Odds are, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard of the television show “Once Upon a Time.” I had never personally watched it until a couple of weeks ago, despite being told numerous times by many people that I should and need to watch it. I finally got a Netflix subscription and decided to watch the first episode, and what was the result of that? Well, I finished all 24 episodes in just under a week, and I could not wait to start watching the second season. Just in case you aren’t a current viewer yourself, here is a small summary of the first season.
Emma Swan is a 28-year-old woman living in Boston, when the son that she gave up for adoption ten years ago, Henry, shows up at her doorstep. Henry Mills tells Emma that she needs to take him back to his home of Storybrooke, ME – but that isn’t the only thing. Henry has a book, which he believes is real, that says that Emma is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, who was sent away in order to be protected from a curse on The Enchanted Forest.
According to Henry, the curse was set by The Evil Queen. It has frozen the characters in time, and they have no memories of who they were before. The Evil Queen, Regina, is the only person in Storybrooke who remembers who she is, and she happens to be Henry’s adoptive mother. Initially, Emma does not believe that the fairy tales are true, but as time goes on and things in Storybrooke begin to change, she starts believing. In order for the “Final Battle” to take place and for people to remember who they were before, Emma must truly believe and accept her destiny.
After watching the entire first season, I saw why so many people told me that I absolutely needed to watch this series. I am a Disney fanatic, and this show brings all of the favorite fairy tale characters to life. I got to see Snow White, Belle, Pinocchio, The Mad Hatter and more in a live action television series. In addition to seeing them cast as real people, characters that might not have had a big role in their original movie have a bigger role in the series. Prince Charming, for example, does not say or do much in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”, but he plays one of the biggest roles in the entire series of “Once Upon a Time.”
I also love how the series includes both old and new characters. Season One was mostly old characters, with non-traditional fairy tale additions like Emma and Henry, but newer seasons include characters such as Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Hans and even Sven from “Frozen.” It is really cool to see characters from different stories interact and build relationships. “Once Upon A Time” is a highly addictive series! I highly recommend it to anybody who is a fan of Disney, fairy tales and everybody in between.