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.
