Once Upon a Time — Season 1 Review

First of all, everything begins with a good pilot doesn't it? 
So let's first get into cause it introduces that larger story at hand.

The episode introduces Emma Swan, a woman who is completely alone and is apparently an orphan with no friends or family or anything to speak of. 
(She is also a bail bonds-person which seems to be like a bounty hunter, but super different??)

Emma in the pilot making her birthday wish before Henry's entry.

As she sets down her birthday (cup)cake and makes a wish and blows out the candle she gets someone ringing at the door. 

(The wish she makes is important, though, so keep an eye if you're interested in the series.)

Henry allegedly speaking to Emma, his birth mother.

The person at the door is none other than Henry Mills, a random 11 year old boy who barges in and tells her that he is her child and that he wants to take her back to where he lives because she must do something there, which is shown to be a curse. 

He wants her to break a curse that has caused his town, Storybrooke, to come into existence and trap fairy tale characters in it with no memory of who they are. 

Regina picking apples from the tree in her backyard.

After arriving in the town he realizes that his adoptive mother is the most important woman in all the town, the Mayor. 

Appropriately called Mayor Mills or Madame Mayor at times. 

Her name is Regina Mills. Henry accuses her of being the Evil Queen from the Snow White tale and his teacher, Mary Margaret Blanchard, of being Snow White.

Snow White in her Storybrooke dress as Mary Margaret Blanchard.

Anyhow, a lot of shit goes down and the mayor is shown to be a very aggressive person who will stop at nothing to get Emma out of the town which really irritates her and makes her want to stay in town just to see what's up with her and Henry and stuff.

She doesn't believe in the curse, of course.

Anyhow, that's the pilot's plot and it introduces the show's simple format for storytelling.

As in most shows, there is an A plot/B plot formula which here is established as being a Storybrooke in the present/Enchanted Forest in the past formula.

The Enchanted Forest is the name of the place where all of the fairy tale people originate.

Anyhow, as for the season's overarching plot:
Emma Swan, dubbed "The Saviour" by Henry Mills and Rumplestiltskin also known as Mr. Gold, is meant to break the Dark Curse cast The Evil Queen. 


In the beginning it is hard to tell exactly what the show is trying to do. 
A lot of its plots feel random and erratic.
But over time it establishes its point and goal, which is for Emma to believe in magic, and the curse itself.
Sure, she goes on Operation Cobra with Henry trying to find out how to break the curse and who to help and things like that, but she never truly believes.
At least not until the season finale, anyways.
Moreover, it takes them 18 episodes for them to even get into the reason why the Evil Queen is, oh, so hated by Snow White.
And getting to that episode was a breaking point, for me personally, anyhow.
It was then that I could relate the most to her.
It is then that her character is given so much depth and her character only grows as time passes.
But then again, so is Gold.
His character is given depth with the introduction of three characters, one of which does not appear until the second season.
The characters are his son, Baelfire, his wife, Milah, and his true love, Belle.

Mr. Gold in his shop.

Most other characters grow as well because of the plots, like Prince Charming also known as David Nolan.
His way of finding and loving Snow White is long and arduous and it even costs him and her big at times.

Prince Charming in his David Nolan attire.

Anyhow, is this worth watching?
Yes, I'd say so.
The CGI is awful, though, be warned.
And it can be corny sometimes, although it's literally fairy tale about fairy tale endings, so that's only to be expected.

Grade:
"Watch this if you are a fan of magic and fairy tales with a more serious touch to it. It is nowhere near as serious as The Wolf Among Us or the comic books it's based off of, Fables, but it's definitely like more grown-up Disney."