Items | How ‘Once Upon a Time’ Kept Narrative Fresh in Season 2

In 2011, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz ventured into the mystical and endless world of fairy tales to deliver something very interesting and original: ‘Once Upon a Time’. While it didn’t achieve exquisite technical perfection – including the special effects that seem to have sprung from a raw cinematic hodgepodge – its greatest brilliance came with the very well-structured narrative and characters, which are part of the fabulous cosmos itself. , entered our world through a drastic curse. With the end of the first season, the future of the series became uncertain, as the spell cast by the main antagonist was broken and the inhabitants of quiet and mysterious Storybrooke were reminded of who they really were.

However, the duo managed to keep expectations alive for their show by introducing an as-yet-unknown side – as Magical Realms continued after The Dark Curse was released, introducing new characters who seamlessly merged with those we knew. already. And, as if that weren’t enough, the character arc found much greater dramatic development, further deconstructing classic figures from millennial tales and adding some very interesting layers to maintain the connections created between fiction and reality – and embrace the audience in a very engaging way. .

Sure, the second season of “Once Upon a Time” doesn’t speak to the brilliance and originality of the original iteration, but it still structures the episodes into a competent crescendo that pervades differentiated subplots, although that it supports certain scenic conventionalisms. However, the formulas used are limited to the composition of the imagery, moving the scenario away from clichés: the dialogues are written in detail and rescue the previous sub-narratives to deepen the interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships – we have, for example, episodes in which the characterization of Little Red Riding Hood, also known by her alter-ego Ruby (Meghan Ory), she finds a quest for self-knowledge, after accepting the fact of transforming into a wolf every full moon, going in search of his pack and his mother in the distant past, while fighting his instincts, as the magic returns to the small port town.

Either way, it’s the fuss of Regina (Lana Parrilla), the Evil Queen, along with all the other residents of Storybrooke that’s on display here. After discovering that she, along with Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) were the only ones still carrying their memories, the inhabitants of the ancient Enchanted Forest went on a witch hunt, wishing for the witch’s head on a platter. However, they weren’t counting on the Dark Lord performing a spell to retrieve the magical essences of all the inhabitants, leaving to seek revenge against Regina, who kept Belle (Emilie De Ravin) locked up in a mental institution for nearly thirty years. . , and his son, Bealfire, who came to our world a long time ago and now lives under the mask of Neal Cassidy (Michael Raymond-James).

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But there are two other storylines that steal the center of the season: the first takes Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Emma (Jennifer Morrison) through a portal to the world where they really belong – or at least where Snow belongs. Reverting to the form she once lost in the garb of Mary Margaret, the dethroned queen now abandons her inclinations of timidity and submissiveness and becomes the warrior we know, ready to save each of her subjects and friends in danger. However, her daughter is still struggling to understand what is happening, refusing to recreate the lost links with her mother, with her father and with all her family who abandoned her twenty-eight years ago at the foot of an enchanted tree. .

It’s these little conflicts that spice up the long episodes, providing an interesting dynamism for the series to continue. And it is with these gaps that other characters appear or return to the small screens, such as Cora (Barbara Hershey), Regina’s mother who remained isolated with a whole kingdom of her daughter’s curse and now returns to throw the world in fire and chaos. , and Killian Hook (Colin O’Donoghue), a more charming and ruthless version of Captain Hook. The two team up to become the true antagonists, prompting Regina to rediscover the roots of the Evil Queen as well as small moments of redemption that are explored throughout the chapters.

The first half meets a tragic ending that shatters the definitions of good guys and bad guys we know, deconstructing stereotypes in favor of even more realistic constructions of fairytale characters. Snow shows that she’s not a benevolent hero all the time, even going so far as to persuade Regina to indirectly kill her own mother. Meanwhile, the Evil Queen also proves she’s not that bad, becoming someone whose life was based on loss and suffering, culminating in the cruel ruler who now terrifies everyone.

The series also finds fertile ground to unite the outside world in Storybrooke, lowering the magical barriers planted by Regina and allowing ordinary people to find the town and realize that magic really exists. It’s here that Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Greenn) and Owen (Ethan Embry) gain valuable space to grow, posing an even greater threat to each of the fairytale characters. In fact, the mundane design actually collides as they reveal their true identities in shocking dramatic outbursts that also foreshadow a rather interesting premise for the upcoming season.

The second year of “Once Upon a Time” innovates in many ways, even if it does not maintain the same originality as the original season. But even so, the plots and characters are compelling enough to satisfy fans and the show’s growing audience, taking advantage of the most diverse flaws to refute everything we know.

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