it that the giant learns to trust Emma? He is described as the baddest of them all, the only survivor from the war. Would he really, after so much suffering and loss, be able to strike a deal and some sort of trust, slim as it might be, with Emma? Wouldn't he just kill her? The fact that he doesn't makes him not only a good guy, but a hero of the highest order. Which means he should definitely return again.

Hook, on the other hand, I do not trust. I think Emma is right to have the giant keep him for ten hours and allow the ladies to escape. I don't care what he tells them, I can't help but feel he is still playing out Cora's (Barbara Hershey) plan. And while I think there is some real grief behind Hook's motivations, and do think that he is sincere when he tells Emma about his motivations to get to Storybrooke, the story behind it all cannot be discounted, knowing his love began in the most unorthodox and sinister of ways.

And I guess there will be no Jack in the story of this giant and beanstalk, given the pile of bones on the floor.

There is another danger revealed in "Tallahasse." Both Henry (Jared S. Gilmore) and Aurora (Sarah Bolger) have nightmares about a red room with burning curtains. Are they seeing each other in the room, or a villain we have yet to meet? What does it mean? When did premonitions enter into the mix? When will this go down? Scary stuff, a level of danger that might just edge out everything we've seen so far.

There are a few weak points, such as characters making leaps not fully explained, but overall season two of Once Upon a Time has been an exciting thrill ride. I'm ready for Emma and Snow to get back to their friends, but definitely excited about what's to come next. "Tallahasse" is not as good as recent episodes like "The Doctor," "Crocodile," and "We Are Both," but is still a fun time.

Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Check out my website, JeromeWetzel.com! First posted on TheTVKing

Once Upon a Time anything but "Broken

Grade: 92%

The fairy tale is nowhere close to being over as ABC”s ONCE UPON A TIME returns last night with “Broken.” The curse has been broken, indeed, and magic has returned, in limited form, to Storybrooke. Yet, their land is destroyed, according to Regina (Lana Parrilla), so they remain stuck in the real world. How can they get their home back, or will they try to build a new one here?

“Broken” shows us many familiar faces to remind us of who all is in Storybrooke, but mostly sticks to the core group of characters for the central story (This, somewhat regrettably, though it won’t likely affect the size of his role,  as he never did make it into the inner circle, no longer includes Jiminy (Raphael Sbarge). It’s hard to complain about getting a glimpse of these beloved characters, and, considering their small part, they could easily have been dropped from this episode, which would make the world feel sadly smaller.

Most are out for Regina’s head, of course, since she is the face of their misery. But Henry (Jared Gilmore) maintains a little sympathy for the woman that raised him and convinces Emma (Jennifer Morrison) to protect Regina. It’s kind of hard to fathom why a kid who believes his mother is secretly an evil queen for so long doesn’t want to see her hurt. But the relationship between parents and children can be complicated. And although Henry does provide a possible salvation for Regina, she is really going to have to work hard to regain his affection after the events of “Broken.” Not that they are her fault.

See, Rumple (Robert Carlyle) promises Belle (Emilie de Ravin, upgraded to series regular), that he won’t kill Regina, so to get around this, he unleashes a wraith on her. Emma springs to the rescue, aided by her parents, Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming (Josh Dallas). They save Regina, but Snow and Emma fall through a portal after the wraith, leaving Charming alone to care for Henry.

Besides Regina, Rumple is another soul that must be saved. While Regina has Henry as a motivation, Rumple has his Belle back. Initially, that is not enough to get him to change his ways. But her continued presence can only be beneficial to him. Will she help him find a way to not be the Dark One anymore? That may or may not happen. She will, however, likely to influence his actions to be a little less evil.

Not that ONCE UPON A TIME is going to make its villains all warm and cuddly. Both Regina and Rumple still have a sharp edge to them, and it will not be rounded out anytime soon. Plus, with creatures like the wraith, new dangers will be introduced. Have no fear; ONCE UPON A TIME will not fall into a “happy ever after” anytime soon which, will satisfying, would also be boring.

The relationships between Snow, Charming, Emma, and Henry are very awkward in “Broken.” Technically, Snow and Charming are Emma’s parents, even though they appear to be the same age, and it feels odd for Henry to think of a couple so young as his grandparents. Also, Emma feels abandoned, as anyone would, by her parents, since they left her alone all these years. Yes, it was to save everyone, but there are still those emotional issues that would come from being set adrift, no matter what the intentions behind it. This makes all of these interactions seem odd.

Oddness is not a complaint, however. Given the very strange circumstances, it would be far worse if the characters quickly hugged and all was right in the world. There are a lot of unresolved feelings, and even if the feelings may not be completely logical, emotions seldom are. This uneasiness is natural and right, lending an authenticity to the characters.

As mentioned, magic is back in the real world, but it’s unclear exactly what that means. Rumple has some, certainly, but Regina is unhappy to discover that she does not. That is, until Emma touches her. All of the sudden, Regina can do things again. Is Emma the key? Will each person she touches get some power? Yet, not every storybook character had powers. The rules of this are completely murky at this point, but at least it feels like the writers have a handle on it, even if they aren’t going to share that with us yet. Bottom line, Emma remains the key, her importance no less after breaking the curse.

 

The only thing that really bugs me in “Broken” is that the storybook names and real world names are used interchangeable. Presumably, the characters remember both lives now, so they see each other both ways. But it’s weird to here Mary Margaret called Snow in Storybrooke, and then called Mary Margaret again a few minutes later. Are they forever stuck with two identities now? Can we not settle on one moniker per person? Even if they get to decide which it is, and some pick names from each world, it would be preferable to the current situation.

We still don’t know who Dr. Whale (David Anders) is in the fantasy world, a mystery alluded to in “Broken,” but not explored. This tease only makes me want to know more.

And what of the mysterious man (Michael Raymond-James, Terriers, True Blood) who lives in the big city, but gets a note from a pigeon? Is he Rumple’s son? If so, did he know about the curse, and was he working to break it? Or is he the March Hare, since he has a Hatter sign in his apartment? Is it possible that some of the storybook characters did not dwell in Storybrooke? How did the curse and its breaking affect them? Is this man on his way to Maine? Who sent the note? A wonderful mystery to kick off the new season.

Viewers also get another storybook story. Sleeping Beauty (Sarah Bolger, The Tudors) is awoken by Prince Phillip (Julian Morris, Pretty Little Liars). But before they can ride off together, a wraith attacks Phillip. Even with Mulan (Jamie Chung, Samurai Girl) there for support, the women can’t save Phillip from losing his soul.

Far more interesting, though, is the revelation that a small corner of the fantasy world survived Regina’s destruction, and time stopped for twenty-eight years then restarted, same as the clock in Maine, they are aware of this, and have banded together to…, well, who knows? Snow and Emma are thrust into this place, so through them, viewers will get a chance to see what the other consequences of Regina’s spell are. How cool!

“Broken” is a terrific return for ONCE UPON A TIME, furthering the arcs beautifully, while providing enough new mystery to keep the story magical. New episodes air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.