OUAT, Revenge and TV Meme
Feb. 11th, 2013 09:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Once Upon a Time - is perhaps the tightest plotted network tv series I've seen in a while. Granted there are some issues, but they do lay the ground-work well in advance, and build up to things quite well. Was discussing it with a friend tonight, who pointed out that if you can figure it out - that means the writers did a very good job of laying the ground-work and building up to it. If it comes out of the blue and you never saw it coming, sometimes that means they writers fell down on the job. (Which was a problem I had with a lot of Whedon's plots - they often had plot holes you could drive a truck through. The writer was so concerned with fooling the audience, making the audience's jaw drop, that he sometimes jarred them to the point they went, wait-a-minute, I don't buy this. This is the plotting style of pulpy serial fiction - specifically daytime soap operas and superhero comic book serials...which we mock shamelessly, because their plots often make no sense. Part of the fun is being able to figure it out. It's a very fine line, as my friend pointed out to me and I'd forgotten, between figuring it out and predictable. Once is doing an excellent job of skirting it - kudos.)
Last night's episode was evidence of this.
* As set-up in the episode where Emma and Hook climb the beanstalk, Tiny and the Giants aren't actually evil, and the victors changed history to suit their ends - or rather, Prince James, David's evil twin brother, rewrote history to make himself out to be the hero, along with his opportunistic female friend Jaque - who historically is a guy. What you see in the fairy tale is not necessarily what happened. It's revisionist history. Nice commentary on history and writing in general - keep in mind Pinnochio is introduced as a writer - the greatest liar in the Storybrook world. This has been consistently set-up and works.
* Additionally, I love the parallel structure. Emma/Hook vs. James/Jacque. Jack and Hook are similar rogues or rogues cut from the same piece of cloth - trickster characters, or opportunists - that are often betrayed in kind by the people they trust. Emma takes after her Uncle in two ways - 1) she defeats Tiny and 2) she leaves her assistant behind. She's more benevolent than her uncle and she doesn't steal more than she needs from Tiny. But the storylines are oddly similar in some respects.
The play on names continues. With the obvious - Tiny. Americans like to name big people "shorty" or "tiny" and tiny people - "giant" - we love irony. And of course, Tiny is the tiniest of the Giants. Oh and shout out to Abraham Benrubie of Northern Exposure and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (he played Anyanka's husband - who she turned into a troll. I see Jane Espenson's casting decisions at play here - if she can find a way to get Marsters and anyone else from Buffy - she will. So far Emma Caulfield played the Witch in Hansel and Gretle, and now Benrubie has played Tiny's beloved eldest brother.). Then there's Jack and James - rhymes with Jack and Jane. Love the gender role switches.
* Rumple doesn't have magic outside of storybrook, but his scarf does. How can this be? Well, it was previously established that he had done a spell that made it possible to pass into the other realm wearing an enchanted item - without losing your fairytale identity.
They also established that Emma has odd abilities that are as yet undefined, but appear to be focused on her heart or her need to help - the result of being the child of true love.
So I don't see this as a plot hole. This show does a very good job of covering plot holes - it is the tightest plotted thing I've seen in a while. You have to be to do what they are doing with narrative structure or the audience will get hopelessly lost.
* If Neil Cassidy is Bae - then we have another very well laid out plot. If not, a huge plot hole. Because if he is - it explains a lot, like why he avoided Storybrook. Why he did what he did on Pinnochio's say-so and only asked for a post-card. It also has a nice ironic twist to it - in that it places Emma Swan in a quandry - does she reveal to Rumple who his son is, or keep it from him to protect her own? Would you want Rumplestilskin as your kid's grand-dad? I wouldn't. Plus, Bae is indirectly responsible for everything that has happened to Emma. Rumple created the curse out of Emma's parents true love to journey to the land without magic to find Bae. If it weren't for Bae jumping worlds, Emma may have stayed in Storybrook and gotten her life with Snow and Charming, of course Henry wouldn't exist. If it weren't for Bae - there's no Henry, literally and metaphorically on two levels. Great build up. Love how the stories in this series twist on themselves and how a later episode will explain a previous one. Makes you want to re-watch or buy the DVD's just to rewatch those previous episodes. LOST was like that too. That story structure is golden. Whedon did this with Buffy and Angel. IT is in my opinion the best way to tell a story.
Emma also is a woman after my own heart - in that she insisted Henry go with them, knowing he'd be safer outside Storybrook with her and powerless Rumple, than inside Storybrook with Cora. She's right to fear Cora.
* Tiny serves another purpose - he can grow magic beans that can take the characters to other dimensions in the fairytale universe via portholes. This sets the stage for lots of jumping to and from worlds - such as Neverland, Wonderland, Fairytale land. Also Hook's vessel can take people there unharmed.
Great episode. A-
2. Revenge - this also surprised me.
*Nasty Initiative Lady/Helen Crowly: Show me the evidence or I destroy your son.
Victoria takes her to the safe.
Me: You should just shoot the woman.
Victoria takes out a gun.
HElen: You won't shoot me, you don't have it in you. A woman who grieved David Clark all these years but never did anything to stop me, won't kill me now.
Victoria shoots her.
Me: Whoa. Cool.
Victoria is a much better villain.
Victoria calls Daniel and her hubby - to help her get rid of the body. Both are shocked. Whoa. You killed her? Victoria - well, yeah, the bitch had it coming. (I so agree. The women in this series rock! The men however are a wee bit ineffectual.)
* Except that is for Nolan. Nolan manages to convince his beloved Padme to trust him and confide in him about what she is doing and why. Turns out Helen took her father hostage. (Going to be a bit hard to find him now that Helen is dead, but we will worry about that later.) He also tells Padme that he didn't give her the full formula. (Whoa this show moves fast - in the space of three episodes, he's found out that she is spying on him, trapped him, and confronted her. Time was that this sort of storyline would have taken at least ten episodes to unravel.)
*Aiden is back and he's forgiven Emily Thorne, admitting she had zip to do with his sister's death since Nolan managed to prove said sister was killed six years ago. (I knew it!) He's also realized he's been a selfish bub, and been in it only to save his sister. So now finally he's decided to help poor Emily.
Good time too - since Emily just gave the love of her life, her childhood sweetheart Jack, to the real Emily Thorn/aka Amanda. Switching places can be such a bitch. She's been very good about it though - giving them money to get out from under Grayson, and letting E-Amanda totally take her place.
* Except...this may backfire. Because Amanda got fed up with Grayson and the mob twins trying to hurt Jack - so she went around Emily, took the info Emily has on Grayson and showed it to him - threatening to take it to the cops and Feds, if he didn't back off of Jack and let JAck get his bar back. Grayson backed off, but Trucco (one of the mob bros from hell) did not and is lying in weight in their yacht to kill them on their honeymoon.
Amanda in an odd way did Emily a favor - Grayson thinks Amanda is behind it, he's right and wrong at the same time - because he doesn't know Amanda isn't Amanda.
This is well-played. Not sure who will be killed in the yacht. I'm guessing Trucco, since I can't see them killing off Jack or Amanda or Aiden. They did the same mislead last year - making us think Daniel was dead, when it was really bad-boy Tyler.
3. TV Meme
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Eh. What new shows aired this season? Does Copper count? It sort of completed its S1 run in 2012. But it first aired in 2012. So there is that.
I'm going with Arrow. It's the most fun, requires the least amount of focus, and I actually remember its on most of the time. Copper - is the best scripted and has the best characters, but it is plodding at times. Call the Midwife is fun, but awfully sentimental, granted it has less violence...so there is that, as in no violence. Elementary...eh, I keep forgetting its own and it is a procedural and procedural's, I'm sorry, they are a dime a dozen in the US and terribly mainstream. It's all about the case of the week. The B story line or the character storyline gets short-shrift in US procedurals. That's why if you want to watch a procedural - you should watch the European and UK - they focus more on the characters for some reason. Elementary is admittedly the best of the US crime procedurals in my opinion but I still like Arrow better.
Arrow does two things - one it gives us Queen's back story via flashbacks, and it's a twisty survival story of a young wet-behind the ears playboy who is turned into a scarred assassin by his experience on an island that serves as a prison for trained killers. The front story concerns unraveling the mystery of how he ended up on that island, why his father killed himself, and what his mother is up to. And it's ambiguous and layered. Plus the actors are quite good. I like everyone in this series, rare that. Including the ambiguous and somewhat layered villain played by the ever charming John Barrowman of Torchwood fame. Darker than Smallville, Arrow has more in common with Chris Nolan's Dark Knight series, with a sly sardonic wit, and an interesting commentary on both a culture of violence and corporate greed.
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death.
Last night's episode was evidence of this.
* As set-up in the episode where Emma and Hook climb the beanstalk, Tiny and the Giants aren't actually evil, and the victors changed history to suit their ends - or rather, Prince James, David's evil twin brother, rewrote history to make himself out to be the hero, along with his opportunistic female friend Jaque - who historically is a guy. What you see in the fairy tale is not necessarily what happened. It's revisionist history. Nice commentary on history and writing in general - keep in mind Pinnochio is introduced as a writer - the greatest liar in the Storybrook world. This has been consistently set-up and works.
* Additionally, I love the parallel structure. Emma/Hook vs. James/Jacque. Jack and Hook are similar rogues or rogues cut from the same piece of cloth - trickster characters, or opportunists - that are often betrayed in kind by the people they trust. Emma takes after her Uncle in two ways - 1) she defeats Tiny and 2) she leaves her assistant behind. She's more benevolent than her uncle and she doesn't steal more than she needs from Tiny. But the storylines are oddly similar in some respects.
The play on names continues. With the obvious - Tiny. Americans like to name big people "shorty" or "tiny" and tiny people - "giant" - we love irony. And of course, Tiny is the tiniest of the Giants. Oh and shout out to Abraham Benrubie of Northern Exposure and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (he played Anyanka's husband - who she turned into a troll. I see Jane Espenson's casting decisions at play here - if she can find a way to get Marsters and anyone else from Buffy - she will. So far Emma Caulfield played the Witch in Hansel and Gretle, and now Benrubie has played Tiny's beloved eldest brother.). Then there's Jack and James - rhymes with Jack and Jane. Love the gender role switches.
* Rumple doesn't have magic outside of storybrook, but his scarf does. How can this be? Well, it was previously established that he had done a spell that made it possible to pass into the other realm wearing an enchanted item - without losing your fairytale identity.
They also established that Emma has odd abilities that are as yet undefined, but appear to be focused on her heart or her need to help - the result of being the child of true love.
So I don't see this as a plot hole. This show does a very good job of covering plot holes - it is the tightest plotted thing I've seen in a while. You have to be to do what they are doing with narrative structure or the audience will get hopelessly lost.
* If Neil Cassidy is Bae - then we have another very well laid out plot. If not, a huge plot hole. Because if he is - it explains a lot, like why he avoided Storybrook. Why he did what he did on Pinnochio's say-so and only asked for a post-card. It also has a nice ironic twist to it - in that it places Emma Swan in a quandry - does she reveal to Rumple who his son is, or keep it from him to protect her own? Would you want Rumplestilskin as your kid's grand-dad? I wouldn't. Plus, Bae is indirectly responsible for everything that has happened to Emma. Rumple created the curse out of Emma's parents true love to journey to the land without magic to find Bae. If it weren't for Bae jumping worlds, Emma may have stayed in Storybrook and gotten her life with Snow and Charming, of course Henry wouldn't exist. If it weren't for Bae - there's no Henry, literally and metaphorically on two levels. Great build up. Love how the stories in this series twist on themselves and how a later episode will explain a previous one. Makes you want to re-watch or buy the DVD's just to rewatch those previous episodes. LOST was like that too. That story structure is golden. Whedon did this with Buffy and Angel. IT is in my opinion the best way to tell a story.
Emma also is a woman after my own heart - in that she insisted Henry go with them, knowing he'd be safer outside Storybrook with her and powerless Rumple, than inside Storybrook with Cora. She's right to fear Cora.
* Tiny serves another purpose - he can grow magic beans that can take the characters to other dimensions in the fairytale universe via portholes. This sets the stage for lots of jumping to and from worlds - such as Neverland, Wonderland, Fairytale land. Also Hook's vessel can take people there unharmed.
Great episode. A-
2. Revenge - this also surprised me.
*Nasty Initiative Lady/Helen Crowly: Show me the evidence or I destroy your son.
Victoria takes her to the safe.
Me: You should just shoot the woman.
Victoria takes out a gun.
HElen: You won't shoot me, you don't have it in you. A woman who grieved David Clark all these years but never did anything to stop me, won't kill me now.
Victoria shoots her.
Me: Whoa. Cool.
Victoria is a much better villain.
Victoria calls Daniel and her hubby - to help her get rid of the body. Both are shocked. Whoa. You killed her? Victoria - well, yeah, the bitch had it coming. (I so agree. The women in this series rock! The men however are a wee bit ineffectual.)
* Except that is for Nolan. Nolan manages to convince his beloved Padme to trust him and confide in him about what she is doing and why. Turns out Helen took her father hostage. (Going to be a bit hard to find him now that Helen is dead, but we will worry about that later.) He also tells Padme that he didn't give her the full formula. (Whoa this show moves fast - in the space of three episodes, he's found out that she is spying on him, trapped him, and confronted her. Time was that this sort of storyline would have taken at least ten episodes to unravel.)
*Aiden is back and he's forgiven Emily Thorne, admitting she had zip to do with his sister's death since Nolan managed to prove said sister was killed six years ago. (I knew it!) He's also realized he's been a selfish bub, and been in it only to save his sister. So now finally he's decided to help poor Emily.
Good time too - since Emily just gave the love of her life, her childhood sweetheart Jack, to the real Emily Thorn/aka Amanda. Switching places can be such a bitch. She's been very good about it though - giving them money to get out from under Grayson, and letting E-Amanda totally take her place.
* Except...this may backfire. Because Amanda got fed up with Grayson and the mob twins trying to hurt Jack - so she went around Emily, took the info Emily has on Grayson and showed it to him - threatening to take it to the cops and Feds, if he didn't back off of Jack and let JAck get his bar back. Grayson backed off, but Trucco (one of the mob bros from hell) did not and is lying in weight in their yacht to kill them on their honeymoon.
Amanda in an odd way did Emily a favor - Grayson thinks Amanda is behind it, he's right and wrong at the same time - because he doesn't know Amanda isn't Amanda.
This is well-played. Not sure who will be killed in the yacht. I'm guessing Trucco, since I can't see them killing off Jack or Amanda or Aiden. They did the same mislead last year - making us think Daniel was dead, when it was really bad-boy Tyler.
3. TV Meme
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Eh. What new shows aired this season? Does Copper count? It sort of completed its S1 run in 2012. But it first aired in 2012. So there is that.
I'm going with Arrow. It's the most fun, requires the least amount of focus, and I actually remember its on most of the time. Copper - is the best scripted and has the best characters, but it is plodding at times. Call the Midwife is fun, but awfully sentimental, granted it has less violence...so there is that, as in no violence. Elementary...eh, I keep forgetting its own and it is a procedural and procedural's, I'm sorry, they are a dime a dozen in the US and terribly mainstream. It's all about the case of the week. The B story line or the character storyline gets short-shrift in US procedurals. That's why if you want to watch a procedural - you should watch the European and UK - they focus more on the characters for some reason. Elementary is admittedly the best of the US crime procedurals in my opinion but I still like Arrow better.
Arrow does two things - one it gives us Queen's back story via flashbacks, and it's a twisty survival story of a young wet-behind the ears playboy who is turned into a scarred assassin by his experience on an island that serves as a prison for trained killers. The front story concerns unraveling the mystery of how he ended up on that island, why his father killed himself, and what his mother is up to. And it's ambiguous and layered. Plus the actors are quite good. I like everyone in this series, rare that. Including the ambiguous and somewhat layered villain played by the ever charming John Barrowman of Torchwood fame. Darker than Smallville, Arrow has more in common with Chris Nolan's Dark Knight series, with a sly sardonic wit, and an interesting commentary on both a culture of violence and corporate greed.
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death.
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no subject
Date: 2013-02-12 03:05 am (UTC)I hope Bae=Neal (which seems more likely now that we know they're headed for New York), 'cause that's right up my story-kinks alley, but I'm betting I'll be surprised before the road trip is through.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-13 02:24 am (UTC)Or a better example? Spike's arc in S6. While we did see him attacking Buffy eventually (or at least I did), we didn't see him going off and getting his soul (although I should have, dang-it - they certainly foreshadowed it enough). As opposed to Cordelia being the Big Bad in S4 Angel - which sort of came out of nowhere. That wasn't built well.
But Wes being the one who stole Connor and gave him to Holtz and betraying Angel - was built beautifully. And while I still saw it coming, I loved it.
I hope Bae=Neal (which seems more likely now that we know they're headed for New York), 'cause that's right up my story-kinks alley, but I'm betting I'll be surprised before the road trip is through.
Oh I think it's quite possible to have some twists and still have Bae=Neal. Lots of twists. After all, we don't know what Neal or Bae have been up to all these years. And if Neal is Bae, there's all those years in between. Also, we have lots of other characters in the mix.
Plus, who helped Rumple find Henry and why Henry for Regina to adopt?
(I'm betting it was Pinnochio...what better way to manipulate Emma into going to Storybrook?)
no subject
Date: 2013-02-13 02:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-13 10:45 pm (UTC)It is interesting what details people pick up on though. Also to be fair about Cora? Shipperx on my flist speculated that Cora was The Queen of Hearts long before it occurred to me. And I thought, dang-it, why didn't I see that coming? She figured it out when Cora took out Daniel's heart.
And Bae=Neal didn't really occur to me until Neal popped up. Prior to that, I figured Henry's father was just some guy. For a long time, prior to the reveal, I thought August might be Bae.
Detailed series like ONCE, LOST, and Buffy are fun - because everyone picks up on different things - so there's more to chat about. I don't find them predictable. Procedurals - I often do, but it does depend on the procedural.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-13 11:38 pm (UTC)The only person who had crossed over to our world at the time we met Neal who wasn't accounted for was Bae, so I naturally assumed Bae=Neal. Now we have an example of someone who is supposedly a genuine outsider, Mendel, so that equation no longer works, but of course, since then, there's been further evidence N=B.