Mother's day and OUAT
May. 14th, 2012 09:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marguerite_26Mother's day... spent it looking after a sick kid. How appropriate is that? Eldest has developed this horrible barking cough and was up all night Saturday, and again last night.
Anyway... my thoughts on last night's Once Upon a Time Finale.
Now that is fantastic storytelling! As I said on Twitter: Nice resolution of major plot points and introductions of new tensions. TwistyTurny awesomeness
but I cannot be limited to 140 characters on this.
Disclaimer: I don't want to compare it to Merlin because well... despite its faults Merlin is actually more enjoyable for me to watch for many reasons and not just for the pretty. But that is for an entirely different post.
On to OUAT.
Wow. heh. I was NOT expecting that. The biggest thing that struck me with last night's finale was the choice they made to take what easily could have become 'What they whole show is about' (IE: Breaking the curse) and just BOOM. Fucking BROKEN. Unexpectedly, beautifully, APPROPRIATELY.
They refused to allow it to become this albatross around their neck, where Emma was blind and Henry and Mr. Gold and Regina and Jefferson were the only ones with any knowledge. They could have milked that for at least another season. *cough*ORFIVE*cough* But instead, right off the bat -- Emma's eyes are open. That was a huge shock.
Dragon fights, with the Father/Daughter parallels, hit all my plot consistency buttons. Because while we've seen lots of Emma and Mary Margaret and I ~believe they are mother/daughter, I personally don't look at David and Emma and think Father/daughter. I see 'girl and the guy who broke her mom's heart' But that scene brought it all home.
Other awesome bit: Jefferson (I really like him) freeing Belle and tying up that loose end. And by tying up I mean, solving one issue and introducing like five more storylines they can write about.
see that? That is good storytelling... not ~resolution of everything, but moving the story forward so that New Exciting things can be shown based on the mess that 'resolution' created. Immediately it was Dear God, Mr. Gold is going to fucking KILL Regina. (though I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get a chance to see him totally lose it when he realised what she'd done. he was way too focused on his ultimate plan, which says interesting things about his character, though it may have just been for lack of time that we didn't get a drawn-out reaction to that reveal).
I'm getting distracted, due lack of sleep but also too many aspects I have thoughts on.
But now the big big big unexpected twist!!! Curse is broken for everyone! Hot damn! What a way to end season 1: the saviour DOES HER JOB. After about 45 seconds of everyone, everywhere remembering and snow/charming kiss and Gold/belle hug and Regina freaking out... the audience breathes a sigh of satisfaction because yessssssssssss this is what we were waiting for!!!! And we got it!!!! YAY!
But wait... The show has been renewed. What the fuck will next season be about?
Then Gold drops the true love potion in the wishing well to get back the thing he's lost (audience is nodding along: his son!!! his son!!! we all know that's what this is all about! Rump getting his son back!) but there's one other thing Gold's lost.
And I got a shiver down my spine (and I'm sure Belle did too) as we see the one thing Gold wants more than his son: MAGIC.
And just like that, with purple fog rolling through the land, the power dynamics in the show have once again shifted and an entire world of storylines just opened up for S2.
THAT is a fucking awesome Season Finale and fucking awesome story telling.
You take risks and you look FORWARD. You blow your audiences mind. Thank you, OUAT, for blowing my mind.
Anyway... my thoughts on last night's Once Upon a Time Finale.
Now that is fantastic storytelling! As I said on Twitter: Nice resolution of major plot points and introductions of new tensions. TwistyTurny awesomeness
but I cannot be limited to 140 characters on this.
Disclaimer: I don't want to compare it to Merlin because well... despite its faults Merlin is actually more enjoyable for me to watch for many reasons and not just for the pretty. But that is for an entirely different post.
On to OUAT.
Wow. heh. I was NOT expecting that. The biggest thing that struck me with last night's finale was the choice they made to take what easily could have become 'What they whole show is about' (IE: Breaking the curse) and just BOOM. Fucking BROKEN. Unexpectedly, beautifully, APPROPRIATELY.
They refused to allow it to become this albatross around their neck, where Emma was blind and Henry and Mr. Gold and Regina and Jefferson were the only ones with any knowledge. They could have milked that for at least another season. *cough*ORFIVE*cough* But instead, right off the bat -- Emma's eyes are open. That was a huge shock.
Dragon fights, with the Father/Daughter parallels, hit all my plot consistency buttons. Because while we've seen lots of Emma and Mary Margaret and I ~believe they are mother/daughter, I personally don't look at David and Emma and think Father/daughter. I see 'girl and the guy who broke her mom's heart' But that scene brought it all home.
Other awesome bit: Jefferson (I really like him) freeing Belle and tying up that loose end. And by tying up I mean, solving one issue and introducing like five more storylines they can write about.
see that? That is good storytelling... not ~resolution of everything, but moving the story forward so that New Exciting things can be shown based on the mess that 'resolution' created. Immediately it was Dear God, Mr. Gold is going to fucking KILL Regina. (though I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get a chance to see him totally lose it when he realised what she'd done. he was way too focused on his ultimate plan, which says interesting things about his character, though it may have just been for lack of time that we didn't get a drawn-out reaction to that reveal).
I'm getting distracted, due lack of sleep but also too many aspects I have thoughts on.
But now the big big big unexpected twist!!! Curse is broken for everyone! Hot damn! What a way to end season 1: the saviour DOES HER JOB. After about 45 seconds of everyone, everywhere remembering and snow/charming kiss and Gold/belle hug and Regina freaking out... the audience breathes a sigh of satisfaction because yessssssssssss this is what we were waiting for!!!! And we got it!!!! YAY!
But wait... The show has been renewed. What the fuck will next season be about?
Then Gold drops the true love potion in the wishing well to get back the thing he's lost (audience is nodding along: his son!!! his son!!! we all know that's what this is all about! Rump getting his son back!) but there's one other thing Gold's lost.
And I got a shiver down my spine (and I'm sure Belle did too) as we see the one thing Gold wants more than his son: MAGIC.
And just like that, with purple fog rolling through the land, the power dynamics in the show have once again shifted and an entire world of storylines just opened up for S2.
THAT is a fucking awesome Season Finale and fucking awesome story telling.
You take risks and you look FORWARD. You blow your audiences mind. Thank you, OUAT, for blowing my mind.
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no subject
Date: 2012-05-14 01:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-14 01:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-14 01:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-14 01:58 pm (UTC)Tight writing and believable twists and turns and loose ends tying up and possibilities opening up have me excited for Season 2.
YES.
believable
Yes, none of it was like WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM??? It all felt like this is what they were leading up to, only I couldn't see it until it happened.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-14 02:33 pm (UTC)It's like.
The first few episodes of this show I was like :D pretty and ~fairy tales and ooh that's kind of fun. And then it became kind of like ... Iwantmorewhyisthis and then once we hit Ruby's ep (I DON'T EVEN KNOW, I LOVE HER SO MUCH AND THAT EP WAS FANTASTIC) it was like ohgodneedallofitnowwww.
I love that they're not afraid to move forward with plots. Too many shows get stuck in the rut of "what the show is about" *coughmerlincough* and draw things out waaaay too long instead of evolving, but so many things have been wrapped up in just one season and there are so many ways to move forward now. I was babbling to my laptop like an idiot all throughout the finale (especially when Henry "died"... for a few seconds I was like oh god what if they do it. She believes now so maybe his character isn't essential oh god. and then I remembered it's not a Joss Whedon show so the kid is *probably* safe, thank fuck) (and then again when the curse broke and all the characters remembered asdijfoiawej SNOW/CHARMING YES <3)
The actors, the writers, the crew, everyone working on this (<3 Amph!) makes for a spectacular blend. Favourite American TV show right now by a long shot. I love Fringe but OUAT IS LIKE FLAWLESS OKAY
/gushes
no subject
Date: 2012-05-14 05:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-14 07:57 pm (UTC)And you nailed it, in particular, about Charming being Emma's dad and how you could see it last night in the nice parallels. Because we had a chance to see it, the entire season, how she bonded with her mom, w/o knowing it was her mom. But she never bonded like that with David (I'm glad, he was a cursed ass), so it was brilliant to a) have her remember not just her mother's heart wrenching goodbye and sacrifice when she gave her up, but to b) see how her father fought fearlessly for her, to get her to safety. I love that she's descended from the very purest of true love, but also she's the child of fearless warriors. Both of them are warriors for Good, and that is as much of a royal and magical legacy as her actual bloodline. \o/
no subject
Date: 2012-05-14 08:30 pm (UTC)I want season 2 now.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-14 08:33 pm (UTC)I hope eldest will recover soon.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-14 11:53 pm (UTC)I loved the Queen's smirk at the magic coming back.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-15 01:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-15 04:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-16 02:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-17 01:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-18 09:31 am (UTC)♥ Every day is mother's day, because moms are great beings and should always be appreciated. Why stick to the day society gave us?