WARNING! SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW BELOW THE PICTURE AND THE CUT!
So far, we know the titles for the first three episodes: Hyperion Heights, A Pirate's Life, and The Garden of Forked Paths. We've gotten confirmation that Hyperion Heights will be the neighborhood in Seattle most of the action will be taking place. So think of it as the new Storybrooke. Adam and Eddy have said that Hyperion Heights will be inhabited by both fairy tale characters and non-fairy tale characters alike, created by the season's new curse. It's pretty obvious that "A Pirate's Life" is a Hook-centric episode. There are very little clues right now about what "The Garden of Forked Paths" will be about but the title was just announced, which usually precedes the start of filming for that particular episode. We'll probably get more of an idea as set pictures leak out.
Once Upon a Time also announced new cast members and their characters have started to come out after Comic Con. Dania Ramirez and Gabrielle Anwar are joining the cast as regulars and will be playing Cinderella and Lady Tremaine respectively. Joining in recurring roles are Adelaide Kane, Mekia Cox and Rose Reynolds as Drizella, Tiana and Alice respectively. There was also an Easter egg in a promo that hinted that Rapunzel may also be featured this season but there's no word on who will be playing her. No other male actors have been announced even in recurring roles, but I'm sure there will be at least one or two.
This has been a bit confusing as people will remember the show already featured Cinderella (Jessy Schram), Lady Tremaine (Lisa Banes) and Alice (Sophie Lowe). Lowe's Alice only appeared in the spin off "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" but it is canon given that Robin Hood (Sean Maguire) appeared in an episode of it and Will Scarlet (Michael Socha) was a regular during Once's fourth season. Adam and Eddy have explained that apparently there are different versions of the fairy tales in different realms, so these will be different incarnations of the characters we know, so separate from any other portrayal we've seen.
I get this explanation and a sneak peek shown at Comic Con seems to lay it down very early on in the first episode. However, I still worry about the casual viewer/general audience member. These are the viewers who aren't following all the news from Comic Cons, lapping up spoiler pics or reading the articles. So I wonder how they will react to having new actors playing familiar characters. They could embrace it but I fear it might just alienate them, confusing them. They may turn the TV off, deciding they don't want to see a rehash of the six seasons they already watched.
It was announced early on by ABC that this season would feature a new curse and that Hook, Regina and Rumpelstiltskin would get new identities. Set pictures and a trailer shown at Comic Con have given us some ideas about those. It appears that Hook is a police officer with the last name of Rogers and Rumpel also appears to work for the police department, though he may be a detective since he wasn't in a uniform. Lana Parrilla teased that Regina was going to be wearing more casual clothes in her cursed form, who appears to own a bar. A set picture released revealed her name may be "Roni" and her bar sign had arrows in it.
This picture intrigued Outlaw Queen fans immensely. We all noticed how close "Roni" is to "Robin" and the fact she used arrows. Her sign was also lit up in red and green, two colors associated with Regina and Robin. And the fact she owns a bar, just like Robin did briefly as seen in "Heart of Gold" is just more fuel to the fire. We're not sure what this all means, if it's just going to be another case of A+E tormenting us or if it means Outlaw Queen is really end game. It seems clear to me that even with the curse, Regina retains something of her soulmate.
Now, I'll be honest. I was in the camp that hoped we would get a season 7 but that it would be a chance to wrap up the show properly--even if it was an abbreviated season. I wasn't too thrilled about the reboot and I've been going back and forth all summer about it.
So what am I thinking of the new season? To be honest, I'm trying to withhold my judgment until November. By then the season will be well underway and I feel I'll have a better idea of what Adam and Eddy are doing. I don't want to judge it based off the premiere alone since I've come to the conclusion that the show is very good at beginnings and endings. It's the middles that give them problems. So if I give it a few episodes, I figure I'll have a better idea of how the season will proceed. I'll also have a chance to gauge the audience feedback, which I think will be key. Will the fans accept this soft reboot or will they decide otherwise?
We'll see.
No comments:
Post a Comment