I really liked the first season of Once Upon a Time. The first half did had some clichéd and corny moments, but the storylines were impressive, the concept of blending the fantasy with reality is unique and as some of the later episodes got progressively better, the characters really grew on you. So, after having watched the second half of the first season on DVD I checked out from the library before I watched the first half on my computer back at 2014, I saw the second season, hoping it would live up to my expectations. To my surprise, it did.
The story continues to be very gripping. Not only does it continue the cliffhanger the 1st season left, but it also progresses the character depth without any padding. Emma, Mary Margaret (Snow White), David (Prince Charming), Henry, the rest of the Storybrooke characters including the seven dwarfs, Red, Granny, Archie, and Leroy (Grumpy), are still as endearing as ever. The writing is engaging, emotional, and suspenseful especially the scene where Emma, Regina, Snow White, and Charming encounter a wraith (which looks like one of the leftover wraiths from Harry Potter, which felt weird to me) before Emma and Snow White get transported to the Enchanted Forest from Mad Hatter's hat. The pacing is exquisite and never drags, the directing is superb, the editing is solid, and Mark Isham continues to shine in his musical score that is both haunting, dramatic, and full of suspense.
My only disappointment with this episode is that while Jamie Chung and Julian Morris do respectable jobs as Mulan and Prince Phillip (along with their solid introductions), Sarah Bolger's performance as Aurora was... meh. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't perfect either. At least her character introduction was good too. So, overall, "Broken" is a terrific season starter and an improvement over Season 1's first episode, which, while not excellent, was still a good introduction. Thumbs up! :)