Big Worlds On Small Screens: Rebecca Fisher Discusses “Once Upon A Time”
by Rebecca Fisher
Introduction:
Fairytales are popular fodder for entertainment these days. When I say that, I’m not talking about the fantasy genre in general, but fairytales specifically. Hollywood has recently drawn upon them for big-budget films such as Snow White and the Huntsman, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and Jack and the Beanstalk, whilst shows like Grimm and Once Upon a Time also use the old tales as a basis for their storylines. Why the sudden resurgence in popularity? I’m not sure exactly, I only know that I like the results.
Premiering on television in 2011, Once Upon a Time is an elaborate mash-up of fairytales strewn throughout a serialized drama, detailing the strange events that take place in the modest township of Storybrooke, Maine and how they’re linked with the fantasy kingdom in the Enchanted Forest, populated by figures such as Snow White, Red Riding Hood, the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Rumplestiltskin and more.
Currently in its third season, the show was popular enough to warrant its own spin-off: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, which (obviously) is based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland stories. In both shows, the themes and narratives are deeply concerned with the individual search for a happy ending – and what exactly “happiness” actually entails.
Premise:
Once upon a time, Snow White and Prince Charming’s wedding was gate-crashed by the Evil Queen, eager to take revenge against the happy couple. In front of the entire kingdom, she promises them that a curse is coming, one that will strip them all of they hold dear and transport them to a world where there are no happy endings.
Months later, Snow White’s child is born on the exact same day that the curse arrives, but thanks to some forward planning (and a deal with the devil), Snow and Charming ensure that she’s transported out of the palace and into another world before the curse takes hold. All they’re left to cling to is the hope that one day their daughter will fulfil the prophecy made before her birth: that she will return one day to save them from the Queen’s evil.
Our heroine Emma Swan (in the red jacket) and her son Henry
Years later, Emma Swan makes her living as a bondswoman and bounty hunter, celebrating her 28th birthday alone when she hears a knock at her apartment door. It’s a little boy called Henry who claims to be the son she gave up for adoption when she was just a teenager. Driving him back to the township of Storybrooke, she hears an extraordinary tale from him on the way: that the town is populated by storybook characters under an evil curse. According to him, his adopted mother is the Evil Queen, his school teacher is Snow White, and the antique store owner is Rumplestiltskin, just to name a few. Naturally Emma doesn’t believe a word, but she does notice something odd about the place, especially after meeting Regina Mills, the Mayor of Storybrooke and Henry’s mother. Following her instincts, Emma decides to stay.
What soon becomes apparent (at least to the audience if not Emma) is that Henry is telling the truth. His mother is the Evil Queen and Storybrooke is her “holding cell” for the citizens of the Enchanted Forest, each one separated from their loved ones and robbed of their memories, living out a monotonous existence as mere shadows of their former selves. Yet Emma’s presence begins to break the curse’s hold, and day by day the entire town begins to rouse itself from its twenty-eight year inertia…
Story:
It’s a compelling set-up, one that gives the writers room to play around with the narratives of our most famous fairytales. The show’s format closely resembles that of Lost in its use of its dual storylines, a shared trait that isn’t that surprising considering many of the show-runners and writers (and even a few actors) worked on the latter show. Each episode has two parallel storylines that centre on a specific character, exploring their lives under the curse in contemporary Storybrooke, and in flashbacks that provide insight into who they were in the Enchanted Forest. Half the initial fun is in trying to guess which Storybrooke resident is what fairytale character, and most of their stories have a clever twist in regards to their backstories, personality, or how the curse effects each one personally.
Mayor Regina Mills, presiding over her kingdom
As Emma gets to know them all, the residents of Storybrooke begins to grapple with the curse and reclaim some of their own identities. But naturally, Queen Regina isn’t about to let her little playground of trapped souls go without a fight, and soon she and Emma are at odds, particularly over Henry’s wellbeing. This is a love triangle with a difference, for over the course of the series Regina and Emma are in what could easily be called competition over their son’s affections and loyalty, though at the same time their shared interest in his happiness forms a bond between them. The trio of Emma, Regina and Snow White make up the crux of the show’s emotional centre, and the history that emerges between the three of them (particularly in regards to the Regina/Snow White vendetta) provides some of the show’s most compelling scenes.
The Evil Queen offers Snow White the poisoned apple
Characters:
Perhaps the most appealing part of the show is watching how it spins our assumptions of well-known characters on their heads. It would spoil the fun if I gave too much away, but suffice to say that everyone manages to subvert expectations in some way. Little Red Riding Hood has an interesting relationship to the Big Bad Wolf, and Prince Charming wasn’t always a prince. Rumplestiltskin is a Machiavellian plotter and the Evil Queen – well, let’s just say she thinks she has a good reason to hate Snow White. Their identities in the real world all have meaningful pseudonyms (for example, Cinderella is called Ashley Boyd, whilst Snow White is Mary Margaret Blanchard) and oftentimes more than one fairytale persona can be conflated into a single character.
Sometimes it gets a bit strange, for alongside the fairytale characters who are part of the oral tradition of storytelling are those that actually belong in books, such as the cast of Pinocchio and Peter Pan. The writers play fast and loose with the source material, and often draw upon the more modern Disney versions of the characters rather than their folklore origins. As such, the seven dwarfs are referred to as Grumpy, Sleepy, Happy, and so on – names that were popularized in the Walt Disney film. Be sure to watch out for a slew of other Disney-related in-jokes over the course of the show.
That’s Belle, and that’s a chipped cup. Think about it.
But the massive cast means that some characters fall through the cracks, and at least three interesting and popular characters were kept on the back-burner for so long that their actors quit for greener pastures, leading to their disappointing absence from later episodes. After a certain point you wish the writers would stop introducing new characters and simply concentrate on the ones they’ve got, though at least we can say that the revolving cast keeps things interesting.
Conclusion:
Along with providing plenty of twists on the old storybook tales, the show’s most appealing feature is its girl-power slant. As most of the main characters are women, each one with the capacity to be complex, damaged, heroic, flawed, and interesting, it passes the Bechdel Test with flying colours, and seldom utilizes the old “damsel in distress” cliché. It doesn’t do such a great job with its diversity, as most black characters are either dead or evil (or both), but the latest casting news promises a significant step forward in this respect.
With every new episode the show delves deeper into its own mythology, and the themes of family and happiness are more fully explored when the time comes for heroes and villains to work together in achieving a common goal. Once Upon a Time isn’t always perfect, but the show’s initial premise has already carried it into three seasons, and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.
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Next Time:
Ned has a special gift, though some would call it a curse. With a simple touch, he can bring the dead back to life – though only for a minute, or else someone else will die in order to maintain cosmic balance. In a whimsical Fifties-inspired world, where everything is awash in bright colours and people spontaneously break into song just because they can, Pushing Daisies was a short-lived but unforgettable cult classic that fell victim to the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. Still, it lives on in DVD collections, and we’ll take a closer look at it next time.
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About The Reviewer:
Rebecca Fisher is a graduate of the University of Canterbury with a Masters degree in English Literature, mainly, she claims, because she was able to get away with writing her thesis on C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman. She is a reviewer for FantasyLiterature.com, a large website that specializes in fantasy and science-fiction novels, as well as posting reviews to Amazon.com and her own LiveJournal blog.
To read Rebecca’s detailed introduction of both herself and the series, as well as preceding Big Worlds On Small Screens reviews, click on:
Who were the 3 actors that left, and who were their characters?
I watch this show. I think this review is a very good summary of the show.
The three actors that left are as follows…
SPOILERS
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Meghan Ory as Ruby/Red Riding Hood, Eion Bailey as August/Pinocchio and Giancarlo Esposito as Sidney/the Magic Mirror. There’s a chance they might return in some capacity, but by season three they’re no longer regulars.
Thanks. There are so many characters it is hard to tell who is meant to be on it as a regular or often or just occasionally.
Enjoyed this discussion. I started watching Haven with my kids at one point and then we got into Season One of this show — and Haven was soon forgotten. This show held our interest much more, precisely for the reasons you mention here. Complex characters who subtly trash one’s expectations and debunk known myths. Hard to pinpoint some of them on the good-evil continuum. Some surprising subtleties. And yes, I’m sorry to see Pinnochio and Mirror-Man go — they were both quite interesting! It seemed Ruby’s plot ran its course, though you never know.