No one acknowledges that Henry being an intensely lonely child growing up and instantly believing the fairy tales might have something to do with the fact that he’s the only one in town that ages. Like bro imagine every time you move up a grade no one else does, what do you do about friends? And his education must suck because in future episodes we see that Mary Margret was teaching almost the exact same lesson verbatim from the time they got to the town, so he was building the same birdhouse for weeks or even months before he snapped and went to get Emma. Legit how would he even have a relationship, by the time he would’ve grown up none of the kids he grew up with would’ve aged but the only people his age would be people that babysat him growing up. Storybrooke was Henry’s eternal torture and honestly his sheer “I give no fucks” attitude about common sense and others’ opinions was probably shaped by that.
Yeah it never even occurred to me how ducked that was until she mentioned it, he really was stuck in a horror movie. Like that’s some peoples interpretations of hell!!
i really love henry because no matter how hard literally everyone tries to gaslight him he’s always like fuck you im right and he is!!! and after the curse is broken he’s like you guys should be letting me help you i literally figured out the curse and am the reason it was broken!
literally the only other humans in town with free will were his mother and jefferson who he’d never met. and while i love regina and i know that she really does truly love henry, during the time of the curse she wasn’t the best mother figure especially since yknow she’s the reason he was trapped in this eldritch nightmare
but he was who he was because of what he’d been through. take away his story, his upbringing, or any aspect of his experience, and he wouldn’t be the boy with the Heart of the Truest Believer. we all need to stop wishing life was a perfect coddling, and accept that the hard things we go through, make us cooler, and aren’t to be avoided; even if they’re awful at the time, we become awesome because we overcame them, and nothing is forever, all curses are eventually broken.
The thing I have always found disproportionately baffling is that Rumplestiltskin's son is named Baelfire, and it means nothing. He's just a dude. He's not a bad guy, he doesn't turn into a dragon, he just randomly has an extremely cool and sinister name in a show otherwise full of meaningful names.
and the main character who fight all sort of magical irrational creatures and do cool magic and the daughter of Charming and Snow freaking White and her name is....Emma
I don’t want to go into specifics in case I’m doing too much spoiling, but I have the faintest memory that Baelfire is the father of a very very very important character…?👀Yes he is technically still just some guy, but at least that doesn’t make him just some RANDOM guy. I think he’s also immortal?? Like never ever ages and therefore cannot die from old age (a different kind of immortal that is also different from the curse on Storybrooke that keeps every other character from aging as well). And he is immortal I believe for another reason that I will not state specifically because that will come up in a later season. Or he’s a time traveler?? I think, it’s one of those
@@winterwine460 No, Baelfire is not immortal. It's just that he was trapped in that ONE specific place for a REALLY long time before he made his way to our world. As for time travel, I don't THINK he ever time travels, but time travel is a thing and it's only used once or twice and not in any meaningful way. Baelfire is normal because both of his parents, at the time of his conception and birth, were normal.
@@keyblademasterclark okay thanks for clearing that up. i just had this weird displaced memory that he was either never aging or time traveled at some point. Its been a LONG TIME since ive seen the show in its entirety so im bound to have a couple things wrong yk?
I may or may not be one of those people. I also recently figured out my daddy issues translate into the men I’m into. *HM I WONDER IF THOSE TWO THINGS COULD BE RELATED*
If I had a nickel for every time Once Upon A Time had a woman rape a man and never face consequences, backlash or even acknowledgement of it I’d have three nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s upsetting it happened that often.
Same. I honestly wish they acknowledged it by showing his grave in the Underworld arc in season 5 and it was tipped over or smth, meaning he moved on. Just any type of acknowledgment would’ve been fine.
@SullySyndrome or just like repentance? Like she gets to grow and fall in love and like at no point was she like "oh damn I was wrong". In the Neverland Arc it's EXPLICITLY stated that she has no regrets
Ok no bc I think about this all the time, the show has a weird thing with consent. Thinking about the time Zelena pretended to be Robin’s wife and then they got pregnant together… the implications of which are tricky
I remember it bothering me so much that the girl from House and Ginnifer Goodwin looked so much alike and it was confusing but then bam they were mother and daughter and I instantly had so much respect for the casting
ehhhh the only problem is that emma is supposed to be way younger than regina. considering snow white is mum age and regina is mum age to snow white…i know it doesn’t look like it because the actresses look similar in age. the other thing is that technically regina is emma’s step grandma.
@@Cheezybrietechnically, but I have to assume that mentally she kept aging. Since she was the only one aware of storybrook’s secret for decades, while everyone else was stuck in a time loop.
It’s still so funny that the whole Mr Gold/Cinderella plot starts with “I want your first born” and evolves into “ok I just want my stuff back you broke into my shop plz give it back”
and it’s implied that when he tells emma to find her and ‘get back what is his’ he’s talking about the baby. which is horrible but it’s also like she did steal from him too does he just not want that back? or does he want it all back and the baby?
To be fair they should've probably recast Jefferson because when Sebastian Stan left the hat somehow stayed and there was sort of a plothole surrounding it. The concept of the hat is also baffling it's way too powerful. Who even was Jefferson? Where was he from? How he met the Evil Queen? So many storylines just vanished I really wish they told them even with a different actor
The hat can also apparently travel in time which was never explored properly and then there was "time travel magic is hard to perform and very dangerous" narrative with Zelena which again raises question about who the hell was Jefferson and what is up with his hat
@@dariarayden3986I get it but I also think it's very funny that the mad hatter just turns up with access to inexplicably powerful magic, never explains a single thing, then dips. It's pretty on-brand for the character he's portraying
One thing worth mentioning is that when Regina goes down into her vault to crush the Sheriff's heart, this is the first time in the season that it's fully confirmed that she's had her Enchanted Forest memories all along.
this is such a good observation! i always assumed she had her memories because she's the one who made the dark curse. but story-wise, you're so right. it really is the first time it's made abundantly clear
@@dawnwinter-wi4psYeah but during your first watch nothing explicit shows that she remembers. Everything up until that point can easily be explained as her not wanting Emma around her son, but its only with Graham that we get definite proof and confirmation that she remembers and is actively trying to stop the curse from breaking.
@@lilchaos9212 yes it does just the fact that she's worried about who Emma might be proves this. The entire first two episodes it's really really obvious but okay.
Im convinced that during Season 1 Henry just had a cocoa tab at Granny's that Regina paid for because that little dude is always drinking cocoa and we never find out how its paid for.
I bet he gets an allowance from his WASP witchy mayor mom. (Yes Lana is Italian and Puerto Rican but like within the show both of Regina’s parents are white??).
@@Jellybeansatdusk her dad is actually played by two Latino actors. Tony Perez is the main actor who plays her dad, and he’s played in flashback by Zak Santiago. And Regina’s paternal grandfather is played in that flashback by Portuguese actor Joaquim de Almeida. So I think the Latino/Iberian paternal background is implied.
Is it that difficult to imagine that Regina gives him a basic allowance? She’s the mayor and was a single parent, so I doubt she always cooked, bought groceries, or made a meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That and maybe it’s just through mayor benefits that Granny would be fine not charging. Or Regina just put a general tab for each month that she’d knew Henry would never go over.
Ashley boyde deserves a freaking medal and so much more. the woman 9 months pregnant for 28 years! she literally deserves every good thing possible in her life.
Pregnant, teenaged, doing manual labor, abandoned by her boyfriend, treated poorly and judged by literally everyone, and with the looming threat of someone trying to steal her baby from her (legally, as far as she knows, she has no ability to fight him) for THREE DECADES.
The "I'm getting in married in two days" floored me. First of all, congratulations. Second of all, holy SHIT is that a hell of a thing to casually comment in the middle of a nearly three-hour recap of one season of a show you've promised to analyze in full
OUAT is the show of all time. I have been waiting for someone to make a 2+ hour deep dive video essay on it. And this is just the first season. There is so much to talk about.
I have always been intrigued about the implications of Henry GROWING UP in a town where time stood still. There he is, growing up, while all the other children stay the same age. He goes from kindergarten to first grade to second, making new friends just to leave them behind. HOW WOULDN'T HE NOTICE THIS. HOW DID REGINA EXPLAIN IT AWAY. WHY DID HE NEVER BRING IT UP.
He probably thought that was normal because it was the only way he knew things to be. Until he got older, read from books that that is not how the world works and/or started to think about what makes him different fom the others.
He did eventually bring it up, that’s why he landed on the “my mom is actually the evil queen and everyone in town is actually a cursed fairy tale character” idea. It’s why he kick starts the plot by going to get Emma.
Considering how Regina is as a parent in s1, I’m pretty sure she kept repeating “You’re imagining things”. Plus, she did take him to therapy when it got to the point when he wouldn’t leave it alone, making it seem like he was “troubled” (yayyy we love it when parents make their kids feel crazy for being rightfully suspicious of things 🙃)
When I was watching the Leroy episode, I made the incredible discovery that the dwarf that watches all the eggs is named Watchy and the dwarf that is their boss is named Bossy.
I haven't seen this show and the first thing I saw with Robert Carlisle was a kinda homoerotic cannibal horror movie I was floored when I saw him in this.
As a Mainer, I have always been frustrated that they immediately blamed Emma when she swerved into the sign because we have a million animals that could have caused that.
also like surely that’s the first assumption. she had one drink of cider with regina, never went to a bar and drove completely fine most of the night and then dramatically swerves off the road and she says it’s because there was a wolf in the middle of the road. even if your town doesn’t get wolves you’d assume it was maybe just another animal instead of her being so drunk she’s hallucinating wolves and crashing her car
It's also possible Regina had SOME part in this. After all, she has both normal AND magical influence over Graham at this point. Spoiler: In Season 2 we do see Regina use her control over Graham to make him arrest a guy for Drunk Driving, which Graham does, completely believing that the man is driving under the influence despite not being drunk OR in a car at that point.
Her being 28 with the prophecy is so funny because why on earth did they not just round it up to be an even 30. Like she’d still be young and not ready to raise a kid so it wouldn’t change the story at all except make it sound better
Even if they made Henry 12 when the story starts and she still had him at 18 - 12 is a fine age for a fairytale kid protagonist! It doesn't have to be 10! Then Emma would be 30, and they could be all 'tricenary of her birth blah blah chosen one'
@@peggy7744technically she would’ve had him when she was 17 because he met her on her 28th birthday meaning he was already ten. so i do think they wanted her to have been 18 when she had him but i think they did the math wrong
I think the point was for her to be a teen mom, leading to give up for adoption, leading to that kid finding her ten years later. Which is a prime age before children kind of lose magic. Right around 5th grade. You stop believing in magic in general. So wanted to get a kid before that last little bit left his heart... Hence forth 28. She got pregnant at 16, had him at 17 that would mean that he would turn 10 right before she turned 28. plus if they waited till she was 30 then Henry having been convinced it's a delusion, between his mom and therapist, and over the magic believing at 12 years old. He would have no reason to run away and find Emma seeing as he doesn't believe there is a curse to be broken.
After not watching that show in probably a decade you have unearthed the anger 13-year-old me felt at Snow White naming her daughter Emma. I knew like ten Emmas in high school. It's like if she had a son and named it Josh.
I get the showrunners probably wanted her to have a regular name so she would blend into the real world but they still could’ve done better. Even her dad’s name, David, is at least a timeless classic name
@@kellywolstenholme8134yeah like even emily which is so close to emma would’ve worked so much better. spoilers for like season 4 or 5 below even lilith/lily another character from the enchanted forest that got pushed into the real world before the curse works so much better for both
Emma is a pretty old name actually, dates back to medieval times, apparently it was given to an Austrian Royal in the 7th century or something. It just happens that it was also a popular kids name 10-20 years ago so it feels more average to us.
To add, I actually think it’s Germanic origins fits nicely with the tales of the brothers Grimm and all that. I was brought up reading those stories, and Hans Christian Anderson and all the rest, so it seems fairytale-esque enough for me. And lastly, just for funsies, josh is short for Joshua which is an even more ancient name than Emma. It’s just another case of how a name has continued to be popular through human history enough for it to feel ‘modern’ and boring. Hope this was interesting! I’m not trying to start an argument or anything, I just think it’s funny how people’s experiences influence the way we interpret things like names.
i also LOOVE ashley omg 😭😭does she really do anything that's incredibly important or monumental to the sdtory ? no.. is she incredibly important and monumental to my heart? yes. also, i do NAURRRT. understand why people are mad at mary margaret instead of david ??? when they find out mary margaret is with david, even knowing hes married :/ like they both are in the wrong but DAVID is the one who is MARRIED. misogyny is rampant in storybrooke, we hate to see it LMFAOO 😭
Jefferson is one of those characters whose backstory is literally so upsetting. Like he made himself mad in trying over and over and over again to make a hat to go back to his daughter then he gets magically transported to another world with no magic meaning he can’t make a magic hat at all, he can’t even try. And then he has to try and live while his daughter who he FINALLY sees again who has no memories of him and is living the life she deserves, happy. She was happy with Jefferson and had a great life with him he was a great father but its obvious that Jefferson doesn’t feel that way. He feels that he wasn’t and that he messed everything up which he didn’t. And he lives in such mental and emotional turmoil it’s literally devastating. Also that cat is literally the sweetest thing ever oh my god.
I think its a great concept that when Gold found out Ashley was going into labor, it was just through like an amazon style email saying 'your order is ready to collect' and he audibly went 'ooh'
Part of Henry growing up in a town where nothing changes is weird but also will weirdly make sense. Like oh yeah Ashley has been pregnant for 10 years but also Henry’s only interaction with a pregnant woman has been Ashley, so Regina could just be like “no that’s how pregnancy works” and Henry would just kinda accept that. Same with the whole thing with kids. Regina could just say “oh once you hit their age you slow down how fast you grow” and well she’s his mom why would she lie, plus again he can’t confirm or deny what he’s being told because he couldn’t leave
Whilst that's true... he was the only kid who would age each year - all the kids he would have played with as a toddler are still toddlers, all the kids in the years above him in school are now in his year or years below... it's monumentally messed up
I always found it hilarious how they gave the “fairytale characters” the most random basic names like Abigail and Emma and David and the ordinary world versions were called “Dr. Whale” and “Mr. Gold” and “Dr. Hopper” like so on the nose 😂
@@ostatnifajek128 it’s not a reference to him being Frankenstein, as far as I’m aware? But it is a very outlandish and unusual name compared to the fairytale names.
@@Jellybeansatdusk it is a reference, insofar as the 1931 Universal Pictures film adaptation of Frankenstein was directed by James Whale, but i only know that because i'm a nerd about Frankenstein tbh
Why does Regina’s “safer” playground look so much more dangerous? I mean I get that she based it off her evil queen castle but that thing is so sharp and made of metal lol. And also they thought she was building a lavish mcmansion in the woods but the playground is like barely the size of a normal house? Sidney and Emma were kinda dumb
It’s already upsetting how much we see Regina gaslighting Henry, but just imagine how much more went on. “Mom, why are all my friends and classmates still in 2nd grade when I’m going to 3rd?” “They got held back, sweetie. You’re just so smart.” -- “Mom, all my friends stay the same age, what’s going on?” “I’m not sure what you mean. Sometimes time flies by, you know.” -- “Everything’s the same. Why am I the only one? Why?” -- Poor Henry. Mary Margaret says how withdrawn and lonely he was before she gave him the storybook. Of course he would be! If you live in a world where you can’t form any meaningful attachments because you’re the only one growing and changing.
I always wondered about Henry aging vs everyone else but still somehow I never *really* thought about how none of the other children are aging so this child is just watching other children stay trapped in their ages while he grows 0.0 jesus fuck
Do I remember how bonkers this story is? Yes. Does you recapping it make it seem even more convoluted and crazy? Also yes. I think it's the way it's just laid out without the added benefit of seeing the characters living it out just makes it so unbelievably crazy.
Hey fun fact in first episode it was implied that when Emma asked Regina if she loves Henry Regina lied (Emma used her superpower or whatever) and that is why Emma decided to stay. But yeah it was a thing only in the pilot since later they change it and Regina does actually care for Henry A LOT
Ya I saw a thing on that back when it was airing. Grain of salt because it's been years but supposedly when Emma arrives Regina believes she loves Henry but it's so twisted by her vendetta that it doesn't count as real love (just look at all the phycological and emotional abuse Henry suffers in season one because Regina is maintaining the lie over what's best for him) that why the curse doesn't break any time she kisses his forehead before the season one finally and why Emma's pings a lie when Regina says she loves him. But when Henry is poisoned and Regina throws away all her scheming to try and save him that changes and becomes what the show classifies as true love.
@@sfsin3380 Ooh it's a way to look at it. Don't think writers were actually smart enough to do it thought, but I can see that. Also I do believe the love Regina had for Henry was true, just the only way to love she's familiar with is abusive love. Like she has her redemption arc in season two and she's struggggling to show affection to Henry in healthy ways cause she never had to do that before.
Imagine if they had Regina actually break the curse instead of Emma by kissing Henry to prove her true love. One of the few things that would make season 1 even better than it was.
I accidentally fell into a relationship with this show after marrying a super-fan (she was on set during the finale, you can see her elbow!) so I am now contractually obligated to consume this Haley Whipjack recap like it's ambrosia
Ok so I was OBSESSED with this show as a 14-year old. I think Ruby was one of my first celebrity crushes actually lol. For some reason I watched until the start of season 6, and then I was like “this is too bad I cannot continue”. However I do still have Hook and Rumplestiltskin pop figures from that era of my life. Edit: I would also like to add that I didn’t think this at the time, but now, aware that I am a lesbian, I would absolutely die for mommy Regina. That is all.
The dedication of TH-camrs is insane. On one end of the scale, we have creepy "I have to go stalk and doxx some guy IRL," and on the other, we have "Brb @ this 2+ hour recap on season one of seven, gotta go get married real quick" Less of an 'influencer', more of an 'inspiration' 😍
i’ve never looked up why they chose the age 28 but i came to the same conclusion years ago 😂😂 the show knew henry needed to be young enough to believe in fairytales but old enough to be able to travel from maine to boston all on his own and just went from there lol
Fun fact storybrook is actually a place called Steveston in British Columbia (Canada), its a historically Japanese area! You can do both tours of the Japanese cultural sites AND tours of the OUAT places.
@@kaemincha i don’t have any specific resources (I know about it because my grandma lives there) but yeah like the other comment says wikipedia probably is your best bet
Two things I genuinely think were done well in the show, despite all of the (completely understandable) criticisms: 1.) Death is fairly final. It gets a little convoluted toward the end with the alternate realms and such, but 9/10 times, if a character dies, they stay dead. On the other hand, if a character is brought back, it’s extremely clear that it is a ‘one time thing’ with a LOT of consequences (or the character appears for some one-off flashbacks). This helps keep the stakes pretty high and consistent, and it allows the remaining characters to explore their grief and mental health. While I didn’t always agree with the characters they chose to kill off, I appreciated the consistency that is missing in SO MANY fantasy shows these days. 2.) Emma’s abandonment issues are NOT immediately fixed after finding her parents. It takes her a LONG time to consider them her parents, and calling them ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ is reserved for special circumstances. It MEANS something when she openly acknowledges that they are her parents. Alternatively, Snow and Charming are ALSO NOT immediately fixed after finding their daughter. She’s not a little kid for them to raise. She’s a fully-grown adult with a crap ton of trauma. This was one of my favorite recurring dynamics in the show because it grounded the characters and gave them so much depth.
I always felt SO bad for Sherriff Graham. I remember watching it, and slowly realizing that Regina was basically forcing herself on him s*xually by repeatedly using his heart to control him. She used him like a plaything both in the Enchanted Forest and out of it. And him slowly realizing something was wrong and he didn't even LIKE her in Storybrook and slowly beginning to suspect she was controlling him somehow, losing his mind, with nobody believing him - I felt awful for him. Sometimes some of things these characters did didn't deserve to be forgiven. Nobody ever even brings it up later.
I immediately subscribed. Two-hour-long videos about old excessively cheesy tv shows that I was obsessed with as a kid is exactly the type of content I endorse. Fantastic work.
A cruel detail about the whole gaston thing is that we later found out when they go to hell that gaston died the moment when belle pruned rose gaston essentially cutting him up in half
@@jackharper2087I…, this show goes SO unhinged… and Disney had finished their big merger so there’s a lot of licensed iconography and a couple of their most profitable original characters that show up… it’s a sometimes fun time lol
@@Dudeman23rdi understand, i felt the same way when i first heard gender as an adjective. Now it’s a part of my daily lexicon. I particularly use it as an adjective when i see someone that gives me hella gender envy.
So, not justifying Regina's grudge against Snow for a mistake she made as a child, and definitely not saying Regina was right to blame Snow, but explaining why I think it makes sense for Regina to have maintained that grudge for so long: Regina was like 18/19, early 20s at MOST at the time, and was thrust into becoming Snow's stepmother at the same time as she was grieving, on top of being in a marriage to a much older man that she didn't love. And with Snow right there *all the time* and already having been a focal point of Regina's anger, I think Regina pretty much made Snow into her scapegoat/hatesink to cope, which gave that grudge a lot more staying power than it would've had if Regina had been able to just flee and grieve Daniel's death on her own terms.
Agreed and don't forget Snow was beloved by the entire kingdom so she had to constantly hear how great she was whilst fully "knowing" (in this case thinking) that she's awful
IIRC the reason that Emma agrees to go with Henry to Storybrooke so quickly is because Henry essentially threatens to claim that Emma kidnapped him if she doesn't.
Funnily enough I never watched the show, but a friend of mine wrote lots of fanfiction for swanqueen and, starved for lesbianism as I was, I sort of accidentally slid into the fandom via swanqueen excusively without ever knowning what exactly goes on in the show. Watching this from a perspective that is not swanqueen focused is interesting to say the least, I caught myself going "wait, are there future revelations or did y'all lie to me" multiple times
3 hours for just season 1? And you thought you'd have to split the WHOLE SHOW into 2 parts? Oh man we're gonna be FEASTING on this content for a while and I'm so here for it
My wife was a BIG wheel in the OUAT fanfic community on Tumblr during this show's heyday, so getting her to sit down and watch this is gonna be a trip. Can't wait to see how it shakes out.
I'm pretty sure Rumple asked for babies because they were a high value trade commodity. After all, we see that Charming's backstory quite literally includes an exchange of babies.
I respect the OUAT writers they did whatever they wanted and they were as insane and ambitious and unique as possible without any restrictions they had complete creative freedom within their budget and they didn’t care what anyone thought and they had fun with it The writing was unique and comforting the writers did their best with what they were given to work with
Oh god I've forgotten about the outfits. Throwback to the theory that the blue fairy was evil, because all evil characters have outfits with Intense cleavage and all good characters have not, the so-called "evil cleavage" and because blue is the only "good guy" who has cleavage she must be evil. This never had any payoff in the show but there are Amazing fanworks based on that concept
That woman was a raging bitch she was 100% evil and i was confused why every character was like "OMG THE BLUE FAIRY NICEST WOMAN ALIVE SHE'LL HELP US NO QUESTION" when she literally banished one of her own fairies for trying to do the FAIRYLIKE THING
@@elenabe4718 It's something that when you start noticing you cannot stop noticing. The writers of OUAT had some. opinions? unexamined biases? about morality and sexuality, so all evil characters are dressed much more provocatively than the good characters. Best example being Lacey (its S2, so it's gonna be in the next retrospective) which is Belle with Cleavage who is now evil because she plays pool seductively. Same with ouat and race: all black characters die. They're not racist on purpose, but all black characters are written as disposable (this might change after s5, but i haven't watched further than that)
@@nautil_us omg now that you mention it... I had noticed it about the black characters, probably because it's something it's been talked in cinema and TV for years, but the evil cleavage just passed right over me. I only liked "evil" characters outfit more, because they were more well dressed. But I also remember wondering why Mary Margaret had such bland clothes when she was supposed to be this badass heroine
As someone who’s watched the whole awful show, finally someone is spreading the feelings I feel. It’s so bad I love it. No one understands it like I do.
the first like 3 ish seasons were like alright. they were fun. cheesy and silly but with the premise you can’t avoid that. and then it just gets so fucking bad oh my god. like the show sort of just starts to melt and fold in on itself
I do love how even though Snow was shown the exact reason why Regina hated her so much, when arguing with Charming she reminds him "she poisoned me because she thought I was prettier than her"
How did I never catch that Gold got his memories back by using Emma’s name? I kinda just figured he always remembered because blah blah magic something something dark one 😂 Anyway that’s really clever and makes me appreciate the character that much more if that’s even possible
I’m absolutely ready to watch you have a breakdown recapping this apparently insane show I’ve never seen. And it’s SEVEN seasons long? Queen shit. The fit was exceptional too btw.
Dude it gets.... Insane. I gave up ONE SEASON from the end because I couldn't take it anymore. I had also taken a break from binging it and let me tell you. That show is all at once or nothing. Do not give yourself any room to realize how b a d it's gotten, keep watching through the desensitization of the first couple seasons.
"I have things to do... uh... I'm getting married in two days" is crazy 😭 ??? CONGRATULATIONS ??? (this video is the most entertaining thing I've watched all week, thank you!)
I love how Rumple didn’t even ask for the hair. He just plucks it from her head FIRST, THEN asks for it, she asks what he wants with it and he’s like: “what the heck do you need it for it’s not attached to you anymore??” and she’s like “fair enough whatever” 😂
24:30 Hmmm...I always assumed Rumple/Gold *did* know that he had this power over Regina. There is something soooo deliberate about the way he tacks on a pregnant pause and then a "please" at the end of his requests. Plus, he's gathering magic items all this time and keeping them in the shop, and he knows how to use them when needed. This world gives him a lot of limitations he didn't have before, back when he was the most powerful sorcerer the Enchanted Forest had ever seen, so he doesn't have power over Regina the way he used to and so he can't be open about the fact that he knows exactly what is going on. But I ALWAYS got the feeling that he *knows* _exactly_ what is going on.
He nly did once meeting emma. Which is probably why he did the plot to scare cinderbell and get captured to use her name to regain them. The rest might be subconcious?
This is excellent but I do want to say that in the genre of multi hour video essay about a show I didn't watch (well half watched in this case at least for me. I left around season 4) the host getting married half way through is honestly iconic. No one is doing it like you truly. Same vibe as the descent into Shrek madness where there's a clear timeline. I love it
I feel like when people try to delineate between Disney adults and ✨Disney Adults✨ they get real nitpicky, when in reality they could just separate by people who did a completionist OUAT run and those of us who tapped out in the first half or even the first season
Me who watched my first Disney movie (the lion King) when I was 12 bc my friend wanted to watch it, and who doesnt really care abt Disney movies bc to quote 5 year old me "thats so boring" absolutely devouring all 7 seasons of ONCE: ... Also plz Im not tryna be edgy or #notlikeothergirls its just that my dad used to tell me like the Odyssey, The Divine Comedy, the Iliad etc as bedtime stories and compared to that and the original (often German) versions of fairytales Disney was just ...boring But ONCE?! Now THATS what Im talking abt. Basically everyone is some type of criminal, theyre so MESSY, soap opera family reveals!!!, MACIG, super cool costumes, gowns and shit. Like sorry literally no Disney movie compared to that😂
I always figured Rumple knew the contract for Cinderella’s baby would just be a means to get him into Snow and Charming’s dungeon and would eventually be a bargaining chip after the curse and that’s why he wanted it
That and to scare into her gods fear how important it is to always treasure your child? But yep, i figured too that in storybrook and the forrest its a means to an end and not really serious, throu scaring her with it? But he might did that because of his complex as extra. A favour from emma and emmas name as failsafe if regina backstabs him
"im getting married in two days" lmfao that took me out. just imagining that in the middle of wedding preparation you're just like "THE LORE I MUST UNDERSTAND THE LOREEEE" lmao but for real congratulations!! I'm so happy for you
He’s the best, 10 year old me had a full blown crush on him when season 2 aired and I am NOT ashamed to admit I still do. Simply the best and most sane character in this entire show
this one of the best deep dives i’ve seen purely because you understand how insane but how fun this ridiculous show was. i watched the first few seasons with my sister and mom and we were all flabbergasted by every episode 😭
I’m so excited to watch the family tree get progressively more Batshit. I still can’t wrap my head around Emma dating her baby daddies stepfather basically. Like that’s so silly
Yeah I STILL say that Emma should have just got with Regina and that would have ended their feud over which of them is Henry’s mother but maybe I just love Swanqueen… 😂😂😂
God this video is genuinely so validating and also comforting??? This is a comfort show so god Damn it was nice to see someone take the time to dive into this show with actual interest and genuinely having fun with it! Love the video! Will definitely be staying around to see more. Made me laugh way too much
I love your cat lovingly gazing at you and rubbing their face to you and trying their damnedest at being cute and getting your attention while you're too entranced in giving a recap of this wild show :"D
Everything Rumple did was to get back to Bae. He wanted Cinderella’s baby because he could see the future and knew he’d need that leverage to get Emma to owe him a favor so he could use her to find Bae.
I think this is the place to let the world know, my family watched this series every year for about 6 years. We would start watching again every spring before the dvd for the new season came out. I’ve seen the first 3 seasons six times Six times I’m so excited to watch this video, this is the most prepared I’ve ever been for a video essay
okay so, the reason Rumple freezes when he signs the new contract is because it's written using squid ink, it's a whole thing and I'm mildly annoyed that I just know that 😅
Took me until we got to like The Merlin dark one plotline to decide that this is not worth it anymore 😂 Like the frozen season was a little dumb, but it still had nice conflicts and the Ingrid revelation was interesting and creepy and the ending sad, so I was compelled (fuck the whole emchanted forest/arendelle plotlines except Ingrids backstory though😂) I was loosing steam around the Jeckyll and Hyde bs and Cruella Devils weird shit too, but I liked the twist and overall it was still fun. But Im sorry I HATED Merlin, Merlins annoying girlfriend and the Dark Emma plot. Like Captain Swan was a serve, and then they made them annoying and for what. Also I disliked the maleficents baby plot too bc it seemed pointless 😂
Honestly I love this particular style. It feels like I'm just sitting and gossiping about a show or movie I'm fascinated with and so is Haley. Love it. A little parasocial, but honestly this has been a lot of fun. I look forward to the next season.
As someone who watched the show while it still was airing and personally experienced it going absolutely wild after a certain point I'm so excited for this (strap in for seasons 3 and 4 folks, it'll be a rollercoaster ride)
Thoughts that will be updated as I go along: • okay!… so naturally, I did not remember the male gaze on ruby at all. She was my favorite, simply b/c the choice to make Red Riding Hood a werewolf is almost always correct. bud she really did deserve better tho like damn. my poor girl. • whY IS Giancarlo Esposito here??! who kidnapped him for this. what is happening • Why is the dead dwarf’s name stealthy… name him Sneaky, you cowards. it sounds more in line with the rest • there’s so much more death and insanity than I remember! the huntsman?? uhhh what the hell. was that entire plotline. doesn’t Regina become sympathetic later on too?? • I thought haley was reading too much into it when saying Regina and Emma seemed like they were about to kiss, and let me just say I’ll never doubt her again. what kinda enemies to lovers… • holy shit, I forgot about the Belle/Rumpel Stockholm syndrome plot, but I remember being vaguely uncomfortable even as a kid. genuinely, how are things so screwy in the first season? I was like… 10 when I watched this. that was not appropriate for me • Y’know, that explanation of Henry’s childhood is some David Lynchian nightmare, and I really cannot blame him for running off to find Emma at all. I would’ve too. how horrifying it would be to age and see no one else doing the same around you • speaking of rumple getting around the most in the show…. iirc Doesn’t he have a whole menagerie of relatives? can’t wait we get to those.
1:18:05 i absolutely love the reveal that you're getting married in two days as you film this, and i love even more the fact that you say this while dressed almost identically to the bride of a wedding i just attended (the theme was "funeral for a wedding," and she said she wanted to look like a disney villain, so i think the fact that y'all match means she did it right gbnfhd)
Your commentary on this show is cracking me up. Hearing someone else explain this show back to me makes me realize how dramatic and unhinged the entire Once Upon a Time franchise was. This was my comfort show for years until season 5!
They had a dream and a 20 dollar budget for CGI and honestly I respect it
Nah, they had a huge budget but spent it all on the Evil Queen’s outfits
@@vem9583 and I'm glad they did!
@@vem9583and rightfully so
@@vem9583 All (costuming) magic comes at a (CGI) price
@@vem9583respectable choice
No one acknowledges that Henry being an intensely lonely child growing up and instantly believing the fairy tales might have something to do with the fact that he’s the only one in town that ages. Like bro imagine every time you move up a grade no one else does, what do you do about friends? And his education must suck because in future episodes we see that Mary Margret was teaching almost the exact same lesson verbatim from the time they got to the town, so he was building the same birdhouse for weeks or even months before he snapped and went to get Emma. Legit how would he even have a relationship, by the time he would’ve grown up none of the kids he grew up with would’ve aged but the only people his age would be people that babysat him growing up. Storybrooke was Henry’s eternal torture and honestly his sheer “I give no fucks” attitude about common sense and others’ opinions was probably shaped by that.
Yeah it never even occurred to me how ducked that was until she mentioned it, he really was stuck in a horror movie. Like that’s some peoples interpretations of hell!!
WAIT THIS IS SUCH A GOOD POINT
i really love henry because no matter how hard literally everyone tries to gaslight him he’s always like fuck you im right and he is!!! and after the curse is broken he’s like you guys should be letting me help you i literally figured out the curse and am the reason it was broken!
literally the only other humans in town with free will were his mother and jefferson who he’d never met. and while i love regina and i know that she really does truly love henry, during the time of the curse she wasn’t the best mother figure especially since yknow she’s the reason he was trapped in this eldritch nightmare
but he was who he was because of what he’d been through. take away his story, his upbringing, or any aspect of his experience, and he wouldn’t be the boy with the Heart of the Truest Believer. we all need to stop wishing life was a perfect coddling, and accept that the hard things we go through, make us cooler, and aren’t to be avoided; even if they’re awful at the time, we become awesome because we overcame them, and nothing is forever, all curses are eventually broken.
As someone who lives in Maine and has done so his entire life, the whole “Land without happiness or magic” is rude but not undeserved
No other land could possibly be the birthplace of Moxie lmao
lol, it wasn’t about Maine specifically. it’s explained in s7 why our world is a ‘world without magic’.
I feel like Maine is one of those states that we as a collective country just kind of forget about on a grand scale, like Idaho or Vermont 🥲
@@jungtothehuimangi would put New Hampshire in that category as well
@@takitaki202 it's kind of funny how there are some states in the US that have middle child syndrome
The thing I have always found disproportionately baffling is that Rumplestiltskin's son is named Baelfire, and it means nothing. He's just a dude. He's not a bad guy, he doesn't turn into a dragon, he just randomly has an extremely cool and sinister name in a show otherwise full of meaningful names.
and the main character who fight all sort of magical irrational creatures and do cool magic and the daughter of Charming and Snow freaking White and her name is....Emma
I don’t want to go into specifics in case I’m doing too much spoiling, but I have the faintest memory that Baelfire is the father of a very very very important character…?👀Yes he is technically still just some guy, but at least that doesn’t make him just some RANDOM guy. I think he’s also immortal?? Like never ever ages and therefore cannot die from old age (a different kind of immortal that is also different from the curse on Storybrooke that keeps every other character from aging as well). And he is immortal I believe for another reason that I will not state specifically because that will come up in a later season. Or he’s a time traveler?? I think, it’s one of those
@@winterwine460 No, Baelfire is not immortal. It's just that he was trapped in that ONE specific place for a REALLY long time before he made his way to our world. As for time travel, I don't THINK he ever time travels, but time travel is a thing and it's only used once or twice and not in any meaningful way. Baelfire is normal because both of his parents, at the time of his conception and birth, were normal.
@@keyblademasterclark okay thanks for clearing that up. i just had this weird displaced memory that he was either never aging or time traveled at some point. Its been a LONG TIME since ive seen the show in its entirety so im bound to have a couple things wrong yk?
@@winterwine460 well when he was in THAT place he didnt age so you are not off. he was immortal til he left that place like everyone who goes there
i love the line "this man is collecting nomenclature like it's his job" because like. he's rumpelstiltskin. it IS his job.
"A lot of people want this middle aged man carnally" absolutely took me out
They want him BIBLICALLY 😂😂😂
I may or may not be one of those people. I also recently figured out my daddy issues translate into the men I’m into. *HM I WONDER IF THOSE TWO THINGS COULD BE RELATED*
Ah yes the average tumblr experience
@@immabethehero1486 It's true we do be desiring old men. every day some new geriatric pops up on my dash
@@Flameclaw123 Who's the newest?
The look of complete, unadulterated fear in Haley’s face when accidentally calling Prince Charming James Charles fuckimg kills me
Well this is going to live in my head rent free for a while 😆
47:16 James Charles- *_JAMES CHARLES!?_* James . _Charming_ .
Hahaha 😂
The fact that the story completely just glosses over the fact that Regina rapes and kills Graham is just something that keeps me up at night
If I had a nickel for every time Once Upon A Time had a woman rape a man and never face consequences, backlash or even acknowledgement of it I’d have three nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s upsetting it happened that often.
Same. I honestly wish they acknowledged it by showing his grave in the Underworld arc in season 5 and it was tipped over or smth, meaning he moved on. Just any type of acknowledgment would’ve been fine.
@SullySyndrome or just like repentance? Like she gets to grow and fall in love and like at no point was she like "oh damn I was wrong". In the Neverland Arc it's EXPLICITLY stated that she has no regrets
Ok no bc I think about this all the time, the show has a weird thing with consent. Thinking about the time Zelena pretended to be Robin’s wife and then they got pregnant together… the implications of which are tricky
@@willimations277 and then in season 7 they do it again with Hook and another Gothel!! What was their PROBLEM
the casting of Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White was spot-on
I remember it bothering me so much that the girl from House and Ginnifer Goodwin looked so much alike and it was confusing but then bam they were mother and daughter and I instantly had so much respect for the casting
Since you mention the tension, Regina and Emma dating and co-parenting Henry would solve so many problems lol
ehhhh the only problem is that emma is supposed to be way younger than regina. considering snow white is mum age and regina is mum age to snow white…i know it doesn’t look like it because the actresses look similar in age. the other thing is that technically regina is emma’s step grandma.
@@saddimpledionyeah but regina stopped aging for 28 years a regina isnt that much older than snow so its fine
@@Cheezybrietechnically, but I have to assume that mentally she kept aging. Since she was the only one aware of storybrook’s secret for decades, while everyone else was stuck in a time loop.
@@saddimpledionhook is centuries older than Emma so is baelfire
For real!! How did I never think of that 😂 they should just be mom wives. Wife moms.
It’s still so funny that the whole Mr Gold/Cinderella plot starts with “I want your first born” and evolves into “ok I just want my stuff back you broke into my shop plz give it back”
Every mr gold plot line ever
and it’s implied that when he tells emma to find her and ‘get back what is his’ he’s talking about the baby. which is horrible but it’s also like she did steal from him too does he just not want that back? or does he want it all back and the baby?
@@liamross340 both. he exchanges the baby for a favor from emma
That's Frumpy Pigskin for you
@@liamross340from what i remember it never shows what she stole from him so i assume she stole the contract saying she would give up her baby
Fun fact! Jefferson was supposed to be a recurring character, but Sebastian Stan had to be written off to go do Captain America
yeah! a shame because jefferson was a great character but also good for the actor because at least marvel pays more
To be fair they should've probably recast Jefferson because when Sebastian Stan left the hat somehow stayed and there was sort of a plothole surrounding it. The concept of the hat is also baffling it's way too powerful. Who even was Jefferson? Where was he from? How he met the Evil Queen? So many storylines just vanished I really wish they told them even with a different actor
The hat can also apparently travel in time which was never explored properly and then there was "time travel magic is hard to perform and very dangerous" narrative with Zelena which again raises question about who the hell was Jefferson and what is up with his hat
@@dariarayden3986I get it but I also think it's very funny that the mad hatter just turns up with access to inexplicably powerful magic, never explains a single thing, then dips. It's pretty on-brand for the character he's portraying
@@evintydeyeah totally but in this case I wish it was even more mysteriously weird and not a plot contrivance due to Stans leaving the show
One thing worth mentioning is that when Regina goes down into her vault to crush the Sheriff's heart, this is the first time in the season that it's fully confirmed that she's had her Enchanted Forest memories all along.
Yooo what?! I did NOT know that
You could tell that from the first episodes she was the only person not confused and she was constantly worried and working behind the scenes.
this is such a good observation! i always assumed she had her memories because she's the one who made the dark curse. but story-wise, you're so right. it really is the first time it's made abundantly clear
@@dawnwinter-wi4psYeah but during your first watch nothing explicit shows that she remembers. Everything up until that point can easily be explained as her not wanting Emma around her son, but its only with Graham that we get definite proof and confirmation that she remembers and is actively trying to stop the curse from breaking.
@@lilchaos9212 yes it does just the fact that she's worried about who Emma might be proves this. The entire first two episodes it's really really obvious but okay.
Im convinced that during Season 1 Henry just had a cocoa tab at Granny's that Regina paid for because that little dude is always drinking cocoa and we never find out how its paid for.
I just assume he pays for it with all the credit cards he steals
I bet he gets an allowance from his WASP witchy mayor mom. (Yes Lana is Italian and Puerto Rican but like within the show both of Regina’s parents are white??).
@@Jellybeansatdusk her dad is actually played by two Latino actors. Tony Perez is the main actor who plays her dad, and he’s played in flashback by Zak Santiago. And Regina’s paternal grandfather is played in that flashback by Portuguese actor Joaquim de Almeida. So I think the Latino/Iberian paternal background is implied.
@@cakt1991 Let's call it a happy coincidence, because I doubt they could afford being picky in the heritage of their one off characters
Is it that difficult to imagine that Regina gives him a basic allowance? She’s the mayor and was a single parent, so I doubt she always cooked, bought groceries, or made a meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
That and maybe it’s just through mayor benefits that Granny would be fine not charging. Or Regina just put a general tab for each month that she’d knew Henry would never go over.
Ashley boyde deserves a freaking medal and so much more. the woman 9 months pregnant for 28 years! she literally deserves every good thing possible in her life.
Pregnant, teenaged, doing manual labor, abandoned by her boyfriend, treated poorly and judged by literally everyone, and with the looming threat of someone trying to steal her baby from her (legally, as far as she knows, she has no ability to fight him) for THREE DECADES.
her back is probably fractured in multiple places atp😭
And then they replaced her with a different Cinderella like she never existed 😭
The "I'm getting in married in two days" floored me. First of all, congratulations. Second of all, holy SHIT is that a hell of a thing to casually comment in the middle of a nearly three-hour recap of one season of a show you've promised to analyze in full
Biggest plot twist in the whole video fr
Heyyy SPOILERS!!!
Fr fr I was SHOCKED
OUAT is the show of all time. I have been waiting for someone to make a 2+ hour deep dive video essay on it. And this is just the first season. There is so much to talk about.
Ava’s reads made a really good video on it too!
it truly is the most show of all time
I watched it as an 11 year old with my parents while it was coming out and it definitely altered my brain chemistry
Billiam’s are short, but he’s also done OUAT commentary which I recommend also! c:
Fantasy Fixations is also doing an episode by episode breakdown of OUAT on her channel
I have always been intrigued about the implications of Henry GROWING UP in a town where time stood still. There he is, growing up, while all the other children stay the same age. He goes from kindergarten to first grade to second, making new friends just to leave them behind. HOW WOULDN'T HE NOTICE THIS. HOW DID REGINA EXPLAIN IT AWAY. WHY DID HE NEVER BRING IT UP.
He must not have noticed and thought that the town was so big his classes were new students each year.
He probably thought that was normal because it was the only way he knew things to be. Until he got older, read from books that that is not how the world works and/or started to think about what makes him different fom the others.
He did eventually bring it up, that’s why he landed on the “my mom is actually the evil queen and everyone in town is actually a cursed fairy tale character” idea. It’s why he kick starts the plot by going to get Emma.
Considering how Regina is as a parent in s1, I’m pretty sure she kept repeating “You’re imagining things”. Plus, she did take him to therapy when it got to the point when he wouldn’t leave it alone, making it seem like he was “troubled” (yayyy we love it when parents make their kids feel crazy for being rightfully suspicious of things 🙃)
When I was watching the Leroy episode, I made the incredible discovery that the dwarf that watches all the eggs is named Watchy and the dwarf that is their boss is named Bossy.
Robert Carlisle is playing 3 entirely different characters this season and he does then all so well its crazy
3? Its been a while lol rumple, mr gold and?
@@lisaistyping the cowardly rumble before becoming the dark one
And tumblr chose scaley man to thirst over 😭
I haven't seen this show and the first thing I saw with Robert Carlisle was a kinda homoerotic cannibal horror movie I was floored when I saw him in this.
@@angelbaby2145 WHAT
As a Mainer, I have always been frustrated that they immediately blamed Emma when she swerved into the sign because we have a million animals that could have caused that.
@cecille5833 why speed up instead of maintaining constant speed or slowing down as fast as possible without skidding out?
@@cecille5833there was literally nobody else on the road. That’s why they thought she was drunk, because there’s nothing ever on the road ever 😂
Also he saw her a few minutes earlier, stone sober
also like surely that’s the first assumption. she had one drink of cider with regina, never went to a bar and drove completely fine most of the night and then dramatically swerves off the road and she says it’s because there was a wolf in the middle of the road. even if your town doesn’t get wolves you’d assume it was maybe just another animal instead of her being so drunk she’s hallucinating wolves and crashing her car
It's also possible Regina had SOME part in this. After all, she has both normal AND magical influence over Graham at this point.
Spoiler:
In Season 2 we do see Regina use her control over Graham to make him arrest a guy for Drunk Driving, which Graham does, completely believing that the man is driving under the influence despite not being drunk OR in a car at that point.
Her being 28 with the prophecy is so funny because why on earth did they not just round it up to be an even 30. Like she’d still be young and not ready to raise a kid so it wouldn’t change the story at all except make it sound better
because when a woman hits 30 she’s ancient don’t you know? you can’t be fighting dragons at 30!
Giving a woman a 2 year deadline to a slay a dragon is setting very unrealistic standards.
Even if they made Henry 12 when the story starts and she still had him at 18 - 12 is a fine age for a fairytale kid protagonist! It doesn't have to be 10! Then Emma would be 30, and they could be all 'tricenary of her birth blah blah chosen one'
@@peggy7744technically she would’ve had him when she was 17 because he met her on her 28th birthday meaning he was already ten. so i do think they wanted her to have been 18 when she had him but i think they did the math wrong
I think the point was for her to be a teen mom, leading to give up for adoption, leading to that kid finding her ten years later. Which is a prime age before children kind of lose magic. Right around 5th grade. You stop believing in magic in general. So wanted to get a kid before that last little bit left his heart...
Hence forth 28. She got pregnant at 16, had him at 17 that would mean that he would turn 10 right before she turned 28. plus if they waited till she was 30 then Henry having been convinced it's a delusion, between his mom and therapist, and over the magic believing at 12 years old. He would have no reason to run away and find Emma seeing as he doesn't believe there is a curse to be broken.
After not watching that show in probably a decade you have unearthed the anger 13-year-old me felt at Snow White naming her daughter Emma. I knew like ten Emmas in high school. It's like if she had a son and named it Josh.
I get the showrunners probably wanted her to have a regular name so she would blend into the real world but they still could’ve done better. Even her dad’s name, David, is at least a timeless classic name
@@kellywolstenholme8134yeah like even emily which is so close to emma would’ve worked so much better. spoilers for like season 4 or 5 below
even lilith/lily another character from the enchanted forest that got pushed into the real world before the curse works so much better for both
Emma is a pretty old name actually, dates back to medieval times, apparently it was given to an Austrian Royal in the 7th century or something. It just happens that it was also a popular kids name 10-20 years ago so it feels more average to us.
To add, I actually think it’s Germanic origins fits nicely with the tales of the brothers Grimm and all that.
I was brought up reading those stories, and Hans Christian Anderson and all the rest, so it seems fairytale-esque enough for me.
And lastly, just for funsies, josh is short for Joshua which is an even more ancient name than Emma. It’s just another case of how a name has continued to be popular through human history enough for it to feel ‘modern’ and boring.
Hope this was interesting! I’m not trying to start an argument or anything, I just think it’s funny how people’s experiences influence the way we interpret things like names.
Let’s also remember that she popped that baby out and had to say bye real quick we were on a deadline no had time to pen up a pretty name
As these unhinged recaps have grown in popularity I knew there HAD to be one made for OUAT. Thank you being the brave soul and taking the plunge
hours-long unhinged tv show recaps are my favorite thing ever. mike’s mic has provided all my entertainment for the past few weeks
Exactly your comment. I was merely biding my time
Once upon a time does not work well as an acronym.
Ouat looks like you spelled quartz wrong...
Hmm
@@henryapplebottom7231yeah but when you say it out loud it sounds like you're saying "what" and that's kind of fitting
This one and billams are amazing
I will give OUAT this: everyone in the cast seemed to try their hardest to sell the insane plot of this series.
mr gold suddenly becoming mary margaret's legal representative is so funny 😭😭
mary margaret be like: girl, look at my lawyer im goin to jail
i also LOOVE ashley omg 😭😭does she really do anything that's incredibly important or monumental to the sdtory ? no.. is she incredibly important and monumental to my heart? yes.
also, i do NAURRRT. understand why people are mad at mary margaret instead of david ??? when they find out mary margaret is with david, even knowing hes married :/ like they both are in the wrong but DAVID is the one who is MARRIED. misogyny is rampant in storybrooke, we hate to see it LMFAOO 😭
someone needs to make one of those dawg look at my lawyer im going to jail 💀 memes w this man bc WHAT was he doing there
Not to mention a lawyer with a criminal background lol. Emma was probably thinking didn't I just arrest this guy 3 episodes ago???
😂😂😂
1:39:50 “Where egg come from? How get dwarf egg?” has the same energy as “why do Piranha Plant have bone in it?”
omg yes
BDG BDG BDG 🗣️
you are absolutely right!
One of the best talents OUAT has was the casting of the younger versions of Snow and Emma. It's actually just stunning how well they did.
My fav casting was the actresses for Elisa and her sister.
Jefferson is one of those characters whose backstory is literally so upsetting. Like he made himself mad in trying over and over and over again to make a hat to go back to his daughter then he gets magically transported to another world with no magic meaning he can’t make a magic hat at all, he can’t even try. And then he has to try and live while his daughter who he FINALLY sees again who has no memories of him and is living the life she deserves, happy. She was happy with Jefferson and had a great life with him he was a great father but its obvious that Jefferson doesn’t feel that way. He feels that he wasn’t and that he messed everything up which he didn’t. And he lives in such mental and emotional turmoil it’s literally devastating. Also that cat is literally the sweetest thing ever oh my god.
I think its a great concept that when Gold found out Ashley was going into labor, it was just through like an amazon style email saying 'your order is ready to collect' and he audibly went 'ooh'
PLEASE JAKDKSKFJAKFA
Why neither i or any character in this show never questioned the human trafficking in this episode i will never know
@warriorgirl8507 some say human trafficking others say just an innocent lil guy picking up his order
Part of Henry growing up in a town where nothing changes is weird but also will weirdly make sense. Like oh yeah Ashley has been pregnant for 10 years but also Henry’s only interaction with a pregnant woman has been Ashley, so Regina could just be like “no that’s how pregnancy works” and Henry would just kinda accept that. Same with the whole thing with kids. Regina could just say “oh once you hit their age you slow down how fast you grow” and well she’s his mom why would she lie, plus again he can’t confirm or deny what he’s being told because he couldn’t leave
I mean they have media like books and movies
@@thatrantinggirl7376and the Internet
@@thatrantinggirl7376wait…does that mean Frozen is an actual movie in their world?
@@creed8712No, because they’re actual members of Storyville lol
Whilst that's true... he was the only kid who would age each year - all the kids he would have played with as a toddler are still toddlers, all the kids in the years above him in school are now in his year or years below... it's monumentally messed up
The amount of times I said "oh that person was in 2 episodes of supernatural" to myself throughout this video is far too many, in fact
Supernatural, the eternal jump scare of a show
To be fair, James Marsters and Finn Wolfhard were in supernatural aswell
I always found it hilarious how they gave the “fairytale characters” the most random basic names like Abigail and Emma and David and the ordinary world versions were called “Dr. Whale” and “Mr. Gold” and “Dr. Hopper” like so on the nose 😂
How is "dr. Whale" giving out that he's Frankenstein? I'm genuinely curious, could you explain?
@@ostatnifajek128 it’s not a reference to him being Frankenstein, as far as I’m aware? But it is a very outlandish and unusual name compared to the fairytale names.
@@Jellybeansatdusk it is a reference, insofar as the 1931 Universal Pictures film adaptation of Frankenstein was directed by James Whale, but i only know that because i'm a nerd about Frankenstein tbh
@@arbyswitch5580 that’s actually lovely, I didn’t know that. Thanks for sharing :)
"Prince James Charl- CHARLES?!?!" makes me laugh so hard every single time I watch this. I always rewind to laugh again
"magic is real but just in maine" is every stephen king book ever
I literally guessed a horror movie was an adaptation from a Stephen King book just because the main character started describing Maine.
And vampires
Rumplestiltskin is constantly giving ultimate Loki energy and I need that to be acknowledged
I mean, folklore-wise they fill the same caricature archetype of 'guy who just likes to fuck shit up for lols' so
@@jasminv8653 Love me some Trickster archetypes.
Except Rumple keeps getting things done
Lol true 😂😂
Um excuse you Jefferson did not leave his daughter in the woods alone, he leaves her with the NEIGHBORS. He is still perfect and amazing
Why does Regina’s “safer” playground look so much more dangerous? I mean I get that she based it off her evil queen castle but that thing is so sharp and made of metal lol. And also they thought she was building a lavish mcmansion in the woods but the playground is like barely the size of a normal house? Sidney and Emma were kinda dumb
I don't think the blueprint had measurements on it though
It’s already upsetting how much we see Regina gaslighting Henry, but just imagine how much more went on.
“Mom, why are all my friends and classmates still in 2nd grade when I’m going to 3rd?”
“They got held back, sweetie. You’re just so smart.”
--
“Mom, all my friends stay the same age, what’s going on?”
“I’m not sure what you mean. Sometimes time flies by, you know.”
--
“Everything’s the same. Why am I the only one? Why?”
--
Poor Henry. Mary Margaret says how withdrawn and lonely he was before she gave him the storybook. Of course he would be! If you live in a world where you can’t form any meaningful attachments because you’re the only one growing and changing.
Wow, yes. I never thought about that before
I always wondered about Henry aging vs everyone else but still somehow I never *really* thought about how none of the other children are aging so this child is just watching other children stay trapped in their ages while he grows 0.0 jesus fuck
YES and people forget about this past s1! Regina made her own kid feel crazy for asking reasonable questions
Do I remember how bonkers this story is? Yes. Does you recapping it make it seem even more convoluted and crazy? Also yes. I think it's the way it's just laid out without the added benefit of seeing the characters living it out just makes it so unbelievably crazy.
Hey fun fact in first episode it was implied that when Emma asked Regina if she loves Henry Regina lied (Emma used her superpower or whatever) and that is why Emma decided to stay. But yeah it was a thing only in the pilot since later they change it and Regina does actually care for Henry A LOT
Ya I saw a thing on that back when it was airing. Grain of salt because it's been years but supposedly when Emma arrives Regina believes she loves Henry but it's so twisted by her vendetta that it doesn't count as real love (just look at all the phycological and emotional abuse Henry suffers in season one because Regina is maintaining the lie over what's best for him) that why the curse doesn't break any time she kisses his forehead before the season one finally and why Emma's pings a lie when Regina says she loves him. But when Henry is poisoned and Regina throws away all her scheming to try and save him that changes and becomes what the show classifies as true love.
@@sfsin3380 Ooh it's a way to look at it. Don't think writers were actually smart enough to do it thought, but I can see that.
Also I do believe the love Regina had for Henry was true, just the only way to love she's familiar with is abusive love. Like she has her redemption arc in season two and she's struggggling to show affection to Henry in healthy ways cause she never had to do that before.
In the pilot script, it's actually left unambiguous.
Imagine if they had Regina actually break the curse instead of Emma by kissing Henry to prove her true love. One of the few things that would make season 1 even better than it was.
Im fairly sure they do that in like...s4? Or s3B? Not sure but then she becomes the "saviour"@vukkicos5688
I accidentally fell into a relationship with this show after marrying a super-fan (she was on set during the finale, you can see her elbow!) so I am now contractually obligated to consume this Haley Whipjack recap like it's ambrosia
So relatable lol
Man i hope my boyfriend accepts my niche ass hyper fixations as swiftly and adorably as this
I hope you introduced this video to your lady! I bet she’d love it. Maybe you guys can even watch these together?
Ok so I was OBSESSED with this show as a 14-year old. I think Ruby was one of my first celebrity crushes actually lol. For some reason I watched until the start of season 6, and then I was like “this is too bad I cannot continue”. However I do still have Hook and Rumplestiltskin pop figures from that era of my life.
Edit: I would also like to add that I didn’t think this at the time, but now, aware that I am a lesbian, I would absolutely die for mommy Regina. That is all.
Yeah I think I stopped watching after season 5
lesbians who didnt know they were lesbians who now appreciate mommy regina unite!
everyone says season 4 is when it went downhill and I can kinda see that but season 6 is when it entirely went off a cliff 😭
Late bloomer as well, I had no clue how obsessed I was with Regina and I would also die for her in any season after the first.
I recently rewatched and I stopped at the beginning of season 5 like I just got bored 😭
The dedication of TH-camrs is insane. On one end of the scale, we have creepy "I have to go stalk and doxx some guy IRL," and on the other, we have "Brb @ this 2+ hour recap on season one of seven, gotta go get married real quick"
Less of an 'influencer', more of an 'inspiration' 😍
i’ve never looked up why they chose the age 28 but i came to the same conclusion years ago 😂😂 the show knew henry needed to be young enough to believe in fairytales but old enough to be able to travel from maine to boston all on his own and just went from there lol
I always liked it bc I found it weird that every saviour was alwayw like 15 😂
But 28 is such a weirdly specific bumber 😂
Ikr they should've just made her 30 lmao
I forgot just how bonkers this show was, and how much it altered my brain chemistry forever. The evil queen definitely awakened something in me.
I’ve never read a more relatable comment 😂🤣
As a veteran of the highly saturated Frozen gifs on Tumblr era of the show, I salute you for your sacrifice
Fun fact storybrook is actually a place called Steveston in British Columbia (Canada), its a historically Japanese area! You can do both tours of the Japanese cultural sites AND tours of the OUAT places.
I would love to learn more about this! Do you have any resources you'd recommend?
@@kaeminchagoogle
@@kaemincha Wikipedia, it even has a list of the other media filmed there (you wouldn’t even believe it if I told you some of them)
@@kaemincha i don’t have any specific resources (I know about it because my grandma lives there) but yeah like the other comment says wikipedia probably is your best bet
So they should have made it a Canadian Japanese town.
Two things I genuinely think were done well in the show, despite all of the (completely understandable) criticisms:
1.) Death is fairly final. It gets a little convoluted toward the end with the alternate realms and such, but 9/10 times, if a character dies, they stay dead. On the other hand, if a character is brought back, it’s extremely clear that it is a ‘one time thing’ with a LOT of consequences (or the character appears for some one-off flashbacks). This helps keep the stakes pretty high and consistent, and it allows the remaining characters to explore their grief and mental health. While I didn’t always agree with the characters they chose to kill off, I appreciated the consistency that is missing in SO MANY fantasy shows these days.
2.) Emma’s abandonment issues are NOT immediately fixed after finding her parents. It takes her a LONG time to consider them her parents, and calling them ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ is reserved for special circumstances. It MEANS something when she openly acknowledges that they are her parents. Alternatively, Snow and Charming are ALSO NOT immediately fixed after finding their daughter. She’s not a little kid for them to raise. She’s a fully-grown adult with a crap ton of trauma. This was one of my favorite recurring dynamics in the show because it grounded the characters and gave them so much depth.
I always felt SO bad for Sherriff Graham. I remember watching it, and slowly realizing that Regina was basically forcing herself on him s*xually by repeatedly using his heart to control him. She used him like a plaything both in the Enchanted Forest and out of it. And him slowly realizing something was wrong and he didn't even LIKE her in Storybrook and slowly beginning to suspect she was controlling him somehow, losing his mind, with nobody believing him - I felt awful for him. Sometimes some of things these characters did didn't deserve to be forgiven. Nobody ever even brings it up later.
I immediately subscribed. Two-hour-long videos about old excessively cheesy tv shows that I was obsessed with as a kid is exactly the type of content I endorse. Fantastic work.
Couldn’t have said it better myself
A cruel detail about the whole gaston thing is that we later found out when they go to hell that gaston died the moment when belle pruned rose gaston essentially cutting him up in half
This show had no chill💀
They go to hell????
@@jackharper2087I…, this show goes SO unhinged… and Disney had finished their big merger so there’s a lot of licensed iconography and a couple of their most profitable original characters that show up… it’s a sometimes fun time lol
The transition from the feathers to the prince outfit is fantastic very gender of you
10/10
I've never seen the word gender used as an adjective before but I felt the meaning in my soul instead of my brain, that's a new one
@@Dudeman23rdi understand, i felt the same way when i first heard gender as an adjective. Now it’s a part of my daily lexicon.
I particularly use it as an adjective when i see someone that gives me hella gender envy.
Set my little bisexual heart a'twitter 😍
@whatifanything7104 the bisexuals once again winning by finding someone who can do both.
So, not justifying Regina's grudge against Snow for a mistake she made as a child, and definitely not saying Regina was right to blame Snow, but explaining why I think it makes sense for Regina to have maintained that grudge for so long:
Regina was like 18/19, early 20s at MOST at the time, and was thrust into becoming Snow's stepmother at the same time as she was grieving, on top of being in a marriage to a much older man that she didn't love. And with Snow right there *all the time* and already having been a focal point of Regina's anger, I think Regina pretty much made Snow into her scapegoat/hatesink to cope, which gave that grudge a lot more staying power than it would've had if Regina had been able to just flee and grieve Daniel's death on her own terms.
Agreed and don't forget Snow was beloved by the entire kingdom so she had to constantly hear how great she was whilst fully "knowing" (in this case thinking) that she's awful
Exactly i mean the man was older then her father
Its canon she was barley 18
IIRC the reason that Emma agrees to go with Henry to Storybrooke so quickly is because Henry essentially threatens to claim that Emma kidnapped him if she doesn't.
he's an absolutely wild kid like you gotta respect his dedication to getting his town saved
Sometimes I forget how insane that small child was 😭
The OUAT fandom and the SwanQueen ship was a big part of my lesbian awakening. This bad show still has my whole heart
YES ANOTHER SWANQUEEN SHIPPER, THANK GOD!! 😂🥰🩷
Funnily enough I never watched the show, but a friend of mine wrote lots of fanfiction for swanqueen and, starved for lesbianism as I was, I sort of accidentally slid into the fandom via swanqueen excusively without ever knowning what exactly goes on in the show. Watching this from a perspective that is not swanqueen focused is interesting to say the least, I caught myself going "wait, are there future revelations or did y'all lie to me" multiple times
Same😂 Like I even struggle calling it a bad show bc like yes its objectively not very good, but damn it its SO much FUN to watch!😂
SO MUCH THIS
The ship that started because two women stood next to each other. Once. While arguing.
3 hours for just season 1? And you thought you'd have to split the WHOLE SHOW into 2 parts?
Oh man we're gonna be FEASTING on this content for a while and I'm so here for it
My wife was a BIG wheel in the OUAT fanfic community on Tumblr during this show's heyday, so getting her to sit down and watch this is gonna be a trip. Can't wait to see how it shakes out.
Any interesting notes
Oh she felt crazy called out by all the Rumplestiltskin stuff. @@2x4noah
we need to know more
I’m invested
Yall still together?
I'm pretty sure Rumple asked for babies because they were a high value trade commodity. After all, we see that Charming's backstory quite literally includes an exchange of babies.
This makes... sense? 😂 it really does it's just hilarious that it does.
I respect the OUAT writers they did whatever they wanted and they were as insane and ambitious and unique as possible without any restrictions they had complete creative freedom within their budget and they didn’t care what anyone thought and they had fun with it
The writing was unique and comforting the writers did their best with what they were given to work with
Oh god I've forgotten about the outfits. Throwback to the theory that the blue fairy was evil, because all evil characters have outfits with Intense cleavage and all good characters have not, the so-called "evil cleavage" and because blue is the only "good guy" who has cleavage she must be evil. This never had any payoff in the show but there are Amazing fanworks based on that concept
I dont believe she was evil, but goddamn was she shady
what
That woman was a raging bitch she was 100% evil and i was confused why every character was like "OMG THE BLUE FAIRY NICEST WOMAN ALIVE SHE'LL HELP US NO QUESTION" when she literally banished one of her own fairies for trying to do the FAIRYLIKE THING
@@elenabe4718 It's something that when you start noticing you cannot stop noticing. The writers of OUAT had some. opinions? unexamined biases? about morality and sexuality, so all evil characters are dressed much more provocatively than the good characters. Best example being Lacey (its S2, so it's gonna be in the next retrospective) which is Belle with Cleavage who is now evil because she plays pool seductively. Same with ouat and race: all black characters die. They're not racist on purpose, but all black characters are written as disposable (this might change after s5, but i haven't watched further than that)
@@nautil_us omg now that you mention it... I had noticed it about the black characters, probably because it's something it's been talked in cinema and TV for years, but the evil cleavage just passed right over me. I only liked "evil" characters outfit more, because they were more well dressed. But I also remember wondering why Mary Margaret had such bland clothes when she was supposed to be this badass heroine
haley whipjack you will be rewarded in heaven for this work.
As someone who’s watched the whole awful show, finally someone is spreading the feelings I feel. It’s so bad I love it. No one understands it like I do.
the first like 3 ish seasons were like alright. they were fun. cheesy and silly but with the premise you can’t avoid that. and then it just gets so fucking bad oh my god. like the show sort of just starts to melt and fold in on itself
I do love how even though Snow was shown the exact reason why Regina hated her so much, when arguing with Charming she reminds him "she poisoned me because she thought I was prettier than her"
How did I never catch that Gold got his memories back by using Emma’s name? I kinda just figured he always remembered because blah blah magic something something dark one 😂 Anyway that’s really clever and makes me appreciate the character that much more if that’s even possible
I’m absolutely ready to watch you have a breakdown recapping this apparently insane show I’ve never seen. And it’s SEVEN seasons long? Queen shit.
The fit was exceptional too btw.
Don’t forget the spin-offs!
Dude it gets.... Insane. I gave up ONE SEASON from the end because I couldn't take it anymore. I had also taken a break from binging it and let me tell you. That show is all at once or nothing. Do not give yourself any room to realize how b a d it's gotten, keep watching through the desensitization of the first couple seasons.
naming regina mills #1 girl failure is so correct i love this for her. what a show. the show - possibly of all time. god am i about to rewatch it???
Probably mentioned already, but putting Ruby and Snow together seems likely to have been a nod to yet another fairy tale, “Snow White and Rose Red” …
it COULD BE
"I have things to do... uh... I'm getting married in two days" is crazy 😭 ??? CONGRATULATIONS ??? (this video is the most entertaining thing I've watched all week, thank you!)
I love how Rumple didn’t even ask for the hair. He just plucks it from her head FIRST, THEN asks for it, she asks what he wants with it and he’s like: “what the heck do you need it for it’s not attached to you anymore??” and she’s like “fair enough whatever” 😂
24:30 Hmmm...I always assumed Rumple/Gold *did* know that he had this power over Regina. There is something soooo deliberate about the way he tacks on a pregnant pause and then a "please" at the end of his requests. Plus, he's gathering magic items all this time and keeping them in the shop, and he knows how to use them when needed. This world gives him a lot of limitations he didn't have before, back when he was the most powerful sorcerer the Enchanted Forest had ever seen, so he doesn't have power over Regina the way he used to and so he can't be open about the fact that he knows exactly what is going on. But I ALWAYS got the feeling that he *knows* _exactly_ what is going on.
He nly did once meeting emma. Which is probably why he did the plot to scare cinderbell and get captured to use her name to regain them. The rest might be subconcious?
god bless you for covering what is (unfortunately) my favorite show. you’re one of gods strongest soldiers for recapping the whole show
Yeah same, I ❤ OUAT and I DEFINITELY was/am a huge Swanqueen shipper 😂😂😂
This is excellent but I do want to say that in the genre of multi hour video essay about a show I didn't watch (well half watched in this case at least for me. I left around season 4) the host getting married half way through is honestly iconic. No one is doing it like you truly. Same vibe as the descent into Shrek madness where there's a clear timeline. I love it
I love that snow is called Mary Margaret because the tale of snow white is based on the stories of Princess Margarete and Princess Maria
You filming a crazy long OUAT video two days before you get married is such a stick-to-your-guns move and I respect it. Can’t wait for s2!
I feel like when people try to delineate between Disney adults and ✨Disney Adults✨ they get real nitpicky, when in reality they could just separate by people who did a completionist OUAT run and those of us who tapped out in the first half or even the first season
Me who watched my first Disney movie (the lion King) when I was 12 bc my friend wanted to watch it, and who doesnt really care abt Disney movies bc to quote 5 year old me "thats so boring" absolutely devouring all 7 seasons of ONCE: ...
Also plz Im not tryna be edgy or #notlikeothergirls its just that my dad used to tell me like the Odyssey, The Divine Comedy, the Iliad etc as bedtime stories and compared to that and the original (often German) versions of fairytales Disney was just ...boring
But ONCE?! Now THATS what Im talking abt. Basically everyone is some type of criminal, theyre so MESSY, soap opera family reveals!!!, MACIG, super cool costumes, gowns and shit.
Like sorry literally no Disney movie compared to that😂
its the only soap opera i've ever enjoyed and I'm not ashamed of it. although i do question my sanity
I thought the Evil Queen fit would be hard to top, but HOT DAMN does Wipjack pulls that freshly married prince outfit SO. FUCKING. WELL. Kudos.
"Prince James Charles" got me pretty good. I'm actually crying 🤣
I always figured Rumple knew the contract for Cinderella’s baby would just be a means to get him into Snow and Charming’s dungeon and would eventually be a bargaining chip after the curse and that’s why he wanted it
That and to scare into her gods fear how important it is to always treasure your child?
But yep, i figured too that in storybrook and the forrest its a means to an end and not really serious, throu scaring her with it? But he might did that because of his complex as extra.
A favour from emma and emmas name as failsafe if regina backstabs him
Honestly never realized before that Henry was being gaslit his whole life, especially with the other kids and pregnant Ella 🤣🤣🤣
"im getting married in two days" lmfao that took me out. just imagining that in the middle of wedding preparation you're just like "THE LORE I MUST UNDERSTAND THE LOREEEE" lmao but for real congratulations!! I'm so happy for you
seeing haley rank Baelfire as number 3 for season one knowing how much they fall in love with him later based on her twitter is SO funny to me
He’s the best, 10 year old me had a full blown crush on him when season 2 aired and I am NOT ashamed to admit I still do. Simply the best and most sane character in this entire show
this one of the best deep dives i’ve seen purely because you understand how insane but how fun this ridiculous show was. i watched the first few seasons with my sister and mom and we were all flabbergasted by every episode 😭
"Lizard wizard trickster boy"...
Best way to describe Rumple
... I am exclusively using this from now on to describe the character
Gaston being turned into a rose is actually important several seasons later.
I’m so excited to watch the family tree get progressively more Batshit. I still can’t wrap my head around Emma dating her baby daddies stepfather basically. Like that’s so silly
Yeah I STILL say that Emma should have just got with Regina and that would have ended their feud over which of them is Henry’s mother but maybe I just love Swanqueen… 😂😂😂
@@16taysiaI completely agree with this. It’s logical and gay, what more could you ask for?
God this video is genuinely so validating and also comforting??? This is a comfort show so god Damn it was nice to see someone take the time to dive into this show with actual interest and genuinely having fun with it! Love the video! Will definitely be staying around to see more. Made me laugh way too much
( also I seriously need to know the name of your cat they are the most adorable creature )
Hermes!! He's the light of my life
@@haleywhipjack aweee!! What a sweet baby!!
I love your cat lovingly gazing at you and rubbing their face to you and trying their damnedest at being cute and getting your attention while you're too entranced in giving a recap of this wild show :"D
This show made me realize what fandom culture was and I adored it as a child. Will be rewatching bc of this video
Everything Rumple did was to get back to Bae. He wanted Cinderella’s baby because he could see the future and knew he’d need that leverage to get Emma to owe him a favor so he could use her to find Bae.
I think this is the place to let the world know, my family watched this series every year for about 6 years. We would start watching again every spring before the dvd for the new season came out. I’ve seen the first 3 seasons six times
Six times
I’m so excited to watch this video, this is the most prepared I’ve ever been for a video essay
I personally dropped of somewhere around Jackyl and Hyde Evil queen and Frozen. This show got wild 🤣
okay so, the reason Rumple freezes when he signs the new contract is because it's written using squid ink, it's a whole thing and I'm mildly annoyed that I just know that 😅
Took me until we got to like The Merlin dark one plotline to decide that this is not worth it anymore 😂
Like the frozen season was a little dumb, but it still had nice conflicts and the Ingrid revelation was interesting and creepy and the ending sad, so I was compelled (fuck the whole emchanted forest/arendelle plotlines except Ingrids backstory though😂)
I was loosing steam around the Jeckyll and Hyde bs and Cruella Devils weird shit too, but I liked the twist and overall it was still fun.
But Im sorry I HATED Merlin, Merlins annoying girlfriend and the Dark Emma plot.
Like Captain Swan was a serve, and then they made them annoying and for what.
Also I disliked the maleficents baby plot too bc it seemed pointless 😂
Honestly I love this particular style. It feels like I'm just sitting and gossiping about a show or movie I'm fascinated with and so is Haley. Love it. A little parasocial, but honestly this has been a lot of fun. I look forward to the next season.
i do love that ruby’s boyfriend’s name is peter, like peter and the wolf
If never accrued to me that Henry was living a weird f’d up ground hog day except he’s the only one changing
As someone who watched the show while it still was airing and personally experienced it going absolutely wild after a certain point I'm so excited for this
(strap in for seasons 3 and 4 folks, it'll be a rollercoaster ride)
Thoughts that will be updated as I go along:
• okay!… so naturally, I did not remember the male gaze on ruby at all. She was my favorite, simply b/c the choice to make Red Riding Hood a werewolf is almost always correct. bud she really did deserve better tho like damn. my poor girl.
• whY IS Giancarlo Esposito here??! who kidnapped him for this. what is happening
• Why is the dead dwarf’s name stealthy… name him Sneaky, you cowards. it sounds more in line with the rest
• there’s so much more death and insanity than I remember! the huntsman?? uhhh what the hell. was that entire plotline. doesn’t Regina become sympathetic later on too??
• I thought haley was reading too much into it when saying Regina and Emma seemed like they were about to kiss, and let me just say I’ll never doubt her again. what kinda enemies to lovers…
• holy shit, I forgot about the Belle/Rumpel Stockholm syndrome plot, but I remember being vaguely uncomfortable even as a kid. genuinely, how are things so screwy in the first season? I was like… 10 when I watched this. that was not appropriate for me
• Y’know, that explanation of Henry’s childhood is some David Lynchian nightmare, and I really cannot blame him for running off to find Emma at all. I would’ve too. how horrifying it would be to age and see no one else doing the same around you
• speaking of rumple getting around the most in the show…. iirc Doesn’t he have a whole menagerie of relatives? can’t wait we get to those.
you are objectively correct about sneaky
1:18:05 i absolutely love the reveal that you're getting married in two days as you film this, and i love even more the fact that you say this while dressed almost identically to the bride of a wedding i just attended (the theme was "funeral for a wedding," and she said she wanted to look like a disney villain, so i think the fact that y'all match means she did it right gbnfhd)
Your commentary on this show is cracking me up. Hearing someone else explain this show back to me makes me realize how dramatic and unhinged the entire Once Upon a Time franchise was. This was my comfort show for years until season 5!
1:55:30 Your cat is just vibing, enjoying life and being held, and it is so so sweet