Blog Upon a Time: Season 6 Premiere! (Spoilers abound!)

Given my recent watching of Once Upon a Time, I've decided Monday posts will be dedicated to my thoughts on the new episodes of Once Upon a Time, which in this case is Season 6.  Despite that I watched the first 4.5 seasons in a row last fall, I have never been this excited for a premiere, even though I loved how the first two seasons transitioned.  That being said, I felt Season 5 was a bit of a trainwreck for me.  I didn't like how Emma played out the role of Dark One, I didn't like Hades, and most of all, I unfortunately saw Robin's untimely death coming.  The finale was perhaps the most exciting thing for me, and I'm coming into Season 6 with one hope: that Regina can move on from Robin and find peace and solace, with or without the EQ.  My other hopes include Rumbelle being a thing again and getting some more Snow Queen and Regal Believer.  I also want Henry to get some more hero time.  And also, all those untold stories.  I've been waiting, patiently, like all Oncers and I avoided even watching the teaser clips so I could enjoy the premiere.  However, because I was also busy live-tweeting, I had to go back and watch a second time today.  Below are just some of my thoughts and impressions on the ideas brought into this season in Episode 1: The Savior.

SPOILERS BELOW!

Rumbelle continues to suffer.  I was originally a Rumbelle shipper when I watched the first season, sucked in by the fated "Skin Deep" episode (which I still love btw).  But the passed two season of Rumbelle have been a trainwreck.  The relationship epitomizes abuse at it's worst, and as a fan of Belle, I had really hoped that their relationship would end, strengthening Belle's character or continue with Rumpelstiltskin ending his Dark One ways and becoming a hero.  I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of Rumpel's brief walk through Belle's dream with Morpheus aka Baby Gold.  Lots of people have been critical of Baby Gold's reaction to Rumpel but I see a hint of Rumpel in their son.  He claims that Rumpel is going to mess up their family like his previous one (Rumpel has Seer gifts not given to him as the Dark One so maybe this was passed on?) as well as manipulating Belle (something Rumpel also frequently does).  The whole scene together felt very rushed, but I'm curious to see the path Belle and Rumpel take individually since she left without him.

The Savior shakes.  Once Podcast dubbed the hand tremors the Savior Shakes and honestly, I think it's a hilarious name, so I'm sticking with it.  This isn't the first time I've watched a show that takes it's hero to a lot of extremes and then shows us the mental and physical toll it takes on them.  The other instance I have personally watched was the 4th season of the Legend of Korra, where Korra was thrown over the by being forced into the avatar state and we got some insight into her recovery.  Another example was Tony Stark in Iron Man 3.  I love when heros are portrayed realistically, especially given the extreme and often times, unrealistic encounters they are faced with.  I don't want Emma to fall back into defense mode, but I'm glad they are exploring her own unique variety of PTSD and I'm excited to see how it plays into being a Savior.  I want know who is going to be her support outside of Archie.  I know lots of people want to see her rely on Hook, but man, I'm dying for some better developments with her parents.

And finally, Regina struggles, like a normal human being.  Of course, I'm saving my favorite for last.  I honestly pay more attention to scenes when Regina is present, as she is the character I've been rooting for since the end of Season 1.  We know the first episode starts immediately post-season 5 finale, so I was delighted when they showed us how Regina is coping with the loss of Robin and her new-found kinship with Zelena.  Lots of viewers criticized Regina's lack of emotion at Robin's funeral and one of the Once Podcast's members also went onto to say her outburst in episode 1 felt OOC.  Personally, I found Regina's new response to grief truthful and a good representation of how grief really feels.  I've lost enough people in my life to see how people react to death differently.  Her outburst, though somewhat driven by illogical thinking, wasn't uncalled for.  In the scene in the office, we see Regina coping going back to the scene of the event and simultaneously having Zelena bring it back to herself.  While both lost their true love that night, the deaths were under very separate circumstances.  I don't want to say that Regina's loss is greater than Zelena's, but it's not the same.  And its not the same for the audience either.  I feel more sympathy towards Regina because we watched that relationship develop over two and half seasons, while Zelena's match with Hades felt rushed and at the expense of given Hades a motive and Zelena more screentime.

I like that we are watching grief happen (this has never happened in the show itself, ever) and knowing that writer's are bringing Sean back to do some scenes as Robin gives me hope that Regina will continue to explore those feelings and eventually come to terms with that loss and move on.

As for our dearly beloved Evil Queen, the scene was brief and again, Zelena's reason for getting mad at Regina I'm sure will provide an interesting conflict inside of Zelena.  To be honest though, I looked at the promotional images for Episode 2, and I'm more excited for the EQ to team up with Mr. Gold.  Golden Queen is my favorite brotp.



TL;DR: All in all, I'm very hopeful for the season.  The pre-show told us we'll be getting glimpses into more untold stories, including Cinderella (so maybe Anastasia is coming back????) and I'm absolutely in love with Mr. Hyde, skeptical but in love.  What were your thoughts on the episode?  Any moments that dragged you back in or encourage you to keep away?