Once Upon a Time (ABC TV Series)

[Disney Duster]

Oh, you're right Sotiris, we never saw Wish Realm Regina. It's Split Regina.

I love Lady Tremaine's dress. I actually like Drizella's in the sense that she wants to be a ditzy superficial princess I'm guessing, the only thing is I wish she was wearing a bluish green instead of purple since the original Drizella's favorite color seemed to be green. I hate Tiana's dress, that is very generic to me. I don't like Regina's. I actually like Alice's. I love Henry's and Hook's looks.

I wonder if I'm biased to like all of the Cinderella-related costumes as long as they aren't terrible. Well, no because I hated that one of Drizella from before. But yea, all of these are rather generic except Lady Tremaine's, the men's, and Cinderella's to me.

[Disney's Divinity]

Regina's is the only one I'd say I like. Alice is...alright. The rest are Medusa-level hideous.

[Sotiris]

The novel Once Upon a Time: Henry and Violet written by Michelle Zink will be released on May 08, 2018.

Read an Excerpt From This Book About Once Upon A Time's Henry and Violet
https://ohmy.disney.com/tv/2017/11/28/b ... nd-violet/

Henry and Violet finally have a chance to be alone. Granted, it's on a school field trip, but with some clever planning and strategic maneuvering, they can orchestrate their own adventure in New York City, a fairytale land in its own right.

While they search for a treasured item that once belonged to Violet's father, they are met with obstacles they could never have predicted. What they thought would be a romantic getaway ends up being a true test of their relationship. The question remains: Are they destined for a happily ever after?

[Sotiris]

The featurette A New Book Opens features new footage.

New material for episode 1: promo, clip #01, clip #02, clip #03, and stills.

[Disney Duster]

OMG I am so freaking excited!!!!!! I wonder if the Fairy Godmother will be in this since there's a wand used by the stepmother. Hopefully they redeem that darn Rumplestiltskin destroying her and giving Cinderella her magic and moment.

[Sotiris]

Disney UK is releasing a (region-free) Blu-ray box set of all 6 seasons of the show on October 16, 2017.

[Sotiris]

Anastasia will be making an appearance on the show.

Q: On Once Upon a Time, will we see Cinderella’s other evil stepsister, Anastasia?

A: Yes — at least in flashbacks, seeing as Episode 9 of the “reset’ season will feature a tweenage Anastasia. Interestingly, this younger Anastasia, regardless of how she turns out, is described as “a happy and selfless” lass who “loves her sister and step-sister alike.”

Source: http://tvline.com/2017/10/03/sandra-oh- ... returning/

[Disney's Divinity]

That may be the only interesting thing to come out of this Cinderella dreck.

The Blu-Ray set does look nice. I still only have the first two seasons on DVD. I don't know, I'll get them on Blu-Ray someday when I want to splurge, but OUAT is not a priority for me.

[Disney Duster]

I was wondering if Anastasia was going to be in! Thank God she will, to keep this faithful to the original story and the Disney film. But I wish we would see her grown up and a part of the actual Cinderella story we see unfold. We'll have to wait and see.

[JeanGreyForever]

If this had been the Grand Duchess Anastasia, I would have been interested, but better to keep historical figures out probably. OUAT would just butcher her and Pocahontas.

[Sotiris]

The showrunners revealed that in the midseason finale they'll be introducing a new female character who will serve as a love interest for someone already on the show but will also be related to some other character there.

In case you missed it, at the top of last week’s Ask Ausiello Live I shared that Once‘s winter finale will introduce a twentysomething female who is A) related to someone we know and B) will be a love interest to a character we’ll see this season.

Source: http://tvline.com/2017/10/12/once-upon- ... -season-7/

[JeanGreyForever]

The showrunners revealed that in the midseason finale they'll be introducing a new female character who will serve as a love interest for someone already on the show but will also be related to some other character there.

As if the family tree on Once Upon a Time isn't bloated enough.

[Sotiris]

A new Mexican series called Érase Una Vez (=Once Upon a Time) premiered on October 2nd. It's sort of a hybrid between OUAT and Grimm. There's a teaser and a trailer you can watch if you're interested.

[Disney Duster]

As if the family tree on Once Upon a Time isn't bloated enough.

Lol!

[Sotiris]

ABC released motion posters for Henry, Cinderella, and Tiana.

[Disney's Divinity]

Someone tell me if Zelena was in the premiere. I taped it, but cringed too much to keep going after the first 10 minutes. It's so refreshing to hate OUAT here at the end after all these years of being opposite everyone else.

[JeanGreyForever]

I refused to watch the premiere because I don't want to help boost the ratings but I kept up with it and no Zelena is not in this episode. The writers have only confirmed Emma for the 2nd episode and Belle for the 4th episode but they've been keeping mum about Zelena except that she will also be cursed. I guess she probably won't appear until towards the winter finale, or maybe even after it.

From what I've heard, Dania Ramirez is as wooden a Cinderella as we all knew she would be, but the rest of the new cast isn't much better. They're all really bad apparently and they're being compared to Marvel's Inhumans show (which is not a compliment at all for those who don't know).

Hook seems to be very out of place without Emma (although this might be colored by the many Captain Swan fans that the show has). Robert Carlyle also seems very bored to be stuck in the same role again. Regina, Rumple, and Hook all seem to be thrown into the mix for the sake of keeping something connected to the previous seasons.

EDIT: Oh and fans seem to think that because of yet another amnesia/curse storyline that Henry and Regina are probably going to hook up. Wouldn't even surprise me at this point. Wonder how many magical offspring they'll have to lead another spin-off.

[Disney Duster]

Well, all of you were right, mostly, this show really isn't as good as it was and a lot of the acting's pretty bad and the writing isn't much better, even Disney's Divinity saying the last season was like the true ending to the show is true...BUT I LOVED it anyway because of the Cinderella stuff and the old cast members returning! Regina stays my favorote character! Cinderella wasn't wooden to me but more like just bad. Her daughter was just as bad. Older Henry was just slightly better. Drizella's ok. Lady Tremaine is a very good evil bitch and a good villain though, yes, not as scary as the Evil Queen.

They had to off the Fairy Godmother with hardly any screentime yet again! She'd better reappear, even in a flashback! And I doubt she would let Cinderella go to the ball knowing Cinderella wanted to kill the prince so she must not be all that omniscient.

JeanGreyForever, I'm sure you were kidding about Henry and his step-mother hooking up. I hope you were!

I am interested in finding out what's next and seeing this series through to its proper end. I guess I might end up being the only person here doing much talking about the show, but that's ok, I'll enjoy it anyway.

[supertalies]

I also watched the season premiere and actually kinda liked it. I know a lot of fans don't like the fact that the show is so different now, but I actually like it. It feels fresh and like a new beginning, something I think the show needed after 6 years. Personally, I even feel like the 'old' show ended last season and this episode was, more or less, a pilot for a new show.

The new characters are okay. I still don't know if I like them, but I am certainly intrigued by some of them.

Dania Ramirez is indeed not the best actress. I liked her in Devious Maids, but on that show she was 'the dumb/naive one' (which she was able to pull off quite well) and I'm not sure she's able to portray the badass that this new Cinderella is supposed to be. I did like how this new Cinderella was written though. She's a stronger character than the other Cinderella/Ashley, for sure. Hyacinths also seem to be her thing, which explains her 'Hyperion Heights name'.

I also liked the new Lady Tremaine. I definitely think she's one of the strongest new leads. I loved Adelaide Kane in Reign, so I'm curious to see where her version of Drizella goes. By the way, I am a bit disappointed that Anastasia doesn't seem to be around for the fairy tale portion of the story (Lady Tremaine only mentioned one daughter). I wonder how they'll explain her absence.

I also liked the new Henry. He feels like an adult Henry and the actor is actually pretty decent. He's also easy on the eyes, hahaha.

Not sure how I feel about the new Alice yet. The actress seems fitting, but I need to see more of the character to make up my mind about her.

I do have mixed feelings about this 'new realm' though. The only thing that seems to be different is that some of the characters are different ethnicities than in the 'other' fairy tale realm (Cinderella is latina and the prince looked to be asian). The world looks exactly the same: the costumes and sets are similair to the other realm and they even use the same Cinderella-theme when Ella is at the ball. I would have liked them to differentiate this new realm a little more from the old realm. Maybe set it in a tropical land or use asian inspired costumes? I guess they couldn't do that because of their budget, though.

I also didn't like how we just jumped to Lady Tremaine having captured the Fairy Godmother. I know they'll probably show in flashbacks how she did it, but in this episode it felt like I missed a scene.

So, as I said, this premiere left me intrigued and curious. I am interested in finding out what's next!

[Sotiris]

Overall thoughts: I agree with most of the criticism the first episode is getting. The acting was wooden and the dialogue clunky. There were also issues with the pacing, editing and direction. At times, scenes felt rushed, forced and clumsy (granted, these are all issues plaguing the show since day 1). And of course, the first episode (both plot and character-wise) was way too similar to the pilot. But I have to admit it was sort of refreshing to embark on a new story with new characters because OUAT was indeed growing stale. What they should have done though was make season 7 a self-contained spin-off, not bring over any of the old characters and start with a clean slate. Their fear and unwillingness to do that is hurting this season's potential. Still, there's enough difference and intrigue that makes season 7 a worthwhile watch to me.

Live blogging:

— The little disclaimer before the episode began was silly and unnecessary. Do they honestly think that new viewers are going to tune in for this?

— Henry: "I'm the only me". No, you're not. There's a Henry in the Wish Realm.

— They cut Regina's lines mentioning Emma, Snow and David. They also cut the reference to August and how he taught Henry to ride a motorcycle. I'm not pleased about that. It's bad enough the rest of his family weren't there to say goodbye and see him off, did they have to remove the reference of him going over his decision to leave with them?

— Where did Henry get a magic bean?

— "A New Realm": They couldn't be bothered naming this new realm which somehow looks identical to the Enchanted Forest?

— "Years Later": I see they completely gave up on the timeline. There isn't even the pretense of keeping up with continuity anymore.

— Henry wears a helmet when going to a new realm but doesn't afterwards. Not very consistent or responsible.

— Is August's motorcycle running on magical never-ending fuel?

— Swyft instead of Lyft. Really smart.

— I liked the little scene of Henry as a Swyft driver. It felt like an endearing commercial for the service.

— Nice Easter egg with Henry's swan keychain. Emma had a pendant exactly like that. Maybe she gave it to him?

— In the season 6 finale, the dark curse took Henry away but not Lucy or Cinderella. Does this particular curse work differently than the ones before? Can it take people one by one? Did the same curse take Lucy and Cinderella later on or was it a different curse that took them to Hyperion Heights?

— Cinderella's horse is Philippe? Is she Belle now too?

— Henry: "Plothole, for sure". That's audacious coming from this show, the king of plotholes. I guess it takes one to know one.

— The scene with Victoria entering the Belfrey Tower was reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada.

— How did Lady Tremaine manage to find and capture Cinderella's fairy godmother?

— Lady Tremaine taking the fairy godmother's wand was reminiscent of Cinderella III: A Twist in Time.

— The writers sure hate fairy godmothers! She's the second one that they killed off instantly without giving her any screen time.

— at Roni playing matchmaker. Liking so far this more laid-back, chill Regina.

— at Tiana not wanting to eat frog legs.

— Cinderella hiding a dagger in the back of her ballgown reminded me when Diana did the same thing in Wonder Woman.

— It's really odd how Victoria can just decide to take Lucy away from Jacinda. At best, she can threaten to sue for custody but she doesn't have the legal right to take her away yet.

— It's not Alice from Wonderland. It's Alice in Wonderland. She's from England. That's what Alice should have responded with instead of saying she went to other places too.

— I wonder what the consequences are for interfering in a story that’s not yours.

— Great writing AND life advice from Lucy.

— Henry's a snitch!

— I liked the scene where Jacinda praises Lucy's imagination instead of berating her for it and asks her to believe in her.

— How is Henry able to charge his cell phone?

— Portals now open by themselves at a specific time without a magic bean?

— How come Cinderella's carriage didn't turn back into a pumpkin at midnight?

— If Rogers was able to recognize Emma from the illustration in Henry's book, how come he didn't recognize himself? Surely, there must have been illustrations of Hook in there too.

— Roni: This is MY swamp bar!

— Roni's speech about hope at the end was nice.