I am sitting in my living room, it’s 11:56 Sunday night, and I have no idea what to say. I have, for the past twenty minutes, been unable to think of a word to describe the Once Upon a Time season 2 premiere. “All-encompassing” sounds too plain, “fantastic” is too modest, and “mind-blowing” still doesn’t quite cut it.
Source: ABC
Fitting to the typical writing style of Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, it was emotional, dramatic, shocking–with a dash of humor–and, of course, ending with a cliffhanger. Fans across the globe grabbed tissues when they saw their beloved Charming Family reunite, cheered when Rumpelstiltskin finally manned-up and gave his woman a kiss, rooted for Regina to prove her love for Henry, and screamed at their television when they realized that Fairytale Land was not in fact lost, and that Emma and Snow White were now trapped there, with no way out.
Our beloved actors were at the top of their game this week, bringing the viewers to tears multiple times. All of the fan favorites had screen time, minus a select few, and we were even introduced to new recurring characters: Mulan, Aurora, and Prince Phillip. And the greatest part? I have, in the last 24 hours, watched the episode a total of six times, and I still have the same emotional reactions for each of those particular scenes. That fact is what made it such an incredible season opener.
Though many questions were posed, and some were answered, there are two very important questions that have stayed prominent in my mind. First, who was the mystery man that the audience was introduced to in the first minute of the episode? As shown by the postcard-bearing pigeon, he clearly has contact with someone in Storybrooke. So what is his purpose? Could he be Baelfire, all grown up? Or the infamous father of Henry? Only time will tell, I suppose.
Source: ABC
Aside from that question, there is very important twist that will eventually need explanation. We learned, in the last five minutes, that there is a corner of Fairytale Land that was not destroyed by the curse. How and why did this occur? Was it an individual person, or a collective power that was able to deflect Regina’s curse? Or could it have been in the “fine print,” which Regina neglected to read, and it’s all a part of Rumpelstiltskin’s master plan.
From the looks of it we are in for a wild ride this season. So the best I can say is brace yourselves; there can only be more tears, shocking twists, and dramatic reunions to come.
