And we’re back! It’s been about 4 months since the show left us with the intense ending of “Heroes and Villains” and I swear, I couldn’t have been more excited about the show’s return! Sundays are not the same without OUAT on it.
So how did the episode fare? I’d say it is in a thin edge between “Ok” and “Good”. There’s plenty of stuff in the episode to get people excited about the road of season 4B, but much of what we see is setup.
OUAT’s premieres are almost always pretty much by the book: handle plenty of exposition to build the foundation of the season arc, present a crisis, solve crisis, have a flashback that either introduces or setup the new villain and finally, end up with a little twist of the writers choice. And that would pretty much sum up the entire episode, at least on its core. As such, I find that these kinds of episodes become sort of predictable and mostly something to get by.
And yet there’s something about “Darkness on The Edge of Town” that just makes it a bit especial, a bit of standout from the rest of OUAT’s premieres, and it goes beyond the fact that this time around we have 4 villains: I think is that the show presents its best and worst qualities at the same time, and as such it is completely honest to its audience - especially to possible newcomers- about what they can expect of the show.
OUAT is known for handling poor plot devices at times; this show can be truly awesome - and even inspired - with its storylines from time to time, but that’s mostly when the characters are in the front row. When serving a plot is more important than a characterization that makes sense that’s when the whole thing is at the verge of collapsing, and that’s a swaying line that the show is more than comfortable with than it should be.
There’s this constant willingness to accept an otherwise really bad offer or choice just because it gets the story going. And the show should be much better at it by now. So, you must be wondering now “does this guy really like this show, AT ALL?” and the answer is yes: believe it or not, Once Upon a Time is among my favorite shows. And why that is? Well, let’s get to the best qualities of the show then!
If the whole evil team up is the one aspect of the episode I didn’t buy at all - along with Belle asking for help through the internet, I mean, hello? Who did she think she was asking to? Houdini ?-, the aspect that did work - and worked wonders - is everything that is going on in Storybrooke.
After the cold opening, when we see our heroes starting to lead their “normal” lives in Storybrooke there is some kind of soothing air; the music cues are already hopeful and we can see all of them content with their regular lives, and after all that has happened on Season 4A it feels quite earned. It doesn’t last long, but without much dialogue, the editing already makes for a really warm start, and I couldn’t help but smiling. That already felt incredibly special coming from a premiere episode.
But even though that was a great moment, Emma and Regina steal the spotlight whenever they spend time together. Lana Parilla and Jennifer Morrison have an spectacular chemistry and it’s great to see that the writers seized the opportunity to give them lots of scene to share.
Regina’s quest for redemption has been one of the most inspiring arcs of the show, as the character has truly gone a long way from her evil days, and yet the remnants of those days allow for some truly great complex characterization, and whenever Emma enters the scene we get to see someone who fully trusts in Regina’s goodness and she brings the best of her.
Now, the whole black winged demon creature that attacked town once it left the hat… that’s just more obvious plot device to keep the story going, but it works by giving us more time of Emma and Regina team up, while also showing us how everyone has gotten already used to this. Considering how much Storybrooke has been through, I would have rolled my eyes if Snow and David asked “what are we going to do?” instead of outright going into action, which is what they did. Even Emma acknowledges how quickly they grasped the situation and prepared to take action.
The crisis is resolved after Regina and Emma strike down a deal over the phone with Cruella and Ursula to get info on how to beat the beast. The solution - driving the creature to the town line - is both quick, smart and makes complete sense, so I don’t have any complains on that or the follow up scenes.
What I liked the most about it is that, while it is completely reckless to let villains into your town - and Snow made a really good argument there, about never being able to fully trust an enemy -, the fact that Cruella and Ursula said they were looking for redemption stroke her close to home, and so it makes sense she would be willing to give them a second chance, especially since she was the one who most needed one, and it’s nice to see Emma standing by her.
The episode finishes with Rumple getting in town as Cruella and Ursula get him in and he reveals that he has plans to bring Maleficent back to the group and that the creature was actually looking to devour Emma’s heart, which is the one that has the most potential for darkness.
There is a saying that says “the brighter the light the deeper the shadow” and I think it applies perfectly here. Just as much as Emma can be the savior, she can also be the destroyer, and I’m really looking forward to see how the writers explore the darkness within Emma, a route they have never taken before. This would allow her to become even more complex and compelling. And any chance to have a role reversal in which Regina is the savior and Emma is the evil one I can just say: “Bring it on!” as I believe it will bring truly fruitful storylines to enjoy.
So in the end, “Darkness on the Edge of Town” is in essence just as any OUAT premiere, but what makes it standout among all of them is how it manages to handle our main characters so well on the Storybrooke front. Sadly, everything that happens in New York seems to be just out of convinience to keep the show moving forward. The flashback bits were a tad amusing, with the highlight being Ursula saving Maleficent de-facto forming the legion of doom-esquee “Queens of Darkness”, but the execution was pretty rushed.
With a little more work brought into it, this could have been a pretty great episode. As a whole it feels a bit disjointed, with parts that work and doesn’t work at the same time. But all in all, I’m just happy that the show is back! And I’m sure I’ll enjoy what’s coming up!
Grade: B
Stray Observations:
-I have no idea why Regina burnt down the bird painting; it is obviously a wink to the audience to remind us of the parallel of Snow White and the Evil Queen, but it seems like the show should be past that by now. I’ll just think she is not much a fan of birds.
-While looking for the dark curse, Cruella and Maleficent showed their respectives powers, while Ursula was reduced to just using her tentacle to grab the orb that had the curse. When I saw that I honestly said “lame” out loud.
-On the same note, how in hell nobody noticed the beast coming out of the hat? The thing flew up high and it is pretty big, did everyone just stare at the ground while it was coming out?
-The fairies are pretty shaken up by being imprisoned in the hat for so long. I wouldn't like to imagine what that experience would have been like. It couldn’t have been nice.
-I like that Emma and Hook act normal with each other and not so over the top.
-Rumple is not a fan of instant ramen: I get it, I got bored of it too.
-So who is going to feed Ursula’s fish?
-By what we see I suppose Cruella married a millionaire in this world and started a con with him, got caught, and that’s why the police was taking her stuff. But then she ran out with her car and no one even bothered to stop her. I better do not question the logic here or this whole thing will fall apart.
-Snow and David have a dark secret and some history with Cruella and Ursula - and most likely with Maleficent too -. Anything that keeps them away from baby plots is welcome.
-Maleficent: “Just who the hell may you be?”
Ursula: “Ursula, but you can call me ‘your majesty’”
Maleficent: “I don’t bow down to fish.”
Ursula: “Who are you?”
Maleficent: “I’m the person who is trying not to get strangled or impregnated, I don’t know what those tentacles are for.”
-Hook: “I’m sure the savior and the evil queen can come up with a way to defeat this beast.”
Regina: “Drop the ‘e’ word already!”
-I honestly can’t wait to meet the author! So much possibilities there!
