What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 13 “Whatever Happened to Frederick” (C+)

This town of Storybrooke is truly peculiar, and while I understand that the point of this series isn’t for there to be a logical, sound background for the real-world version of the fairy-tale world, it still bothers me that the town is so inconsistent. It seems like a boundless universe, with a giant school and a tiny diner, and with a population so tight-knit that everyone in the whole town finds out about Mary Margaret breaking up Kathryn’s marriage. The strongest part of the episode was James’ successful defeat of the siren, which didn’t seem likely when he was stuck at the bottom of the water with the siren posing as Snow White. It’s nice to know that Kathryn’s alter ego, Abigail, is capable of kindness, and the two couples ended up relatively happy ever after thanks to James’ bold rescue of her betrothed from his gold-plated state. Regina is making herself a bit obvious, and she’s quick to dispose of people as soon as she has no more use for them. This show runs the risk of losing track of all its threads, omitting Rumplestiltskin entirely and forgetting about prisoner Belle. Eion Bailey’s August is somewhat intriguing, taking Emma to a literal watering hole, but I’m much more interested in why he’s doctoring Henry’s book and then leaving it for Emma to find. As I’ve mentioned before, there’s so much happening that it’s hard to imagine it all ever being brought together, conceived of in spurts rather than with a long-term endgame in mind.