Once Upon a Time - Season 6 Premiere Review

SPOILER ALERT! 

This is a review on Episode 1 "The Savior" of Once Upon a Time's Sixth Season Premiere. If you have not seen the episode, do not read further!!! 

Welcome back Oncers! It's fall season on the television front which means all of the television shows new and old return to the networks. Among those shows is the ABC series, Once Upon a Time. Last season, we saw Emma Swan become the Dark One and then, Captain Hook turned into the Dark One. Captain Hook sacrificed himself, landing him in the Underworld with Hades, forcing Emma to drag all of her friends and family down to the Underworld to save him. As a result, Robin Hood's life was taken from Hades. 

In the season five finale, Charming, Snow White, Zelena, and Hook ended up in another world where they met Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It was called the Land of Untold Stories. Meanwhile, Emma and Regina went on a mission to find Rumple and Henry when Henry stole the crystal that held all of Storybrooke's magic. Rumple set out to free Belle from the sleeping curse. Hyde made a deal with Rumple and gave him Storybrooke. Regina separated herself from her darker half, The Evil Queen. 

Now, welcome back to Season Six! In the hour long premiere episode, the writers decided to open with a scene that took place years ago in the desert. This particular scene introduced Aladdin and Jafar. According to the scene, Aladdin was a savior just like Emma was and Jafar had explained that the fate of saviors is a dark one. Come into the next scene, Hook and Emma are making out until a flying giant blimp if you will flies over Storybrooke. Hyde threatens Emma and the town, informing them that Storybrooke belongs to him now.

Rumple goes into Belle's dreams and meets Morpheus. His goal is to wake Belle up by making her fall in love with him again. 

Meanwhile, Emma Swan is having problems throughout the episode having visions of a dark future and constant tremors in her hands. 

Now, typically, I'm all for some action and some new characters, but as of last season's writing complications, the premiere did not do it for me. I'm sure I'll receive some arguments on this. There were some highlights of the premiere. However, I will mention that once again, I am a huge fan of Once and I'm still loyal to the show. 

Let's talk about this for a second.

The premiere episode was rushed into. For starters, Belle took that sleeping curse to protect her child from Rumple. Belle is no longer trusting Rumple and it becomes his goal to wake her up by making her fall in love with him again. There is a flaw in his plan. Belle already loves him, but she won't believe in him. Rumple uses trickery to get her to try and fall for him, but it doesn't work. Morpheus sees Belle trusting her instincts as a good sign and wakes her up. Why? Because Morpheus informs Belle and Rumple that he is their future son. What? No way! Yes way! 

Belle is already awake in the first episode. Flaw there. Here's why. Rumplestiltskin had a backwards character arc in season five. He was written in to start out the season in a preservative state and given a clean slate of a heart. He had the chance to become a good person and then took in all the powers of the Dark Ones again. So for his character development, it was a bad idea. Now, in season six, he has the chance to redeem himself when challenged with waking Belle up, but once again, rather than giving Rumple a challenge, they make it easy for him. There is no obstacle really for him to overcome. 

Belle sees Rumple for who he truly is. Therefore, Rumple finds it impossible to give up the darkness and wants Belle to accept him for it. If Belle will no longer believe in him, I only think it would be interesting if another character came along and bonded with him to transform his soul. If someone else came into Rumple's life to help guide him on the path to that transformation, it would've been a more interesting story. But instead, Rumple and Belle's obstacle was cut short in the first episode. 

Now, it's absolutely great that Regina and Zelena are attempting to get along. There was also a nice bonding moment when Zelena had clutter in Regina's house, trying to unpack her stuff to move in. My biggest issue, however, is that Zelena and Regina argued in Regina's office about Robin Hood's death last season. Zelena felt like she lost someone (Hades) in that same event, but Regina blames Zelena for Robin's death. Yes, it was Zelena's fault. Zelena was selfish and got Robin Hood killed. Rather than apologizing to Regina, Zelena got mad at Regina for separating herself from her evil half because apparently it was the part of Regina that she could most relate to.

While I do love a good Hook and Emma story, the keeping things bottled up and hidden from Hook is getting old. Emma has become the Dark One, saved Hook from the Underworld, and essentially been through enough to trust him, yet she still keeps secrets from him. I think the couple has been through enough to actually communicate with each other. Emma Swan's character transformation should've extended past her lone wolf phase, but it hasn't. Hyde knows something you don't know, Emma. One of the added storylines to this season is that the savior supposedly has a dark fate in store for her and no matter what she does she can't change it.

On top of Hyde, Emma's dark fate, Rumple and Belle, there is also Regina's evil half, The Evil Queen, coming to wreak havoc in the end. Oh. And they captured Hyde and shoved him in a padded cell way too soon! That villain became easy to imprison.

It seems the only beneficial moments to some of the episode involved David and Mary Margaret when they had an old-fashioned adventure in the woods together. Henry and Regina had a heart-to-heart. Rumple and Belle got to dance to the Beauty and the Beast theme song again in Belle's dreams and Snow White and Regina also had a good heart-to-heart at the end after six seasons, Regina finally apologized to Snow for being a terrible person to her all those years. It's good to see that Regina wants to start fresh as a hero and move on from her villain half. That is something to look forward to. 

Now while this post seems a bit critical, keep in mind that it's only the first episode, so my opinions could change once I see how far the writers take the show. My biggest concern is that there are so many balls in the air and I'm not sure how the writers are going to handle every single arc. 

Here's to hoping for a redeeming season six Oncers! 

Once Upon a Time airs on ABC Sundays at 8/7c. 


 

Once Upon a Time 2-Hour Finale Defies the Laws of Magic!

WARNING! THIS ENTRY CONTAINS SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE SEASON FINALE DO NOT READ ON!

         Last night the 2-hour season finale of Once Upon a Time aired on ABC. If the fans were expecting loose ends to be tied up or a grand two hour finale that would make up for this season’s writing fiasco, then this isn’t that finale. After an entire season built on Captain Hook and Emma Swan, the two hour finale didn’t conclude with anything from the previous storyline. In fact, the two hour season finale was in a whole league of its own.

         First, let me preface by saying once again that I am a huge fan of Once Upon a Time, but there comes a time in a show where the writing isn’t always on point. I’m not an angered or raged fan who was disappointed with the writing. I am a screenwriter who believes in a clean story that makes sense. This didn’t even touch the word sensible. This threw out the rules and ignored any other story Once focused on prior. Let me also say, as a fan of Once Upon a Time, this can be stomached, but from a writer's perspective, this story was all over the place.

         In the last entry, I already emphasized what had been happening so far in season five that didn’t work. Let’s make a list to make this easier to understand and focus on one part of the show because now that Once Upon a Time has jumbled most of their characters up, this gets hard to follow.

         One: Robin Hood.

Robin Hood and Regina’s love story was made to be huge and epic in Season Three and it could’ve been an amazing story but they wrote in a baby with Zelena and not to mention, Robin Hood became a damsel in distress one too many times. Then, in season five, Robin Hood and Regina fell short in Hook and Emma’s shadows the whole time. Eventually, the writers decided to kill off Robin Hood at the wrong time, thinking they could make up for it with a noble death by having him sacrifice himself to protect Regina. The death did not work in the season because Robin Hood and Regina’s story wasn’t given remotely enough screen time for fans to really feel devastated by the loss. And it was a great loss. Robin Hood was an important character.

         Two: Rumplestiltskin.

                  After years of trying to better himself and fighting for Belle, trying to be a better man for Baelfire and Belle, Rumplestiltskin is still the meanest evil son of gun on the show. In fact, his character development is almost no longer existent. He’s manipulative and heartless and family doesn’t matter to him anymore. He doesn’t care what happens to Henry, who by the way, I remind you is Neal’s son and Rumplestiltskin’s grandson. Rumplestiltskin is one of the most selfish characters on Once Upon a Time and after writing his character development, he is now just a constant problem with his own hidden agendas. The sadder part is that he justifies his actions to protect Belle, but he is power hungry always and his character is getting SUPER PREDICTABLE. In this two hour season finale, he made a deal with the new villain of the story and once again, left the others hanging. That move is as old as he is.

         Three: Henry Mills

                  In the season finale this time, the writers ruined Henry Mills’ all together. At times in this two-hour finale, Henry was a child trying to do his own thing and acted immature. In season four the writers gave Henry an amazing transformation. He had so much potential to turn into something great and be part of the team in a big way, but they quickly eliminated that idea when he broke the pen. Season Five left Henry behind and may I remind you that he started the whole show by bringing Emma to Storybrooke. Instead in this finale, to make up for how much they put Henry on the backburner, they decided to put him on a small adventure to destroy magic with his new girlfriend, Violet. Guess what? He succeeds at destroying magic because he thinks it is destroying his family and when he does so, he realizes it was a mistake. So they gave Henry a grand speech at a fountain in New York City telling all of the people magic is real so he can bring magic back. Unfortunately, it would’ve been a great scene if Henry hadn’t been forgotten most of the season and they tried to rush his character development at the last minute to make up for what happened. The scene was sad really since it was placed in a weird spot of the episode. A moment like that is more reserved for a climax and in reality, the timing was off as well as the character development didn’t work out well for Henry to be able to give that speech quite yet. In fact, his relationship with Emma suffered a lot this season and so did him and Regina. It’s quite tragic when one of the biggest protagonists on the show who started it all, a smart ten-year-old kid now gets left behind in most of the stories. It’s really tragic when the older he gets, the more Emma and Regina tell him to stay out of the adventures.

         Four: Regina’s Story

                  In the two-hour season finale, the biggest worry for Emma was whether or not Regina would become evil. The only great performance delivered in this finale was Lana Parrilla and Jennifer Morrison’s team-up and Lana delivering a monologue about how she feared the evil queen would come out of her again. It was a vulnerable moment for Regina and it worked. They spent quite a bit on this episode for Regina’s development since Robin Hood died, but it was rushed as well since once again, I must emphasize the focus on Hook and Emma this season.

         Five: The Two-Hour Season Finale!

                  The season finale opened up with what looked to be a brief shower of magic that Rumplestiltskin brought into the Olympian crystal. Killing off the villain, Hades before the season finale was not the smartest writing choice because they considered him the villain of Season 5B and after being in the Underworld and making him a huge deal, they killed him quickly. So once again, they used Rumplestiltskin to move their plot along because that always seems to work since he’s always a villain. Zelena, being the do-gooder she is now, sends Merida and the others back home before Storybrooke might possibly be destroyed. Henry and Violet leave on a bus to New York City so Henry can figure out how to destroy magic. He steals the Olympian crystal from Rumplestiltskin by writing in a book and Rumplestiltskin, Emma, and Regina all go looking for Henry. Rumplestiltskin wants to find Henry to get the crystal back, but Emma and Regina are searching for him to save him. Meanwhile, Charming, Zelena, Snow, and Hook end up sucked into a portal into another realm. This realm is dark and strange. It doesn’t look like the Enchanted Forest, so no one knows what it is.

         They end up captured by someone from the house they are near and trapped into a cage. When Henry took the crystal out of Storybrooke, Emma and Regina find out that all of Storybrooke’s magic is in the crystal, therefore magic exists outside of Storybrooke now. Their powers work out in New York City as well as Gold’s. Emma and Regina plot to stop Rumplestiltskin, but they can’t outsmart him. Henry and Violet end up ambushed by Rumplestiltskin at the library where he takes the crystal back. Henry finds a series of more storybooks in the library labeled the same way as his. They are different stories that he didn’t know existed with different lands. There is a great insert into season six.

         Now, the first impression of this annoying new villain gave off a very Dracula vibe. Sam Witwer plays the new villain and he confronts David, Snow, Hook, and Zelena in the prison he trapped them in to ask them what they are doing in his realm. This nerdy doctor helps them escape. The writers decided to bring in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The land that the others were trapped in was a land of untold stories. It was like a safe haven for people who have long been forgotten, once again trying to set up the new story for season six. Dr. Jekyll separates himself from Hyde already messing up that well-known storyline so Hyde can roam free. Jekyll escapes with help from the others and takes them through the new land to help them return back to their home.

         When Emma and Regina try to stop Rumplestiltskin, it doesn’t work. Henry destroys magic. Henry does a selfish thing, making his character look bad and childish at that. He starts to appear like he’s more in the way and not a hero than the kid with the heart of the truest believer. That’s been thrown out the window. So to save it, they go to the Red Dragon but magic doesn’t work. Henry and Emma use the fountain in the middle of New York City to make wishes on pennies to restore magic. Since it still doesn’t restore it, Henry runs up the steps and yells at the people of New York and tells them that magic is real, which is a ridiculous scene because it’s over dramatic and it isn’t the right time to give that moment to Henry yet. A move like that would’ve been best reserved for when Henry stopped believing in magic and he had to develop himself throughout the season. Somehow magic is restored when all the people make wishes and a portal opens to return Hook and the others to Emma. To save what the writers did, the people of New York only see it as a magic trick and nothing more.

         Rumplestiltskin yet again, could’ve solved the trouble of having Hyde involved in this show by killing him on the spot, but rather than doing so, what does he do? Predictable. Rumplestiltskin makes a deal with Hyde so he can save Belle. What was the deal exactly? He was selfish yet again and didn’t care what happened to the others.

         Hyde was granted passage to Storybrooke along with all of the other characters from the land of untold stories so that Hyde can become the villain of the new season. Once again Rumplestiltskin puts everyone in danger with his own agenda. On top of that, Regina split herself in two, separating her darkness, which has now come back out to play, so there’s that moving part.

         Maleficent and Lily’s story was thrown out the window this season entirely. At the end of season four, Lily asked to stay in Storybrooke to search for her father, but that was never touched upon. Robin Hood’s death was only tragic because Regina and him weren’t remotely given enough development to make it an even worthy execution of his character. The big bad of Season 5B, Hades, was killed before the season finale, which yet again, that build up was worth nothing. He wasn’t even an admirable foe for Rumplestiltskin. I’m going to stress after five seasons how frustrating it gets that Rumplestiltskin always overpowers Regina and Emma. Emma is the savior and she is light magic and she can’t stop Rumplestiltskin ever.

         The writers had so much potential this season. Camelot would’ve been an excellent storyline, but they had that fall apart the moment Captain Hook killed the most powerful sorcerer of all time. Merlin was built up for part of season four and through season five until Emma finally met him. He was the key to saving her from darkness and he created the dagger and Excalibur. Merlin was a powerful sorcerer and they just killed him. Emma Swan took in the darkness at the end of season four to save her family and rather than giving us a true Dark One, Emma wasn’t nearly as evil as expected. They built that exciting concept up for a whole summer for nothing. The Underworld would’ve been better embraced had the story hadn’t been about saving Hook so much. There was a lot of potential there and once again, to try and make up for Henry’s story arc, they reintroduced the quill.

         While Victoria Smurfit was a wonderful Cruella De Vil in Season Four, she was rather a pest in the Underworld. Her character was almost unnecessary. Cora seemed rather worth having for part of the time since it pushed along Zelena and Regina’s development in a small way. Peter Pan was a great addition to the Underworld because he was one of the best-written villains on the series, but Rumplestiltskin didn’t even play much verbal judo with him. It was as if Pan wasn’t much of a challenge at all. On top of that, Hercules was in one episode. When you write about Hades and the Underworld, you expect Zeus and Hercules. They could’ve done so much with Hercules and Hades, but Hades became the epicenter of it all with his ridiculous love plot with Zelena and Hercules got kicked to the curb after one episode. Then to eliminate a loose end with King Arthur, Hades kills him to make it easier for the writers to not have to deal with that loose end.

         Moving parts are fine if they have a purpose. Let me assure you of what worked for Once Upon a Time prior to Season Five.

         In season two, the cliffhanger into season three was Henry got captured by Pan’s minions. Teaming up to save him was not only Emma, Snow, and David, but Rumplestiltskin, Hook, and Regina. It gave a great lead in for the new season and to where they were going as well as Neal got shot, but he ended up in the Enchanted Forest, which was another great part. While Once moved around in three different locations: Neverland, Enchanted Forest, and Storybrooke, those moving parts made sense because all of them pushed the same story along. Neal wanted to save Henry. It also introduced Robin Hood into the show. Belle was still in Storybrooke, which helped move that along.

         In season three, the finale ended with Marian coming back with Emma and Hook, which left the fans with a good dramatic tension between Robin Hood and Regina. There was also tension between Regina and Emma for season three. Season three also left the fans with Hook and Emma’s love arc beginning. On top of that, they introduced Elsa as the new arc for season four. Those moving parts, once again, were okay. They all pushed the story along.

         In season four…these moving parts were absolutely fantastic! They had so much potential to work with. Rumplestiltskin was in a preservative state and his heart was pure white. He was given a clean slate to work with. Henry was chosen to be the next author. While he did break the quill, that was an excellent character arc. Robin Hood and Regina had to deal with the fact that Zelena was back and she was pregnant with Robin’s baby. Now while that particular subplot was a weird one, the writers managed to write that out better than expected. Lastly, Emma Swan became the Dark One. That was by far one of the best cliffhangers in the entire series and there was finally a motion to the sorcerer and the sorcerer’s hat. Once was going to Camelot and finding Merlin. Once was going to an epic, well-known story and the payoff was just not worth it.

         Season Five has left many moving parts, but none of them make any sense at this point. Hyde doesn’t seem like a worth adversary and more than likely, Regina’s doppelganger arc will fall short as well. There is hope in the doppelganger storyline because that’s always an interesting game to play in any show. Right now, Once Upon a Time, while I do love the series had spent most of Season Five demolishing the Camelot plot and Underworld. The characters such as Henry, Regina, Robin Hood, Snow, and Charming have become insignificant this season in Hook and Emma’s shadows. While I do love Hook and Emma, they aren’t the foundation of this show. At this point, I’m still remaining hopeful that Once Upon a Time can pull itself together to stick around longer, but if you’re going to add in Jekyll and Hyde, there might as well be Dracula and turn it into a circus.

I do regrettably say all of this because I love this show more than anything. That’s exactly why it devastates me to say any of this because this show is fantastic and Once Upon a Time always manages to surpass expectations somehow. While some fans might’ve liked what happened in the season finale, there was nothing grand about it, and nothing truly shocking. For my love of this show and my love of writing, especially television writing, I am still hopeful that Once Upon a Time can rise back up and salvage the characters they lost behind because the truth is, while there is a land of untold stories of all the characters that were forgotten, most of the characters except for Hook and Emma got put in that land along time ago.

                 

The Ups and Downs: Once Upon a Time

Warning: This entire entry contains spoilers on Season Five of Once Upon a Time! 


Sometimes in television, especially when a series lasts for longer than two seasons, there is going to be some struggles with the story down the road. With a series like Once Upon a Time, the show has the ability to play off of some great stories since the series is about fairy tales and Disney films. So far, the series has done wonderfully with Snow White and Prince Charming, Red Riding Hood, Pinocchio, and Rumplestiltskin. The show hit a home run with The Wicked Witch of the West in season three and Peter Pan as well. The show continued their streak with the fantastic telling of Frozen in season four and brought in Cruella De Vil, Maleficent, and Ursula for some exciting challenges. 

Part of the reason Frozen worked out so well in Once was for the fact that the casting director did a phenomenal job at finding their Elsa, Anna, and Snow Queen. Georgina Haig was a fantastic Elsa and connected well with Jennifer Morrison on the screen. Their chemistry was as fantastic as Robert Carlyle teaming up with team of villains in the second half of the season. Once worked out a chilling end to the season four story arc by leaving a number of wonderful things into play. Zelena, the Wicked Witch, returns pregnant with Robin Hood's baby. Henry Mills is now the author of the storybook. The major curveball in the finale was when Rumplestiltskin almost died and the apprentice purified his heart by removing the darkness, putting Rumple in a preservative state. Emma Swan took in the darkness with the dagger and a vortex transported her to the chamber. For the whole summer before the season five premiere, there was plenty of buzz on the new evil Dark Swan. Images popped up of her appearance and a teaser video showed her dark persona. The creators were showcasing the exciting and thrilling new season with an evil female lead. 

The unfortunate truth of Season Five was that the story turned out to be a tragedy. While Horowitz and Kitsis have done a phenomenal job on the series, they built up season five for a let down. The fans had a lot to look forward to in the new season when the creators brought in Merlin (Elliot Knight), King Arthur (Liam Garrigan), and Camelot. Every show, however, has a downfall season and Once has reached its challenging story arc to come out of. While The Dark Swan teasers revealed an evil Emma Swan, which would've added a fantastic character development, Emma Swan was in fact, not as evil as people discovered. The first part of the season took place in Storybrooke and Camelot. Once again, the writers brought in the memory loss story where everyone lost their memories from six weeks ago after Emma cast a curse on them to forget what happened in Camelot. The big flaw with that story is because Season 1 was the main platform for memory loss and then, in season 3, they played that story again. 

On top of that, Henry was considerably downplayed this entire season. The writers made him the Author and after he broke the quill, it almost appeared as if they didn't want to focus on Henry at all in season five. Henry Mills was the reason Emma Swan came to Storybrooke and yet, the writers acted as if he has become of less importance to the series entirely. They did their best to involve him in Camelot by giving him a love interest and even made up for the story slightly by writing in an episode where Emma and Henry reach an impasse after Emma breaks his heart. One of the positives of the new season is Regina Mills. The Evil Queen has grown considerably throughout the show and she got the opportunity to play a hero more so in this season than any other. For the first time ever, she was pinned against Emma now that the savior was the Dark Swan, so instead of struggling with her vengeance and pain, Regina now had to face a new foe. She had to learn to be a savior for herself and her town. Once also downplayed the males this season by making Prince Charming, Robin Hood, and Captain Hook seem weaker than the women. Speaking of which, nothing strained the season this year more than Hook and Emma.

The writers revolved their whole season five around Emma Swan and Captain Hook. The biggest mistake for this story arc was that the other character developments got left behind. They tried to make up for it this season by giving Regina the opportunity to be a hero, but Zelena almost seemed unnecessary. She was the odd one out, just causing strain on Robin Hood and Regina, but not really doing damage like she used to. Then, they decided to make Zelena turn on the others by helping King Arthur. Another way Once tried to make up for the story focus on Captain Swan was by having Rumple have character development. He woke up and was now a hero instead of a villain. However, Rumple was a coward and almost seemed of little importance to the show. 

Here's one of the biggest positives to season five. The casting director did another phenomenal job bringing in Amy Manson to play Merida. While Merida didn't seem to fit in quite right, she made herself at home in a strong fashion. The actress delivered beautifully and had absolutely phenomenal chemistry with Jennifer Morrison. The only trouble with Merida later on in the season was when they wrote one episode for her, the story didn't quite fit in the middle of season five. Her back story episode was in the middle of a major plot point between Hook and Emma. One of the better options would've been to build Merida up as part of the group rather than give her a filler episode that made her seem smaller than most of the characters in the show. Someone as strong as Merida deserves more attention than was granted to her. Amy Manson was an excellent choice for this character, so she deserved some more screen time. Unfortunately, it wasn't Manson's fault that the story was jumbled in season five.

One of the biggest problems with season five was Camelot. King Arthur, though Liam Garrigan was another excellent choice for the character, Arthur became one of the most hated characters on the entire show. The writers made him more of a villain than a hero, which is okay since they went with another story. However, Arthur inevitably became a character that was more of an annoyance than a good story plot. He was quite agitating in his portrayal as the king who was mad that his sword was broken in half and power hungry. There was nothing dynamic about his character which isn't always the fault of the actor. In the second half of the season, the writers decided to kill off King Arthur in an instant as Hades killed him. In that one scene, it seemed like a quick fix or a solution to tie up a loose end as season five is coming to a close. 

Merlin was excellently cast with Elliot Knight, however, the biggest problem with Merlin's story is that for part of season four, the creators built him up to be the most powerful sorcerer of all. He created the dagger. He was in love with the first Dark One and he made Excalibur. When Emma saved him from being trapped in the tree, Merlin had the chance to establish his power. He aided Emma in retrieving the spark and helped her eliminate the darkness. The only problem with Merlin was that the writers built him up for nothing. There was a phenomenal storyline between Merlin being in love with Nimue, the first Dark One. It added a great dynamic and a great back story as to why Merlin created the dagger to tether the Dark One to it. However, here is where the problem came. Merlin was the big hero to save Emma from the darkness and he fails because Hook almost dies and Emma decides to turn Hook into another Dark One in order to save him. Hook ends up becoming super evil and betrays Emma and out of all the people to kill Merlin, Dark Hook does.

First off, Once threw a massive curveball in the "Broken Kingdom" episode when the fans realized everything Emma was doing in the end was because she was protecting her true love. In reality, Emma wasn't the Dark One after all. A part of her was still operating on good intentions, but when she turned Hook into another Dark One by tethering him to Excalibur, she was selfish. The writers put a lot of energy into Hook and Emma that all of the other characters essentially became insignificant. What has been overwritten is death. Hook has died a few times on the show, so when Emma stabbed him with Excalibur to destroy the darkness in the winter finale, "Swan Song", the death didn't feel surprising. However, the scene was emotional to the point where fans could truly connect to Colin O'Donoghue and Jennifer Morrison's beautiful performance. Hook wouldn't stay dead for long and here is why. 

After spending pretty much the entire first half of season five focusing on Hook and Emma's love story, there was no way the writers would eliminate O'Donoghue from the show for good.

Season 5A had a lot of potential with Camelot, which was barely visited. The first half had potential with Emma Swan by giving her the chance to become Dark Swan, but the writers lacked in that area. Hook's portrayal of the Dark One was rough around the edges because the writers spent a huge portion of time on developing Emma as evil and Hook's time as the Dark One was rushed and the justification for Hook's darkness was basically a reminder that he was once already a villain prior to loving Emma. To some of the fans, Hook also was a love sick puppy dog for part of the show and it does seem some of the male characters have fallen in the shadows of the powerful women. There is nothing wrong with a powerful woman, but the reason the show was phenomenal from the beginning was that the men and women on the show were equally strong. What helped a little with Prince Charming this season was teaming him up next to King Arthur briefly, but he inevitably fell behind much like Robin Hood. 

A tale as old as time. Rumplestiltskin also ends up taking the darkness back in so he can be the Dark One again. First off, this works just fine because Robert Carlyle will and always will be an incredible Dark One, but the writers also built up a potential good Rumple to eliminate that entirely in one instant. Even good Rumple was power hungry. Then, the idea was the Underworld for Season 5B. This also had potential because now the writers could've tapped into Hercules, Hades, and gods. Once again, the writers destroyed the entire Underworld concept. The concept was for the team to go down to the Underworld to rescue Hook.

Great! Let's invite Hercules too! And Hades! Once also reached its 100th episode this season and to make up for where the story was going, they invited some old characters back to try and make the 100th episode seem somewhat strong. The return of Robbie Kay's Peter Pan was an excellent choice even if he ended up dying in the long run for good. Let me save you the trouble of the fact that Emma does find Hook and he returns to Storybrooke. Spoiler there! Season 5B felt extremely rough. While the finale is upon us, the writing this season has felt rushed and weak. The casting of Hades wasn't painful. Greg Germann did a fair job at playing Hades. He has a creepy and quiet darkness to him when he speaks softly, but the weirdest storyline to write in was his romance with Zelena. 

Hades and Zelena's romance was an odd writing move for the creators and tragically, the story didn't work. The only benefit so far to Season 5B is how Regina and Zelena have been given a great transformation. Regina and Zelena have grown close and it adds an interesting dynamic to their characters. After spending their whole lives being filled with hatred toward each other, vengeance, and power, Regina and Zelena both find a common ground this season, making them stronger characters. However, once again because the focus was on Hook and Emma, most of the characters got sidelined. They invited Hercules into the storyline and it was even magnificent that he was connected to Snow White's past, but HE WAS IN ONE EPISODE! The Underworld and Hades has everything to do with Hercules and the gods. The creators cast the actor, but kicked him out after one episode and never even involved him longer. Not to mention, Henry was able to become the author again, which, once again, it was a great idea since Henry needed to be involved more into the show. However, Henry got sidelined some more farther into the season. 

The writers also tried to add Red Riding Hood and Mulan in for one episode as well as Dorothy. It was a bold mood and in all honesty, just another filler this season much like Merida's episode. Red Riding Hood and Mulan are fan favorites, so they always deserve more screen time. Hercules could've been a fan favorite, but he served no actual purpose if he was only in one episode. Rumple's battle with Hades wasn't even that interesting and it's almost as if Rumple is getting tiring and there is no character development left for him to do since all he seems to want is more and more power. Now to add to the final part of the longest entry of my blog is ROBIN HOOD! 

Robin Hood and Regina's love story was epic in season three. Their relationship had fire and passion because they started off not really interested in each other. There was some witty banter and a lot of versatility between them. One of the weirdest storylines they put into their love arc was when Marian came back and Robin Hood had to eventually leave to New York. Later on, the writers decide to add a bizarre complication by making Marian into Zelena and Robin gets her pregnant! Suddenly, Robin Hood and Regina's relationship turns into a giant soap opera in one episode. Regina and Robin Hood took a bit of a backseat in season five which was tragic because in Season 5B in the "Last Rites" episode, Once decided to kill off Robin Hood for good. Hades kills Robin Hood when he steps in front of the blast of an Olympian crystal to protect Regina. While the death was a great sacrifice...NOTHING. There was no real sympathy to the death. Why? Here's where they messed up.

This season was about Hook and Emma. Then Hook decides to not even go back when Emma and her family leave to Storybrooke. Basically it was like making the entire trip to the Underworld a complete waste of time. There wasn't much character development for a lot of the characters. Worse: Robin Hood's death didn't even matter. His sacrifice wasn't a big deal. The writers didn't build up tension for Robin Hood and Regina. He just died. There were no previous episodes before it that suggested Robin Hood's life was in danger and that Regina might lose him. They didn't focus on their love arc at all, so when Robin sacrificed himself, there was absolutely no great feeling of sadness to his death. He just died! The writing suffered on Regina and Robin, leaving no real emotional effect on the audience when he dies. And then, what do they do? Zelena turns on Hades and kills him. Zeus pops up and returns Hook down to Earth. How rushed is that? There was no build.

The season finale is airing next week and there is no telling where the writers are going, but as a huge Once fan who feels pain writing this entry, I am hoping for a resurrection season in the fall. The writing in season five was rushed and weak. Please understand I'm not a hate fan because I love this show more than anything, but season five needed a lot of work. I'm also a fellow screenwriter and I studied film and I write novels for a living. There is nothing more important to me in writing than character development and this season was a tragedy. That is unfortunately the most brutal I would ever be to a show. I can't sugar coat how tragic the writing is this year on Once. Once again, I have to emphasize how much I love this show, but this is hard. Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitsis are amazing writers and have done so well with this show, so hopefully the last two episodes are going to lead us into an excellent resurrection season in the fall. 

Once Upon a Time 2 Hour Season Finale airs on ABC on Sunday May 15 at 8 pm EST

 

Our Admirable Heroes

There is a method used in writing very often in order for great character development to exist. This particular method applies to the protagonist in every show and typically, in the shows I watch which gravitate me toward them even more. It's called The Hero's Journey. The writing technique is very easy to understand. 

The hero is typically a character that is built to rise and fall throughout a story. There is a reason for that concept. Heroes are not perfect. Though admirable, people are inspired by these characters, but in order to be inspired by them, our heroes must fail. In reality, life is filled with challenges. Writing is inspired by reality. Our heroes must have flaws and must be challenged in their journey in order to be more believable. 

One of the shows that does that well is Once Upon a Time. 

Emma Swan is a perfect example of an admirable hero. Her character starts off with a difficult childhood. Her parents left her when she was a baby and she ended up growing up in the foster system, bouncing from home to home, until eventually she fell in love with a thief and got pregnant with a child of her own. However, seeing herself unfit to raise her son, she gave him up for adoption and went about her path. Emma spent the rest of her life being a bailbondsperson, hunting down people who skipped bail. The fans already can sympathize with this character by giving her these flaws, giving her something that the audience might be able to connect with. Throughout the series, Emma is put in different situations that make her character development even better. Her son, Henry, at the age of 10 comes to find her and reunite her with her parents because he believes her to be the savior that will save the fairy tale characters trapped in a small town by the evil queen. Emma is put in a world where she has to adjust to magic, to being around her parents, and to falling in love. What makes her such a great hero is that she is closed off and this series teaches people that it's okay to let love in and it's okay to be different. The hero isn't perfect and the decisions she makes are that of sacrifice whether it be for her parents, for her son, or for Captain Hook. She is also the classic hero and follows the rules of not murdering people. Any time a character is presented with that option, it's a true test of morality. 
 
Smallville is the epitome of a hero's journey. Clark Kent is Superman. We are immediately establishing a different person in a normal world. Clark already feels like an outsider growing up, trying to learn how to use his powers. This is a great establishment for the hero because the audience can connect to being different and being special. However, what also made the series so successful was not just because of the classic superhero, it was because the audience grew up with Clark. For the first time, a show took the hero and showed him going through regular life, going to high school, falling in love, and making normal decisions. He also got to struggle with identity which is very common for a teenager. 




Though Clark Kent wasn't your average kid, the audience was able to connect with him on a personal level. Yes he made more sacrifices than the regular human being, protecting his secret, saving the day, but deep down he was human. 

In the NBC television series, Chuck, I couldn't think of a better written hero's journey second to Emma Swan than Chuck Bartowski. First: Chuck is an average guy. He's a nerd. He works at a computer store in a Nerd Herd. His job is fixing computers. He lives with his older sister and her boyfriend in an apartment. 

Second: Chuck has a past. He was bound to be successful. He attend Stanford University but got kicked out of college after being framed for stealing test answers by his old college roommate. He also had a girlfriend who he loved who broke his heart. 

Third: Chuck has family history. He is extremely close with his sister, Ellie, because his father left both of them at a young age. Their mother also abandoned them. 

The writers already built a nice background for the audience to sympathize with. This show is also a great example of identity. Chuck Bartowski, regular guy, is put in a situation where his life becomes entirely different. He has to protect his friends and family and he is in constant danger. The CIA/NSA are now involved in his life after downloading a computer called the intersect and his world is turned upside down. You take an average guy who, at one point felt small and like he was never going to change his path, is given the opportunity to do something amazing. Throughout the show, Chuck is tested each time and he makes a decision to become something bigger than himself. Through that choice, he discovers aspects of himself, gains confidence, gains strength, and also deals with his darker half. In my opinion, writing wise, this is a realistic hero's journey to how most people go through their life. This is similar to identity crisis when you're at a point in your life where you don't know who you are or if your life will ever change and something happens that makes you step up and kind of helps you transform. 
 
Let's talk about a unique character transformation. On the USA network series, Psych, Shawn Spencer was an interesting protagonist. For a background, Shawn had divorced parents. His relationship with his father wasn't that great. Shawn was also the textbook slacker. He bounced from job to job, trying numerous things and getting into trouble very often. When he is given the opportunity to step up and do something with his life, it's still as a result of almost getting himself into trouble. His character was given a special gift, but it's basically being really hyper observant of his surroundings and having a photographic memory. He claims he is a psychic to cover his butt for almost being arrested by the Santa Barbara police department and is then put in a new environment where he solves cases, but in ridiculous ways. He's the kind of character written to almost not be taken seriously, but here's the thing. Eight seasons later, Shawn has changed. The hero's journey takes him through some difficult moments like his father being shot, his best friend being kidnapped, and his girlfriend being put in danger. Shawn Spencer transforms to the end and makes a selfless decision to no longer be involved in the police business and one of the best written transformations was when his girlfriend, Juliet, discovers he isn't really a psychic. Typically, Shawn handles every situation in a perfect way and somehow astounds the audience by getting out of every conflict with ease. With Juliet, this puts our hero in a spot where he is forced to grow up and deal with his conflicts instead of ignoring them. 


In any story, it's extremely vital to focus on the development of a hero. Heroes aren't perfect and to make them believable characters, the writers must build them as such. The reason audience members connect to the characters in general whether it be heroes or anyone else is because there is always a human element to them. There is always a part of these characters that make them real and easy to relate to. These are just an example of a few, but I think that's the important of what makes an admirable hero.
 

Best Kept Secrets: SMALLVILLE

What separated WB series, Smallville, from the others was the concept of origins of a superhero. Before Gotham, Arrow, The Flash, there was Smallville. The series debuted in 2001 and the world was impartial to the origin story of Superman. Most of the films that have come out on Superman were already deep into the reporter from The Daily Planet who is also a superhero angle. 

When Smallville debuted, the series was nowhere near focused on Superman. Instead, the creators, Al Gough and Miles Millar, focused their attention on Clark Kent, played by Tom Welling, the young man destined to become Superman. From the beginning point, the creators started off in Clark Kent's freshmen year of high school, so fans of the beloved superhero not only got to watch their favorite hero, but they got to grow up with him. Fans got to watch Clark Kent's human parents, Jon and Martha Kent, played by John Schneider and Annette O'Toole, raise a superhuman child as well as Clark growing up with normal high school friends and having a best friend like Lex Luthor, played by Michael Rosenbaum, who turns into his nemesis.

The series turned out to be so successful that it lasted for 10 seasons. Like most shows, a series isn't complete without character development and transformations as well as a good twist. Smallville was good at best kept secrets in large part to do with the fact that, well Clark Kent is keeping the biggest secret of his life: He's an alien from Krypton.

These are the 10 best kept secrets on Smallville. 


10. GRANT GABRIEL IS JULIAN

  Michael Cassidy graced his way onto the series in Season Seven as Grant Gabriel, the new editor-in-chief of The Daily Planet. Of course fans enjoyed his presence when he was a breath of fresh air for Lois (Erica Durance) as her new love interest and wasn't a superhero. However, like most characters on the show, he had secrets of his own. Gabriel was only appointed new editor because Lex was his friend.

Later on in the show, fans discovered that Grant wasn't just editor of the newspaper, but he was in fact, Lex' s dead brother, Julian. Back in the previous seasons, fans found out Lex's little brother, Julian, was killed by his mother so she could save him from Lionel's terrible parenting. Talk about family issues.

It was an unfortunate ending for Grant Gabriel when Lex had his own brother killed, but not to worry. Grant was more of a subject in a lab it turns out rather than actual blood. Grant was shot when about to go to dinner with his dad, Lionel Luthor (John Glover).


9. BIZARRO IS CLARK KENT

 In season seven of Smallville, the fans got to meet another comic book familiar by the name of Bizarro. A phantom from the phantom zone escaped after season six and Clark had been trying to capture the phantoms to put them back in prison. When the phantom collided with Clark in the season six finale, it split Clark into two entities. In the comic books, this entity was called Bizarro.

There is a difference between evil Clark and Bizarro Clark. Bizarro is not exactly evil, but he is the opposite of Clark Kent. Just like red kryptonite affects Clark differently than blue, gold, and silver do, Bizarro isn't an evil version of Clark. The best way to describe Bizarro is that he is a backwards, strange character with a peculiar view on the world. Bizarro has emotions, but his view of the world is warped. Throughout season seven, we later find out in "Gemini" that Clark Kent was trapped in the fortress and Bizarro was parading around pretending to be the real Clark. Lana unfortunately couldn't tell the difference, but Chloe noticed a difference. Eventually Clark had trapped Bizarro back into the phantom zone, but it put a strain on him and Lana's relationship.


8. LANA LANG KNOWS CLARK'S SECRET

 Throughout Season 6, though Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) was in a relationship with Clark's nemesis, Lex, she started digging up information. Slowly, piece by piece, she had theories about Clark Kent's identity and who he was. The first clue was the metal chisel that Lex stabbed into Clark's stomach in episode "Crimson". Although, most of her theories begun in "Hydro", Lana wasn't sure until the wedding episode "Promise".

It was to be Lex and Lana's wedding. In the beginning of the episode, Lana trapped Chloe down in the wine cellar, forcing Chloe to call Clark. Lana hid behind the wine shelves and watched as Clark sped into the room and broke the door open for his best friend. Chloe tried to convince Clark to say something to Lana before she made a huge mistake in marrying Lex, but Clark refused to get involved. Lana watched as Clark sped off. When Clark worked up the courage to go to Luthor mansion to convince Lana not to marry Lex, she assures Clark that she doesn't want to marry Lex. Lana wants to be with Clark and Clark is happy. When Lionel Luthor comes in and threatens to hurt Clark and expose his secret, Lana is forced into a marriage she doesn't want to be in forcing Clark to attend the wedding and confront Lana about what happened. Eventually in the season 6 finale, Lana ends it with Lex and goes to Clark in the barn and tells him that she knows he is superhuman. Clark is relieved to find out that Lana sees him as the same Clark Kent he has always been.

7. JASON TEAGUE AND LANA LANG

In perhaps one of the best written seasons on the series, Season 4 introduced two new characters to the cast. Lois Lane (Erica Durance) and Jason Teague (Jensen Ackles). However, the story in season 4 took an interesting turn for the run-of-the-mill Superman angle and meteor freaks of the week.

Lana met Jason in Paris when she was there for the summer and while they started out as an epic romance story like the one in a movie, a tomb in a church that caused Lana to blackout and wake up with a tattoo sends her back to Smallville. Jason makes a decision to follow Lana back to Smallville and be with her by getting a job as the high school's football coach. The best kept secret is that Jason and Lana didn't meet by accident. The audience discovers that Jason's mother, Genevieve (Jane Seymour) was a descendant of Gertrude Teage, a woman who was the nemesis to a witch in Salem named Isobel Thoreaux. Lana discovers that she is the vessel of this 16th century witch in season four and Isobel takes possession of her body a few times in the season. Jason ends up searching for the same stones that Isobel is looking for, putting him against Lana. Jason ends up in the crossfire of a battle between Lana, Clark, and the Luthors, resulting in a tragic death.

6. TESS MERCER IS A LUTHOR

When a new character comes into the show that has nothing related in the comic book, the audience can get skeptical at how they will fit into the universe. After the finale of season 7, Lex Luthor left the show. To fill his place in the LuthorCorp world the writers brought in Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman). Tess ran the Daily Planet, the company, and took her place as Lex's successor. It almost seemed she was chosen for a reason. In the final season of the show, the fans discovered that Tess Mercer was a Luthor. In Season 10's "Abandoned", Tess was a foster child under Granny Goodness' care. When she goes back to her past, she finds out that her father Lionel Luthor, gave her up for adoption. Once we saw that, it was no surprise how she fit into the Luthor world with her boldness and her intimidating demeanor. She was a strong woman and this Luthor, Clark was able to save from darkness. In the end, Tess chose to protect Clark's secret by erasing Lex's memories of him. Unfortunately, Tess died protecting Clark's secret.

5. LANA LANG'S PREGNANCY

This should come as no shock, but Season 6 was one of the most ridiculously written stories to occur on Smallville. The fans reactions to the Lex and Lana love story wasn't hidden and it made the season very difficult to watch. Loyal fans managed to push on through this odd turn of events. Not only was it hard to watch, but Lana finds out she's pregnant in "Static". That wasn't the real kicker. Lex induced her pregnancy with fake hormones forcing her into a marriage she didn't want. Keep in mind that this was season six, so given that season five was a college year for Clark, Chloe, and Lana, either that meant Lana was marrying at the age of 20 to a billionaire in his 30s. If the writers, however, wrote in a gap between season 5 and 6, it made sense since they didn't continue to explore the college years of Clark Kent. It's almost as if he dropped out, but Lana ended up finding out that her pregnancy wasn't real and called off the marriage. She gave Lex a good slap for it.

4. MARTHA KENT IS THE RED QUEEN

Martha Kent without a doubt had become one of the characters on Smallville that had the largest transformation in the series. Throughout the first few seasons, Martha Kent was the heart of the family and was sweet. She was wholesome and was a loving mother to Clark, keeping the family strong. She took on the Luthors in Season 2, working as Lionel's assistance. The fans discovered she was pregnant with a child in Season 2, but ended up having a miscarriage. Martha became the rock of the family when Jonathan had a heart attack. In Season 4, Martha took on the responsibility of running the Talon. However, it was in Season 5 where Martha had to decide on a bigger transformation. After the death of her husband, the night he won the campaign for State Senate, Martha had to carry on as Jon's successor. Martha Kent became a beacon of hope and was a strong Senator. When she returned in Season 10, she was the voice of the heroes as the world tried to turn against them. The biggest surprise was that the fans discovered that she was the Red Queen, a vigilante in her own way making sure the heroes weren't seen as villains. There wasn't anything that Martha wouldn't do to protect her son, but in the end, she did what Jonathan always did. She put her family above everything else.

3. THE EMISSARY OF JOR-EL

One of the most impressive twists to happen on the show was the involvement of Lionel Luthor in Clark's life. In the Season 4 finale, Commencement, Lionel has a Kryptonian stone in his pocket that ends up putting him in a comatose state. Throughout the first few episodes of Season 5, Lionel is trapped in a mental institution spouting nonsense until Kal-El needs him. Lionel had temporarily become a vessel for Jor-El.

The Kents were always worried that Lionel knew the truth about Clark Kent. However, when it came to the Season 5 finale, Clark discovers that Lionel did know who he was, but knew his Kryptonian origins. Somehow, Lionel Luthor became the emissary for Jor-El, according to Martian Manhunter. Jor-El was using Lionel to send messages in Kryptonian to warn Clark that Zod was coming. Though the relationship was a tough one to handle, Clark eventually trusted Lionel, seeing as how Lionel did everything he could to protect Clark's secret. Lionel was so ruthless in the beginning of the show and he raised Lex with an iron fist, but Lionel had a different opinion of Clark. Though Lionel's fate was an excellent one, his own flesh and blood threw him out the window of his LuthorCorp office, killing him.

2. CHLOE'S SPECIAL POWERS

Aside from Martha Kent, the biggest transformation for a character throughout the series was Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack). In the beginning of the series, Chloe started as Clark's best friend with a tenacious attitude to writing about all things meteor freak related. She had a Wall of Weird, which held the articles of every strange thing that happened in Smallville since the 1989 Meteor Shower.

Chloe Sullivan wasn't a comic book character. She was written in by the writers, but now she is a staple in the Smallville world. Her spunky attitude is what helped shape Clark's future in journalism. In Season 6, the fans got to find out more about Chloe's mother and her background. When Lex sent out a hitlist for meteor freaks, Chloe discovers that she might be one of them after being kidnapped and implanted with a chip. Clark has to use his heat vision to burn it out of her skin. It's the first moment that Chloe realizes she might be a meteor freak after spending so many years doing stories on them. It isn't until the season finale of 6 that Lois dies of a knife wound, forcing Chloe to cry a tear that heals her cousin.
The only drawback with Chloe's healing abilities is that she takes on the side effects of the injury.

1. CHLOE FINDS OUT CLARK'S SECRET

At our number 1 spot for the Smallville Best Kept Secrets is Chloe Sullivan knows Clark's secret. There is dramatic irony in this seeing as how once she finds out, Clark doesn't know she knows. That's why it ends up being so fantastic to watch!

In Season 4 episode "Pariah", Clark Kent was dating Alicia (Sarah Carter), a meteor freak from Season 3 that returned. Alicia had the ability to teleport. When she was angry with Clark, she went to The Torch to take Chloe along for the ride to show Chloe who Clark Kent really was. Alicia fakes a car going out of control and calls Clark. Alicia then teleports Chloe and herself out of the car and to the side away from the wreck. When Chloe watches, Clark Kent suddenly speeds in front of the car and the car goes up an incline and into the air. Clark catches the car like its weightless, stunning his best friend. The whole episode is quite amazing especially when Chloe is still trying to process what happened. However, what becomes even better is throughout Season 4, how Chloe handles being around her different friend.

She makes little jokes throughout each episode after towards Clark, waiting for him to eventually trust her enough to tell her the truth. In the first few seasons, Chloe had assured Clark once before that being from another planet was something amazing, but because of her tendency to be obsessed with all things weird and write about it, Clark didn't feel like she would understand. It isn't until Season 4's "Blank" episode when a meteor freak takes away Clark's memory that forces Chloe to have to remind amnesia Clark who he really is. Through this journey, she discovers more about him and when his memory is restored, Clark confronts Chloe about what happened and she informs him that he trusted her. It isn't until the epic season finale when Chloe stops Lex from going into the caves and she ends up transported to the fortress of solitude with Clark when Clark finds out Chloe knows the truth.

Chloe almost freezes to death in the fortress, so when Clark finds her, she tells him to speed them out of there, leaving Clark with a shocked face. In the hospital, while Chloe is warming up, lying in the hospital bed, Clark sits a few feet away from her trying to figure out how she knows, which is a great scene.

Chloe tells Clark that she saw him catch the car as if it were a beach ball. When Clark confronts her about why she never said anything, Chloe tells him that she wanted him to trust her in his own time. When he was ready to tell her the truth, he would, proving that Chloe is a real friend. Clark decides to tell her that he is from another planet and he wasn't born on Earth, leaving Chloe speechless because he looks like everyone else.

In the end, Chloe informs Clark that he is a superhero and thinks that he is one of the most amazing people she's ever known. This moment brings them closer together, making Chloe and Clark's friendship one of the best written friendships on television.

Smallville was the master of secret keeping. As Clark would say, "I'm the Fort Knox of secrets."