My wife and I were really late to the Once Upon a Time party. This was a show that we watched during lockdown and we binge-watched the hell out of it. To be honest with you, it was so weird that we never watched this when it actually aired as we are both huge Disney fans.
How to Download Once Upon a Time
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform such as Disney+. Click on the Download button at the end of this review.
The TV Series Review
Once Upon a Time is set in the fictional town of Storybrooke. Emma (played by Jennifer Morrison who you might remember from House) and her 10-year-old son Henry come to Storybrooke and Henry starts to realize that the people here are characters from fairytales! Of course, Emma takes a while to be convinced, but this is such a fun concept, and seeing characters “wake up” and realize who they are is a major theme of the show.
Characters and Villains
This show has two of the best villains of any TV show! One of the villains (who is not always the villain) is Regina (played by Lana Parrilla who played Greta in Lost) or as she is better known, The Evil Queen. She is such a great character with a ton of depth and even when she is bad, you kind of still like her and can see her point of view.
Another major antagonist of the show who occasionally may or may not moonlight as a hero is Rumpelstiltskin. Being from Scotland I am a huge fan of the very talented Robert Carlyle. I am going on record right now as saying that Rumpelstiltskin is the best Robert Carlyle performance of all time! He is truly amazing in this role and I cannot say too much as his story arc has so many epic twists and turns.
The Story of Once Upon a Time
I am not going to dive into spoilers here, but while the show takes place in Storybrooke, we also get flashbacks to the characters when they were in their fairytale world. So, in Storybrooke Mary Margeret is a teacher and David is a pretty normal guy, however, before the fantasy people were cursed and made to live in Storybrooke, they were Snow White and Prince Charming!
Each season has its own story arc, but it all adds up to an ever-growing and more complex story. New characters are introduced such as Captain Hook, Anna, Elsa, Hades, Peter Pan, Belle, and many more and I love them all. The take on Peter Pan in Once Upon a Time is truly amazing and is probably my favorite story arc of the whole series. As is the way Hook goes from villain from the old stories we know to a hero here.
Unique Show Format
One of the most interesting things about Once Upon a Time is the format of the show. This is an ABC show and it is very similar to two other big ABC shows in Lost and This Is Us. I am not talking about the “content” but the way the shows are presented. Each of these three shows features what is going on in the present, but the past is also a major part too.
It is such a great way to present a show and those of you who have seen Lost and This Is Us I am sure will have a bit of devalue about the way the show is presented. I like it as sometimes it makes for some shocking or even devastating reveals. Plus, it lets you get to know the characters more as it fleshes them out greatly, this is especially true for the likes of Regina and Rumpelstiltskin.
Final Season Woes
As my wife and I were watching Once Upon a Time, those who had seen the show before us kept warning us about the seventh and final season and how bad it was. I did listen to what people had to say about it, but I loved the show so much that I was sure it could not be as bad as people made out. Perhaps with me coming in late and my expectations being low, it would not be as bad.
Nope, season seven of Once Upon a Time is one of the worst and I mean worst seasons of a show that I have loved I have ever seen. Season seven is pure garbage, what were they thinking? It is like a completely different show and feels more like they were trying to reboot it in a new direction. I will say that the season finale is good, but that season seven is super rough.
Conclusion
The wife and I have just started watching Once Upon a Time again now that it is all on Disney Plus and we are thinking that we may skip season seven and just put on the finale! Or at the very least, we may watch the first couple of episodes and if it is as bad as we remember it being, we will then dump it.
If season seven was better, I would probably say that Once Upon a Time is a 10/10 show for me. Still, with that being said, you take away that horrible last season and this is a fantastic show. I do not even think you have to be hugely into Disney or fairytales to love what this is as the characters are just so well done and developed.
