tek's rating:

Once Upon a Time, on ABC
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Caution: spoilers!

Season Two
Everyone in Storybrooke now remembers who they are, and magic slowly begins to return. But it's soon discovered that anyone who crosses the town line will lose their memory. Meanwhile, Emma and Snow are transported to the Enchanted Forest, where they meet Princess Aurora (from Sleeping Beauty; played by Sarah Bolger), Prince Phillip, and Mulan (Jamie Chung). We also learn that Regina became evil because of something her mother, Cora (Barbara Hershey), had done in the past (which also ties in with why she hates Snow so much). And we learn that Captain Hook (aka Killian Jones) has a vendetta against Rumplestiltskin (whom he calls "Crocodile"). Cora and Hook eventually get to Storybrooke together, to help each other with their respective goals. And Emma and Snow eventually get back to Storybrooke. And everyone has to try to stop Cora and Hook's plans. And Regina tries to turn good, for Henry's sake, but eventually starts working with her mother (which seemed an incredibly unlikely turn of events). And Mr. Gold finds a way to retain his memory outside of Storybrooke, so he can go searching for his son, Baelfire, who had disappeared through a portal long before most of the events of the Enchanted Forest flashbacks. And we eventually learn something very surprising about Baelfire's current identity (but I won't spoil it). And eventually Cora is killed. And Mr. Gold tries to rekindle his relationship with Belle (played by Emilie de Ravin), with whom he had fallen in love, back in the Enchanted Forest. But eventually she crosses the town line and loses her memory. Also there's a man named Greg Mendell, who apparently is just some random outsider who learns of magic in Storybrooke, and seems like he could be a minor threat, potentially exposing the town's secret to the world. However, it later turns out he was looking for Storybrooke all along, for reasons I won't go into. But he may be a far greater threat than he seemed at first. Also, Henry finally meets his father, Neal, whom Emma had told him was dead. This causes a rift between Emma and Henry, but it's eventually resolved. Meanwhile, Neal has a fiancée named Tamara. We also learn that Regina had built a fail-safe into her curse, which would destroy Storybrooke and everyone in it, if activated. And we learn that when young Baelfire first disappeared, he met the Darling family (from Peter Pan) and later was taken by a malevolent shadow to Neverland, where he met Captain Hook. And Belle eventually gets her memory back. And Regina and Emma save Storybrooke together. But Neal gets shot and then sucked into another portal. And Henry gets abducted and taken to Neverland. So Emma, Regina, Snow, Charming, and Gold all work with Hook to give chase. ...And once again, I have left out far more details and characters than you can imagine.

Characters introduced this season whom I haven't mentioned include Smee, one of Hook's pirates, though he's not very important. (Played by Chris Gauthier, whom I knew from Eureka.) And a giant named Anton, from "Jack and the Beanstalk." (Played by Jorge Garcia, from Lost.) And we meet Milah, the late wife of Rumple (and mother of Baelfire), who also had a relationship with Hook. And we meet Queen Eva (Snow's late mother, played by Rena Sofer). And in flashbacks, a younger Cora is played by Rose McGowan. Also, in the fifth episode of the season, we learn the pre-curse identity of Dr. Whale. He wasn't from the Enchanted Forest, but from a different realm out of time (one not based on a Disney movie). He was, in fact, Victor Frankenstein.

Season Three


fantasy index

Peter Pan
movies: Peter Pan (1953) * Hook * Return to Never Land * Peter Pan (2003) * Finding Neverland * Tinker Bell * Pan * Peter Pan & Wendy
TV: Neverland (2011) * Once Upon a Time * Peter Pan Live! * The New Adventures of Peter Pan