ABC will be premiering the Season 2 premiere of Once Upon A Time on Sunday, September 30… only a few days away! The network made the premiere episode available to press, and although they threatened us with a curse if we spoil anything, you might want to know about some initial impressions, right?
Here are some very non-spoilery tidbits:
We see why the episode is called “Broken.” In this case, it’s spelled out for us, literally, at the top of the episode, but as per usual with Once and its producers Kitsis and Horowitz, the title has multiple meanings, and that first meaning is just one of them.
We meet Princess Aurora, Prince Phillip, and Mulan. These aren’t spoilers as those characters have long been revealed to be in the episode. You might wonder, though, why such different characters are appearing in an episode that should just be about what happens when the curse is lifted. You’ll see why once you watch.
Are you sure this takes place “right after” Season 1’s finale? Yes, it picks up immediately after, though it does run into an unavoidable production problem that we’ve also seen recently in shows like Falling Skies: The kid actor who has aged a lot more than a day. Jared Gilmore as Henry looks a bit taller and older than he was when we last saw him, which I guess we can chalk up to four months or so between filming of Seasons 1 and 2. Maybe almost dying aged him a bit? On that note: Henry has one of the best moments of humanity in this episode. When you think about it, [as far as we know] he’s the only character here not born in the fairy tale world, so that might not be all that surprising.
You’ll be surprised by what people know or remember… and what they don’t know or remember. That’s all I’m going to say.
It’s not easy for everyone. It’s been said in interviews that some characters might not adjust to the whole “everybody remembers” thing as easily as others. But think of it this way: wouldn’t you be a little freaked out if your BFF that you talked with about one night stands and other things turned out to be your mom?
It’s not perfect. Although the episode is quite good (more on that in a second), the episode again gets reliant on special effects that might be too big for a TV budget. It doesn’t look as bad as some of the things we’ve gotten, but it’s not “rah! The coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”
Ultimately, how is it? Sometimes the tones of shows change greatly between seasons, and not always in a good way. I’m happy to say that although Once has gone in new directions, it still maintains the consistent tone that made Season 1 great. I also applaud it for trying new things. The events of the Season 1 finale, and now this, are things that some shows would wait YEARS for, and the Once team just went for it. I’m a happy camper.
The Once Upon A Time season premiere airs Sunday, September 30 on ABC. Take a look at some images from the episode and come talk about the show on the KSiteTV Forum!
