V1P2's Blog

 

OH MY GOSH, YES!  So, where to start?  I don't like Lail's acting thus far either.  I mean, I don't know if it's her acting I dislike or how they're trying to portray Anna in this show in general.  Yes, Anna does like to over-talk at times, but she doesn't need to do it for every line of her dialogue.  It's like all of her quirkiness went into her speech and none of it went to her body language or personality.

 

Also, why is it that Frozen is the only story they're keeping true-to-the-movie?  Their greatest strength in some of their stories is how they make the characters differ from what they first appear.  Snow White, Prince Charming, Red Riding Hood and Granny, Rumplestiltskin and The Evil Queen are all wonderful characters because of how much originality they put into their characters outside of the story.  With the Frozen cast it's looking like the movie is totally canon with this universe, and I was kinda hoping they wouldn't go that direction.  This means that when they show Elsa being antisocial, they literally threw out all of her character development in the movie where she realizes how important it is to open up to her family (THEY SPENT SO MUCH TIME IN THE MOVIE LEADING TO THAT AND YOU STILL RUN OFF TO BE CRYPTIC?!  DID YOU LEARN NOTHING?!).  I feel like they're trying to keep them like they were in the middle of the movie instead of what they became after all of the events unfolded, and that doesn't work when the movie is canon.

 

Also, there's that book.  "This is a diary so I can literally write down as much detail about my life as possible, but NOPE I'm gonna remain cryptic and leave this text with an ambiguous meaning!"  Who does that?  WHY ARE YOU BEING THIS LAZY RIGHT AT THE START OF THE SEASON?!  YOU FINALLY HAD ME BACK TO ENJOYING THIS SHOW WITH YOUR FANTASTIC FINALE, WHY ARE YOU SHOOTING YOURSELVES IN THE FOOT ALREADY?! 

 

Okay, granted all of this happened in the first hour of the show and they could still turn this around and make it cool or whatever.  However, the past two seasons for me (aside from the Cora arc) have not impressed me as much as the first season.  In fact, these guys seem big fans of "do whatever" and "rush the important and interesting stuff" and then we end up with Neverland.  Never.  Again.  (Henry literally ripped his heart out of his own chest and handed it over to the villain.  Words cannot express how much I hated that story arc).

 

The thing that totally bugs me, though, is that the show was legitimately good in season one.  They even had me in with Cora during the first half of season two.  Right now the only high point of this season is that Hook and Emma are a thing (probably maybe) and my inner shipper is happy.  When I resort to shipping as a compliment for a show, it is quite literally meaning that I am unhappy with quite a few things about the show.  It bums me out even more because fairy tales are something I legitimately find interesting.

 

It's like going from Pokemon Black and Pokemon Black 2's story to Pokemon X and Y.

 

Also, watching the villains totally screw up their personal lives by relapsing is only entertaining to a point.  They have done this kinda poorly too with Regina abstaining to use magic (I hated that).  Also, her relapsing to "kill her because she's making my life inconvenient" seemed a bit out of character.  Regina already made peace with Snow killing her mother.  How is she taking this breakup with a guy she'd only been dating a short time this hard?  Still, I like where they're going with finding the author of the story.  To be honest, they did not have to make her go "KILL HER!" in order to get to that point.  At this point her character is mature enough to sit down alone and think long enough to realize that the book itself could seem fishy.

 

 

I don't know if the show is at it's best when it changes the stories it uses, but it definitely makes things interesting. That said, I don't really have an issue with them keeping the Frozen film (mostly) canon for the show's purposes. This takes place 11-ish years after and as long as the characters are naturally evolved and they don't rehash too many of the film's plot elements that's good enough for me. Besides, Olaf was neither seen nor mentioned in the pilot which makes me assume he doesn't exist in this universe. So there's at least one change.

 

As for evolving characters, I did not get an antisocial Elsa vibe at all except from when she ran off into the woods, which was far less dramatic than anything that happened in the film. If anything Haig seems to be playing the more assertive side of the character. I'm more bothered by what we saw of Anna (I was hoping we'd see more of a responsible side from her), but it's still early.

 

And you're right in that the diary was a lazy plot element.

 

 

( V all from season 3 or earlier so not spoiler tagging)

 

I did like the start of the Neverland arc (and I still think Robbie Kay made it worth watching), but then it took a turn of the worse. And then another, and then another...

 

I think the first half of season two is when the show was at it's best because of how much it focussed on both building the world and redeeming Regina. It gave the show an opportunity to give the protagonists a new ally while opening up doors (literally) for new villains to show up. So you can imagine how disappointed I was in the second half when Regina relapsed, and in ways that felt contrived and completely out of character to me. It's like these writers are dry of ideas so they find ways to stall the characters and put them back at square one right after they solve a problem. Season one has the same issue when they decided to kill Graham (was that his name?) the second after he got his memory back. It's just lazy. And they did the same thing again half way through three. It's like the opposite of deus ex machina where God comes out and screws everything up again.

I actually really like what they did with Graham. He showed that the curse was legitimate (one part of season one that I really liked was that whether the book was true or not was a bit ambiguous) and the scene where he died was super dramatic. I wasn't thrilled when he made a cameo in past events, but meh. Also, someone in Storybrooke getting their memory back was something Regina feared most, so it actually fit with the story that she killed him before that happened.

 

Also, The Miller's Daughter is the best episode ever because it answered so many questions and showed why Regina's life got so messed up.

 

I really hope they go back to good plot points and story elements because it feels more like a kid playing with super hero toys at this rate, which seems like the author would just be a kid and the twist is nobody actually exists in their universe.

I watched the first season and really fell in love with the series, but by the end of the second season I was really bored. By then it felt like some of the characters had been through the same loop of development at least twice already. For instance, Gold was pretty cool but the show's revolved around him so much I'm kinda tired of hearing about him. Netflix in Canada just got season 3 but idk if I want to start watching it. ~ 3~ Does it get better/more interesting in the 3rd season?

Season 3 is Neverland. I mentioned it in the spoiler tag above, but I honestly have a huge gripe with season 3. Imagine if all of the plot points were frustrating, there was a lack of communication between two groups of important characters and the only way to get back to normal was to do a series of leadership tests and trust excercises. Also Henry does the stupidest thing ever in the Neverland arc. Like, imagine Takua took the mask of Light and smashed it to pieces thus securing Makuta's rule over Mata Nui; that is how badly he screwed up in season 3.

 

That said, it did have its moments where it got into the heads of the characters a little bit, but it wasn't enough for me to want to rewatch those episodes. Scenes from the episodes, maybe. I would rewatch the last episode for this arc because honestly it was a really good one.

 

As for the Wicked arc of season 3, it was better than Neverland, but still not great. The villain's motives were kinda bland and rushed in my opinion. Regina had legit motives, her mother had legit motives, but the villain this time? Eh, not as good, and they seemed to force it in my opinion.

 

That said, the Wicked arc was still interesting and had enough mystery to keep me engaged in the story. It even had moments that were pretty cool and had some interesting and cool plot twists which were fun.

 

The season finale for season three definitely makes the Wicked arc worth watching.

 

Tl;dr - Find a synopsis or video summary for the Neverland arc and watch the final episode for it, then pick up with the Wicked arc. (Just know this is advice from someone who really hates Neverland in Once)

Does it get better/more interesting in the 3rd season?

 

If you were bored by looping development arcs in season 2 then I can't imagine either half of season 3 will be able to pull you back into the show. Mr. Gold and Regina are given arcs in half 1 and 2 respectively, but neither one really advances the character in ways that weren't seen previously. Emma gets the primary arc in the second half, and I actually though it was legitimately well written. If you found yourself really invested in her character it might be worth watching.

 

Aside from that Tekulo is pretty spot on with his criticisms. It's a shame because Neverland is actually a pretty cool location. If the writing wasn't so problematic I think it would have been much more enjoyable.

 

If you have the time it certainly doesn't hurt to give it a try. A few episodes into both halves of the season should give you a good enough idea what to expect from the rest of it.

 

At any rate, I think I'll have to go back and rewatch season 1. At the time I may have just been completely put off by what I expected the show to be versus what it was. And after these last two seasons I might even appreciate it more.

One thing that's starting to bug me about this series is that they seem to imply that their characters can't be happy without being in a relationship. It also seems like that when they are in a relationship that everything is like five times worse. Granted there are some characters like Aurora/Phillip and Ariel/Eric that seem more or less content with their relationships, but the main characters kinda have a lot going on and usually their progression of their relationships kinda lead them to suffering (like the new baby in the Wicked arc and my OTP ship not being a thing because plot is happening).

 

And now there's that thing with Regina. I mean, not for nothing, but can't there be a character in the main cast outside of Henry that's single and okay with that? (Regina is a prime candidate for that, actually, but nope, she has to relapse first).

 

Dr. Hopper is an excellent example of what I want to see more of in the characters' desires. Still, his story was only in season one, and he was kinda a side character. I swear, if they pair Elsa with someone or make her get married, I will flip a table because independant female leads that don't have any love interests bogging down the story are really hard to find in my opinion.

Thing is, though, getting married and happily ever after is the quintessential fairy tale trope, so it's not really all that surprising that relationships are a focus in the show.* And to be fair, relationships in themselves aren't bad things, and being in one or wanting one certainly doesn't make a character (even Elsa) weaker or less interesting. Independent male/female characters aren't bad things either. Whatever the relationship status, it has to be believable for the characters. And you're right that Regina seemed like a very fulfilled character at the tail end of S.3, so the idea that she thinks she's not getting her happy ending is a strange one. I do have my own theory for how her conflict will be resolved but I won't post it here.

 

That said, the show could still write relationships better. A smaller focus on love triangles would be a good start, and it'd be nice if the show gave us a relationship that didn't start with two characters hating each other. Those are hard to sell, and some of the ones in the show (like Emma and Hook) seem like they just came out of a vacuum.

 

I admit that I don't remember much of Dr. Hopper's story. I've only ever watched the episodes once when they aired so my memory on most non-primary characters is vague.

 

As for season 4 stuff (not really spoilery but tagging anyway),

I wasn't entirely joking when I expressed concern over Elsa being in a love triangle. But Kitsis and Horowitz indicated that they liked the character as portrayed in the film so I suspect my concerns, and yours, have little warrant. No guarantees, though. Honestly, if season 3 was any indication, it's far more likely that she'll be related to someone. Probably Snow White's long lost sister. Or Henry's future granddaughter (I wouldn't put it past them).

 

 

* How this show uses and treats fairy tale tropes is probably it's own very lengthy discussion.

Eh, my point is not all fairy tales dealt with marriage. They kinda did this with Henry and Emma, and I love season one for that, but a lot of this seems to be shipping. Yes, "happily ever after" kinda wormed its way into what people automatically think when they hear "fairy tale," but stories like The Ugly Ducking, Red Riding Hood (okay, I admit I like what they did with this one), Hansel and Gretel (liked this one too), Pinocchio (okay, season one was really cool. Except for Grumpy's puppy love in Enchanted Forest because that episode totally sucked when it focused on the fairy tale) and even several other fairy tales (granted much less well-known like Clever Gretel or The Stolen Farthings) exist which don't have romance involed and happy endings occur through other means.

 

I would love to see them go back to those types of endings and hidden symbolism which was kinda clever. (Okay, so Emma is very likely the ugly duckling being lost and finding her home, but in Hansel and Gretel, the siblings end up riding on the back of a swan to be reunited with their father. When Emma got involved in getting their father to take them back in season one, I was seriously impressed that they might have thought that far into the stories. Heck, Regina and Emma battling back and forth for Henry in season one could probably be compared to Swan Lake with Emma as Odette and Regina as Odile. I miss being able to nerd about this show. Instead it looks more and more like teenager fanfics =/).

Thank you for the insight!! I ended up turning season 3 on in the background while I work, just so I have something to listen to and can look over at when I need to. So that's been all right though even 3 episodes in I'm already like "WELP here we are again"