The Mattress — OUAT Story Arcs
once upon a time abc opinion
themattress
My opinions on the story arcs of Once Upon a Time.
11. Hyperion Heights - The story arc of the show’s seventh and final season. While not much better than its predecessor, there are three REALLY big...
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My opinions on the story arcs of Once Upon a Time.

11. Hyperion Heights - The story arc of the show’s seventh and final season. While not much better than its predecessor, there are three REALLY big unique problems with it. The first is that the previous arc already wrapped up the main story of the series since episode 1, which was the story of Emma Swan. The whole show could have ended right there, so a continuation - with a loss of many of the characters from the old story - alienated many viewers right off the bat and guaranteed that this arc was a complete one-off rather than a full multi-season reboot as intended. The second is that most of the new characters (with the exceptions of Wish!Hook/Rogers, Alice/Tilly, and Robin/Margot - plus Drizella/Ivy, Gothel/Eloise and Facilier/Samdi to a lesser extent) were not very interesting or likable, adult Henry was a bland and useless hero especially when compared to how his mother Emma was even in the last season, the “epic” romance between Henry and Cindrella/Jacinda was utterly lacking in chemistry, and the rebooted Regina and Rumple still carried many the same problems as they did before (although Rumple aka Weaver did improve by the end.). The third is that the plot of this arc is fucking bananas, speeding through a boring neighborhood gentrification plot, a buddy cop mystery, a Cinderella-based story, several bizarre butcheries of the Rapunzel story, random Princess and the Frog stuff, a coven of witches, a serial killer with a candy gimmick, an extended guest spot by Zelena, one of the worst villain backstories ever coupled with one of the most out-of-nowhere plot twists in the show’s history, and concluding with a foray into the Wish Realm and return to Storybrooke for the series finale..and through all of this, Henry gets lost in the shuffle. “Henry’s story” ends up being more about everyone but Henry by the end, so then what’s the point in it even existing?

10. The Savior’s Fate - The story arc of the show’s sixth season. Let’s not beat around the bush: this arc is a complete mess. The only relevant, seemingly planned-out parts of it are few and far between, with the rest of it being the result of the writers throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks (not much, as it turns out). The main story revolves around Emma having visions of a final battle that will end in her death, as is apparently the fate of all Saviors, while Rumple deals with his new son whom ends up becoming a pawn of the Black Fairy, Rumple’s mother and creator of the Dark Curse. Not much about this is well-written, and neither is most of the stuff the writers invented to pad this plot out, with the Land of Untold Stories and the Agrabah plot standing as some of the most criminal wastes of potential the show has ever had, and some of the most offensively bad writing the show has ever had in the split Evil Queen plot, Rumple’s horrific abuse of Belle that he ends up getting absolved of, the horrendous Wish Realm two-parter, Hook’s connection to Charming’s father and how it affects his relationship with Emma, a flashback into Rumple’s past that vilifies Baelfire at the expense of his horrible father, and an ugly-looking flashback into Storybrooke under the curse that stands as one of the most blatant, nonsensical, and character-derailing retcons I have ever seen anywhere. The ending two-parter, “The Final Battle”, is decent enough, and the preceding musical episode was a lot of fun, but otherwise I despise this arc.

9. Operation Mongoose - The story arc of the second half of the show’s fourth season. I always felt 5 seasons would be ideal for this show, and if that had been the case, this would have stood as the worst arc it had to offer. And given that it evolved from a bad subplot from the first half of this season, I knew it was going to be terrible right from the start. There is no cohesiveness to this arc beyond the overall goal of finding some mythical Author to get him to write a happy ending into existence, which Regina feels entitled to and with every other character idiotically thinking it’s a great idea, while at the same time Rumple and his Queens of Darkness minions are the villains because…they want to do the exact same thing? Not only is this premise insulting to the premise that this show originally started with, not only is the “lesson learned” painfully obvious from the very beginning (and Regina suffers no consequences in learning it, because of course she doesn’t), not only does the Author mythology open up a big can of worms that shouldn’t have been opened, but most of the stuff that’s there on the side is garbage: the infamous Snow and Charming “eggnapping” retcon, the villains’ plan to turn Emma dark, Emma’s dark counterpart Lily and her connection to Maleficent, Belle dating Will Scarlet who is beyond useless as a character on this show, Rumple’s dark heart disease, and the one-two punch of Marian being Zelena all along and that now she’s been impregnated by Robin Hood. Now, there were certainly some good points along the way - the Queens of Darkness themselves are cool (with Cruella De Vil standing out as one of the show’s best villains ever), Hook has some good development despite being relegated to the background for most of the arc, and the Author himself was actually a pretty fun character, with the two-part finale he created being entertaining even if rather nonsensical. But overall, Operation Mongoose is most definitely no Operation Cobra.

8. The Dark Swan - The story arc of the first half of the show’s fifth season. Better than its predecessor? Technically yes…BUT. The positive aspects include an interesting twist on the Camelot legend, some good new characters like King Arthur, Merlin, Nimue and Violet, a tighter link with the following arc than previous half-season arcs, new insights into long-standing factors of the show such as the Dark One, many opportunities for new kinds of performances from the main cast, and an overall epic feeling. Unfortunately, it is heavily weighed down by other aspects. Each third of the arc radically shifts focus: the first third focuses on the Camelot stuff and the mystery that Dark Swan presents, the second third is all about Merlin and Excalibur with Dark Swan receding into the background, and the final third is about the Dark Hook twist and consequences of it, with all the Camelot aspects getting unceremoniously dropped. The Camelot stuff never really lives up to its full potential. The elements from Pixar’s Brave never really feel like they fit in with everything else. The “hero Gold” plot is just insulting and ultimately completely pointless given the arc’s last-minute twist. But above all, things just get way too bleak, miserable and unenjoyable in this arc, with many of the characters and especially the romantic duo of Emma and Hook coming off looking terrible by the end. Seriously, what kind of “show about hope” is this? This arc leaves you feeling so devoid of hope that I can’t blame the many people who jumped ship after it!

7. The Price of Magic (Part 2) - The story arc of the 2013 broadcast run of the show’s second season, created by accident. Speaking of jumping ship, no ratings drop in the show’s history was quite so steep as the one brought about by this arc. Up until this point, Once Upon a Time seemed like it was going to remain a high-quality show for a long time to come. And while there were certainly some very high points here, particularly the middle three episodes that revealed the true identity of Emma’s ex-lover Neal and dealt with the threat posed by Cora seeking to become the new Dark One, they couldn’t make up for the lows. Namely: constant new characters and plotlines being thrown in and then not being dealt with properly, Regina suddenly being treated like the victim even as she became more despicable than before in both the past and present, the nonsense that was Snow developing a dark spot on her heart because she killed a dangerous mass-murderer, August coming back only to be promptly killed off, Hook getting benched due to Colin O’Donoghue’s leg injury, Belle losing her memory, Rumple getting too much of a pass for his crimes, and the least menacing main threats ever in the anti-magic extremist duo of Greg Mendell and Tamara. There was very little coherence, and thus very little enjoyment. Thankfully, the two-part finale salvaged things by wrapping up all the jumbled plot threads and setting things up for a much better arc.

6. The Wicked Witch’s Revenge - The story arc of the second half of the show’s third season. The first two episodes, the middle episode, and the two-part finale of this arc are excellent. While disappointing to see Storybrooke back so soon, “New York City Serenade” still is a good new beginning for the show, “Witch Hunt” is a really fun re-establishing of character dynamics, “The Jolly Roger” cements Hook as one of the best characters on the show, and “Snow Drifts / There’s No Place Like Home” is a wonderful send-up to Back to the Future that revisits the early days of the show while beautifully concluding Emma and Hook’s season-long character arcs and letting them officially enter a romantic relationship together. These episodes alone make this arc worth it. But sadly, all the episodes between fail to measure up, with the arc’s story itself being a huge step down in quality from its predecessor and filled with many questionable decisions such as Neal’s premature death, bringing Rumple back to life, running Emma’s emotions in circles, giving Henry his memories back, not exploring the Missing Year to its fullest, and just about everything having to do with Regina and Zelena, the combatants of the much-hyped “Evil vs. Wicked” aspect of the arc. So yeah, I don’t hate this arc, but aside from the beginning, middle and end, I don’t love it.

5. Frozen Storybrooke - The story arc of the first half of the show’s fourth season. Who would have thought that Disney milking its recent mega-hit Frozen would produce such a good story arc for this show? Acting as an unofficial sequel to the movie as well as a continuation of the series story, the cast of Frozen plus the original creations of Elsa and Anna’s two secret aunts, one of whom is the arc’s central antagonist, take prominence but don’t entirely take over the show, instead working with the main cast and complimenting them quite well (for the most part - Anna teaching Charming how to swordfight was really dumb). The friendship that Elsa and Emma develop is particularly endearing. Rumple also returns to form as the true villain pulling the strings from the shadows, with his plot tying in with the Frozen elements and the overarching Author mythology of the season brilliantly. And for the first time since Season 1, we get a “jigsaw puzzle plot” in the arc’s flashbacks, which just makes it all the more engaging. But not everything is perfect - Snow’s character begins to decline in this arc, the inclusion of Will Scarlet is confusing and pointless, damn near the entirety of the Regina/Robin/Marian plot is dreadful and starts the “Find the Author” stuff that takes over the season’s second half, and the arc’s finale, “Heroes and Villains” is a horrible episode (aside from Rumple’s comeuppance, that was great) which provides little to no payoff to things that were happening in the arc itself and instead spending more time progressing the horrible Regina plot and setting up the next arc. The shark was jumped, right there.

4. The Underworld - The story arc of the second half of the show’s fifth season. While the show might have jumped the shark back in the middle of Season 4, there was one last return to form left in it, which was this arc. Feeling like something between the first and second arcs of Season 3 in terms of content and quality, being similar to the Frozen Storybrooke arc in how its guest stars complimented the main cast well, and being a very direct continuation from the Dark Swan arc, the Underworld arc felt like it was a celebration of the show’s past, both the good and the bad, managing to recapture some of the old magic it used to have. It brought back many old familiar faces, made most of the main characters feel more vibrant and likable than they’d been in a long time, fixed the worst problems in Emma and Hook’s relationship from the previous arc, featured an incredibly enjoyable and charismatic Big Bad, gave some much-appreciated character development to Zelena, gave an actual hopeful tone to the show again in spite of the dark setting, and had a climax that brought the Camelot stuff from earlier in the season (particularly King Arthur) back in a truly unexpected, brilliant way. It wasn’t without faults - the Greek mythology was skimmed rather than explored, Rumple and Belle’s plot was miserable, Regina’s plot was a huge wasted opportunity, the middle of the arc got muddled in its objective and treaded water with random relationship drama including a token gay romance that was clearly not the one the writers originally had in mind, the dark and/or violent aspects could get gratuitous (especially Robin’s ultimate fate), and the two-part finale was completely disconnected from what came before and suffered the exact same problem as “Heroes and Villains” in that it was more interested in setting up the next arc than wrapping up the current story. But aside from that, I like this arc and never mind revisiting it.

3. The Price of Magic (Part 1) - The story arc of the 2012 broadcast run of the show’s second season, created by accident in that its ninth and final episode wrapped up just about everything laid out in the premise of the season’s first episode. While many were initially disappointed that the fallout of the curse breaking and the effect it had on the characters wasn’t explored before separating the cast again and launching into a new adventure, said new adventure was exceptionally good. On one front, Emma and Snow are trapped in the Enchanted Forest, where they team up with Aurora and Mulan (affectionately dubbed “Team Princess” by fans) and do battle with the terrifyingly evil Queen of Hearts, Cora, and her hired help Killian Jones, aka Captain Hook. And on the other front, Charming holds down the fort in Storybrooke and takes care of Henry while the local villains Regina and Rumple start up on efforts at rehabilitation for the sake of their loved ones. Only one episode, “Child of the Moon”, disappoints here, and the arc could have used two additional episodes to further flesh things out, but otherwise its a thrilling, well-balanced, well-written ride from start to finish.

2. Neverland - The story arc of the first half of the show’s third season. After the second season had torn apart at the seams, this arc came along to prove that there was still life in this series. Emma, Snow, Charming, Hook, Regina and Rumple (known by fans as “the Nevengers”) travel to Neverland, where they are joined by returning ally Neal and newcomer Tinker Bell, and must work together to save Henry from the clutches of Peter Pan, one of the most chilling and malevolent villains in the show’s history portrayed brilliantly by Robbie Kay. The plot delves into every character and gets right to their core, showcasing their positive and negative traits, and bringing them out stronger for the experience, with each one of them getting to contribute something and having a chance to shine as they slowly learn how to be a real team. It manages to be both a fantastic character study and great adventure story, including some great new characters like Ariel and providing a wonderfully dark and twisted take on the Peter Pan story. All the twists and turns lead to the arc’s finale, “Going Home”, which is hands-down one of the greatest episodes in the entire show, closing the door on the story as it was since the first episode of the first season while opening a new door to a new stage, and doing it beautifully. It could have been the series finale and I’d have been satisfied.

Honorable Mention: Wonderland - This isn’t a story arc in the series proper, but a spin-off series, only 13 episodes long. And it is excellent. It has a bumpy start, but by the third episode the story really gets going and just seems to get better and better. The romantic leads Alice and Cyrus are likable, the beta couple of Will Scarlet and Anastasia is even more endearing and compelling, the White Rabbit is one of the more competent comic-relief sidekicks you’ll ever find, and as for Jafar? Ho-ly shit, is he a fantastic villain, in the running with Hades and Pan for best Big Bad in the Once Upon a Time franchise. It’s well-written, well-paced, and ends perfectly. When taken as a whole series, it surpasses the 7-season, 155-episode mother show through sheer quality over quantity, and I highly recommend it.

And now, my favorite OUAT story arc is….