And You Shall Have It.
I cannot get over how fantastic Once Upon A Time is, so, fair warning. If it's not your cup of tea, steer clear of the following post. (Though why it isn't your cup of tea should be examined. Over a nice cup of tea.) Basic casting spoilers ahoy!
ETA: I have edited these cut tags so many times I don't know which way is up. ::crazyeyes::
For efficiency's sake, from left to right we have: Sheriff Graham (no last name) who seems like he'll turn out to be The Queen's Woodsman. The Evil Queen, aka Regina Mills, Snow White, aka Mary Margaret Blanchard; Prince (James) Charming, aka David Nolan; Rumpelstiltskin, aka Mr. Gold, Henry Mills, and Emma Swan. Guess who's the protagonist. G'head. Guess.
If you guessed EMMA SWAN you win the prize*! Please send your information to the address** below for the chance to win ONE MILLION PENNIES!
Emma is the daughter of Snow and Charming, sent to this world to save theirs. Her son is Henry, whom she gave up for adoption when she had him at 18. (Fair warning, this show has a very strong view on adoption. I am totally unqualified to talk about adoption at all, but
leupagus has a pretty decent post here talking about the pros and cons of how adoption is viewed on Once Upon A Time.) Emma is the one who can save the inhabitants of Storybrooke from unhappily-ever-afters. Emma is a bailbondswoman from Boston. Emma is pretty rad.
Meet Henry. Henry is Regina's adopted son, Emma's by birth, and a student in Mary Margaret Blanchard's fifth(?)-grade class. He's also convinced that his mother is The Evil Queen and that life in Storybrooke is a curse wrought by TEQ in order to kill all the happy endings.
As you can tell, Henry's really the one who gets the ball rolling. Henry is a kid after my own heart. He brings Emma back to Storybrooke by stealing his teacher's credit card on WhosYourMomma.com (is it terrible that the missing apostrophe really bothers me?), takes the bus to Boston by himself, and starts the clock on Regina's (TEQ's) reign of terror via Operation Cobra. I totally named all my secret operations Operation Cobra when I was a kid. I still do.
Next we have the Evil Queen, Regina Mills, Henry (the small one's) adoptive mother. She's a tough one to figure out, but actress Lana Parrilla is doing a brilliant job making you want to understand why she's become an Evil Queen. She's terribly broken, but wasn't always so, and I'm holding out hope that there's redemption for her in the end. I want everyone to get a happy ending.
Meet Snow White (Mary Margaret Blanchard). She's the badass lady with the sword. And behind her is Prince Charming. This shot basically encompasses why I am in love with this show: the women do more than hold their own; they run the show. They cast the curses, they break the spell, they save Prince Charming and, hopefully, the possibility of happy endings. And that's what I see in this show, really; the promise of happy endings. Emma's job is to save the happy endings. We just don't know how she'll go about it. I'm tired of shows breaking my heart. I want one that I can count on to be amazing and engaging and lovely.
Snow is, as I've said before, is a take-charge kind of gal, and her counterpart, Mary Margaret Blanchard, isn't terribly so, to date. Before anyone expresses dissatisfaction with our Mary Margaret, I have to say that loneliness does a lot of damage to people in different ways. It seems that Snow grew up in a kingdom, surrounded by people, and though she was exiled and lived on her own for some time, she knew she was being exiled. She had someone - one person in particular - to blame. In Storybrooke, however, Mary Margaret can't find someone to love, or someone who loves her back, and cannot figure out why. There's no external reason for her loneliness, and nowadays that's more a call for introspection than to grab a sword and run off to the forest. (Mary Margaret is a schoolteacher. Henry's, in fact. In my day, teachers were too smart to leave their purse where their students could access it. Tsk, tsk, Mary Margaret.) Mo Ryan says it better than I ever could here.
Meet Prince Charming (aka James in Fairy Tale Land, and David Nolan in Storybrooke, ME). (And, okay, I couldn't resist sneaking a little Snow/Mary Margaret Blanchard in there. She's just so lovely.) He could have been such a Ken-doll cliché, and yet the writers and actor imbue him with such an earnestness that you'd have to be crazy not to at least grudgingly like the guy. He's clever and funny and nice, much like Prince Charming actually should be. You can't help but root for Charming and Snow to fight their way free of the curse and find their way back to each other again.
Next we have Rumpelstiltskin, AKA Mr. Gold. God, I wish he looked like this:
Instead, this is Rumpelstiltskin. Robert Carlyle so embodies creepy when he's in his Rumpelstiltskin makeup that I cringe every time he's onscreen. As Mr. Gold, though, he's so quiet and calm that I can't help but believe him half the time when he's spinning his tales. Mr. Gold runs Storybrooke, and the more we see of Fairy Tale Land, the more it seems he runs that, too. He's a clever one, Rumpelstiltskin. So clever that I have to wonder if he isn't letting The Evil Queen use this curse for a lark.
Meet Sheriff Graham (no last name) who most likely will play the Queen's Woodsman. He's consistently demonstrated that, to the Evil Queen, he might seem as if he's in her pocket, but he follows his conscience when the decisions might have more impact. He's a handsome devil, too. The fun thing about Sheriff Graham is that the show seems to be setting him up as Emma's future possible love interest, but they're more interested in developing characters, relationships, and backstories than shoving them down our throat. I'm really enjoying how this is playing out so far.
And for posterity's sake, we'll include Henry's therapist, Jiminy Crickett (Dr. Archie Hopper). He's adorable; I had to include him. For more meta on his episode, Tricia Long has a nice recap article here.
As for the other inhabitants of Storybrooke, we've also met Cinderella and her Prince, Ruby, AKA Red Riding Hood and her Grandma, Grumpy - and the rest of the dwarves, but Grumpy keeps popping up - Gepetto, and a host of others. I really can't wait to see who's up next.
Links and whatnot:
Here is a pretty darn good recap of how the pilot episode treats women, and with the notable exception of Cinderella in 1x04, has continued to do so. And, honestly, I wouldn't be watching if it weren't a damn good show, all "social justice cap" aside.
FuckyeahOnceUponATime on tumblr has great links and gifs like you wouldn't believe. And possibly links to some dls.....
An interview with Jennifer Morrisson, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas and Robert Carlyle while at ComiCon, who respectively play Emma, Snow White, Prince (James) Charming, and Rumpelstiltskin. If the spelling's wrong on the last one, don't blame me. Blame my laziness and Google. These are definitely my favorite interviews out of all the ones I've seen so far. (ETA: The first interview is the main three characters only. The second one also includes Carlyle.)
Here is an article Mo Ryan does on the differences between 'Once' and 'Lost' - for those of you not in the know, 'Once' was conceived by and is written by two previous 'Lost' writers.
Finally, the fanworks.
Fic:
Ubermorgen hol ich mir der Königin ihr Kind by
waldorph
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Characters: Rumpelstiltskin, OFC
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin just wants a baby.
Boy, does he ever.
waldorph was speculating about why Rumpelstiltskin wanted a child so, so badly post 1x03, and while my personal vote was for brushing lightly with olive oil, grilling and chomping down on some delicious babyflesh, she had a slightly different take on things. (I still say Rumpelstiltskin's teeth aren't just for show, but I can very easily see - now - how he would make an awesome father. Still wouldn't give him my baby, though.)
One Deal by
impertinence
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Characters: Emma Swan, Regina Mills
Summary: Regina and Emma make a deal, and then have sex. (PWP)
WARNING: If hatesex isn't for you, this probably isn't your cup of tea. But it is delicious tea, so I urge you to try it.
Honestly, I buy it. Especially after the 1x05, where during the entire reconciliation scene, and Emma and Regina learning to work together I just keep muttering, "Yes! That's what Henry needs: a two-mommy household! That's why he went to find Emma!" because, honestly? They would be so goddamn adorable. And when Emma went in and grabbed both Henry's and Regina's shoulders at the same time once they'd pulled him out of the mine? It was like all my dreams were coming true in an instant. Sigh. ♥ And my opinion has been backed up on AfterEllen! Or I'm backing up her opinion...at any rate, there is correspondence.
Breathe Finally Free by VegaOfTheLyre
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Characters: Snow White, Prince Charming (James), Possibly Other Prince Charming (Thomas, who is decidedly less charming if he's the one who marries Cinderella.)
Summary: “No net?”
“Didn’t need it this time,” he says. “I thought I’d find you here.” When her eyes flick up to his he is struck tongue-tied and foolish, and he clears his throat.
WARNING: Main-character, canon pairing ahead.
This is sure to be jossed in an episode or two, but it's a lovely little fic that illustrates one of the possible ways Charming and Snow carry on their not-so-secret secret love for one another. I adore it; VegaOfTheLyre fills in backstory without showing us too much and maintains wonderful Charming and Snow voices. And Snow is her usual badass self. Who could dislike that?
Vids:
To The Dogs Or Whoever by
greensilver (on the occasion of
sweetestdrain 's birthday)
Fandom: What are you, new?
Characters: Snow White, Prince Charming
Summary: In the dark, I thought I heard somebody call.
WARNING: Unf.
Okay, I'll let you know ahead of time that these two are my OTP to conquer OTPs. I never actually thought I'd call any pairing my OTP and mean it, but wow. There is so much to love about these two. The banter, the amazing, and...ugh. My heart. ♥♥♥ I could never explain it fully, so I direct you here, here, and here. But with this vidlet,
greensilver has captured what makes these two...well, I want to say "irresistible", but I'd prefer something less cheesy. Charming is wonderful, Charming is great, but without Mary Margaret/Snow being as centered and self-reliant a person as she is, this show would be completely flat. Snow is who you fall for, and Mary Margaret's journey back to Snow is who you stay for.
*There is no prize.
**There is no address. This entry was originally posted at http://foursweatervests.dreamwidth.org/67539.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
ETA: I have edited these cut tags so many times I don't know which way is up. ::crazyeyes::
For efficiency's sake, from left to right we have: Sheriff Graham (no last name) who seems like he'll turn out to be The Queen's Woodsman. The Evil Queen, aka Regina Mills, Snow White, aka Mary Margaret Blanchard; Prince (James) Charming, aka David Nolan; Rumpelstiltskin, aka Mr. Gold, Henry Mills, and Emma Swan. Guess who's the protagonist. G'head. Guess.
If you guessed EMMA SWAN you win the prize*! Please send your information to the address** below for the chance to win ONE MILLION PENNIES!
Emma is the daughter of Snow and Charming, sent to this world to save theirs. Her son is Henry, whom she gave up for adoption when she had him at 18. (Fair warning, this show has a very strong view on adoption. I am totally unqualified to talk about adoption at all, but
leupagus has a pretty decent post here talking about the pros and cons of how adoption is viewed on Once Upon A Time.) Emma is the one who can save the inhabitants of Storybrooke from unhappily-ever-afters. Emma is a bailbondswoman from Boston. Emma is pretty rad.
Meet Henry. Henry is Regina's adopted son, Emma's by birth, and a student in Mary Margaret Blanchard's fifth(?)-grade class. He's also convinced that his mother is The Evil Queen and that life in Storybrooke is a curse wrought by TEQ in order to kill all the happy endings.
As you can tell, Henry's really the one who gets the ball rolling. Henry is a kid after my own heart. He brings Emma back to Storybrooke by stealing his teacher's credit card on WhosYourMomma.com (is it terrible that the missing apostrophe really bothers me?), takes the bus to Boston by himself, and starts the clock on Regina's (TEQ's) reign of terror via Operation Cobra. I totally named all my secret operations Operation Cobra when I was a kid. I still do.
Next we have the Evil Queen, Regina Mills, Henry (the small one's) adoptive mother. She's a tough one to figure out, but actress Lana Parrilla is doing a brilliant job making you want to understand why she's become an Evil Queen. She's terribly broken, but wasn't always so, and I'm holding out hope that there's redemption for her in the end. I want everyone to get a happy ending.
Meet Snow White (Mary Margaret Blanchard). She's the badass lady with the sword. And behind her is Prince Charming. This shot basically encompasses why I am in love with this show: the women do more than hold their own; they run the show. They cast the curses, they break the spell, they save Prince Charming and, hopefully, the possibility of happy endings. And that's what I see in this show, really; the promise of happy endings. Emma's job is to save the happy endings. We just don't know how she'll go about it. I'm tired of shows breaking my heart. I want one that I can count on to be amazing and engaging and lovely.
Snow is, as I've said before, is a take-charge kind of gal, and her counterpart, Mary Margaret Blanchard, isn't terribly so, to date. Before anyone expresses dissatisfaction with our Mary Margaret, I have to say that loneliness does a lot of damage to people in different ways. It seems that Snow grew up in a kingdom, surrounded by people, and though she was exiled and lived on her own for some time, she knew she was being exiled. She had someone - one person in particular - to blame. In Storybrooke, however, Mary Margaret can't find someone to love, or someone who loves her back, and cannot figure out why. There's no external reason for her loneliness, and nowadays that's more a call for introspection than to grab a sword and run off to the forest. (Mary Margaret is a schoolteacher. Henry's, in fact. In my day, teachers were too smart to leave their purse where their students could access it. Tsk, tsk, Mary Margaret.) Mo Ryan says it better than I ever could here.
Meet Prince Charming (aka James in Fairy Tale Land, and David Nolan in Storybrooke, ME). (And, okay, I couldn't resist sneaking a little Snow/Mary Margaret Blanchard in there. She's just so lovely.) He could have been such a Ken-doll cliché, and yet the writers and actor imbue him with such an earnestness that you'd have to be crazy not to at least grudgingly like the guy. He's clever and funny and nice, much like Prince Charming actually should be. You can't help but root for Charming and Snow to fight their way free of the curse and find their way back to each other again.
Next we have Rumpelstiltskin, AKA Mr. Gold. God, I wish he looked like this:
Instead, this is Rumpelstiltskin. Robert Carlyle so embodies creepy when he's in his Rumpelstiltskin makeup that I cringe every time he's onscreen. As Mr. Gold, though, he's so quiet and calm that I can't help but believe him half the time when he's spinning his tales. Mr. Gold runs Storybrooke, and the more we see of Fairy Tale Land, the more it seems he runs that, too. He's a clever one, Rumpelstiltskin. So clever that I have to wonder if he isn't letting The Evil Queen use this curse for a lark.
Meet Sheriff Graham (no last name) who most likely will play the Queen's Woodsman. He's consistently demonstrated that, to the Evil Queen, he might seem as if he's in her pocket, but he follows his conscience when the decisions might have more impact. He's a handsome devil, too. The fun thing about Sheriff Graham is that the show seems to be setting him up as Emma's future possible love interest, but they're more interested in developing characters, relationships, and backstories than shoving them down our throat. I'm really enjoying how this is playing out so far.
And for posterity's sake, we'll include Henry's therapist, Jiminy Crickett (Dr. Archie Hopper). He's adorable; I had to include him. For more meta on his episode, Tricia Long has a nice recap article here.
As for the other inhabitants of Storybrooke, we've also met Cinderella and her Prince, Ruby, AKA Red Riding Hood and her Grandma, Grumpy - and the rest of the dwarves, but Grumpy keeps popping up - Gepetto, and a host of others. I really can't wait to see who's up next.
Links and whatnot:
Here is a pretty darn good recap of how the pilot episode treats women, and with the notable exception of Cinderella in 1x04, has continued to do so. And, honestly, I wouldn't be watching if it weren't a damn good show, all "social justice cap" aside.
FuckyeahOnceUponATime on tumblr has great links and gifs like you wouldn't believe. And possibly links to some dls.....
An interview with Jennifer Morrisson, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas and Robert Carlyle while at ComiCon, who respectively play Emma, Snow White, Prince (James) Charming, and Rumpelstiltskin. If the spelling's wrong on the last one, don't blame me. Blame my laziness and Google. These are definitely my favorite interviews out of all the ones I've seen so far. (ETA: The first interview is the main three characters only. The second one also includes Carlyle.)
Here is an article Mo Ryan does on the differences between 'Once' and 'Lost' - for those of you not in the know, 'Once' was conceived by and is written by two previous 'Lost' writers.
Finally, the fanworks.
Fic:
Ubermorgen hol ich mir der Königin ihr Kind by
waldorph
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Characters: Rumpelstiltskin, OFC
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin just wants a baby.
Boy, does he ever.
waldorph was speculating about why Rumpelstiltskin wanted a child so, so badly post 1x03, and while my personal vote was for brushing lightly with olive oil, grilling and chomping down on some delicious babyflesh, she had a slightly different take on things. (I still say Rumpelstiltskin's teeth aren't just for show, but I can very easily see - now - how he would make an awesome father. Still wouldn't give him my baby, though.)
One Deal by
impertinence
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Characters: Emma Swan, Regina Mills
Summary: Regina and Emma make a deal, and then have sex. (PWP)
WARNING: If hatesex isn't for you, this probably isn't your cup of tea. But it is delicious tea, so I urge you to try it.
Honestly, I buy it. Especially after the 1x05, where during the entire reconciliation scene, and Emma and Regina learning to work together I just keep muttering, "Yes! That's what Henry needs: a two-mommy household! That's why he went to find Emma!" because, honestly? They would be so goddamn adorable. And when Emma went in and grabbed both Henry's and Regina's shoulders at the same time once they'd pulled him out of the mine? It was like all my dreams were coming true in an instant. Sigh. ♥ And my opinion has been backed up on AfterEllen! Or I'm backing up her opinion...at any rate, there is correspondence.
Breathe Finally Free by VegaOfTheLyre
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Characters: Snow White, Prince Charming (James), Possibly Other Prince Charming (Thomas, who is decidedly less charming if he's the one who marries Cinderella.)
Summary: “No net?”
“Didn’t need it this time,” he says. “I thought I’d find you here.” When her eyes flick up to his he is struck tongue-tied and foolish, and he clears his throat.
WARNING: Main-character, canon pairing ahead.
This is sure to be jossed in an episode or two, but it's a lovely little fic that illustrates one of the possible ways Charming and Snow carry on their not-so-secret secret love for one another. I adore it; VegaOfTheLyre fills in backstory without showing us too much and maintains wonderful Charming and Snow voices. And Snow is her usual badass self. Who could dislike that?
Vids:
To The Dogs Or Whoever by
greensilver (on the occasion of
sweetestdrain 's birthday)
Fandom: What are you, new?
Characters: Snow White, Prince Charming
Summary: In the dark, I thought I heard somebody call.
WARNING: Unf.
Okay, I'll let you know ahead of time that these two are my OTP to conquer OTPs. I never actually thought I'd call any pairing my OTP and mean it, but wow. There is so much to love about these two. The banter, the amazing, and...ugh. My heart. ♥♥♥ I could never explain it fully, so I direct you here, here, and here. But with this vidlet,
greensilver has captured what makes these two...well, I want to say "irresistible", but I'd prefer something less cheesy. Charming is wonderful, Charming is great, but without Mary Margaret/Snow being as centered and self-reliant a person as she is, this show would be completely flat. Snow is who you fall for, and Mary Margaret's journey back to Snow is who you stay for.
*There is no prize.
**There is no address. This entry was originally posted at http://foursweatervests.dreamwidth.org/67539.html. Please comment there using OpenID.