What I Learnt From Season One of Once Upon A Time

By Amy Hood - @Amylia403

While we are all suffering from OUAT withdrawal, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at season 1. I’m sure we can all agree that it was quite a ride from beginning to end, and has brought together a huge online family here at Once Upon A Fan. 

People from all over the world have become a tight knit community, all brought together by one great show. Here are a few lessons I learned along the way………

Evil is the New Black

Let’s face it, Rumple and Regina are the Rock Stars of Fairytale Land. Who else could rock crocodile skin, leather, and feathers quite like them? They are proof positive that one can be terrified and completely enamored at the same time. Turn a man into a snail and step on him? Kill your own father? Frame Mary Margaret for murder? Yep…and we love them more with each evil deed. And Maleficent? The lady can turn into a fire breathing dragon! The fact that she is Regina’s “only friend” should terrify people all over the world, and yet wouldn’t we all kill for just 5 minutes gossiping with her?

Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover

We hear this every day, but never has it been proven more true than in Once. Who would have thought 7 Dwarves could mount a joint attack with the Fairies and friends against the Evil Queen. A more fantastic castle storming does not exist. 

Ruby/Red, a gentle and beautiful soul, will turn into a wolf and devour even the love of her life. All while her sweet and elderly granny packs a crossbow and kicks major butt. 

And who knew that our Grumpy wasn’t always, well, Grumpy? He was a Dreamy dwarf who fell head over heels in love. One thing is certain; these are not your grandma’s fairytales. 

If You Think You Have It Figured Out, There Will Be a Twist

We all knew going into season one that we were dealing with the writers of “Lost”. True to form, we got quite a  wild ride. 

In one twist that has proven a fan favorite, Rumple is also The Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Sidney Glass is not only Regina’s Magic Mirror, but also a Genie.

 August is a grown up Pinocchio. And heartbreakingly, Geppetto/Marco does not remember him because of the curse. It seems both he and Jefferson (the Mad Hatter) both suffer the same heartbreak, recognizing the ones they love. 

Regina, Rumple, Jefferson and The Queen of Hearts also have some type of past connection, and that should lend for major fun and more crazy twists in season two.

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Nothing is Black and White, except the Mayor’s Wallpaper

One of the aspects I love most about the show is the way many of the characters are not single faceted. Regina and Rumple seem pure evil in the beginning. As the season goes on, we see that both have very good motivations and tragedies that make them who they are. Rumple begins on his journey to darkness out of a desperate need to save his son. We also see him learn to love again, only to lose Belle because of his own fear and doubt. 

We also see a young Regina suffer at the hands of a physically and emotionally abusive mother and then lose her one true love because of a secret Snow betrayed. We have yet to see the rest of what happened between Regina and Snow, but I’m guessing there are years and years of crushing sadness for Regina that chip away at her to tranform her into the woman we love to hate, yet secretly root for.

Our sweet Geppetto makes the Blue Fairy lie to Snow and Charming in order to save his own son. The Blue Fairy, always seen as pure light and goodness, convinces Dreamy (Grumpy) that dwarves and fairies can’t be together, causing the breakup with his true love. I am sure that there is a lot of back story left to be revealed revolving around the Blue Fairy. Is she really as good as she seems? 

 Everything and everyone in Once seems to have subtle traits and characteristics that make them all the more human to us. Even Cinderella made her own deal with the devil to escape a life without love. We see the reasons for our characters choices, instead of only the light and dark of it. 

Seeing Isn’t Believing, Believing Is Seeing

Things were laid out for Emma right in front of her. The book was there for her to see. Henry, Jefferson and August all tried to convince her of the truth. As the season progressed, we saw Emma's transformation from indignant disbelief to a woman of faith. A hero has truly been born! 

 In an incredible flashing moment of the season finale, it seemed the only explanation was that the stories were true. In that instant, Emma saw what had been right in front of her the whole time. 

The Journey Continues....

There were many moments in Season 1 that will stay in our minds and hearts. There are many quotes that we will, undoubtedly, continue to spout for years to come. 

It has been an exciting journey that brought this family of Oncers together. On Twitter we have many different tags; #Team7 #Dearies #EvilRegals #TheFairest #BlueCrew #LittleReds #Hatters #GrahamCrackers #Charmers  #OperationCobra #White Knights and many, many more.

 All of these fans, no matter what hash tag they use, are part of our growing #Oncer family. All of us are waiting, not so patiently, to see what lessons we learn from season 2.