What a shame! When 'Once Upon a Time' first started it was highly addictive and made the most of a truly great and creative premise. Really loved the idea of turning familiar fairy tales on their heads and putting own interpretations on them and the show early on clearly had clearly had a ball. Watched it without fail every time it came on and it was often a highlight of the week.
So what was it that made the earlier seasons of 'Once Upon a Time' so good? First and foremost, it is a very handsomely mounted show, with settings and costumes that are both colourful and atmospheric, not too dark or garish and never cookie-cutter. It is photographed beautifully and there were some make-up that suited the characters perfectly and pretty good effects work, at their best fantastical. The music is haunting, ethereal and cleverly used with a memorable main theme.
The writing was humorous, poignant, suspenseful and altogether clever, while the story-lines were ceaselessly compelling and fun and layered to watch. Also doing a great job with the development of the characters, which in the earlier seasons felt like real characters with relatable conflicts, far more than archetypes. It was also a sheer delight spotting and recognising them, a huge part of the fun.
'Once Upon a Time's' actors have always made the most of what they're given, regardless of the material, and a lot of it is very good. Outstanding in the cases of Robert Carlyle, Lana Parilla, Jared Gilmore and Ginnifer Goodwin as four of the show's more interesting characters. Jennifer Morrison grew into her role.
Unfortunately something happened later on, 'Once Upon a Time' lost its magic and there was a real sense that it had run out of ideas. Have never had a problem with the actors, the music or most of the production values. The problem is the writing, which at its worst was so poor that giving up on the show was seriously considered but stuck with it for fairness and curiosity's sake.
It was sad that such layered and clever writing before became cheesy and shallow later on, and that the stories became repetitive and convoluted. Not to mention downright strange in some of the subplots, some didn't feel resolved enough and others didn't make sense or add much to the show. The characters lost their nuances and what made them so easy to relate to and fun, character decisions also became odd and even illogical.
Have said that most of the production values have remained good. Still think that but over-time the visual effects have become less than special and at their worst pretty ropy.
Overall, a very uneven show. Started off truly great but now, especially the most recent season, feels like a completely different show altogether. 6/10 Bethany Cox
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