What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time (Season Premiere)

Once Upon a Time: Season 2, Episode 1 “Broken” (D-)

I didn’t think much of this show from the start last year, and after a hiatus, I’ve grown tired of it and completely lost interest. The introduction of magic to Storybrooke is far from a positive development, as it does little to propel the story forward and loses the signature hook that this show was working so hard to maintain. Like other shows before it, it’s traded one alternate universe for another, one populate with Mulan and other extremely irritating young characters. This episode was most evocative of the Harry Potter world, with a dark mark appearing on the wrists of doomed victims and dementors arriving to suck the lives out of the poor souls. The visual effects continue to be terrible, and people just look ridiculous walking around carrying broomsticks and preparing to fight off evil. Henry dictating everyone’s actions and making Emma, Mary Margaret, and David all protect Regina when all they want to do is make her pay for her crimes is silly, especially considering the fact that everyone has now realized their true identities. The arrival of the smoke monster was game-changing enough, and now both Emma and Mary Margaret are stuck in “another corner” of the fairy tale world, which means they’ll be on their own bonding while the rest of Storybrooke constantly puts Regina in jail and tries to figure out how to get them back. At least Mr. Gold will have someone influencing him towards good in Belle, and Regina still seems to be the more villainous one, what with her wrapping David up in tentacles before Henry commanded her to let him go. I can’t stand this show anymore, and it’s one of the few series where I don’t feel compelled even to stick around to see what happens.