REVIEW: Once Upon A Time, Episode 701
Once Upon A Time’s season seven finally kicked off last night with its first episode entitled “Hyperion Heights”. Even though this was a requel (reboot + sequel), it was, in my opinion, still very faithful to the first six years.
It was really great the episode started in a very similar way the pilot did: with the words “Once Upon A Time”. One of the goals of this new season is to bring in a new audience, letting them know they don’t have to watch the previous seasons and they will still understand what is going on, and this really showed that is possible. This, to me, also proved that the story really is about to begin (again), and that new adventures are coming.
In flashbacks, we saw Henry leaving Storybrooke to go find his own story. This makes all the sense in the world to me. Throughout the last six years, we heard Henry say a few times that he was tired of simply reading about heroes, that he wanted to find his story and be one, and that is what he finally decided to do. Years later, not long before he planned on going back home, Henry literally stumbled into Cinderella. I think we can all agree that, just like most couples on this show, these two hardly shared love at first sight, but that doesn’t mean their love story won’t be epic. As usual, this really isn’t the classic story we know, because Henry didn’t really save Cinderella, because she didn’t need to be saved. That’s right, Cinderella is a badass, who doesn’t need other people, especially not men, to protect her. And a great proof of this is the reason why she wanted to go to the ball in the first place: not to meet some prince, but to get revenge on him because of the fact he killed her father.
Because Cinderella is a part of this, Lady Tremaine couldn’t possibly be left behind. It appears the wicked stepmother isn’t only wicked to Cinderella, unlike in the original tale, because she isn’t that much nice to Drizella either. When we first met her, she killed Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother with her own wand, calling it a “teaching moment” to Drizella. Apart from this, unlike (I will say) all villains in this show, Tremaine doesn’t believe magic is the solution. She is mean and a bully, but she doesn’t usually use magic to get what she needs, because “magic can be taken”. She continued her evil deeds when she murdered the prince, after Cinderella failed to do it, simply because he rejected Drizella, while his younger brother didn’t. After fighting the guards with Henry’s help, she ran away to where they first met. After Henry got there too, he found nothing but her show, so he missed the portal home to go help her. The most amazing thing in this is that this is still a lot like Cinderella’s story, and the shoe was the biggest proof of this. It simply has a few twists Once Upon A Time is so well known for.
In one last reference to the past, I would now like to comment on Alice. It was a great twist she was working for Rumple, and it was really funny when she told Henry “Your grandfather knows everyone”, because that is usually what I also say about him. She left Henry with a warning: he must leave that land because that is not his story, and bad things happen when people mess in someone else’s story.
In present day, Henry is a swift driver, but he is an author when he is off duty. He published one book with the story of the first six season (not a very successful one, by the way), and now he has no inspiration to start another. That is, of course, until Lucy gets in his life and drags him to Hyperion Heights, where he meets Roni. It was great seeing these two interact, and even greater when he said: “Imagine if I walked through that door and told you I was tour son”.
We also got to see Jacinda’s hard life as a single mother and a step daughter of a powerful and mean woman, who wants to change everything in Hyperion Heights. She has a crappy job and a jerky boss, and right in the beginning of the episode she fired herself, showing that there is still a little bit of badass Cinderella inside. But as I said on my preview, this time she has a daughter to protect, so in the end of the episode she goes back to it.
It was great seeing Henry and Jacinda meet again. We were able to see they shared a little moment of connection, but it faded quickly. They really didn’t end up in good terms by the end of the episode, because Henry told the police where Cinderella might have been taking Lucy to.
Speaking of police, we met Officer Rogers, who eventually became Detective Rogers, because of how he helped Victoria. He has Lucy’s book now, and for the sake of all Captain Swan shippers out there, he took a special interest in a certain character. His new partner is now going to be Detective Weaver, previously known as Rumpelstiltskin, a cop who seems to be into some very interesting hobbies. In fact, just like in the old days, it seems, Tilly is still working for him.
The end of the episode was also pretty incredible. Usually season premieres (and pilots, since that is what this episode felt like in a way), have a twist in the end, but just like the original pilot, this episode simply ends with hope spreading around Hyperion Heights. This time, instead of the clock tower moving, hyacinths (Cinderella’s lucky flower) started growing in a garden where nothing grew anymore, Henry found some inspiration to start writing, and Roni decided to raise her middle finger to Victoria and keep HER bar.
Overall, this was a pretty good start for the season. There is really something about this new story that feels real. Sure the other seasons were about fairy tales in the real world, but they were isolated from everything and everyone. This time, they really are all in the real world, in a bigger city, and that is really great to watch. I am giving this premiere an 8.3/10.
Next week’s episode is entitled “A Pirate’s Life”, and it will be a Hook/Rogers centric episode. It is also during this hour that Emma’s story will come to an end, so don’t miss it, because I sure as hell won’t.
REVIEW: How to Get Away with Murder, Episode 402
How to Get Away with Murder returns for the second episode of this new season entitled “I’m Not Her” and this definitely felt like the show is back on track.
For some time now, this show, like all shows really, made a detour to what it was its first season, its origins, to put it differently. There were episodes that simply focused on the main story, and that is fine, but this one really seemed to bring Annalise back. Now that she is able to practice again, “The Queen” found her first case in Jasmine Bromelle. It was really great that it wasn’t some random stranger, but a woman we saw before. We didn’t know why she was in prison (at least if it was revealed, I don’t remember), but now we do: she was found with an illegal gun. Of course, the police didn’t really have an excuse for searching her, except for the fact that she is black, but that is a fact for a totally different conversation.
Later in the episode we found out this really wasn’t the only time she was wronged. When she was 13 she was caught by the police for prostitution, and the judge thought he was being fair simply by sealing the charges, when he did so much more for white girls in very similar circumstances. Sure it was different times, but he was a racist then and probably still is, so he would have continued to do the same thing if he wasn’t retired already. That speech Annalise gave in the end was so beautiful and true. I am glad the judge decided to do right by Jasmine and sealed all her records. The only thing I didn’t really like in this arc was the fact Annalise seemed to be almost sure Jasmine would later end up in the same situation. Of course it isn’t impossible, but people really do change and having hope she will have a good life and live the Happy Beginning the court gave her in a good and honest way, is definitely a nice way to think. I really believe everything will work out for her (call me an optimistic, but I can’t help it).
In a parallel arc, the Keating 4 had meetings with many law firms to try to find another job. Sure the firms were really looking for interns, but they accepted the 4, not because of their amazing skills (even though that is something they do have), but to know what it is like working for Annalise. Michaela really nailed the interviews, even in the questions which were supposed to take her down a bit. She was called back to 3 of the firms and managed to get a job. Asher was also called back, but he didn’t have Michaela’s luck and charm to take it to the end. Connor was the only one who didn’t get any call backs, but let’s be honest and say he didn’t really try that hard to get a job. Laurel is a whole new story. She is still very broken about Wes’ death and she doesn’t know what she wants anymore. She didn’t put a lot of effort in it, but she get one call back, which she didn’t show up to.
It was still really sad to hear that Laurel blames Connor for Wes’ death. This is so unfair to me, that I can’t even begin to describe it. Connor was trying to save his life the best way he could. He didn’t really know what he was doing, and it went the wrong way, but his intentions were good. I understand Laurel wants to blame someone, but she knows her father ordered Wes killed, so just blame him. Speaking of which, I am glad Laurel finally told someone (Michaela) the truth about her father. It seems now that the two will work together to bring him down, and I really am looking forward to that.
In another storyline, Bonnie and Nate started working together. At first Nate thought that was all a scheme Annalise put Bonnie through, and that they were still working together, but in the end, he realized the truth. I must say that I kind of liked seeing them together. I think Bonnie is still with Frank, but I like her more with Nate, even though this is a very recent thing.
In the most How to Get Away with Murder style, we found out someone died. No one talked about a body, but from what we saw in the elevator (at least I think that was an elevator), it sure looked that way. Also, they made it seem like Annalise had something to do with Laurel being drugged. Not sure how that is going to turn out, but I hope it isn’t true.
This was really an amazing episode. As I said, it really took me back to the origins and I loved it. Last episode was great, but this was greater, so I am giving it a 9.1/10.
Next episode will air next week, at the same time and on the same day and it is entitled “It’s for the Greater Good”, so don’t miss it, along with my review.
PREVIEW: Once Upon A Time, Season 7
After a really amazing season (the best one yet, in my opinion), Once Upon A Time is almost back with its seventh season. A lot of things are changing, and there is a lot of misconception out there, which is why I decided to make this preview.
First things first: Once Upon A Time isn’t erasing these last 6 years, and these new characters aren’t recasts. To make the plan for season 7 simpler, we can look at it like Disney movies (or marvel ones too). There are many versions of the same story: there is the original Cinderella movie from 1950; in 1997 a musical adaptation of this same story was made; and now more recently, in 2015, we had another remake. We had a Cinderella in the first season (and also in one episode of season 6), but the one we will see now is a parallel version of her. With Cinderella, some other characters will be rebooted as well, so we will see them “again”.
Now that this is out of the way, there is much more to talk about. To make things less confusing and more organized, I will divide the rest of the preview by topics.
Cast
Not everyone we have been seeing in the past few years will remain as show regulars: Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan), Jared Gilmore (Henry Mills), Josh Dallas (Prince Charming/David), Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White/Mary Margaret), Rebecca Mader (Zelena) and Emilie de Ravin (Belle); are all leaving the main cast. But, of course, this doesn’t mean they aren’t coming back. Jennifer Morrison is returning for the second episode, Jared Gilmore is coming back for at least the first two (and maybe some more), Emilie de Ravin is going to be back for the forth episode and Rebecca Mader is also returning for multiple episodes (possibly a little later in the season).
This isn’t official, but I really think (and hope) Josh Dallas and Ginnifer Goodwin will also return for at least one episode. With this, we will have all our old cast back.
Continuing as regulars we have: Lana Parrilla (Regina Mills/Evil Queen), Robert Carlyle (Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold) and Colin O’Donoghue (Captain Hook/Killian Jones). But even as awesome as these actors/characters are, they could never make a season by themselves. Joining the regular cast, we have: Andrew J. West (older Henry), Gabrielle Anwar (Lady Tremaine/Victoria Belfrey), Dania Ramirez (Cinderella/Jacinda), Alison Fernandez (Lucy). Later, Mekia Cox joined the regular cast, and she will be playing Princess Tiana/Sabine.
Location
With a new curse, comes a new city. The next Once Upon A Time locale will be Hyperion Heights. This new city really is very different from Storybrooke. First, because it isn’t a small town anymore, this is really a big city. Second, and I find this bit quite interesting, not everyone in Hyperion Heights will be a fairy tale character, since this seems to be a city created before the new curse. Third, because bad things don’t happen if people try to leave. Out of the contrary actually, since Tremaine would be quite pleased if they did (more on that later). This means that Hyperion Heights is definitely not lost in time, so we will start seeing some up to date technology.
Characters
Like in season 1, we will see different versions of each character. They will all be up to something, so here is a little summary of each character.
Regina is now Roni, a bar owner (kind of like Granny’s but with a lot more alcohol). Even though she doesn’t remember her former self, Regina is still going to lead the front against Lady Tremaine’s evil acts. She is saying goodbye to pantsuits and perfect hair, so it seems she will be a little freer of the responsibility of being a hero.
Hook is going to be Rogers, or better, Officer Rogers, since he will be a part of the police department. In the beginning of the new season he will be very focused on finding answers to a case, and that might just mean he will ask for Rumple’s help.
Knowing Rumple is going to help Rogers, is pretty much all we know about him, which means he continues to be very mysterious. We don’t even know his new name. Some people say he will be the next “Godfather” but we really don’t know. We are definitely going to have to wait until Friday to find out.
We will also meet an older version of Henry. We know that a few years after the ending of season 6, Henry left to a parallel universe to find his own story, and it seems he did, with Cinderella. Years later they have Lucy, and the curse is casted. In our world, after writing a failing book which tells the story of the first 6 seasons of the show, Henry became a Swift driver (kind of like Uber), until Lucy came knocking on his door, dragging him to Hyperion Heights.
Lucy’s job in this new season seems to be very similar to Henry’s, back in season 1. Her father lost belief, so it is now her job to get that back, to make him believe in hope, faith, Happy Endings (or beginnings) and fairy tales. In other words, Lucy will be the new crazy kid of the show.
Like most of the women in Once Upon A Time, Cinderella isn’t a damsel in distress, out of the contrary, she is a very badass princess who really doesn’t need anyone to protect her. This means that, as usual, the epic romance between her and Henry will definitely not start with the right foot, but they will warm their way to each other. In Hyperion Heights, Jacinda apparently won’t be very different from her original self, except for the fact she will have a daughter to protect this time.
As rebellious as Cinderella may be, Lady Tremaine seems to be the one who puts her in her place. She is that kind of woman who was wanted by every man in happier years, but as she got older, she ends up alone. We don’t know who casted the curse, but she does seem to be a good candidate. In present day, Victoria is a woman of power, and her goal is to push the fairy tale characters out of Hyperion Heights and into the real world so that they live on the rest of their days miserable, not knowing who they really are.
Now introducing the main character from The Princess and the Frog, Tiana is also popping up in the new season. We don’t know a lot about her, other than the fact her centric episode will be the fifth, and in it we will meet her mother. In Hyperion Heights, Sabine is Jacinda’s roommate, and we can totally expect to see the two of them bond.
Aside from these, Drizella and Alice are going to guest start in some episodes. We really know nothing about Alice, other than the fact her cursed name is Tilly, but we can totally expect some wickedness coming from Drizella. She is definitely going to help her mother make Cinderella’s life a living hell.
With all this said, now we simply have to wait. Hope this preview made the plans for season 7 a bit clearer, and also made you guys excited for it. The season premiere of the show is entitled “Hyperion Heights” and it will air next Friday, October 6th, at 8 pm, so don’t miss it.
Episode Title 7.09 of Once Upon a Time Revealed
Adam Horowitz has taken to Twitter one more time to announce an episode title for season 7 of Once Upon a Time.
This time, the screenwriter went ahead and revealed the title for episode 7.09, “One Little Tear.”
The title could very well be a reference to Rapunzel’s origin story, where her tears have magical healing powers. We’ll have to wait and see.
Here's another #OnceUponATime #titlespoiler — hope to see ya 10/6! pic.twitter.com/04i6YSVcdJ
— Adam Horowitz (@AdamHorowitzLA) October 1, 2017
REVIEW: How to Get Away with Murder, Episode 401
How to Get Away with Murder is finally back with this season four premiere entitled “I’m Going Away”, an episode which focused a lot on the relationship between Annalise and Ophelia.
Close to the beginning of the episode, Annalise went to her mother’s house for a visit, and I have to say the scenes with the two were great. Both of these actresses are brilliant and they do an amazing job with these characters. Like usually, the scenes with the two were very heartfelt and incredible to watch. It was even funny seeing that, even though she is the one who was mentally ill, Ophelia is still the person who brings balance to the family when things start to heat up. The family started to consider taking her to a Memory Care Center, or at least Annalise and Celestine did, since their dad said he could take care of her alone. At first, Ophelia didn’t like the idea very much, but she later realized it was really for her safety and other people’s.
Even though it seemed like the best thing to do, we realized where Annalise got her stubbornness from: her father. Mac really didn’t like the idea of having his wife away, so in the end, Ophelia continued to live at her old house with him. I really hope none of them live to regret this. Annalise’s mother really needs treatment, and I think it is obvious she won’t have that in her house (or at least never enough to get better). One day she really can end up hurting someone, herself included.
On a related note, it was really not fair for Mac to blame Ophelia’s dementia on Annalise. We are not sure if she is the one causing the “visions”, maybe she is, maybe she isn’t, but if she is, then that is not her fault. Mac really went over the line there. Should Annalise stop visiting her mother just for her not to relive things? What she needs is treatment, and not people who simply ignore her problems or blame them on someone/something else.
Moving on from Annalise (at least for now), Laurel’s father is in town, and I was really surprised they just dropped the abortion bomb like that. Laurel told her father she didn’t keep the baby, like this was the most natural thing in the world. But later in the episode we found out Laurel did not abort, and she really intends on keeping the baby. This was really a relief. Another relief was realizing Laurel knows her father ordered Wes killed. I was wondering throughout the episode when they were going to find this out, but Laurel already did. We don’t know how, yet, and I don’t think no one else knows about it, but the important thing is that she knows, and I am sure she has a plan to make this secret come to light. Maybe she even already started that plan by telling her father she did the abortion.
On happier news (even though it probably didn’t felt like happy news for some people), Connor denied Oliver’s marriage proposal. As I said, this may not sound like happy news for everyone, but it did feel kind of right. Connor does want to get married, and to have children and pets, as he said, but from what I understood, he wants to do this when the time is right, not because one of them is afraid of being murdered or going to jail or something equally as terrible. He wants to get married because they both love each other and because they are in the right place to do so. Plus, married life wouldn’t probably change that much in their relationship, so I am fine either way. As long as they are happy, I am happy too.
The most unfortunate thing is yet to come: Annalise, after being again able to teach, ditched literally everyone. It really sucks this happened, because I love the team working together and being badass, kicking their enemies’ buts. On one hand I understand Annalise’s side of things: she blames herself for Wes’ death, and she realized this kind of tragedy happens around her, so she doesn’t want to be responsible for any other person’s life shattered. On the other, I also understand everyone else’s perspective: they have worked a lot for Annalise and the gratitude they get for all that is a recommendation letter after being “fired” for no reason. I think (and hope) we will see them all working together again not very far from now, but it is definitely not going to be fun seeing them apart while this doesn’t happen.
Lastly and as usual, How to Get Away with Murder introduced us to flash-forwards of 3 months later. We didn’t yet see much, but it is already possible to say that Annalise’s therapist is going to play a major role than he did in this episode. I don’t know why, but I don’t trust him, and I usually tend to trust people, so I don’t think I will be liking him very much. But there is something that left me confused: I read on an article the producer of the show saying that the big question this season is going to be “where”, and it was with this question the episode ended. Is the question “where is Laurel’s baby?” Maybe it could have died, and the question is a totally different “where” but it could also have been taken(?). I don’t know. Looks like we will have to wait and see.
Overall, this was a good start for the season. Could have been a bit better, but it was nice enough. I am giving it an 8.5/10.
The second episode will air next Thursday October 5th and it is entitled “I’m Not Her”, where I hope we will have a few more answers about the flash-forwards, so don’t miss my review.
Rebecca Mader to Return to Once Upon a Time for Multiple Episodes
A wicked return is on the way to Once Upon a Time season 7!
TV Line revealed earlier today that Rebecca Mader will be returning for the upcoming season of the show.
Mader, who has played Regina’s sister, Zelena a.k.a. the Wicked Witch since season 3, revealed the news during an interview with TV Line. “I am beyond thrilled to be returning to make magic with my beloved Once Upon a Time family,” said the actress.
No further details have been revealed about her role during season 4, or whether or not she’ll reprise her wicked character.
Once Upon a Time premieres October 6 on ABC.
Once Upon a Time Episode 7.01 Promos Feature Regina v. Lady Tremaine
ABC released a bunch of new photos for the season seven premiere of Once Upon a Time.
The images feature returning favorite Lana Parrilla as Regina (or her alter-ego, Roni) and Gabrielle Anwar as Lady Tremaine in what seems to be a not-so-friendly conversation.
The images feature a closer look at Rose Reynolds as Alice and Adelaide Kane as Ivy/Drizella.
We also get to see Andrew J. West as Henry Mills and Dania Ramirez as Cinderella sharing some candid moments.
The seventh season of Once Upon a Time is set to premiere October 6 on ABC.
Check out the images below:
Once Upon a Time is Going to Reboot Yet Another Character
Thanks to TV Line, we now know Cinderella and Alice are not the only ones to get “reboted” during season 7 of Once Upon a Time.
Meegan Warner (Turn: Washington’s Spies) has been cast as the new Rapunzel in the upcoming season of OUAT.
According to the article, Warner’s Rapunzel will magically find herself in a tower and will do whatever it takes to free herself and make the sorceress who imprisoned her pay for what she did.
Rapunzel was played by Alexandra Metz back during season 3.
Nick Blood is Coming Back to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Entertainment Weekly confirmed on Friday that former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Lance Hunter is coming back during season 5.
Nick Blood made his first appearance on the show back in season 2. However, he was forced to leave the team during season 3 alongside his ex-wife Bobbi Morse as they were supposed to get their own spin-off.
There’s no information yet about when or how he’ll be coming back, but the people over at EW were kind enough to share a picture of him on the set of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Here’s Some New Information About Tiana in Once Upon a Time Season 7
TV Line released an article revealing some interesting details about Mekia Cox’s Tiana in the upcoming season of Once Upon a Time.
In the article, we learn that Tiana will make her first appearance in episode three “The Garden of Forking Paths,” where she meets Henry, Hook and the Evil Queen under not-too-good circumstances.
Tiana seems to have joined forces with Dania Ramirez’s Cinderella. According to showrunner Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis, we meet Cox’s character “in a fairy tale realm in turmoil,” adding that she’s set on a mission to “restore freedom to her people.”
OUAT creators also explained Tiana’s personality, describing her as a strong person who has a lot of enemies. “She’s been through a lot when we meet her, but she never wavers even when doubting oneself would seem to be the most logical, and safe, course of action,” said Kitsis and Horowitz.
The seventh season of Once Upon a Time is set to premiere October 6, 2017.