Five Shows I Won’t Be Watching (Anymore)

There have been times in the past that I’ve abruptly given up on shows, but now, facing an ever-crowding fall TV season, I’ve made the choice to abandon five shows I had previously planned on watching regularly. Three are in their second seasons and I’ve decided I’m not willing to make the investment, and the other three are older but just aren’t headed anywhere I want to go. This doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll stop watching them (though I certainly should), but I will definitely stop reviewing effective this past week. If you think I should continue watching any of these shows, or stop watching something else (aside from “Revolution,” which I can already acknowledge I detest but will keep watching), please say so in the comments below.

1. Once Upon a Time: I was never terribly impressed with this series, giving it a consistent C+ week after week, and the season two premiere showed me that it’s only headed downhill from here. This show had a cool premise but a very lacking presentation of is ideas. I’m meagerly invested in the characters, but I’m not attached enough to any of them to stay to see what becomes of them.

2. Treme: I’m not so eager to give up on this show because I think it’s the only legitimately good series that I’m planning to stop watching. That said, if generally slow Sunday night period dramas “Hell on Wheels” and “Boardwalk Empire” can sustain my interest and this show just can’t, then I think it’s not worth sticking by this well-executed but deathly boring show.

3. 2 Broke Girls: I know I’m merely the last one to jump on the bandwagon here and declare this show obnoxious and overdone. The main thing for me is that it’s just not funny anymore. I used to laugh, and now I don’t. Kat Dennings is great, but she’ll just have to entertain the millions of viewers who watch CBS comedies now.

4. Glee: This show has become so irritating that I can’t even stand it. I liked some episodes from season one and thought it could have gone somewhere, but its new focus on the extraordinary success of two annoying graduates in New York is making me hate it more than before, and there isn’t anything left that makes it worth watching. I’ll be glad to be rid of these characters if I can truly stay away.

5. Scandal: This series gets booted mainly because of another show that deals with a similar subject and is infinitely better. The second season premiere of this so-so show paled in comparison to Starz’s excellent “Boss,” and the characters proved too broadly drawn to make it sustainable. After only eight episodes, I don’t think I’ll even remember these characters in a few months.

What shows do you plan to give up on this season?

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.

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

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 22 “A Land Without Magic” (C+)

This episode got off to an intense start as Emma experienced a quick flashback and took out her rage on Regina the moment she entered the hospital, prompting her to confess everything and drop the ball on this secret curse. Almost immediately after that, Regina and Emma were suddenly allies, working hard to save Henry’s life and fighting against the eternally duplicitous Mr. Gold. Emma’s battle against Maleficent, spliced in with Charming’s battle with the beast, was a smidge overdramatic and wasn’t entirely useful in terms of the greater plot. Jefferson going to see Belle and sending her to Mr. Gold to let him know that Regina is endlessly manipulative was far more intriguing, and it seems to have helped prompt him to bring the magic back, which is sure to transform Storybrooke in the show’s second season. There had to be some big finish that would reshape this show for season two, and having everyone remember their past lives, albeit less dramatically than in “Lost,” did just that, only to be one-upped moments later by the reintroduction of magic spreading throughout the land. Though I haven’t been entirely impressed with this show thus far, I’m interested to see how the show changes when it returns this fall with its characters newly aware of their double identities and struggling to cope with using magic in their everyday lives in a bureaucratic system in a small town in Massachusetts. This first season was fun but ultimately unfulfilling, but it’s decently appealing and mildly addictive.

Season grade: C+
Season MVP: Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 21 “An Apple Red as Blood” (C+)

This episode’s events were certainly dramatic, as things in the fairy tale world accelerated almost up to the present day and Regina managed to reach into those moments and extract the poisoned apple that felled Snow White to bring it into the real world. Regina’s bad dream about being burned at the stake at the start of the episode demonstrated that she’s losing her grip on Storybrooke, and drastic measures were necessary. Enlisting Jefferson’s help and promising him a new story was a smart tactic given his speedy procurement of the poisoned apple. The simultaneous reveal of the massive raid executed by dwarves and fairies in formation to rescue Charming was considerably underwhelming when Regina laughed in Snow’s face and told her that she was too late to save him since he wasn’t even there. Snow’s self-sacrifice following Regina’s recounting of Daniel’s death was heroic but foolish, and perhaps that’s why Mary Margaret is such a pushover, though she did do well in this hour to give Emma hell for leaving town with Henry and not thinking to say goodbye. I knew, as I’m sure almost all voters did, that Henry would ultimately eat some of the poisoned apple turnovers meant for Emma, but I didn’t expect him to do so willingly, to prove to a disbelieving Emma that the curse was in fact real and Regina was trying to kill her. Next week is the show’s season finale, and though it has yet to be renewed for a second season, it’s pretty much guaranteed that it will happen, which means that next week should be prepared to send the show off in a whole new direction.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 20 “The Stranger” (C+)

After some false starts last week, it quickly became clear in this hour that August is in fact Pinocchio, and his back story made a whole lot of things make a whole lot of sense. Gepetto’s desire to see his own son saved and sent through the wardrobe meant that Snow White couldn’t accompany Emma through to explain to her what she’d have to do upon coming to Storybrooke. August, through no fault of his own, ended up leaving his foster home at age seven to get away from an abusive father and therefore abandoned Emma to fend for herself. The fact that she’s not able to see his wooden leg means that August is going to have a tough time convincing her that what he’s saying is the truth, but their trip clearly had some effect on her, since she abruptly snatched Henry and brought him with her to leave Storybrooke, something which may be possible since Henry was born in the real world. Mary Margaret telling Regina that she must be very lonely led to an odd and unconvincing turn of events, as a dead car battery resulted in Regina trying to seduce David with some lasagna and even going so far as to plant a kiss on him. His rebuke of her is not going to make things any easier for the residents of Storybrooke, particularly Mary Margaret, who is sure to catch the brunt of her wrath both for David’s rejection and for Emma’s whisking away of Henry.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 19 “The Return” (C+)

Well, Katherine’s back, and it doesn’t mean all that much, since Regina barely appeared in the whole hour and didn’t exercise her supreme evil until the last few moments when she threw Sidney under the bus to save herself. I’m continually saddened to see Giancarlo Esposito wasted in such a pathetic, manipulated role, and Sidney is a rather miserable character. All that his false confession has done is inspire Emma to rail against Regina and proclaim that she’s planning to take her down and take back her son, something that should make the next three episodes relatively exciting. David and Mary Margaret’s romance has been drawn out for a while, and isn’t likely to be resolved until all the stars align. Perhaps peculiarly, Katherine doesn’t seem to mind one bit that everyone thought she was dead, and in fact is starting to resemble her fairy tale counterpart in terms of her friendship feelings for David, almost supporting his other relationship. August took center stage in this hour, as he was only the latest adult to corrupt Henry and make him complicit in an illegal search, and for a while there, it really seemed like he was in fact Mr. Gold’s son, or rather Rumplestiltskin’s boy, escaped from the fairy tale world to hunt down his magic-obsessed father. Instead, it appears that he is merely an impostor, which means two things: that’s he dangerous and somehow knows about the fairy tale world, and that Rumplestiltskin’s son is likely still out there, furious at his father for refusing to give up his magic to be with him.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 18 “The Stable Boy” (C+)

It’s about time we learned just why the Evil Queen hates Snow White so much. As Regina is drooling expressing her delight at Mary Margaret’s fate, her own back story form the fairy tale world is revealed. It turns out, perhaps not surprisingly, that Regina had a monster mother of her own, played by Barbara Hershey, who had a similar role in 2010’s “Black Swan” as one of the most disapproving, horrific mother figures ever to grace the screen. Noah Bean was a sensible choice for the role of Regina’s doomed stable boy lover, after portraying other doomed nice guys on “Damages” and “Nikita.” Of course, it’s not really Snow’s fault that Daniel was taken away from Regina, especially since Snow was only trying to help her achieve happiness. Fortunately, it seems that August isn’t as untrustworthy as it initially appears, and the misfortune Emma encountered when she tried to catch Regina red-handed has now been turned around with the strange and inexplicable reappearance of Katherine. Mary Margaret can’t well be put on trial for killing Katherine if she’s very much alive, and I’m sure that Regina is going to be plenty furious about that. Though he has no fairy tale world counterpart, it didn’t surprise me much to see Alan Dale in yet another position of incredible power as the district attorney, continuing his trend of being the most important man on every show in which he appears. This show really does have some peculiar pull, managing to net some impressive actors and actresses as guest stars.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 17 “Hat Trick” (C)

This episode took a very different trajectory than those before it, namely in that it launched right into events in the real world, providing an unexpected and very overt connection to more than one other universe. Having both Emma and Mary Margaret get kidnapped by Jefferson made Storybrooke feel much less peaceful than usual, and, though Emma managed to escape her bonds remarkably quickly, it was peculiar that no one seemed to worry about them being missing for a while. The story of the Mad Hatter was, as always, incorporated into this show’s grander plotline, with Regina leaving Jefferson to have his head cut off (with poor special effects) so that she could smuggle her father out of Wonderland and back to the fairy tale world. He was probably the most dangerous villain we’ve seen in Storybrooke thus far, and his purpose seems to have been to get Emma thinking about the fact that maybe he’s not so crazy after all, which seemed to please Henry more than anything. An unfortunate revelation, though it shouldn’t be too surprising, is that Mr. Gold and Regina are in collusion, rather than the dirty moneyman representing Mary Margaret as a way of getting back at Regina for treating him so poorly. With Jefferson’s random abduction of Mary Margaret, it seems almost inconsequential that she’s about to be on trial for murder. Where are all these good people in Storybrooke when they’re most needed? If things do progress to a trial, one would hope that they would start coming out of the woodwork to show their support for the nicest woman in town.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 16 “Heart of Darkness” (C)

I like how this episode started in media res with Red giving Charming a head start before shifting into her wolf self, but things went downhill from there without much proper follow-up. One thing that this show seems to be doing right at the moment is ensuring that the story developments in both worlds. The underlying problem with that, however, is that having someone cut out a woman’s heart and bury it underground makes sense in a fairy tale universe. Regina’s open-all key ring is another such thing that doesn’t belong in a literal sense in the crossover between the worlds, yet this show insists on incorporating it anyway. David’s regression therapy revealed a surprising memory, one from the fairy tale world, but it would have been useful if it hadn’t been so truncated as to not offer him a complete picture and get him to alienate Mary Margaret by not having faith in her. Mary Margaret using the key mysteriously kept under the jail cell bed to escape isn’t a smart idea, and now Regina is sure to come after her with the full force of the law. Mr. Gold offering his legal services is much more interesting, and perhaps he can actually help take down Regina. Rumplestiltskin is definitely meddling in Charming’s search for Snow in the fairy tale world, and he’s causing some unnecessary bloodshed and arrests, which are sure to lead to the events we saw in the show’s pilot sooner or later. Eventually, we’ll be up to the present and these worlds are going to have to converge.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 15 “Red-Handed” (C)

Talk about spicing up fairy tales! This grim rendition of the Red Riding Hood story is rather bleak and deadly, and this episode didn’t offer up much of a positive spin on things even by its end, as a real world character was mimicking traits of an entirely unconnected fairy tale personality featured only in this hour. Ruby is a decent character in both universes, full of spunk and energy, and quite a bit of bite as the seemingly innocent Red. She makes for a great receptionist for the sheriff’s station, and it would be good for Emma to have a few allies around. Granny was also rather memorable, serving as an intense storyteller and an angry citizen determined not to let her friends and family be massacred. Snow White’s definitely edgier than Mary Margaret, and it would be nice to see the schoolteacher put up more of a fight for herself. It’s hard to believe that she would be complicit in Katherine’s murder and that anyone would be able to make that stick given that the only evidence is a random human heart in a box with no body or blood to be found anywhere. Regina seems set to get her revenge on Snow White in her new life, and David being lost in his own mind isn’t exactly an ideal fate either. I suppose this provides a grander sense of where the show is headed, but it would be good to see some more of our token characters, like Regina and Mr. Gold, on a more regular basis.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 14 “Dreamy” (C+)

I’m rather impressed with the pull that this show seems to have in terms of getting all the best television actors to come stop by for an episode or two. I’m a huge fan of Amy Acker from her work on “Dollhouse,” “Alias,” and a number of other shows, and therefore I got excited when I realized that she was portraying Astrid and Nova. Unfortunately, just like Giancarlo Esposito, she is destined for greater, more challenging things. Her romance with Dreamy and Leroy wasn’t all that compelling, and felt completely separate from the regular Storybrooke plot. We got only a glimpse of Mr. Gold and Regina, and nothing from them in the fairy tale world, since Bossy and the Blue Fairy did a good enough job of convincing Dreamy to stop dreaming and become Grumpy. The continued search for Katherine seems strange given how easily people tend to forget about things in Storybrooke, but it would seem that Mary Margaret is never going to be able to live down her affair with David, who, thanks to some scheming and manipulating on Regina’s part, has now been arrested by Emma in connection with Katherine’s disappearance. Just as Mary Margaret was finally able to reach some level of happiness, her dreams have now been shattered too. Seeing Belle in the fairy tale world was a reminder that she’s just another plotline that’s been locked away and disregarded, and I’m still hoping for a bit more cohesive coherence in terms of the storyline in the near future.

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.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 12 “Skin Deep” (C+)

This show is really doing its best to combine as many fairy tale stories as possible together, conveniently inserting the Evil Queen and Rumplestiltskin into nearly every familiar fable. It’s great to have a constantly evolving web of fantasy characters that appear in only one episode apiece to make their mark in the arcs of the primary characters, but this is a web that might spin out of control, eventually losing track of where it’s headed. That said, it’s still somewhat fun to realize what the impending tale is going to be when a certain keyword or name is uttered, like when “the beast” and Gaston are called out by the king and his daughter. Emilie de Ravin from “Lost” makes for a great Belle, charming everyone around her including Rumplestiltskin, and so easily manipulated, like any good princess, by Regina’s alter ego. I’m consistently impressed by Robert Carlyle’s maniacal interpretation of Rumplestiltskin, effective in its dramatic, more somber moments but even more impressive when he just appears insane. In this installment, we get a few solid confirmations of the fact that there are definitive links between the real world and the fairy tale one, most specifically in Mr. Gold’s utterance of his real name, Rumplestiltskin. In typical evil fashion, Regina’s visit to her underground ward reveals that she’s holding Belle captive, presumably as something to hold over poor Rumplestiltskin’s head, who has given up all hope of finding true love because he fears that his powers will be taken away and Regina will have limitless powers. In the most ridiculous moment of the episode, did David really have to give Mary Margaret the wrong Valentine’s Day card? That was something that could easily have been avoided.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 11 “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree” (C+)

You’d think that Emma would have at least a little tact. Sure, it’s possible to let anger drive your actions, but for someone already in a precarious position that she ascended to quite quickly, she doesn’t seem to be thinking very much in any situation, trusting just about anyone, be it Mr. Gold or Sidney, only bothering to verify the accuracy of their claims once it’s far too late. The story of how the Magic Mirror got to be trapped within it once again underscores the fact that Regina is pure evil, faking affection for the kindly Genie and tricking him into murdering the king for her. I’m pleased to see Richard Schiff back on television, here and in another Sunday night series, Showtime’s “House of Lies.” As tends to be the case on this show, it appears this will be his only appearance, as he’s officially dead and therefore won’t be popping up in Storybrooke anytime soon. Given what we’ve seen of the Magic Mirror in previous episode, it’s clear that he just never learns his lesson, coming later to trust the Queen once again, and Sidney is acting in exactly the same manner, doing anything he can to make Regina happy. That can’t possibly end well, but by the time he realizes that she’s just using him, Emma won’t be able to trust him anymore. Mary Margaret’s secret romance with David is being rather comic, as evidenced by her giggly affirmation of Sidney’s claim that doing the right thing can be validated even if achieved by the wrong means.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 10 “7:15 A.M.” (C+)

This episode was a departure from the usual format for one major reason: there was a new character in the real world, but no corresponding back story in the fairy tale world. The mysterious stranger, revealed to be a writer, is played by Eion Bailey, who played the similarly shady Ben Mercer on “Covert Affairs,” and has no discernible qualities other than an extreme awareness of his effect on Emma and all the other people in Storybrooke. The fact that he makes Regina nervous is disconcerting, to say the least. The core of this episode refines the story of Snow White and Prince Charming, as the greedy king steps in to ruin their love. The pigeon sent by Charming to Snow somehow managed to get to Storybrooke, mainly as a plot device to get Mary Margaret and David, who had both been frequenting the diner at the same time every morning, alone together to discuss their feelings for each other. A pregnancy scare and some conflicted musings on David’s part were just bumps in the road towards their eventual passionate kiss, but it’s never a good idea to make out in public, especially when the most vengeful resident of the town is watching. It’s relatively easy to piece together what’s going to happen in the fairy tale world, adjusted from the stories we all grew up reading in the style that this show has established, but what lies ahead for Storybrooke is an entirely different question altogether, and part of what makes this show worth watching week to week.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 9 “True North” (C+)

There’s a certain point in each episode where it becomes abundantly clear just which famous fairy tale is being retold, and that does allow for a certain amount of satisfaction on the part of the viewer in terms of being able to put the pieces together. What’s often equally puzzling is why this fantasy series is the new destination for old sci-fi actors like Nicholas Lea, best known as Alex Krycek from “The X-Files” and recently seen on “V.” Perhaps it’s just my frustration with the fact that this show, while continually intriguing, never quite delivers on the level that I would hope it might. Figuring out that the Evil Queen was trying to get the apple that would later tie into Charming and Snow White was a strong moment, but sometimes the path there just doesn’t cut it. Having Hansel and Gretel’s father be a mechanic was awfully convenient, and that’s where this show sometimes blurs the line between coincidental and corny. Emma so casually offering up the fact that Henry thinks that Snow White is her mother is definitely going to get Mary Margaret thinking, setting her right back into the mind frame that maybe Henry isn’t so far off in his theories. Mr. Gold’s manipulation of Emma seems to be put on hold for the moment as he does her a favor without asking anything in return, but this show does have a tendency to forget about some of its subplots, only to randomly revisit them later.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 8 “Desperate Souls” (C+)

The theme of this show seems to be that everyone has redeeming qualities, and no one is immune to evil. The origin story of Rumplestiltskin finds him as a kindly, loving father, so attached to his son that he doesn’t want to let him go off to die for the kingdom. Brad Dourif was a perfect choice to play the evil magician who passed along his unfortunate powers to Rumplestiltskin. In the real world, it seems that Mr. Gold is unable to even keep any of the friends he has, betraying Regina so that he can extract some evil favor out of newly elected sheriff Emma someday. The logic behind his prompting her to run and then allowing her to win by showing the town that she can stand up to him was a bit of a stretch, and I’m not sure how much of the rules of the fairy tale world actually apply in Storybrooke. Henry’s concern that good can’t beat evil because evil plays dirty is founded in truth, and this episode was all about showcasing Regina as just about the most evil person that ever lived. Her immediate reference to her ankle pain after Emma dragged her out of the fire was over-the-top, and the real kicker was mouthing the words being delivered by Sidney during the debate. This show is entertaining, but it’s so sad to see that this is what Giancarlo Esposito chose to do after “Breaking Bad.” I suppose you can’t always find terrific parts.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 7 “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” (C+)

Now we’re finally getting some serious links between the real world and the fairy tale world, and they sure are fantastical. Graham’s decision to kiss Emma prompted what can only be described as a “Lost” series finale-style vision, in which he suddenly recalls flashes of his former life. The only problem with this is that he’s kissing his prey’s daughter rather than Snow White herself, but I suppose that can be explained away by the family relation factor. Now, there’s finally someone else who goes to Henry for explanation about what his alter ago is, but unfortunately that same character is presumably dead by episode’s end, thanks to a literal crushing of his heart by Regina. The fairy tale realizations are getting to be considerably cornier, though it’s interesting to learn, if we didn’t already know it, that Snow White’s father was married to the Evil Queen, who killed her husband and then sought to have Snow herself killed by the Huntsman, soon to appear in a film of his own and to be played by Chris Hemsworth opposite Kristen Stewart’s Snow White. There’s not much else going on in this hour, but I suppose it was about time that someone felt Regina’s wrath in a way that proved deadly rather than just her scolding Henry, who barely appeared in this episode. The show is now on hiatus for about a month, and I’m hopeful that it will return with more of a sense of immediate purpose and the revelation of some new links between the fantasy world and the real world.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 6 “The Shepherd” (C+)

Here we have an installment centered around one of Storybrooke's most newly conscious and notable residents, whose fantasy past proves to be considerably more intriguing than might have been expected. There's not a hint of the Evil Queen in the fantasy world, and instead it seems that Rumplestiltskin is the common poisonous link in all of those storeis. The untimely demise of the real Prince Charming led to his destiny being handed over to his twin brother, a poor farmer with a heart of gold. That's not literal gold, of course, though that was present in this hour with the appearance of King Midas. I was hardly surprised to see Alan Dale in a position of power as the other king, who proved to be rather cruel in his threat to kill the newly crowned prince's mother if he didn't marry the princess. His clever slaying of the dragon doesn't seem to translate to the real world, as he leaves his own homecoming party to go visit his crush Mary. Regina's bonding with Kathryn has led to another bone for her to pick with Mary, and sending David in the wrong direction after he picked a place that he couldn't even locate to meet Mary was harsh. It seems that it isn't yet time for a happy ending for these two, so that's going to have to wait a bit. With much less screen time for both Emma and Henry, we still have the unfortunate breaking news of Graham's affair with Emma, something which Emma did not take well at all.

What I’m Watching: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 5 “That Still Small Voice” (C+)

This show continues to be interesting, but I think the lines of good and evil are being drawn a bit too explicitly. Regina being impossibly evil is entertaining to a point, but her extensive demeaning of the newly deputized Emma is getting to be ridiculous, especially after Emma risks her life to save him. There’s only so much crowd control to be done, and Regina needs to cool it occasionally if she wants to maintain any sort of authority in the town without having everyone turn against her. Archie’s efforts to crush Henry’s delusion at the unsubtle request of Regina were harsh and highly unproductive, and I’m glad that he was able to muster up the courage to stand up to her by episode’s end. It’s nice that there are happy endings in Storybrooke after all, and Emma’s presence seems to be drawing the fantasy world ever closer as Regina is unnerved by broken glass seeping through. The events in the fantasy world with Jiminy’s family were downright disturbing, as his parents rivaled Regina in their desire to be as evil as possible, and the effects of Rumplestiltskin’s potion on the conned couple were rather terrifying. The revelation that the little boy was Gepetto was sweet, and it’s good to see such a strong friendship between the two of them in both worlds. Mary and David are spending a lot of time together, and something tells me that if David’s wife Kathryn doesn’t notice an attraction brewing, someone else will soon, and I’m not sure it’s going to end well.