Miss last night’s episode? Here’s what you need to know about ONCE UPON A TIME’s “Broken”
AIRDATE: 9/30/12 WRITERS: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz DIRECTOR: Ralph Hemecker SYNOPSIS: As the understandably angry denizens of Storybrooke attempt to come to grips with their new and curiously magical reality, Mr. Gold decides to punish Mayor Regina for imprisoning Belle by calling upon a Harry Potter-esque Dementor ring-wraith to suck out her soul. Needless to say, chaos ensues. Particularly after Henry insists that Emma, Snow and “Grandpa” Charming save his “mother’s” life. Meanwhile, in fairy-tale world, Prince Phillip and Mulan must stave off a similarly soul-sucking ring-wraith after awakening a sleeping beauty named Princess Aurora. INTRODUCED: A season’s worth of exciting new characters including the aforementioned Phillip, Aurora and Mulan — and more importantly to the crux of the season — a well-dressed New Yorker with a mysterious and unexplained interest in Storybrooke. NOTABLE QUOTABLE: “Maybe I don’t need answers. Maybe I just need to punch you in the face!” was how Emma Swan decided to start off her interrogation of Mr. Gold in the hopes of getting some answers. LESSONS LEARNED: Well, aside from the obvious fact that ABC certainly upped ONCE UPON A TIME’s visual effects budget this year (See: Fairy-tale fashions and production design inspired by GAME OF THRONES), Emma Swan will continue to play an immensely pivotal role in this enchanting series thanks to last night’s reminder that she not only owes Mr. Gold a favor, but also has a touch of magic in her. Literally. For it was her touch that enabled Mayor Regina to activate the dormant magic in Jefferson’s Hat and save her life in the process! CRITIQUE: Despite an epically cool cold open that had us scouring the internet for clues as to whom this mysterious Manhattanite is, not to mention some absolutely priceless reactions from the Storybrooke townsfolk who seem to be having a little trouble coming to grips with their fairy-tale alter egos (Loved both Regina’s reaction to realizing her magic ain’t what it used to be and Emma’s argument for being angry at parents Snow and Charming, who made the choice to protect her versus get cursed together. “It doesn’t change the fact that for my entire life, I’ve been alone,” said Emma.), last night’s season opener fell short in one very important respect. Namely, the show’s continued insistence on taking pages from LOST’s playbook by spending a solid fifty percent of its premiere introducing entirely new characters rather than allow audiences to catch up with the ones they’ve missed all summer long. That said, ending off Sunday’s adventure by transporting Snow and Emma back to what is left of the fairy-tale world and inadvertently coming face-to-face with Aurora and Mulan in the process already has us counting down the hours until next week’s episode. GRADE: B
ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8PM on ABC (7PM on CTV in Canada) Catch up on past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv