Once Upon A Time 2.0

So what do you think?

The first three seasons of Once Upon A Time were among the best television ever produced and it was a show my daughter and I loved to watch together. After our home caught fire, it was one of the things that gave us a sense of normalcy. Weird to have “normalcy” around a show about fairy tales right? But we loved it. The last three seasons however lost some of that spark. And while I still loved the show, there were times it became formulaic. Other times there were hints of the brilliance that made it so good to begin with. But I loved how Season 6 ended! FINALLY, everyone got their happy ending!

Reunited once again, Emma, Hook, and Henry are all together. But who let’s their kid go off for years without a word?

And then they announced Season 7 would NOT include Emma Swan! Or many of the characters we had grown to love. Instead they were basically rebooting the series with Henry now grown up and having to find his own story. In a bizarre twist, his story still includes Regina (adoptive mother), Hook (stepdad), and Rumpelstiltskin (grandfather). How? What? Why? I have to admit, I was approaching Season 7 with some trepidation. But this feels right. For those who loved the first iteration of Once Upon A Time it can remain complete while Once 2.0 can start anew.

Lana Parrilla’s “Roni” is terrific. Her acting chops are seriously good and this interpretation of her character is amazing.

So with two episodes in the book, what about Season 7?

While the convoluted nature of the Once Universe is still in full force, the magic that drew me in to the show in the first place seems to be back! I love the new Hook twist. I love Lana Parilla’s “Roni.” I love Robert Carlyle’s new take on Rumple. And I love how they explained why Emma is no longer on the show. Clever AND believable. As for the new cast, I love Gabrielle Anwar. She is not only a nasty piece of work as the new main villain, but she carries her role with a pretty intense command. Big fan of Mekia Cox as Tiana also. She has that spark that really ignites her character.

Gabrielle Anwar is amazing as Victoria / Lady Tremaine and can’t wait to see where she goes with it. Will she be an overarching villain or just the villain of the season?

As for the drawbacks? So far, not a big fan of Dania Ramirez and that could be trouble considering she plays such a huge role in this new universe (at least so far). She just seems too desperate and too headstrong all at the same time. Alison Fernandez is cute but so far has some weaknesses carrying her role. But she is so darn adorable it’s easy to forgive her and hopefully she will grow into the role as Jared did. It’s also weird that Emma would let Henry take off for YEARS without a word. I get the whole “letting go” as a parent idea, but come on – is there an opposite of helicopter parenting? And it’s a little weird that Hyperion Heights is a full-on city instead of a town like Storybrooke. How many storybook characters are there anyway?

Rose Reynolds portrayal of Alice is mysterious and intriguing. Can’t wait to find out more about her character as the season unfolds!

But I like the direction the show is going. It’s reinvigorated that feeling I had when I first started watching the show. And I find myself once again looking forward to the next episode and whatever magic will be revealed. I’m hoping Dania Ramirez’ portrayal of Cinderella will improve because it’s really distracting for me. I do enjoy the twist the show introduced that Cinderella was Hispanic! That was awesome! In the past, the creators have toyed with the backgrounds of the characters, reshaping villains into heroes and vice versa. Now they are once again reshaping expectations which is GREAT! I’m looking forward to seeing what else they do. Are you?