OUAT season 1 - disc 6
The last disc of my season 1 rewatch!
In ‘An Apple Red as Blood’, they crank it all up, opening with Regina’s heightened dream (which is a new register). Emma flailed around, not believing, after Henry aborted the intended abduction out of Storybrooke - MM was understandably miffed that Emma had intended to leave on her without a word. Regina decided taking extreme measures was the way to be rid of Emma.
In the Enchanted Forest, between guillotines and parlays, Snow and her band of friend (the strength of their relationships nicely built up over the season) tried to rescue Charming. I PRESUMED many knights were just sleeping after the fairies/Snow and Grumpy knocked them out. (They were just doing their jobs!) We finally saw how Regina got Snow to eat The Poisoned Apple. (By threatening Charming.) Snow had many hero moments.
In Storybrooke, Henry had a big hero moment too, in the middle of a harrowing farewell scene with Emma (harrowing because of Morrison’s acting and Henry’s dialogue). He sacrificed himself, as I knew he would (although, if I’m honest, there were things I expected to happen in these final episodes that actually happened in season 2.)
As you’d hope, ‘A Land Without Magic’ improved on that. It brought back most of the cast. I squee’d at the timing of the Huntsman’s appearance coinciding with Jamie Dornan’s name appearing on screen. Well done, OUAT. So many shows scupper their surprise appearances by failing on that point.
It also hit emotional beats aplenty. The most powerful involves Henry appearing to die and Emma’s kiss reviving him (and breaking the curse!) I've always loved their relationship, and I found this truly satisfying.
There was a bit of manoeuvring for the next season: everyone got their memories back, but not their old forms; the purple SFX cloud was coming, Belle’s appearance was more to do with reassuring the viewers she’d be a bigger player in season 2 than to solidify Gold/Rumpelstiltskin’s enmity against Regina, as he was focused on bringing magic to Storybrooke (wanting to get to Baelfire, but doing it in entirely the wrong way.) But Rumpel’s long game fed into the Enchanted Forest plot, with him diverting Charming into the Maleficent mission that Emma would shadow.in an attempt tto save Henry.
Emma had to start believing very quicky as a remorseful Regina and a plotting Rumpelstiltsin dropped the acts.
Snow and Charming overused their catchphrase, but I forgive them for the kiss.
I didn’t think the SFX was always great, but it was a good cap to a season: Henry’s life hanging in the balance held great emotional charge (and allowed the adult actors to perform around the kid.)
Having not loved season 2 so much, I'm undecided as to whether I’ll bother getting season 3 out of mild curiosity. As I have an epic pile of TV DVDs to get through, there’s no rush. Coming up next, a rewatch of season 4 of The OC.
This disc was most generous with the extras, even for when it was made. I’m generally happy with a blooper reel and commentaries, these days, which we got, but the features included one on building the character of Belle with a focus on the costuming - good choice!
This entry was originally posted at https://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/352873.html.
In ‘An Apple Red as Blood’, they crank it all up, opening with Regina’s heightened dream (which is a new register). Emma flailed around, not believing, after Henry aborted the intended abduction out of Storybrooke - MM was understandably miffed that Emma had intended to leave on her without a word. Regina decided taking extreme measures was the way to be rid of Emma.
In the Enchanted Forest, between guillotines and parlays, Snow and her band of friend (the strength of their relationships nicely built up over the season) tried to rescue Charming. I PRESUMED many knights were just sleeping after the fairies/Snow and Grumpy knocked them out. (They were just doing their jobs!) We finally saw how Regina got Snow to eat The Poisoned Apple. (By threatening Charming.) Snow had many hero moments.
In Storybrooke, Henry had a big hero moment too, in the middle of a harrowing farewell scene with Emma (harrowing because of Morrison’s acting and Henry’s dialogue). He sacrificed himself, as I knew he would (although, if I’m honest, there were things I expected to happen in these final episodes that actually happened in season 2.)
As you’d hope, ‘A Land Without Magic’ improved on that. It brought back most of the cast. I squee’d at the timing of the Huntsman’s appearance coinciding with Jamie Dornan’s name appearing on screen. Well done, OUAT. So many shows scupper their surprise appearances by failing on that point.
It also hit emotional beats aplenty. The most powerful involves Henry appearing to die and Emma’s kiss reviving him (and breaking the curse!) I've always loved their relationship, and I found this truly satisfying.
There was a bit of manoeuvring for the next season: everyone got their memories back, but not their old forms; the purple SFX cloud was coming, Belle’s appearance was more to do with reassuring the viewers she’d be a bigger player in season 2 than to solidify Gold/Rumpelstiltskin’s enmity against Regina, as he was focused on bringing magic to Storybrooke (wanting to get to Baelfire, but doing it in entirely the wrong way.) But Rumpel’s long game fed into the Enchanted Forest plot, with him diverting Charming into the Maleficent mission that Emma would shadow.in an attempt tto save Henry.
Emma had to start believing very quicky as a remorseful Regina and a plotting Rumpelstiltsin dropped the acts.
Snow and Charming overused their catchphrase, but I forgive them for the kiss.
I didn’t think the SFX was always great, but it was a good cap to a season: Henry’s life hanging in the balance held great emotional charge (and allowed the adult actors to perform around the kid.)
Having not loved season 2 so much, I'm undecided as to whether I’ll bother getting season 3 out of mild curiosity. As I have an epic pile of TV DVDs to get through, there’s no rush. Coming up next, a rewatch of season 4 of The OC.
This disc was most generous with the extras, even for when it was made. I’m generally happy with a blooper reel and commentaries, these days, which we got, but the features included one on building the character of Belle with a focus on the costuming - good choice!
This entry was originally posted at https://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/352873.html.