Once Upon a Time Recap: “Pilot”

The marketing campaign leading up to last night’s premier of Once Upon a Time did a great job of catching my interest.  The thought of a show that sets out to combine the fantasy of familiar fairy tales along with normal life drama seemed like a pretty big undertaking.  But considering this show was created by Lost veterans Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, there shouldn’t have a been a question about balancing the two.

Told in a format similar to Lost with its flashbacks, Once Upon a Time starts in the fairy tale world where Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) seems to have been defeated by the Evil Queen (Lana Parilla).  Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) arrives and kisses her, bringing her back to life.  They’re about to get their happily ever after when, during their wedding, the Evil Queen shows up informing everyone present, that a curse will befall everyone in the realm.  A curse that will send them all to a horrible place where there are no happily-ever-afters, present day Earth.  As if that isn’t bad enough, she also informs them that they will have to spend eternity in this horrible place because time will stop and they will have not recollection of who they are.

The curse befalls the realm just as Snow White gives birth to her and the Prince’s daughter, Emma.  Geppetto was able to build a wardrobe that would protect one person from the curse, so Prince Charming used it to save Emma.  Apparently she’s their only hope and as foretold by Rumpelstiltskin, will return on her 28th birthday to save them all.

In present day Earth, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) is working as a bail bonds collector and after she makes her latest catch, she heads home to celebrate her birthday alone.  An unexpected knock at her door brings her face to face with a most unexpected guest.  Henry, her 10-year old son that she gave up for adoption at birth.  He may not have any proof that he’s her child, but Emma has an ability that allows her to know when people are lying or telling the truth and Henry is telling the truth.

Henry begs Emma to go back to his hometown of Storybrook, Maine, because he’s convinced that the town is stuck in time and Emma is the only one who can help.  He carries around a big book called…you got it….Once Upon a Time and tries to convince Emma that she’s Snow White’s daughter and is the only one who can break the curse.  Emma reluctantly agrees and drives Henry back home to his adoptive mother, Regina.  Who happens to be the town’s Mayor, and the Evil Queen.  Henry doesn’t have a very happy childhood it seems and it’s no wonder.  After a couple of different confrontations with Regina, and the law for that matter, Emma decides to stick around to see just what is going on in the small town of Storybrook.

Let me just say that I really dig the premise of this show.  Mixing the world of fairy tales with present day allows the chance for the story to go in so many directions with the chance to meet new and exciting characters.  We know the ones introduced so far by their own individual stories.  Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, and Geppetto are introduced in the fairy tale world.  In the real world we get to meet Jiminy Cricket and a goth-looking Red Riding Hood and her Granny, who runs the local Bed & Breakfast.

Bouncing back and forth between the two worlds will be easy to follow for those familiar with the Lost stylings of the show’s creators.  I didn’t find it difficult at all to make the jump back and forth.  I did however find it interesting that present day Earth is considered to be a curse.  It stuck me as a little humorous.  Perhaps there’s no ulterior motive behind that decision, but it makes me wonder.

Things are afoot in this quaint little town and the pilot episode does a great job of setting up the story.  As I mentioned before there’s room to move as far as the story lines and character development to go.  One has to wonder what Snow White would be like or do in the real world.  What kind of person would she be?  Turns out that here, she’s a school teacher and I found that really fitting.  The cast is pretty great and it gets better with the likes of Robert Carlyle, who plays Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold.  He’s an amazing actor and even though I’m still really really bitter about the cancellation of Stargate Universe, I’m very happy to see him in this.

With so much adult drama on television these days, it can be difficult to find an adult show on network TV that can be shared with the whole family.  This show is definitely a fix.  From what I watched last night, this is a show that the whole family can enjoy and the Sunday night 8pm time-slot is a perfect fit as well.

Of course a show that involves a fairy tale world, is set up like a traditional fairy tale.  At the heart of it, it’s a good versus evil scenario.  Evil Queen throws a curse and the gal in the white hat has to defeat her and break the curse.  That’s putting it in the simplest terms, but this show has the potential to become a great series with a rich tapestry of plot twists and turns.

I’m pretty impressed with the first episode and am really excited to see just where this show is headed.  It’s got the potential to be something really great with writers like Kitsis and Horowitz, and along with writer Jane Espenson, I think we’re really in for something really special.

DarkMedia contributor Tracy Ladd has been writing about film since her days on the her high school newspaper. Even though she took a decade or two off to explore other things, she’s back to doing what she loves. She also bakes, can knit a pretty nifty scarf and makes lightsaber sounds with her knitting needles. Or chopsticks. Especially with the lightsaber chopsticks.

You can find her on Facebook, on Twitter @ReelGoddess, and on her website The Reel Goddess.