Five Things That Make Tonight’s Once Upon A Time A Must-See

A new episode of Once Upon A Time airs tonight at 8PM on ABC, and the episode, “Snow Falls,” can’t be missed.

Here are five reasons you should consider tuning in.

There’s a reason this episode is called “Snow Falls.” I think the promos and images from the episode make it pretty clear that this episode will tell the story of how Snow White fell for Prince Charming. This “romance” continues into Storybrooke as Mary-Margaret seems drawn to coma patient “John Doe.” Somehow, this episode is so strong that you start “shipping” (slang for wanting to see a relationship) Mary-Margaret with a guy in a coma! I hope things work out for those two. For the flashback scenes, big props go out to Ginnifer Goodwin who plays a feisty Snow White that is the complete opposite of the subdued Mary-Margaret. And with Josh Dallas as Charming, you couldn’t ask for a better romantic foil. (Speaking of romances can Emma and the Sheriff get together already?)

You can jump right in. I assume it was because of all of the effects of “The Thing You Love Most,” but ABC actually made this episode available to press before the second episode. But you know what? I wasn’t lost at all. That’s an appeal of Once Upon A Time (so far) — there are continuing plotlines for those of us who love that sort of thing, but for the casual viewer, you don’t feel like you’re missing out. Though if you did miss Episode 2, “The Thing You Love Most”… ABC is re-airing it at 7, right before the new episode.

Some fantastic dialogue. Liz Tigelaar, the creator of Life Unexpected, is no stranger to writing sharp dialogue… nor is she a stranger to creating romantic banter. Mix Tigelaar’s writing talent with the characters of this show, who we’ve seen to be masters of delivery (Lana Parrilla and Jared Gilmore, I’m looking at you)… and you’ve got some zingers. The exasperated reactions of Jennifer Morrison’s Emma are, as always, welcome.

Some of the things I might have viewed as “stupid,” aren’t so “stupid” anymore. Okay, I admit it… no offense is meant to the creators of this show, but the first time I saw the Once pilot, I felt some of it was… silly. Why would someone actually call themselves “Prince Charming?” Is Snow White really that perfect? The answer to both of these questions, as you’ll see in the episode, is no. I think that was the impression they wanted to give us at the onset, but really, these fairy tale characters are just as flawed and layered as their Storybrooke counterparts.

David Anders! Look for Mr. Sark from Alias himself, David Anders, as Storybrooke’s doctor in this episode. Whenever Sark would appear on Alias, the episode were almost always better. Shows like The Vampire Diaries have been wise enough to employ Mr. Anders in recent times and it’s great to see another familiar face here.

Speaking of familiar faces, not all of the show’s regular cast is seen in this episode, which is probably a testament to the power of the ensemble. Last week, there was no John Doe/Charming. This week, characters like Archie and Mr. Gold are nowhere to be seen, but there’s so much action going on you don’t really notice until after the fact.

All in all, this is one of my favorite TV episodes of 2011, and if future episodes are as strong as this one, this is going to be a series that will endure for a while. Catch it at 8PM (ET) tonight on ABC.

Come talk about Once Upon A Time on our forum! Here are some other extras associated with the episode that you may enjoy: