ShowTribe

Laura Prudom: 'Once Upon A Time' Recap: A Game-Changing Finale Weaves A Powerful Spell

Sun, 13 May 2012 18:02:30 -0700

Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 1, Episode 22 of ABC's "Once Upon a Time," entitled "A Land Without Magic."

The mark of a good TV episode is escapism. When a show is at its best, an hour seems to pass by in the blink of an eye -- there's not a moment of extraneous dialogue, no plodding scenes, no interludes where you feel tempted to check your phone in the middle of the action. You're transported -- transfixed by something truly transcendent. In short, you're entertained. Tonight, "Once Upon A Time" checked all those boxes and more.

Was it a perfect hour? No. But it was probably as close as network TV gets, delivering on all the promises made in the pilot in engaging, enthralling ways. Sure, the dialogue has always had the tendency to skew a little cheesy at times and the special effects were a little wobbly, but I'd like to see you try to create a realistic CGI dragon on a broadcast budget. HBO may have spoiled us with "Game of Thrones" and its lavish, subscriber-funded setpieces, but for the Disney crowd, no show on air has more heart than "OUAT."

As someone who still routinely bursts into tears from sheer nostalgic enchantment while wandering around Disneyland, I was predisposed towards "Once Upon A Time" from the start, easily dubbing it one of my favorite pilots of the 2011-12 season. That being said, the show's freshman year hasn't been without its share of niggles; many viewers (myself included) began to grow frustrated with the way "Once Upon A Time" seemed to be treading water when it came to weakening the curse, and with Regina's constant one-upmanship whenever Emma tried to take her down a peg. Still, both the network and viewers showed faith in the series, which was the highest-rated new drama of the season and a lock for renewal. I think it's safe to say that our patience was well and truly rewarded with the finale.

From the gripping opening -- and the welcome return of the dearly departed Jamie Dornan as the Huntsman -- to the ominous final moments, "A Land Without Magic" was what "Once Upon A Time" was always meant to be: a fairytale come true. We had a courageous heroine wielding a sword, double-crosses, valiant quests, painful losses and true love's kiss.

During a recent interview, Josh Dallas told me that the finale would focus on Charming's story. He also said that it was "bananas" and would "blow people's minds," and I think he was right on all counts. Charming was definitely the driving force of the Fairytale Land plot, but I particularly loved the way Emma's quest mirrored her father's on the Storybrooke side -- particularly their concurrent encounters with Malificent in dragon form. The whole episode was beautifully constructed to bring the season full circle, with plenty of visual and narrative callbacks to the pilot, and I was particularly amused that Rumplestiltskin ironed out any potential continuity errors by magically transforming Charming's questing clothes into the more regal attire he wore when we first saw him resurrect Snow in the pilot.

I was pleasantly surprised that the writers (showrunners Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz) chose to have Emma realize the truth so early on in the episode -- we may say it was long overdue, but that jolt certainly gave the episode a shot of adrenaline that powered it all the way through to the final moments without ever stopping for breath. It was deeply satisfying to see Regina, Rumple and Emma finally operating on a (mostly) level playing field, with Emma finally feeling righteous enough to truly take Regina on. Obviously, that equality won't last for long, since Rumple once again stacked the odds in his (and, inadvertently, Regina's) favor again by managing to bring magic into our world at the episode's climax.

Speaking of which, I found it heartbreaking that even though Rumple finally got back his lost love -- the woman who was starting to return his humanity to him in Fairytale Land -- he still made a wholly selfish, evil choice in using the wishing well to return his magic instead of his son's.

If the wishing well truly could return something precious that was lost (and it obviously had some serous magical mojo), I was starting to believe that he thought Baelfire was the most precious thing he was missing. But just like Regina, Rumple's thirst for power seems to have subsumed all the goodness that he used to possess. It appears that not even Belle's miraculous return will be enough to keep him in check, which should make for a dramatic second season. I'm assuming that now that the curse has been broken, the inhabitants of Storybrooke will be free to leave the confines of the town for the first time. So are Rumple or Regina aiming to take control of our world instead of simply settling for their own? Time will tell.

I do wonder whether the episode would've benefited from being two hours long instead of one; the Snow and Charming scenes in particular felt a little rushed, and I suppose I was hoping for a slightly more poignant proposal. But their subsequent reunion in Storybrooke was a suitably satisfying moment for them. It's obvious that we've still got plenty of fertile ground to cover in Season 2 in terms of flashbacks, since we still have to learn how Snow and Charming took back the kingdom from Regina and King George exactly.

While Mary Margaret didn't have much to do this week, watching Snow read her own story to her grandson was a beautifully resonant moment, perfectly played by Ginnifer Goodwin. She and Josh Dallas did some spectacular work this week, as usual, perfectly conveying their characters' love and longing in both worlds. Jennifer Morrison, too, has truly hit her stride with Emma, and her scenes with Jared Gilmore as Henry were particularly moving. I can't wait to see their proper family reunion when the show returns.

It was fantastic to see so many of the show's phenomenal guest stars return, with Sebastian Stan, Emilie de Ravin and Kristin Bauer all playing key roles in the tale, along with the sorely missed (and noticeably more Irish-sounding) Jamie Dornan, who clearly needs to be resurrected somehow, now that our world has magic. I'd love it if the show somehow managed to lure Sebastian Stan back to be a regular next year, too; Jefferson is such a compelling and dark-edged character, and I'm wholly invested in seeing him reunite with his daughter.

Between Emma's magical kiss and Snow and Charming's reunion, I was a blubbering mess by the end of the episode, but I was still coherent enough to be surprised by Rumple's game-changing choice. Though some of the episodes have had their share of predictable moments, for the most part, the show has gleefully subverted and defied expectations all season, and I'm finding it impossible to predict exactly where "Once Upon A Time" might go next year, which is probably the whole point. With all of the fairytale characters freed from the curse, the producers have opened up a world of dazzling possibilities, and I can't wait to see where they take us next.

What did you think of "Once Upon a Time's" action-packed finale? Were you surprised that the curse was broken? Where do you think the show will go from here? Weigh in below!

Maureen Ryan: The Kingslayer And The Murky Moral Universe Of 'Game Of Thrones'

Sun, 13 May 2012 18:08:29 -0700

Don't read on unless you've seen "A Man Without Honor," Sunday's episode of "Game of Thrones."

I'm not going to point you to this slideshow comparing "Game of Thrones" and "Mad Men" just because I'm happy with how it turned out. I bring it up because Sunday's "Game of Thrones" episode felt very "Mad Men"-esque. A couple of scenes in particular felt like they'd fit right in on the AMC show (an alternate version featuring kings, castles, lords, dragons, princesses and very muddy soldiers).

The standout scene was Jaime Lannister's conversation with his unfortunate distant cousin Alton. What "Mad Men" tends to do well, especially once it's worked up a head of steam, is give us late-season scenes that work on a number of levels. What can seem like a workaday discussion between two or three people can actually be an oblique exploration of the themes an episode is getting at; it can shed light on who the people are and what they want; and it can tell us things we need to know about where the story is going. Our past knowledge of the characters' histories and actions often add extra layers of tension or poignance, and there's a tantalizing sense of not knowing what's coming next. You're luxuriating in what's happening in the moment, because its so well written and acted, and you're pleasurably poised for the scene's punctuation mark, which you can feel coming.

So it was with the conversation between Alton and Jaime, who, despite their vast differences in age, experience and circumstance, were able to find common ground reminiscing about the purest moments in their lives.

Of course great scenes in any show or movie have resonance beyond the people in them; they get at a central truth or mystery that the piece is exploring. All the characters in "Game of Thrones" are caught up in a web of confusion. They're torn by conflicting loyalties and priorities, not sure whether they should protect themselves, their families, their house, their region, their kingdom, their king. It's not possible to do all of that and live to tell the tale.

Everything is under assault, whether its Sansa's quickly evaporating ideas about chivalry or Jon's unquestioned belief in the political systems and institutions he grew up with. Theon might try to convince himself that the quest he's embarked on is "just a game," but it's interesting that the episode begins with him waking up in bed, and ends with him truly waking up to the idea that none of this a game. He has radically changed, partly because he was forced to, partly because he forced himself to.

There's no safe ground anywhere, hence the appeal of nostalgia (which Don Draper described as the "pain of memory"). The most useful thing about memories is that they can become anything we want them to be. Perhaps the tournament day Alton experienced was every bit as perfect as he described, or perhaps, buffed and polished by constant use, that memory has become the shining receptacle of all the dreams he knows will never come true. He's a nobody from a forgotten branch of an important house, and his future is anything but bright, but at least he has that day to look back on -- a day in which he mattered and felt that all was right with the world. Like a lucky talisman in his pocket, that memory is the one thing he can count on, the one dream that came true.

And his simple love of that pure memory got him killed, because someone else was willing to use it against him.

When it came to Jaime's side of the conversation, there was so much more going on than met the eye. Alton was too starstruck to notice, but Jaime was giving his cousin a series of warnings. He told Alton how he came to understand and appreciate the mechanics of killing. His nickname is the Kingslayer and his unlikely survival to this point in the war should have indicated to his cousin (as it did to the audience) that the brain inside that dirty yet noble Lannister head is very cunning indeed. How very Don Draper of Jaime to look inside the heart of a "client," tell him exactly what he needed to hear, and then take what he needed before the other party knew what hit him.

There's a cold calculation required to get ahead or simply survive in this chaotic world. Robb, Dany, Arya and Sansa are learning it, Bran is getting a taste of it on the fly from a good teacher (Osha), Theon may be learning it too well and Jon Snow has quite a ways to go in that area. Yet this hardness, this cool rationality, is a quality that Tywin Lannister has given his children. As a father, he may not have given them much love, but he at least gave him that, and that might be what has kept them alive thus far. (Not to stretch the parallel too far, but the adults in Don Draper's life imparted similar lessons to him about how sentiment and attachment won't get you very far, and despite his very real problems with intimacy and trust, like a Lannister sibling, he's gotten pretty far using the kind of brutally cold math that Tywin employs).

Was any of that story about Ser Barristan Selmy true? It may have been (my knowledge of the books is rusty). But it didn't matter; recalling or constructing a dream that "was more real than your life" was a strategy to get Jaime what he wanted. Tactics, strategy -- call it what you will, it gave Alton a figurative and literal closeness to his cousin that he should have known was unearned.

What made this conversation truly memorable is the fact that it went to the hear of the conundrums that give the HBO show its narrative and thematic drive.

Does a quest for truth or or a devotion to honor trump survival? How do you even define "honor"? If survival is a person's only concern, does it matter who gets hurt in the process? Should you attempt to protect others? Should you ever trust anyone else? Is it, in fact, "better to be cruel than weak," as Theon thinks? Or is it better to just chuck the whole system and go with the fierce, individualistic anarchy of the Free People? Let's face it, despite the frosty environs the Wildlings live in, abandoning the complicated system of vows and pacts that Jaime (correctly) diagnosed as unworkable seems like one of the saner options at this point.

There are no clearly defined answers to any of these questions; one thing George R.R. Martin's tale is particularly good at is pulling the rug out from under everybody, big and small, important or insignificant.

But what makes Jaime so compelling, and so worthy of our continued attention, is this fact: Despite the horrible things he's done, he knows who and what he is. He's actually a lot like Tyrion, in that he's aware that people have pre-judged him, and as a result, he wears his cynicism like armor. But Jaime is hated not just because he killed a king, but because he's a living, breathing symbol of something the people of Westeros don't want to face. He's a reminder that their system is full of unreconcilable contradictions. How could he continue to serve a king who was roasting alive those who served him and slaughtering the innocent smallfolk? Where was the honor in that? It's a valid question that lots of people in Westeros don't want to face.

In his view, Jaime embraced a larger truth that allowed him to forsake his vow and kill his king. He did what nobody else was willing to do and which arguably needed to be done; in way, he made a sacrifice for Westeros. But everyone would rather preserve their ideals about what honor means -- and for good reason. If the system of kings, lords and bannermen (a system in which some good people do real good in their communities) were to fall, what would follow? It's highly unlikely that a fairer, more just Westeros would emerge from the ashes, almost certainly not in the short term.

Most people stick to the system they've always known -- and hate Jaime as a result -- because the alternatives are terrifying.

But change can't be held back, no more than the Wall held back the Wildlings. Tywin may be the most powerful member of the old order, but even he recognizes that the worst thing a leader can do is be unprepared for unconventional attacks and bold little bands of nobodies. In Westeros, assaults on the system are coming from all over (as Winter continues its inexorable march toward a people who don't even know the potential danger they face from Dany and her dragons).

The Brotherhood Without Banners is on Tywin's radar and the Free People have their own brave (and elected) leader, who's assembling them into a guerrilla fighting force. There are weird things happening north of the Wall, King's Landing is on the verge of revolution, and and "everywhere, the ceremony of innocence is drowned." On top of all that, every lord has his own set of conflicting loyalties: The war that's raging through the land is based partly on treaties and long-established agreements, but it's also based partly on people's desire to get what they can while everything's up for grabs.

Greed and change -- and the role that both play in altering the course of history -- aren't limited to Westeros, of course. Qarth is experiencing a revolution from within, one that didn't go so well for the tradition-bound Thirteen. If the episode had one flaw, it's that the speech by Xaro Xhoan Daxos -- at least one line of it -- was a little on the nose. I liked what he had to say about outsiders and charlatans being able to found kingdoms; it's certainly true. But I would have cut this overwritten line out of his speech: "Those on the margins often come to control the center and those in the center make room for them, willingly or not."

What, is Daxos writing "Game of Thrones" weekly reviews now? Leave the lumbering pontification to the professionals, sir!

In all seriousness, however, "A Man Without Honor" was a fabulous hour, full of the kind of illuminating character moments that don't necessary move the plot forward in conclusive ways but help us enter into the minds and hearts of the characters. Late-season "Game of Thrones" episodes are a rich stew of ideas, alliances and dilemmas, and this one was especially well-paced, with several characters either teetering on the precipice of decisions or taking the plunge and putting their plans into motion.

Theon's plans went awry and his impossible position forced him into ever-greater brutality; in another great scene, Arya and Tywin continued taking each others' measure (and you have to wonder if Tywin's fully aware that his smart little servant is quite willing to slit his throat); having unsettled Jon Snow with a combination of saucy flirtation and a defiant assault on his conflicting loyalties, Ygritte led Jon Snow into a trap; and having cooked up a plan for domination, Daxos and Pyat Pree upset the election in Pawnee, er, sorry, Qarth and decided to take control of the city, awarding themselves the bonus of Dany and her dragons.

A lot of things were in motion, but the episode gave the characters time to breathe. We had small but telling moments with Sansa and the Hound, the Winterfell refugees (Hodor! I love that he's treating their excursion as one big adventure), and even Shae got a good scene. One gets the sense that if she needed to, she could wield a blade very well.

But my other favorite moment was the scene between Cersei and Tyrion; the show has done a great job of humanizing Cersei, whom I never much liked in the books. Having said that, I don't have to like characters, I just need to be interested in them, and in my opinion, the show has done a good job of giving her the kind of depth and complexity that makes her more interesting. I've often said that a hallmark of a fine actor is what they can do without words, and the halting looks that passed between Cersei and Tyrion as he sidled up to her, attempting to give her some comfort, and as she attempted to let down her well-defended walls -- they were heartbreaking. Tremendous work from Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey as two siblings who aren't quite sure how to rely on each other, having never done so in the past.

As events spin out of control and people evolve beyond what they thought they were capable of (in good ways and bad), the possibility of a truce hung between these two scarred, scared siblings like a question mark. Every character on this show is constantly forced to decide if they have the courage to take a chance, and for Cersei and Tyrion, the biggest chance they could possibly take is to trust each other.

Are they there yet? Not even they know that, I think. We also don't know what happened to Dany after the carnage among the Thirteen, and we don't know what happened Jaime after Brienne handed Catelyn her sword.

All my thoughts lead back to Jaime, who is, in some ways, the poster boy for "Game of Thrones" and an anomaly within its world.

He's one of the few people in this world who's very clear about who he is and what he believes in, yet all that (despite his position) makes him an outcast. It's partly because he loves Cersei; with her, he's "part of something perfect," as wrong as that relationship feels, at times, to both siblings. He's also good at killing and he's willing to do anything to get out of from under the Starks' domination. All the rest doesn't matter to him. The mark of a good drama is that it gets us involved in the fates of people we know have done terrible things. "Game of Thrones" wisely never asks us to like the man who threw a child out a window, yet it's not possible to look away from this complex knight, thanks in part to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's precise yet passionate performance.

Catelyn comes into Jaime's cage to stir the pot with her son's high-profile captive, sure that she has the high moral ground. He hurt her family; he's the bad guy here. But perhaps it's most accurate to say she wants to be sure that she's better than the Kingslayer. If she is not morally superior to this man, this breaker of vows, then what is this whole war about? Why are is her husband dead and her children in mortal danger? Surely the certainty that she is right and Jaime is wrong can be the one reward for everything she's been through?

But Jaime knows exactly what she's up to, and he's not having it. He won't let her have this little triumph, this clean moral victory. Since killing his king, Jaime has lived in a moral grey area, one that most of the people around him don't want to acknowledge. It's inconvenient, it's messy, it's confusing. So much of this story skillfully explores the divide between those willing to accept ambiguity and face harsh truths and those who want to interpret the world via a framework of comforting ideas about honor and valor. Jaime's long been denied that kind of comfort, and he's not about to let Catelyn take refuge in it at his expense.

I had to admire the Kingslayer a little as he made it clear he'd be willing to die in order to point out that Catelyn herself had lived inside a moral grey area for a couple of decades. She walled off the knowledge of what Ned had done, but she couldn't forget that he'd fathered a bastard -- good Ned, honorable Ned.

Will Catelyn have mercy on this inconvenient man -- a man of breeding and position who refuses to ignore the things that are not supposed to be mentioned? Or will she find, as so many other character have, that is mercy overrated?

We'll have to tune in next week to see.

A few final notes:

Please tell me someone out there has named their Goth band Dark Sister.

If you haven't read the books, resist the urge to look up information about the Crag on the Internet.

Not much to say about Robb's scenes except that I like Robb scenes. They may be wrapped up in layers of fur and dirt, but the men of Westeros remain easy on the eyes.

"You know nothing, Jon Snow." Perfect line delivery by Rose Leslie.

"A man is who people say he is, nothing more." Don Draper couldn't have said it better.

Thanks to the very entertaining weekly "Game of Thrones" reviews by Grantland's Andy Greenwald, I can only think of Daxos as Ducksauce, which is Andy's memorable designation for Qarth's new king. And I completely agree with the Internet that Pyat Pree looks a lot like "Community's" Dean Pelton.

At Upfront, Fox Shows Off Some New-Media Tricks

Mon, 14 May 2012 18:07:43 -0700

Television networks are making a point during upfront week of reminding advertising buyers that despite all the talk about Web video, television reaches many more people and for longer periods of time.

Britney Spears to Join the Judges of 'The X Factor'

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:28:43 -0700

Simon Cowell said that Ms. Spears and another singer, Demi Lovato, would energize the show. "This year, we are going to seriously kick butt," Mr. Cowell said at Fox's upfront presentation for advertisers.

NBC Executive Chafes at Commercial-Skipping DVR and Nielsen's Rating System

Mon, 14 May 2012 11:52:26 -0700

Ted Harbert, the chairman of NBC Broadcasting, said Nielsen had fallen behind in measuring viewing across different platforms and called a new DVR that skips commercials an "insult'' to the joint investment in programming.

George Martin, Katy Perry and Indie Label Heads on Universal-EMI Deal

Mon, 14 May 2012 11:00:44 -0700

As regulators consider perhaps the most significant music industry deal in the last decade, various musicians and business figures have spoken out about the deal.

The Mob Doctor (FOX) First Look with Jordana Spiro

Mon, 14 May 2012 16:15:19 -0700

Take a first look at FOX’s new series The Mob Doctor which premieres this Fall 2012 on Mondays at 9pm. For most physicians, the Hippocratic oath is sacred. But for one Chicago doctor, who is indebted to the mafia, saving lives isn’t her only concern. THE MOB DOCTOR is a fast-paced medical drama featuring a [...]

ABC Renews Once, Castle, Grey’s and More

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:14:00 -0700

ABC renewed seven scripted series Thursday, including veteran hits Grey's Anatomy,Castle, Modern Family and The Middle.

The alphabet network also gave Season 2 orders to...

Quartet of Shows Canceled by FOX: Alcatraz, The Finder, Breaking In & I Hate My Teenage Daughter

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:19:19 -0700

The new dramas Alcatraz and The Finder as well as the ‘brought-back-from-the-dead’ comedy Breaking In and the new, short-lived laugher I Hate My Teenage Daughter have all been canceled by FOX. With the annual network upfront presentations less than a week away, the major (and cable) networks are pulling no punches with their programming; and [...]

Leonard Nimoy On The ‘Fringe’ Season 4 Finale: William Bell “has become a world of his own”

Thu, 10 May 2012 10:00:20 -0700

This morning, Leonard Nimoy spoke to a few people of the press during a conference call about the very highly anticipated second part of the Fringe fourth season finale, which airs tomorrow, May 11 at 9pm on FOX. Nimoy reprised his role as William Bell in last week’s episode of Fringe “Brave New World” which [...]