Once Upon a Time (season 1)

Plot

The show is based on the theory that there is an alternate universe where every classic fairy tale character (new and old) exists—a world that has a loose connection to our world. On the night of her 28th birthday, bail bonds collector Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) is reunited with Henry Mills (Jared S. Gilmore)—the son she gave up for adoption ten years previous—and takes him back to his hometown of Storybrooke, Maine—a place where nothing is what it seems.

Henry has in his possession a large book of fairy tales and is convinced that Emma is the daughter of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas), who sent her away so she would be protected from a powerful curse enacted by the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla), a curse in which the queen is the only one with a happy ending. It's because of the curse that everyone in Storybrooke is frozen in time with no memories of their former selves—except for the Queen, who is Storybrooke's mayor and Henry's adoptive mother, Regina Mills. Emma refuses to believe a word of Henry's "theory" and returns Henry home, but then decides to remain in the New England town after getting attached to Henry which causes the hands of the clock tower to move for the first time in 28 years.

It's soon revealed that Snow and Charming, concerned for the safety of their unborn child, went to seek advice from the imprisoned trickster Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle). In return for the child's name, he would tells them their only hope is the child, who would return on her 28th birthday and begin "The Final Battle". The child, an infant girl, is born on the day the Queen enacts her curse and is placed in a wardrobe carved out of an enchanted tree which takes the child to our world, where she is raised by adoptive parents as Emma Swan.

As Emma stays in Storybrooke and is soon elected as Sheriff following the sudden death of the previous Sheriff, Graham Humbert (Jamie Dornan), Regina's antagonistic attitude raises her suspicions and prompts her to move in with Henry's teacher Mary Margaret Blanchard, who is really her mother Snow White. Regina's bitter rivalry with Storybrooke's wealthiest resident, Mr. Gold, becomes heated when she learns he is aware of his true identity as Rumplestiltskin when she asks about Emma's relationship to the curse. Mary Margaret falls in love with David Nolan, a coma patient who, in reality is Emma's father Prince Charming, wakes up after she reads Henry's fairytale book to him as a favor to Henry. David, however, is married to Kathryn Nolan, the woman who is (in the fairy tale world) his ex-fiancee Princess Abigail daughter of King Midas. Unable to deny their love, David and Mary Margaret soon begin a secret relationship that becomes public and upsets Kathryn.

Kathryn eventually decides to go to Boston and let David be with Mary Margaret only to disappear before leaving Storybrooke, due to an effect of the curse being that no one can leave the town. Some time later an antique jewelry box which belonged to Mary Margaret when she was a child is found buried near the old toll bridge and is revealed to contain a human heart which is proven to be Kathryn's via DNA testing. Mary Margaret is arrested for Kathryn's supposed murder and is about to be prosecuted by corrupt District Attorney Albert Spencer (Alan Dale), who's really Prince Charming's adoptive father King George, when Kathryn is found alive in an alley. She reveals that someone abducted her and held her captive in a basement for several days but she managed to escape. When corrupt Daily Mirror chief editor Sidney Glass (Giancarlo Esposito), who's actually the Magic Mirror, confesses to having abducted Kathryn in order to jump-start his career, Emma is not convinced and comes to the conclusion that Regina orchestrated the conspiracy.

Emma soon discovers that writer August W. Booth (Eion Bailey), who is the first stranger ever to arrive in town after she did, is from the Other World and that he is Pinocchio, who was sent to our world through the same wardrobe that brought Emma to watch over her. But he abandoned her out of fear and is slowly turning back into a wooden puppet. Emma then makes an attempt to take Henry out of Storybrooke forever, but is then forced to reconsider when he refuses to go. Emma makes a deal with Regina in which she leaves but still visits Henry on occasion.

But Regina knows Emma's true identity and has retrieved her poisoned apple (the same one she used on Snow White) in order to use it on Emma in the form of an apple turnover. Henry takes a bite of the turnover, collapses to the floor unconscious, and proves to Emma the curse is real. Emma, who now starts to believe after seeing flashbacks of her true past, is forced to forge an alliance with Regina and retrieves Rumplestiltskin's true love potion from underneath the Clock Tower, only to have Mr. Gold steal it leaving Emma halfway up the elevator shaft and Regina tied to a chair and gagged.

When Henry is pronounced dead, Emma and Regina return to the Hospital to say goodbye to his body. Emma kisses him on the forehead, causing a pulse of energy to engulf the entire town and restore everyone's true memories while freeing Henry from the effects of the poisoned apple. Snow and Charming reunite with each other and Regina returns to her mansion alone as Emma begins to wonder why no one is returning to the Other World since the curse is broken. Rumplestiltskin reunites with his true love Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and takes her to a Wishing Well deep in the heart of the forest, a well with the power to restore that which one had lost. He takes the potion and drops it into the well, causing a purple cloud to emerge and consume Storybrooke as the Clock Tower strikes 8:15.

Crew

Once Upon a Time is created and produced by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. In addition, Jane Espenson, Steve Pearlman, Kathy Gilroy, Damon Lindelof, and Brian Wankum are also producers. Liz Tigelaar also serve as series executive producers. Paul Kurta, Chad Oakes, Michael Frislev are producers, while Jordan Feiner and Keri Young are associate producers. Writers for season one episodes include: Kitsis, Horowitz, Espenson, Liz Tigelaar, David H. Goodman, Andrew Chambliss, and Ian Goldberg, with Daniel T. Thomsen writing an episode teleplay.

Reception

Several feminist outlets were pleased with the show for its feminist twist on fairy tales. Avital Norman Nathman of Bitch stated that she liked the show for "infusing a feminist sensibility" into the stories. Feministing's Genie Leslie commented that Emma was a "badass", that she liked how Emma was "very adamant that women be able to make their own decisions about their lives and their children", and how Emma was a "well-rounded" character who was "feminine, but not 'girly'". Natalie Wilson from Ms. praised the show for a strong, "kick-butt" female lead, for including multiple strong women who take turns doing the saving with the men, for subverting the fetishization of true love, and for dealing with the idea of what makes a mother in a more nuanced fashion. Wilson went on to state about the lead: "Her pursuit of a 'happy ending' is not about finding a man or going to a ball all gussied up, but about detective work, about building a relationship with her son Henry, and about seeking the 'truth' as to why time stands still in the corrupt Storybrooke world.

Extended play

All tracks written by Mark Isham.

Album

The album was released featuring five different collectible covers.

All tracks written by Mark Isham.

Novelization

Once Upon a Time debuted a fantasy novel from Disney-owned Hyperion books. The novel, titled Reawakened, covers the first season and promises to give "fans of the show a whole new look at their favorite characters and stories." The narrative is told from the points-of-view of Emma Swan in Storybrooke and Snow White in the Enchanted Forest. Written by Odette Beane, the novel was published on April 27, 2013 as an exclusive ebook and May 7, 2013 in paperback form.