When it comes to the fantasy genre, nothing is impossible. Having at hand so many different legends and stories that you can choose from different mythologies and folklore of the whole world, you really get unlimited possibilities. This is exactly what the ABC channel did when creating the series “Once Upon a Time”. They took the most famous characters, but made their stories richer and brighter, and the connections more passionate and deeper. The result was a fairy tale that the Grimm brothers simply could not imagine at one time.
Begin your introduction to the project with a description of the seasons. Once Upon a Time is an amazing series. He has many fans and those who criticize, but he is unlikely to leave anyone indifferent, because we are all from childhood.
The first season - an invitation to a fairy tale
The main storyline fully unfolds in the first season and finds development in subsequent series - this is the confrontation between the Savior and the Evil Queen in the struggle for peace and son.
In the royal palace at the wedding of the Prince Charming and Snow White, the Evil Queen appears. According to the law of the genre, it is with an unpleasant gift - a curse that will take all the inhabitants to the “terrible place” that our modern world has become. In it, fairy tales will not have happy endings, however, no one will remember who he was in a past life, until the end of time. And only the dark magician Rumpelstiltskin (the master of transactions) and the Evil Queen can start a new life, but without magic. Snow White agrees to a deal with the magician to save her newborn daughter. In a magic wardrobe, the baby enters our world. She is picked up on the side of the road and taken to a shelter.
After 28 years, a boy appears on the threshold of the house of the collector Emma Swan, Henry, who turned out to be her son, whom she once gave for adoption. Not wanting to deal with him, she decides to take him home to Storybrooke. On the way, Henry shows her an old book of fairy tales. He claims that all the inhabitants of Storybrooke are fabulous heroes, they just don’t remember who they are, because the Evil Queen, his adoptive mother, bewitched them. Only Emma can lift the spell, because she is the Savior. Having received this information with skepticism at first, Swan gradually begins to trust his son, and big changes come to the city.
Second season: description
In Season 2 of Once Upon a Time, the protagonists will have to face new challenges. The spell has fallen, but no return has been made to the Enchanted Forest. This is a new challenge for Swan to bring everyone home. However, a new wave of purple smoke covers the city, which means that the magic has returned, the fairy tale and reality are combined. Mr. Gold (Rumpelstiltskin) called on magic to defeat Regina (the Evil Queen).
If we turn to the description of the episodes of season 2 of Once Upon a Time, we can see that each episode is a new story against the background of the main storyline. The viewer is periodically immersed in the past, so that he better understands the present, unfolding in two worlds: the real and the fabulous. Gold will have to find a son and lose him again, Regina - to meet her mother, whom she once sent to a magical exile, Swan - to meet old love and realize her mission, well, and the inhabitants of Storybrooke are again in danger.
In the second season, new characters appear : Captain Hook, Belfire (Gold's son), Red Queen, Aurora, Mulan, Victor Frankenstein, Mad Hatter, Robin Hood, Pinocchio.
Third season
Description of season 3 “Once Upon a Time” should begin with the fact that Henry is kidnapped. Therefore, half of the season is devoted to his salvation from Netlandia. As it turned out, this is a much darker and more cruel place than the audience could remember from the tale of a flying boy from a country in which no one ever grows up. The enemy is much more dangerous than the Dark Magician and the heroes will have to combine their efforts for a while, forgetting about the differences and hostility.
The remaining 11 episodes of the second season, Once Upon a Time, take place one year after. The description of these episodes in a few words sounds like "a return to Storybrooke and a new battle." Emma and Henry live in New York with false memories of the past. And everything seems to be fine, but something oppresses both the boy and his mother. Suddenly Captain Hook appears on the doorstep and claims that Storybrooke is not destroyed, and the Enchanted Forest is in danger. The inhabitants of the fairy kingdom again need Emma, but the captain's task is to return her memories and recall her mission. The wicked witch of the West threatens to take revenge on Regina, and along with the whole Enchanted Forest. This time the threat is stronger, and the enemy is more powerful and more insidious.
In the third season, the viewer will get acquainted with new (or well-forgotten old) characters: Zelina the Great Witch (pictured above), the little mermaid Ariel, Peter Pan, Blackbeard, Glinda from the country of Oz, Rapunzel.
Once Upon a Time: Season 4 Description
This time the danger comes from the Snow Queen Ingrid. She arrives in the city after her young niece and young sorceress Elsa. Elsa is looking for sister Anna and her fiance. Once in Storybrooke, she is scared and creates a snow monster for her protection. At this time, Gold is inspired by his honeymoon, Regina is depressed from breaking up with Robin Hood, Hook is trying to establish a relationship with Emma.
According to the meaning, the 4th season of Once Upon a Time is divided into two parts. The description of the first 11 episodes begins with the slogan: "Never back down from those people whom you love." Dark and light magicians will reunite (or pretend) to defeat the Snow Queen, because alone Gold can not cope with it alone.
The second half of the season is devoted to a greater degree of transformation, which occurs with Regina. She is looking for the author of a book of fairy tales to write a happy ending to her story. However, she is not alone. Gold, while in exile outside Storybrooke, has already made a team of Queens of Darkness: Cruella de Ville, Maleficent and Ursula. But this is not enough, it is important for him to lure Emma to the side of darkness. In addition to new villains, this season there are characters from Frozen (the storyline allowed to maximize the rating of the series), as well as Marilyn and Poseidon.
Fifth season
When describing the season 5 “Once Upon a Time”, you should remember the login of its first part (11 episodes): “No one can stay good forever ...”. It sounds threatening and with a degree of pessimism. Perhaps this is the darkest season, because the Savior, to protect her loved ones and the city, sacrifices herself, and now she is the Dark Guard. She is trying to resist, but struggling with the power of the Dark is becoming more difficult. Only the union of the heroes and villains of Storybrooke can save her.
The second part of the season is not inferior to the first in seriousness of mood. A whole team led by Emma and the Dark Mage goes to the Underworld. There they will not only encounter enemies and Hades themselves (the creators of the series did not pass over Greek mythology), but also deceased relatives, to forgive once and for all past offenses.
As part of the fifth season, the premiere of the hundredth episode of the series took place. In honor of this event, such characters as Peter Pan, Queen of Hearts, Blind Witch, Dorothy from Oz returned to the project.
Sixth season
The fact that the scriptwriters are finding it increasingly difficult, and the plot is gradually becoming obsolete, can be understood by studying the list of characters in the description of season 6 of Once Upon a Time. The series went beyond the usual fairy-tale world earlier, but the further, the more. This time, viewers will encounter the characters of the gothic novel by R. Stevenson - Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll, who infiltrated Storybrooke. Among the secondary characters are Captain Nemo, Princess Jasmine, Aladdin, Morpheus, Count of Monte Cristo and others.
When it seemed that Storybrooke would finally heal a quiet life, new villains burst into him. Dark forces threaten from several sides at once. Firstly, the ominous Hyde from the Land of untold stories. Secondly, the dark half of the Evil Queen (who separated from her last season), suffering from unhappy love. She again cast a spell on the prince and Snow White - this is clear from the detailed description of the series.
In Season 6, Once Upon a Time, Rumpelstiltskin's mother, the Black Fairy, is suddenly announced. She steals her newborn grandson and he returns to Storybrooke as an adult. It turns out that it was he who was to kill the Savior. The final battle of good and evil is coming.
Seventh season - a new story begins
Many fans of the television series, having glanced at the description of the season 7 “Once in a fairy tale”, will be very surprised, because they will not find well-known and loved characters there. The slogan of the final season sounds like: "A new book - opens." Is it good? Judge the viewers.
When Operation Cobra ended, Henry Mills turned 16 years old. He left Storybrooke. In search of his own fairy tale, he opened a portal, said goodbye to his mothers and transferred to another world. He has to find the love of his life, friends, and survive more than one battle.
But what do we see in the pilot episode 7 of Once Upon a Time? The description of the episode can be repeated by analogy with the first series of the first season, but exactly the opposite. Now, a girl appears on the threshold of Henry and declares that she is his daughter, and the inhabitants of one of the Seattle districts are fairy-tale heroes who have forgotten who they really are because of the curse. And so the viewer sees the new Cinderella, her sisters and stepmother, Rapunzel, Princess Tiana, Hansel and Gretel, Alice, etc.
Critics did not appreciate the final season, however, and many viewers attacked the screenwriters with criticism. The series lacks the former drive, saturation, vivid characters and dynamics. The viewer has already seen all this, in a slightly different format and with a better acting.
Savior
Jennifer Morrison appears in all of Once Upon a Time. Description of the main characters should start with her heroine - Emma Swan. Raised in the "system" Emma, earns a living by knocking out debts. Her life changes dramatically after the appearance of Henry - her biological son, whom she gave for adoption 10 years ago. He encourages her to return to Storybrooke and restore the happy ends of all fairy tales, because she is the Savior. In the fourth season finale, Emma absorbs the power of the Dark One, saving the city. She becomes the main antagonist until the eighth episode of the season.
The game Morrison was noted by some critics from a positive point of view: the actress contributed a bit of feminism and strong female leadership to the image of a fairy-tale character. The basis of her transformation from a broken and oppressed woman into a strong leader is a tale of an ugly duckling, from where, in her own words, her last name is Swan (swan - a swan from English).
Evil queen
The evil queen in the Enchanted Forest and Regina Mills in the real world are the roles of the magnificent Lana Parria, for which the actress was praised by critics as the main antagonist of the project. In addition, literally from the first minutes of her debut, she became a favorite of the fans of the series. Needless to say, what delight did she bring them with her stylish, bright and daring outfits. Do you know other so sexy and attractive witches?
Regina is the daughter of the sorceress Kore. It was she who pushed the kind and courageous girl by nature onto the path of dark magic. After the murder of her lover, in which Regina blamed Snow White, she turned to Rumpelstiltskin for help. He helped her punish the guilty and the enemies. But magic is not given in vain; darkness enveloped Regina’s heart, turning it into the Evil Queen. Having imposed a terrible spell, she, along with other fairy-tale characters, ended up in the real world.
In our world, Regina Mills is the mayor of a city with tyrannical management practices. With the help of Rumpelstiltskin (Mr. Gold), she adopted a child whom she named Henry. The boy guesses who his mother really is, therefore, is looking for a Savior.
However, dark magic gradually begins to recede and Regina changes, but still rushes between good and evil, balancing on the brink. If we turn to a detailed description of the episodes of season 4 of Once Upon a Time, it is easy to guess which side she will ultimately prefer. But will the ending of her fairy tale be happy?
Storyteller
Henry is a boy whom Emma Swan gave for adoption. Regina Mills became his mother. Henry played as a child by Jared S. Gilmore, who received the Young Artist Award for this role as the lead young actor in 2012. In the seventh and final season of the show, the role of Henry was played by Andrew J. West.
From the description of the seasons “Once Upon a Time”, it is clear that this is the central character; he collects the plot of the story together, being a connecting link. However, this is not surprising - the boy has an impressive pedigree. He is the grandson of Snow White and the prince, as well as Rumpelstiltskin, the great-grandson of his father - Peter Pan and his mother - the Black Fairy. Well, one of the strongest witches, the Evil Queen, is his adoptive mother. It is Henry who helps Regina to become better, to return to the right path again, choosing light magic.
Snow white and the handsome prince
In the series, they are often referred to as the family of the Fine. These are the main characters and parents of Emma Swan. Actually, it all started with them. Snow White, being a little girl, greatly offended Regina, for which she arranged a real hunt for her. However, this did not prevent her from meeting the prince on the path of the Enchanted Forest. So it happened that from season to season they save and find each other, because they have great and powerful power - the power of true love.
Do you want to - believe it or not - but it really looks like magic, because the performer of the role of Snow White Ginnifer Goodwin is married to the handsome prince - Josh Dallas. They got married in 2014. Spouses have two sons. It is easy to see that in some episodes of the series she starred while being pregnant.
Rumpelshiltskin
Faddish evil sorcerer possessing Dark magic. He is stronger than Regina, but weaker than her sister Zelena. He rejoices like a child, making deals with desperate people, warning them every time that all magic has a price. In the real world, he is known as Mr. Gold, the owner of an antique shop and the richest resident of the city. The condition for the deal with Regina was that he, like her, would remember who he really was.
By vocation, he was supposed to be the greatest light magician, but his mother, fearing for his fate, rewrote it. As a result, Rumpelstiltskin became the keeper of the ominous dagger. However, even he is not alien to love. Beauty Belle fell in love with the monster, and the power of her love is so great that it can withstand darkness.
The role of the Dark Mage was superbly handled by the BAFTA Award winner, the famous Scottish actor Robert Carlisle. His talent for reincarnation has been repeatedly noticed by critics.
The pilot series of the fabulous soap opera was shown on October 23, 2011 on ABC. The audience greeted the new project very warmly, the series showed good ratings from year to year. As a result, we have 7 seasons. When describing Once Upon a Time, the series is called a unique project that has no analogues. It will be interesting not only for children but also for adults.