Our World: Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) is a Bail Bonds Person in Boston, who is hunted down by her ten year old biological son, Henry Mills (Jared Gilmore). She returns him to Storybrooke, Maine, and its Mayor, Regina (Lana Parrilla), who is Henry's adoptive mother. Henry is convinced that all the fairy tales in a book Mary Margaret Blanchard (Ginnifer Goodwin with short hair) gave him -- are real.
The Enchanted Forest: Prince Charming (Joshua Dallas) saves Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin with long hair) from the machinations of her wicked stepmother, the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla with way better wardrobe and makeup) with but a kiss. They marry, but then, something horrible happens -- no, I mean besides than the fact that it looks like Snow White had to wear a Swan Lake costume for her wedding gown -- one that perhaps got shredded by Puss In Boots. The Evil Queen crashes the wedding, as evil queens are wont to do. She curses not just the happy-for-a-moment couple, but the entire kingdom. The one person who can break the spell is the baby Snow White and Charming are expecting. And yeah, I'm not sure that she wasn't pregnant at the wedding. I need to watch again. I watched with my whole family, and I didn't really want to out Snow White as a fornicatrix in front of my children.
There's a magic tree, because we're in the Enchanted Forest. Charming asks Gepetto (Tony Amendola) to use it to make a magical wardrobe that will bring his baby to Narnia, or wait -- maybe just keep her safe. I always get those two things confused. The baby, Emma (who will grow up to be the Bail Bonds Person in our world) is stowed in the wardrobe. Think of it as crate training for the Fairy Tale Set. An evil knight comes to kidnap Emma. He deals Charming what would seem to be a mortal wound, and opens the wardrobe to find the baby is gone. See? Narnia!
Our World: Henry runs away again. When Emma finds him, he asks her to stay in Storybrooke and help him. She agrees to stay for one week and checks into a B&B.
Prior to seeing the pilot, I'd read raves that had my hopes soaring, and rants that convinced me I'm cursed when it comes to choosing shows. Now that I've seen the pilot, I find myself somewhere in the middle. I am never big on pilots, to tell the truth. Theirs is a thankless job. In this pilot, the acting is tight and the production values are excellent. The premise of storybook characters cursed to live in the real word is loaded with potential, and the pilot was an enjoyable hour of family friendly TV. I would watch again, even if Tubey wasn't paying me.
I will cover the whole story in the full recap, which will be published ASAP. In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then join us in the forum, where all apples have been thoroughly inspected, but you probably shouldn't drink the cider.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Welcome to our first recap of ABC's Once Upon A Time. The pilot episode drew 12.8 million viewers, making it the highest rated new series premiere this fall. Since this is the pilot recap, and I have no backstory to review, let's get right to it, shall we?
Once Upon A Time, so the prologue goes... There was an enchanted forest filled with all the classic characters we know. Or think we know. One day, they found themselves trapped in a place where all their happy endings were stolen. Our world. This is how it happened...
Enchanted Forest: We open on Prince Charming (Joshua Dallas) riding hell-for-leather on his trusty steed. At last he reaches a clearing in the woods, where the Seven Dwarfs surrounding Snow White's hand-crafted casket inform him he's too late. Charming begs them to open the glass lid, anyhow. Moved by his tears and his request to say goodbye, they do as he asks. He bends over and kisses Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) on the lips. Rainbows and sparkles shoot out of them and ripple all over the Enchanted Forest. Snow White awakens. "You found me." Charming asks if she doubted he would. Snow White: "Truthfully, the glass coffin gave me pause." Charming reassures her, "I will always find you." Snow asks, "Do you promise?" We cut to their...
Wedding: Charming answers, "I do." The Enchanted Forest is a diverse forest. The African-American, or I guess that would be African Enchanted-Forestian bishop pronounces them husband and wife. Why does Snow White's hair look like several of her woodland friends nest in it? It looked better when she was dead. And what's with her wedding gown? It looks like Puss-In-Boots attacked her while she was trying on a Swan Lake costume. Don't get me wrong, overall, the pilot is beautifully shot, but I am deeply disappointed in our Primary Princess's hair and wardrobe.
It's not long before Snow's wicked step-mother, the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla), crashes the wedding as Evil Queens are wont to do. You can tell she's evil because she's dressed all in black and is wearing a push-up bra, or well... probably a corset. The Enchanted Forestians panic. After Queenie magically throws off two rushing guards, a dwarf runs up to Snow and says, "It's the Queen. Run!" Yeah, I think she knows her own stepmother, buster. Snow draws Charming's sword from its sheath (not a euphemism; this is a family show). "She's not a Queen, anymore. She's nothing more than an evil witch." Charming tells Snow not to stoop to the Queen's level, and then tells the Queen that she's wasting her time. She has already lost, and he will not let her ruin the wedding.
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