I love the show. Yes, I've said it once, I'll admit it again, I confess ... I AM A HOPELESS ROMANTIC.
The premise of the series is that the Evil Queen barges in on the wedding of Snow White and Prince Charming, announces her gift to them is that day; because after that day, she promises to take away all their love so that she is the only one with a happy ending.
Fast forward to the day when Snow White and Prince Charming are about to have a baby. They discover that the Evil Queen is out to kill the baby through Rumpelstitlskin, who has told them that their baby will be a threat to the Queen once the baby turns twenty-eight. Rumpelstiltskin demands to know the name of the baby in exchange for that information. Snow White reveals the name - Emma.
Gepetto crafts a hollow tree which is enchanted to keep one person safe. The plan was for Snow White to hide in the tree but she gives birth before the tree is ready. As danger approaches, Prince Charming heads for the tree [think The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe] and places the baby inside wrapped in a white knitted blanket with the name Emma. Prince Charming is hurt by the Evil Queen's henchmen as they come to kill the baby. Snow White comes to find a bleeding Prince Charming. Enter Evil Queen demanding to see the baby. Henchman opens the door of the tree but voila no baby! Evil Queen in her great anger casts an evil spell. Scene shows the palace ceiling crumbling and dark clouds swirling.
Change scene ... present day.
Emma Swan turns 28. She is in her Boston apartment blowing out a candle on a muffin all by herself. She makes a wish (that she not be alone). Someone knocks on the door. It is a ten-year old boy Henry. Henry claims to be her son.
Story unfolds. Emma has given up this child for adoption. She wanted him to have a better chance in life consider she was found abandoned in the middle of the road (wrapped in a knitted blanket with the name Emma) and is a product of several foster homes. Henry says he needs her help. He claims that his foster mother is evil and that everyone in his town is a character in a book given to him by his teacher Mary Margaret but they have forgotten. He says that Emma is the one who can save them. She drives him back to his home in Storybrook, Maine.
So the story revolves around the characters in Fairy Tales living in the present day not realising they come from another place and time. Mary Margaret is Snow White. Her Prince Charming is in a coma in a hospital where Mary Margaret volunteers. (He eventually wakes up in one of the earlier episodes but that is another complicated story. John Doe is identified as David. To complicate matters, he has a "wife" who suddenly surfaces right after he wakes up. Go figure.) Henry's mom is the mayor of Storybrook and is the Evil Queen, of course. So far, in the earlier episodes I have seen Prince Charming, Cinderella, Pinocchio, Gepetto, the huntsman, Jiminy Cricket, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood.
Here I am in Episode 10. Snow White meets the Seven Dwarves.
It is fascinating how they are able to craft a story around an oh so familiar story. In this episode, Prince Charming is about to marry the daughter of King Midas in order to help the kingdom flourish. Of course his heart belongs to Snow White. So Snow White sneaks into the palace to meet Prince Charming but is captured by one of the guards and thrown in the dungeon. In the cell beside her is Grumpy. (He tells her that he is also in jail because of love. In order to win back his beloved, he had traded his wages in the mines for a diamond. But was given a stolen diamond and was arrested for thievery.) They are rescued by another dwarf Stealthy. In their attempt to escape the palace, Stealthy is killed. 'Now we are seven," says Doc.
However, what really gets to me (and this is also the reason why I am not watching these episodes with MacGyver) are the mushy parts. Although we know that Snow White and Prince Charming eventually get married and have a baby, the viewers watch as the story unfolds in present day where Mary Margaret and David are together yet apart. (Remember, he has a "wife.")
Flashback to the old realm where Prince Charming rides his horse towards Snow White's home. He calls out her name, "Snow White." He only finds Little Red Riding Hood. She tells him she has not been back since Snow White left to see him in the palace.
(Here comes the mushy part.) He says, "I'll find her. I will always find her."
Of course we want Prince Charming to find Snow White, for David to return to Mary Margaret.
Do happy endings exist in real life? I believe they can and they do but I know they don't come as easily as they do in fairy tales.
