A Happy Beginning : Another Guilty Pleasure

Of all the shows that I have ever binge watched on Netflix, there is one that I have watched so many times that I can almost recite the script. Once Upon a Time, the new age spin on just about anything and everything Disney, has captivated my attention and heart for more self indulgent unproductive hours than I care to admit. It's embarassing to admit how its emotional love stories and satisfying character arcs have often caused my eyes to glaze over as I find myself empathizing with the many different villains and rooting for the unlikely heroes.

Growing up in the 80s in a strict household, Disney movies were the predictable staple of a Friday movie night from my childhood. The lack of profanity, graphic violence, or sex scenes inspired a level of comfort in my parents to encourage and provide movies from the Disney vault. I have to admit it. I love those stories. Each of them have a common theme that no matter what type of circumstance one begins life in, things can change and that the dreams that one harbors deep within the soul can really come to pass. That's why it was so easy for me to get hooked on Once Upon a Time when my wife first introduced me to it.

Once Upon a Time, during its many seasons, impressively told and retold nearly every story that Disney ever even looked at. From the outstanding interpretation of the story of Snow White and her prince; the growth journey of their daughter, Emma Swan; the untraditional version of Peter Pan and Captain Hook; to Rumplestiltzkin and his tale of redemption; Once Upon a Time does not disappoint. The writing is superb, the casting is excellent, and the ending of each episode with its haunting musical theme will leave you craving the next one. And its model of bouncing from present time to flashbacks of the past that are always eerily relevant to the current events in the present causes the telling of each story to beautifully manifest as if it were a work of poetry.

I loved watching Belle fall in love with Rumplestiltzkin, who is the "Beast" in this version. I loved seeing villains and heroes come together against a common threat to save a child who was beloved by the community. I was delighted to watch the evolution of Snow White's Evil Queen, Rumplestiltzkin, Captain Hook, and even the Wicked Witch of the West. I laughed histerically at the delicious sense of humor that was present in so many episodes. And it was fascinating to see so much of it unfold in "The World Without Magic," which was what the characters referred to the real world when they found themselves living in a small town in Maine that was aptly named Storybrooke. This is the main setting of the story, a town filled with fairy tale heroes, cursed with a type of amnesia, and leading ordinary lives. They are all oblivious to their own pasts, their true names, identities, and even the ones they love.

I could go on and on discussing the different plot twists of the seven seasons of this show, but in the interest of not dropping spoilers, I will refrain from doing so. The hours that I have spent watching Once Upon a Time may have been unproductive, but they were also mentally stimulating, rejuvenating, and simply downright enjoyable. So here it is: my guilty pleasure. On one hand the admission of such is a bit embarassing, but on the other hand I consider this show worthy of an unrelenting sea of devoted fans of whom I am the first in line.