I’ve watched the first three episodes of ABC’s Once Upon a Time, and I’ve got to say, I’m really loving it. It’s a lovely combo of real life meets fairy tale with a dash of dystopian. Based off of the growing interest in reworked fairy tales and the continued popularity in dystopian fiction, it’s a pretty clever mix.
If you haven’t seen it, Once Upon a Time takes all of the fairy tale characters we know and love and, due to a curse meant to take away their happy endings, they are transported to Storybrook, Maine, where they are locked in a prison of mundane lives.
What I love about this show
First, have you ever been to Maine in the winter? I cannot think of a more perfect place to to send people if you want them to live out miserable lives. Not to say I’ve got anything against Maine, but even the most die hard Maine fan has to admit, it’s desolate and down right scary in the winter.
The second thing I love about it is that it takes the story of Snow White and mixes it up. As the story progresses through the episodes, we are shown pieces from before the curse juxtaposed with scenes from post-curse. Think Lost, which, since Once Upon a Time was created by two of the writers from Lost, makes sense.
Reworking Fairy Tales
Reworked fairy tales, when they work, are wonderful. There is comfort in already knowing the main characters, but there is also an added interest in not knowing how the events will play out. And I’ve got to say, so far the reworking and expansion of this fairy tale is proving to be quite successful. I cannot wait to see more.
