After the midseason finale of “Once Upon a Time” in December 2013, I sent out a tweet stating “Thanks ‘Once Upon a Time’ for tearing out my heart, lighting it on fire and saying ‘We’ll see if we can put that out in March.’”
Well, it’s March, the midseason premiere of “Once Upon a Time” aired on Sunday, and for the time being, the fire in my heart has been put out.
The premiere of OUAT had what everyone expected: a solution to the problem posed at the end of the December finale, a lot of moments that you’re supposed to feel emotional about but don’t, moments that you actually do feel emotional about, a lot of complaining, and moments that just have you staring at the screen going ‘oh my gosh, shut up.’
It’s just kind of an accepted fact that viewers of this show have characters that they love, characters that they’re impartial towards, and some that you really want to get eaten by a flying monkey.
For me, and some of my esteemed colleagues here, there was just the right amount of the character that we love: Captain Hook. To say that these writers know what the people want, and deliver on it, is an understatement.
A day of scrolling through a OUAT Tumblr tag will show you just how much this fandom loves their Hook. So, that explains why he was the one tasked with tracking down Emma in New York, even though he didn’t seem to think it was a bad idea to change out of his leather pirate outfit when going to see a woman who no longer has any idea who he is. Yeah I wonder why she kneed you in the groin … you’re a little alarming.
But we still love him, and his all-knowing grins that have you stopping the show just to stare into his beautiful eyes … but I digress.
The world of OUAT has been divided in two. Actually it’s kind of one. Maybe three? To be honest timelines were a bit confusing and the worlds of Storybrooke, New York and the Enchanted Forest were a bit intertwined but all came together in a beautiful (and surprising) fashion in the last five minutes.
Speaking of fashion, I’m really glad that David/Prince Charming is back in his kingly garb of furs and unappealing jackets, and Snow White’s ever fluctuating hairstyles were back and better than ever.
There really were some touching moments in the episode though, that really help us remember some of the early writing that made us fall in love with these characters and this show. Hook hearing Emma tell him that she loved another man was a very heartfelt interaction.
Also, Regina burying her heart in the forest because it was easier not to feel the pain of losing Henry was a very real moment that made us forget that her heart was literally sitting in dirt on the ground. Also she didn’t even clean it off before putting her heart back in her chest … gross.
Overall, I actually really liked the episode. It might not seem like it from everything written before this, but it’s my love of this show that allows me to have a good time watching it and joking about these characters as if I legitimately know them. That’s not something you find in every show, and OUAT has really captured these characters and made them a part of our lives.
If Hook was a bigger part of my life though, I wouldn’t complain.
Leave a Reply