I initially hesitated in watching Once Upon a Time because I was a fan of Bill Willingham’s Fables, which I thought OUAT was blatantly playing on. Through later research I discovered that  ABC actually owns the rights to Fables and that my fears were unfounded. While both stories have fairy tale characters in the modern world, they took very different approaches to it.

Also, I became very uncomfortable with the blatant right-wing rhetoric Willingham liked to jam into his character’s mouths.

OUAT has a lot of things going for it that appeal to me: Complex, interwoven storylines, morality issues, many strong female characters and Robert Carlyle.

Season three opens with The Heart of the Truest Believer. Henry has been kidnapped to Neverland. His warring family members have put aside their differences to go after him on the Jolly Roger. Neil survived his gunshot and Michael Raymond-James is upgraded to regular cast member, stuck in the Enchanted Forest with Mulan, Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora.

This was an incredibly strong premiere. In opposition to many fans, I quite enjoyed season two. While there were no doubt stumbling blocks, I liked having the fairy tale characters dealing with being themselves in the land without magic

One of the biggest stumbling blocks in season two was the introduction of Greg (Ethan Embry) and Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green). Their war against magic always felt lame. It lacked the punch (and the gravitas of Barbara Hershey) of Cora’s quest for power. This sentiment was shared by a lot of viewers and it seems the writers took heed, dispatching of Greg and Tamara quickly.

I know I should care that they didn’t give an explanation for Tamara’s hatred of magic. I know I should care that the Lost Boys being “The Home Office” doesn’t make sense. But you know what? I really don’t care. If those two are off the show and we don’t have to deal with their bullshit again, I’m happy.

But what of their crusade against magic? Oh wait, no one cares!

Okay, maybe Greg is still alive. They showed him lying on the ground, but it could have been in shock rather than death…. Is ‘shadow removal’ fatal? Please let this be the case.

It was very satisfying to have Rumplestiltskin heal Tamara from her injury only to rip out her heart and crush it. I shouldn’t be supporting someone committing such a horrendous act, but as far as Rumplestiltskin knows, Tamara murdered his son. Having him show any mercy would be ridiculous. Also: I want Tamara and Greg off the show.

…And can we please take a moment to appreciate Rumplestiltskin in his Dark One clothes, but without the groddy skin make up? Not going to lie, my uncontrollable lust for Robert Carlyle affects my feelings on any episode. Hey, I’ve had a crush on the guy for like eighteen years… Yeah, pre-The Full Monty or even Trainspotting. We’re talking Hamish Macbeth. Which if you haven’t seen, SEE IT. Fans of him as Rumple will be shocked to see him as a police constable with his Scottish Terrier, Wee Jock.

 
Yowza.

My taste in evil Scottish men aside, the scene where Rumplestiltskin reveals himself in his Dark One duds is far more powerful than just a change of wardrobe. It shows clearly that we’re no longer dealing with Mister Gold. Him abandoning his cane with a casual twist and disappearing was amazingly badass. Certainly, he’s not the same man he once was, but we’re going to see more of the Dark One, after he’s been changed from his time in Storybrooke.
This FDA-approved drug can be conveniently purchased from an online store levitra sales uk and keep their identity in secrecy. What you need to do is to just take cialis levitra viagra one kamagra 100mg oral jelly sachet just before 20 minutes to your sexual intercourse. Kamagra is a proprietary viagra online consultation product of the Ajanta Pharma Ltd. Since it becomes much easier for hypnotherapists to access the memories of patients, they can easily scan http://secretworldchronicle.com/2017/10/ cialis on line purchase through them.
I don’t think this applies to just him. Regina certainly had more of the Evil Queen sass to her. I expect we’ll be seeing more Snow and Charming than Mary Margaret and David. While David proclaimed, “We are both” in the second episode of season two, I don’t think we’re seen enough melding of the two personas. And “Filet the bitch” and “You’ll win her over with rainbow kisses and unicorn stickers” are great lines.

One character I’m still not sure of being a part of this whole quest to save Henry is Captain Hook. Yes, Colin O’Donoghue is an attractive man and he wears every inch of that pirate costume. But just to show I’m not entirely moved by hormones, I’ve never been into the character. He had his storyline when he was a mercenary working for Cora and that was fine. But I don’t feel his character is strong enough to deserve elevation over the likes of Lee Arenberg’s Grumpy or Belle (while Emilie de Ravin is still part of the regular cast, she was left behind in Storybrooke). Maybe his character arc was a bit hindered by O’Donoghue’s injury during shooting last year, but he still doesn’t grab me.

Eyeliner is surprisingly easy to come across in Neverland.

Heading up the team is Emma. She’s mourning the loss of Neil and Henry, taking it out on Snow and Charming. The volatile relationships between the characters are at the forefront for this episode. While they might have a common goal, they are never going to get along. It was important for them to actually address this. While they care for Henry, their love for him is not enough to put all of their baggage behind them.

Neil’s storyline in the Enchanted Forest brings back Mulan, Aurora and Phillip. How is Phillip back from being soul sucked by a Dementor?… I mean Wrath? I don’t care. I’m just happy to have him back. I’m sure there will be some explanation later on.

I’ve heard some chatter suggesting that the talk between Mulan and Neil suggests an attraction. I don’t understand this. Two characters of the opposite sex (or even the same sex, if you’re on Tumblr) doesn’t mean the characters want to do it. Neil was focused on getting back to Emma and Henry and he clearly talked about how he loved Emma and he wanted a second chance with her. I felt his talk with Mulan over not pursuing Emma after the curse was broken for fear of rejection was clearly related to Mulan’s previously established feelings for Phillip.

Then again, if they want to pursue Mulan’s feelings for Aurora I wouldn’t object…

Robin Hood was a bit of an unnecessary addition. While we had seen him previously (albeit played by a different actor) I didn’t feel like we needed to follow up on him. Once Upon a Time has the Lost problem of TOO MANY CHARACTERS. We’ve added Peter Pan and the Lost Boys and it’s not even a spoiler at this point to say that we know Ariel and Eric will be introduced later this season. Instead of introducing more characters, focus on the ones you have, as you haven’t properly utilized all of them. If it’s necessary to introduce every character into the universe, shift some of them onto the spin-off. …In Wonderland doesn’t need to always focus on Wonderland (although they may already be doing this, as Naveen Andrews is set to appear as Aladdin‘s Jafar on …In Wonderland.)

Both storylines of Henry’s rescue team and Neil were strong. It was exciting and really hit how this season is going to be different from the others.

However, the third storyline– Henry trying to escape the Lost Boys– was weak. Did anyone for one minute not think that Robbie Kay was Peter Pan? The very second he was introduced, I knew that he was Pan. There was no way he could be anything but. So that plotline was nothing but running with a ridiculously obvious twist

The episode was well served by only having a brief flashback to the past. I felt in season two, the story was becoming bogged down by the format. No, we don’t need to see another reason Regina turned evil, Show. While I’m certain they haven’t completely abandoned that framework, I feel this is a good portent for the future. Especially given that it was an Emma flashback. The Enchanted Forest flashbacks are tired. I would be interested in seeing things like how Henry got to Storybrooke and how he figured out the curse, but beyond that there’s little more the flashbacks can really offer.

Being (nearly) entirely set in Neverland and the Enchanted Forest, the CGI was worked overtime. It showed painfully in a few scenes. Maybe it was just my television, but I felt Regina’s jacket was coloured weirdly in a few scenes, which I chalked up to Chroma key quirks.

If the rest of the season holds up to the first episode, I’m going to be happy. I think this was a solid episode. I do hope to see folks from Storybrooke eventually, but I appreciated that they not split the focus too much from the quest for Henry. Now the season is set up to show us our heroes, changed from their time in Storybrooke but truly embracing their fairy tale personas.