Then she lost her memory and he relapsed. Rumple (wow, Robert Carlyle's performance broke my heart this season) started to make a positive change because of Belle. There's no sense of permanence and therefore no reason to get upset about it or to even care. Seeing them switch alignments became like watching a character in a comic book die. The pair switched between evil and good so much this season it was enough to give a person whiplash. Let's talk about some other baddies: Regina and Rumple. He's a pirate through and through, but thankfully without any over the top Jack Sparrow affectations. Then there's the rogue-ish charm Hook lavished on everyone from Emma to Cora. Setting up Rumple as the crocodile sets a course (I like the nautical references with Hook) for revenge and fun scenes between the two characters. It was just twisted enough so as not to be unbelievable but also inventive enough to add fresh paint to the story we all know. The adaptation of Hook's origin story is the best the series has offered. How could you not love scenes like Rumple telling Belle about cheeseburgers or Prince Charming sucker punching Hook? Speaking of Hook, I know I've gone on at length about the villain and Colin O'Donoghue over the season, but it’s because it’s well-deserved. The little things add up and build characters bit by bit, and the writers do a tremendous job including those pieces. But even the episodes languishing in story had endearing character moments or developments, and that's where I took most of my enjoyment over the season. ![]() All 22 episodes aren't going to be the best things ever. ![]() The ones focusing on Ruby/Red's history in fairy tale land ("Child of the Moon") and the story about Anton the Giant ("Tiny") didn't add much, but you'll have spots like that with any television series. There were definitely some weak episodes. Surprises like that keep turning you around. That is, until you find out their home office appears to be in Neverland. They're anti-magic and are on a mission, oh and Greg wants revenge, too. So were other antagonists like Greg and Tamara. At times, she was more ruthless than you'd expect, but beyond that she was a flat character. The writers did a solid job of changing the stakes and doing the unexpected so even though it seemed like she was going to be the big villain of the year, she was actually just one of multiple threats. Cora, Regina’s mother, was brought aboard in Season 1, but we got to spend a lot more time with her this season. It would have been nicer to have more time with our leads and not feel like it's a game of "insert storybook character here”. It’s not that they weren't interesting or neat - some of them made lasting impressions and got promoted to series regulars - I'm just saying it's a lot to juggle. Mulan, Aurora, Prince Phillip, Lancelot, Frankenstein, Hook, Jack the Giant Killer, and on and on. It's tempting to get excited about the huge number of potential characters from fairy tales, myths, legends and other sources, but it doesn't mean you have to try to use them all. ![]() They did, however, meet way too many new characters while they were there and that theme continued. It was a great way to start their new relationship. Plus, it threw Snow and Emma, mother and daughter, together in a survival situation, getting to bond and travel together in fairy tale land. The second season started with the story splitting time between Storybrooke and the other world it was a refreshing change of scenery as well as a smart way to begin round two. In the first season, we only experienced fairy tale land through glimpses of the past. Overall, it was much more consistent and cohesive than Season 1. They presented themes of the classic good vs evil, sacrifice, and heroism among others, and they got most of them right. ![]() Flashbacks and stories from the present day continued to weave together to show ties between characters and plot threads, and we met tons of new characters. Once Upon a Time's second season connected a lot of dots.
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