Well it’s finally here, folks. The long-awaited return of fan favorite Once Upon A Time is well….”upon” us, “once” again. For me, Season 4 creatively rejuvenated the series, and I was very much looking forward to the Season 5 premiere. And I was not disappointed.
This week on Once Upon A Time: Immediately after Emma’s disappearance, Hook and Regina launch various plots to find her. Unfortunately, all of them involve enlisting the help of Zelena. Emma, meanwhile, has been transported to the Enchanted Forest, where she wrestles with the darkness, visually represented by Rumpelstiltskin. She also meets the “brave” warrior Merida (Atlantis’ Amy Manson).
Ultimately, I’m pleased with how this Once Upon a Time premiere turned out. For awhile, it felt like “let’s exhaust any mythology we can find” and the formula got old. However, Season 4B (after the Frozen stuff) felt like all was right with the universe. A true creative rejuvenation, which we all know is difficult to achieve. This story picks up immediately after the previous one ended, and of course, in true OUAT fashion, also six weeks later and years before.
One of the things I have always loved about Once Upon A Time are the consistent Easter Eggs and references. There are always little throwaway bits that reference smaller scale Disney movies, and even things outside Disney and fairy tales altogether. In this episode, there was a little bit of brilliance that I felt I had to shed some light on. There were a couple of references to One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. First of all, Henry referred to the nurse guarding Zelena as “Nurse Ratched,” which is a straight reference to One Flew. I am not totally aware if this woman has always been called Nurse Ratched, but if so, well done. But, to take it a step further, she was assisted by a patient who bore a striking resemblance to the famous One Flew character, Chief. The whole thing was masterfully crafted, and I have to say bravo!!
The rest of the episode was pretty much what you’d expect from Once Upon a Time, but in a good way. The series didn’t rely on just the rotating band of heroes and villains, but dug deep into the supporting cast to set up what is sure to be a season rich in mythology and storytelling. The inclusion of Granny and three of the dwarves left me simply giddy. I love when the show uses its recurring players. I hear we’ve also been promised the returns of Ruby and Mulan, which is sure to be exciting. As we slowly unveil what has happened in the missing six weeks, I desperately hope that those three dwarves, Granny, and the remaining supporting cast are an integral part of that storytelling. Once is often successful when relying on its rich, strong supporting cast.
This may be my most controversial opinion this week, but I love the sense of urgency with Hook. He’s been desperate to help Emma before, but I’ve never been able to sense the urgency quite like I could this time around. Colin O’Donoghue is wonderful, and he’s really starting to show a great range beyond “charming pirate.” For someone who was originally “Team Neal,” Hook sure is growing on me.
The other standout performance in the premiere came from Rebecca Mader. Zelena has been a fascinating character since Once Upon a Time brought her on for the first time, and I’m so, SO glad that Mader has been upgraded to a series regular. Mader provides us with some of this show’s best villain work to date, and I’m really glad that Once is allowing her character to come full circle. I think that Once Upon a Time can be even more successful if it dumps its half season villain format, and become more fluid as an overall story. For the first time in several seasons, Season 5A will be directly related to the previous season’s arcs, and Zelena is symbolic of that in many ways.
I’m truly excited to see where Once Upon a Time is headed. I’ve been a fan for several seasons now, and this premiere episode got me more excited than I’ve been in a long time. This was a solid season opener, and it has laid the groundwork for Once to have its most exciting season yet.
Well, fellow Oncers, what did you think? Did this premiere get you excited, or was it a letdown from previous seasons! Let us know in the comments!
Once Upon A Time airs Sundays at 8/7c on ABC.
[Photo via ABC]
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