Once Upon a Time Thoughts
The Once finale is TONIGHT! *bounce* What an excellent Mother's Day present! *g* (Better than the vacuum. Heh. No, actually the vacuum is awesome - a new Dyson Animal that I've been looking at for a while.) Anyway...I have some general thoughts about the show that I wanted to post today. (I also have some Carlyle items but I don't have time to organize them now so I'll post them in the next few days.) Also, I have read and appreciated all my comments today and will be replying through the evening.
1.) Once = fanfic
Obviously Once Upon a Time is a show which retells and remixes other people's stories, both stories which are myth and legend (such as Snow White and King Midas) and stories which have a specific author and provenience (such as Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio). However, when I was recently reading a review of The Stranger it hit me that they not only remix stories but they use many of the conventions of fanfic as well.
The review I was reading (and I've seen similar complaints about other episodes - especially The Price of Gold and Skin Deep) talked about how the Geppetto&Pinocchio relationship wasn't given enough story time and so they couldn't connect with the emotions. They didn't see within the episode Geppetto longing for a child - it was assumed along with most of the rest of the Pinocchio story so that the writers could get to the new material. Why, after all, retrace material we already know? The audience for Once is already familiar with the story just like the audience of a fanfic is already familiar with the show canon. So the writer can sketch in a few details to set things up and then move on, confident that the audience shares your basic understanding.
Do we really need to see on screen how awful Cinderella's life is - we know it is. What we didn't know before the episode was that Rumpelstiltskin killed her fairy godmother and instead of a wish she made a deal.
2.) Some speculation on differences between Fairytale people and Our World people
It's based on a statement made by the showrunners in a recent live chat - nothing spoilery I think but rather something which clears up a past event. However, I shall cut it just in case.
In a recent live chat the showrunners finally made it clear that Mr. Gold did not remember who he was until Emma showed up. They had made allusions to the idea in the past - that the name Emma was the trigger - but now they have been explicit about their intentions for the character. For me this both makes sense since why would anyone want to be awake in the endless now of Storybrooke pre-Emma (talk about dull!), and doesn't make sense since now we need to come up for a reason for Gold to have procedure Emma's son for Regina. I have three possibilities at the moment:
a. Someone else in Storybrooke who has their memories influenced Gold to choose Henry. The Blue Fairy is at the top of my list for that right now. She would have known about Emma, been able to keep tabs on her, and is probably manipulative enough to put Henry in Gold's line of sight without him knowing it was her. I'm not saying she is evil but definitely manipulative and it does seem she has an agenda.
b. Rumpelstiltkin is simply THAT GOOD at controlling and manipulating that he can do it even with half his brain tied behind his back and no memory of who he is. *g* That's a fun one to think about but not all that likely. The coincidences needed for him to get Henry without even meaning to do so are simply too large to be believable.
c. This third possibility is my crazy, wild theory about the nature of Fairytale people. Basically: they are not like us on a fundamental level even if they look in every other way like us. What this would mean is Fairytale people can find each other because there is a deep level of 'attraction' between them. And, on the flip side, there is a certain amount of repulsion between Fairytale and non-Fairytale people. Not that they would dislike each other but that they can't connect for reasons they can't even understand.
This theory would explain why Emma, a healthy white baby of complete adorableness, could not find a permanent placement and was not adopted. On a basic level the families couldn't connect to her and she couldn't connect to them. It would also explain why Henry's father would also be a Fairytale person. Not that we know who his father is yet but I do find it VERY likely he will connect to the rest of the story and be a Fairytale person himself. How to explain that huge coincidence? The writers made it so? *g* And it would explain how Gold chose Henry. There was NO OTHER choice but Henry. (And possibly no other child who could have entered the town.) It wasn't that he knew or that the Blue Fairy arranged it but simply that Henry was a like an iron filing going to the magnet of Storybrooke. It even could explain why Regina decided after 18 years to adopt. There was no available child until Henry was born.
Like I said - crazy theory! But it is possible considering some of things I've seen on other shows where crazier theories are now canon. :)
This entry was originally posted here and has
comments. Comment here or there.
1.) Once = fanfic
Obviously Once Upon a Time is a show which retells and remixes other people's stories, both stories which are myth and legend (such as Snow White and King Midas) and stories which have a specific author and provenience (such as Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio). However, when I was recently reading a review of The Stranger it hit me that they not only remix stories but they use many of the conventions of fanfic as well.
The review I was reading (and I've seen similar complaints about other episodes - especially The Price of Gold and Skin Deep) talked about how the Geppetto&Pinocchio relationship wasn't given enough story time and so they couldn't connect with the emotions. They didn't see within the episode Geppetto longing for a child - it was assumed along with most of the rest of the Pinocchio story so that the writers could get to the new material. Why, after all, retrace material we already know? The audience for Once is already familiar with the story just like the audience of a fanfic is already familiar with the show canon. So the writer can sketch in a few details to set things up and then move on, confident that the audience shares your basic understanding.
Do we really need to see on screen how awful Cinderella's life is - we know it is. What we didn't know before the episode was that Rumpelstiltskin killed her fairy godmother and instead of a wish she made a deal.
2.) Some speculation on differences between Fairytale people and Our World people
It's based on a statement made by the showrunners in a recent live chat - nothing spoilery I think but rather something which clears up a past event. However, I shall cut it just in case.
In a recent live chat the showrunners finally made it clear that Mr. Gold did not remember who he was until Emma showed up. They had made allusions to the idea in the past - that the name Emma was the trigger - but now they have been explicit about their intentions for the character. For me this both makes sense since why would anyone want to be awake in the endless now of Storybrooke pre-Emma (talk about dull!), and doesn't make sense since now we need to come up for a reason for Gold to have procedure Emma's son for Regina. I have three possibilities at the moment:
a. Someone else in Storybrooke who has their memories influenced Gold to choose Henry. The Blue Fairy is at the top of my list for that right now. She would have known about Emma, been able to keep tabs on her, and is probably manipulative enough to put Henry in Gold's line of sight without him knowing it was her. I'm not saying she is evil but definitely manipulative and it does seem she has an agenda.
b. Rumpelstiltkin is simply THAT GOOD at controlling and manipulating that he can do it even with half his brain tied behind his back and no memory of who he is. *g* That's a fun one to think about but not all that likely. The coincidences needed for him to get Henry without even meaning to do so are simply too large to be believable.
c. This third possibility is my crazy, wild theory about the nature of Fairytale people. Basically: they are not like us on a fundamental level even if they look in every other way like us. What this would mean is Fairytale people can find each other because there is a deep level of 'attraction' between them. And, on the flip side, there is a certain amount of repulsion between Fairytale and non-Fairytale people. Not that they would dislike each other but that they can't connect for reasons they can't even understand.
This theory would explain why Emma, a healthy white baby of complete adorableness, could not find a permanent placement and was not adopted. On a basic level the families couldn't connect to her and she couldn't connect to them. It would also explain why Henry's father would also be a Fairytale person. Not that we know who his father is yet but I do find it VERY likely he will connect to the rest of the story and be a Fairytale person himself. How to explain that huge coincidence? The writers made it so? *g* And it would explain how Gold chose Henry. There was NO OTHER choice but Henry. (And possibly no other child who could have entered the town.) It wasn't that he knew or that the Blue Fairy arranged it but simply that Henry was a like an iron filing going to the magnet of Storybrooke. It even could explain why Regina decided after 18 years to adopt. There was no available child until Henry was born.
Like I said - crazy theory! But it is possible considering some of things I've seen on other shows where crazier theories are now canon. :)
This entry was originally posted here and has
comments. Comment here or there.