ONCE UPON A TIME Suffers Huge "Fall" in Quality

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review Season 4 Episode 9 Fall on Seat42F.

In the antepenultimate episode of ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME autumn run, “Fall,” the residents of Storybrooke race against time to find a way to stop the spell of shattered sight, knowing it will cause them to turn on one another. Anna (Elizabeth Lail) may be the key to that, but she’s still missing. Elsewhere, we witness what happens to Anna after she is unfrozen from the Snow Queen’s (Elizabeth Mitchell) spell.

The spell of shattered sight had got to be the slowest spell ever. Ever. It takes an entire day to hover over Storybrooke before covering it? It’s not like it’s slowly advancing across the town, as everyone becomes affected at once. How effective, exactly, is a spell that is seen long before it becomes relevant, giving its would-be victims ample time to plan a defense?

I also don’t understand why the Snow Queen’s spell on Arendelle melts when it does. Clearly, all of her ice doesn’t dissolve because her wall stays up and Marian stays frozen (or so we can assume). These Storybrooke ice sculptures exist at the same time as the Arendelle ones for at least awhile, so it’s not because the Snow Queen has moved realms or over-extended herself. What’s going on?

Please correct me in the comments if I’m wrong, but Anna has to have been frozen more than the thirty years that “Fall” claims, no? When she visits David in the Enchanted Forest, that’s only three decades before the present? That doesn’t seem to me to gel with the already established events in that realm shown over the past few seasons. The coincidences that follow, with Hans, (Tyler Jacob Moore), Blackbeard (Charles Mesure), and the trunk being pulled from the sea at the last moment are equally ridiculous.

Though the sisterly reunion is sweet, and I’m very glad that loveable Kristoff (Scott Michael Foster) gets to come to Storybrooke, too. There has been more than enough separation between loved ones. What’s up with that mysterious bottle that somehow tags along?

Worse than these weird plot elements, though, is the absolute and total ruination of Rumplestiltskin’s (Robert Carlyle) character. This has been a frequent topic of complaint for myself and other ONCE UPON A TIME fans recently, and “Fall” just piles on. Rumple makes a deal with the Snow Queen to leave the town and take Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and Henry (Jared S. Gilmore) with him. That she agrees isn’t surprising, since he is somehow immune from her spell and can cause trouble for her. But thinking Belle and Henry will stay with him after fleeing is a leap Rumple is smart enough never to make. He knows they have big hearts and care about others, so abandoning everyone else will surely make them turn against him.

Also, Rumple has never been shown to be power-hungry. He’s addicted to magic, sure, but mostly learned his lesson long ago, one that has been reiterated time and again. To abandon all of his growth and his hard-found knowledge with some generically evil scheme is far beneath this role, and one that the series should never have attempted to do with him.

Why does Belle, who won’t leave the diner with Rumple when he first shows up, suddenly agree to do so just before he locks her in the shop? A few words from him about not trusting fairies and she changes her mind? Not to mention, Belle is a hero, not a coward or submissive wife. It’s very frustrating.

I find it very odd that, as the spell finally does come down, Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming (Josh Dallas) worry only about themselves, locking each other in jail cells. They are supposed to be leaders for the community, but do nothing other than send a messenger to tell people what’s happening. Shouldn’t they be making arrangements to help their people get through it, rather than leaving themselves helpless (and stupidly next to each other) and ignoring the townsfolk? Plus, giving Emma (Jennifer Morrison) the task of defeating the Snow Queen and taking care of her baby brother at the same time makes no sense.

I don’t believe Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) would betray everyone quite as severely as he does. Sure, he’s a pirate who wants to save his own skin, so working for Rumple is a conceivable bit, up to a point. But knowing he’s about to lose everything, Hook still doesn’t find the heroic side that the show had been cultivating in him? Dumb.

This episode isn’t without its moments. Regina (Lana Parrilla) and Robin Hood (Sean Maguire) have a touching scene that, while a bit repetitive, is moving. Watching the Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy) be taken down, surely temporarily, is dramatic. Emma has some emotional stuff that works for her.

However, this is overshadowed by all of the weaknesses in the hour. It’s true you could argue some of my points and we could agree to disagree on motivations. What there’s no denying is there are a TON of plot and character inconsistencies. When added together, this makes for a very disappointing and uneven episode, and the sheer number of them defies defense. I’ve mostly enjoyed the fall run, other than the decline in quality of Rumplestiltskin, but things are coming completely apart at the end and that’s not a good sign. ONCE UPON A TIME has almost always been uneven. “Fall” is some of the worst of that.

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

ONCE UPON A TIME Stumbles On "Rocky Road"

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review Season 4 Episode 3 Rocky Road on Seat42F.

This week’s installment of ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME, “Rocky Road,” is an interesting because it’s full of exposition, leaving us with more questions than answers. As our heroes race to save a slowly-freezing-to-death Marian (Christie Laing), they encounter a new villain who seems a little too familiar with them. In flashback, the introduction of said baddie doesn’t exactly match up with what’s happening in Storybrooke, indicating that there are more secrets that must come out to understand the tale.

The “monster” is the Snow Queen (Elizabeth Mitchell). Trapped in an urn, locked in a cave, she is accidentally freed by Hans (Tyler Jacob Moore, Shameless) as he attempts to capture Elsa (Georgina Haig) and steal her kingdom. Once she is freed, it is Hans that is in trouble, and Elsa looks to have a new mentor in the woman that claims to be her aunt.

Yet, in Storybrooke, the Snow Queen isn’t so benevolent. She has attacked Marian for unknown reasons, and tells Elsa that Elsa was locked in an urn by Anna and that the Rock Trolls erased Elsa’s memory. Elsa can’t believe Anna would entrap her in such a way, and is confused by what has been supposedly removed from her brain, kicking off a whole new set of mysteries.

This is a pretty compelling narrative, two sisters on their own quests, long separated, beset by challenges. They will surely find their way back to one another because fairy tales have happy endings (usually), but it’s clearly not going to be easy, and the fall run of ONCE UPON A TIME will document that.

We are also briefly introduced to new main character Will Scarlet (Michael Socha), a.k.a. The Knave. We don’t know why he’s come over from Wonderland (he starred in the short-lived spin-off of this series) or gone back to his thieving ways, but his introduction is a fun one, and I look forward to hearing why he isn’t still with the Red Queen, who should be by his side, and hopefully will be again.

Some fans of the series are sure to be disappointed by “Rocky Road” and the episodes surrounding it because of how heavily it leans on the guest characters. Elsa and the Snow Queen aren’t part of the core cast, and by focusing on them so much, it gives the more familiar people less screen time. Personally, while I would like to get back to some of the larger arcs that seem to move so slowly, I am enjoying this Frozen tale, and I think the recent hours are good enough that I don’t have much reason to complain, at least not about story structure.

After all, there’s still development for most of the main cast. Emma (Jennifer Morrison) uses her powers to good effect in “Rocky Road,” and she finally confesses to Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) why she’s keeping him at arm’s length. It’s not him, of course, it’s that every man she gets close to winds up dead, which sort of backs up what Elsa tells Hook, that responsibility trumps personal feelings. And we see Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) adjusting to motherhood and a mayorship, two tough challenges that she honestly should be doing better with, but she’s getting there. Her story is a little lame (Mysteries of Laura style), but at least she has something to do, which isn’t always the case.

Best of all, there is movement on both of Regina’s (Lana Parrilla) fronts. First, she teams up with a willing Henry (Jared Gilmore) to find the author of the storybook so she can get a happy ending. It’s cool to see how amazed she is when Henry jumps at the chance to help her, and it’s nice knowing he’ll make sure she doesn’t turn back to the dark side to get what she wants. He anchors her to her heart, and she doesn’t deserve to backslide after coming so far. Robin Hood (Sean Maguire) also admits to Regina he’s still in love with her but just can’t be with her, which does seem to soften Regina’s bitterness, just a little. Let’s hope Robin comes clean with Marian that it just isn’t working between them anymore, which could, but probably won’t, create a new villain.

How weird is it that Regina removes Marian’s heart? I have no idea what the implications of this will be, but I dig the twist.

I don’t like a couple of things going on this season. I still hate how Rumple (Robert Carlyle) has slipped back into his shameful ways, and I really don’t like that Hook is covering for him, though I’m sure Hook just sees it as none of his business. It also doesn’t feel right that Granny (Beverly Elliott), Grumpy (Lee Arenberg), and the other townsfolk should turn so cruelly on Mary Margaret. They’ve been through so much together; they should be more understanding, and it seems out of character that they are not.

Fans of Marvel might also have caught the Thor and Avengers comic books Regina gives Henry. It’s a shameless bit of cross promotion, but nothing new for ONCE UPON A TIME. At least it’s worked into the story nicely, the illustrated tales being compared to Henry’s storybook. Any chance there might one day by an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. / ONCE UPON A TIME crossover event? It would be incredibly hard to do correctly, so I’m guessing not, even though it could be awesome.

“Rocky Road” isn’t the best episode because it doesn’t have a lot that makes it stand on its own. But I did find it enjoyable, and it planted the seeds for what I assume will be some neat things coming up. For that reason, it works.

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

More than one 'Revelaiton' in 'GCB' season finale

ABC's GCB brings its first season to a close with "Revelation." In the episode, pretty much all of the main characters head to unincorporated Juarez. Carlene (Kristin Chenoweth) leads the trip as a groundbreaking for her Christian condo project, but each of the others have their own agendas for coming, other than just friendship. Tension sparks bickering, especially when the women are briefly kidnapped, but in the end, all's well that ends well, right?

Only on television would a large group of friends end up out of town in the same place at the same time for a bevy of different reasons. This alone tosses all believability out the window. But it doesn't detract from the enjoyment because, honestly, GCB does not thrive on realism. It's a series of exaggerations with larger than life characters whose every obstacle become cataclysmic. Keeping this in mind, the Mexico trip is a fun romp, rather than a distracting ploy.

The characters in GCB have come into their own. Like Desperate Housewives, most of them aren't exactly likeable on the surface. That makes GCB hard to get into, especially because, at first, it lacks the campy charm that makes Housewives so entertaining. But as each person has become better defined, including the men, who were originally nearly interchangeable nothings, their chemistry has gotten better, and thus, so has the show. While GCB remains on the bubble, it could definitely fill the void that will be left by Desperate Housewives next year, if ABC decides to renew it. It's juicy, salacious fun.

"Revelation" isn't exactly the most surprising episode. It's pretty clear right from the get-go that Ripp (David James Elliott) isn't cheating on Carlene, but rather, has a secret daughter. GCB goes for the comedy of errors on this one, but by using such a predictable story, it fails. But other twists, such as learning that Cricket (Miriam Shor) now, though no direct action of her own, owns Sharon's (Jennifer Aspen) business, have some serious implications for next season. Also, it's fun that the kidnapper is revealed to be a ridiculous woman (Sandra Bernhard, The L Word, Roseanne) who wants to protect her "ancestry."

Of course, as much fun as these things are, the serious romantic entanglements are the real draw of a show like this. "Revelation" finds two of the main women facing major changes in this department. Mason Massey (Grant Bowler, True Blood, Ugly Betty) is more than a minor nuisance for Cricket, especially once he learns that her marriage to Blake (Mark Deklin) is a sham. Cricket and Blake have an arrangement that has worked for them for many years, but it's not like they're sexually attracted to each other. Someone is bound to come and disrupt the status quo, and by casting Bowler to do so, there are implications of a huge, permanent change on the horizon. But, considering Bowler will soon be starring in a SyFy series, he will probably just make a mess, then leave them to clean it up.

The second woman facing new love is Amanda (Leslie Bibb). Given her past, it doesn't matter how justifiable Luke's (Eric Winter) reasons for lying to her are; they are done. Considering these trust issues, though, is it any surprise that she falls into the arms of the man least likely to betray her, Pastor Tudor (Tyler Jacob Moore, Shameless)? Amanda doesn't seem pious enough to a minister's wife, but that doesn't mean she won't try out the idea, and shock the community along the way. There are all kinds of juicy ramifications that could come from this coupling, meaning, it's probably going to happen if the series is renewed.
GCB airs on ABC, and should learn of its fate soon.

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