The Once Upon a Time season 6 premiere kicked off a season all about the Savior! Find out what is in store for the heroes of Storybrooke this season.
“Heroism comes first.” The line delivered by Regina diffuses her own rant against her new roommate Zelena, but it also sets the stage for the story Once Upon a Time season 6 hopes to unpack. What does it mean to be the Savior?
Driven by hope, honor, and a firm belief in seeking out the good in a bad situation. Those are the characteristics we’ve come to appreciate in Emma and her family. The Savior makes people better by challenging them to confront their worst.
Since season 1, episode 1, Emma has had a grand total of six months off from saving the magical alternative universe she has come to call home. That came at the cost of losing her family, friends, and memories. There is no time to explore love without the threat of destruction, not a single moment to just sit back and process what you have gained and, more importantly, what and who you have lost.
As noted by the oracle introduced in the premiere, the future is always in motion and inevitable. Once Upon a Time enjoys pitting its characters against the insurmountable, but will Emma’s visions, the ones that show her meeting her death against a hooded figure, truly be the end? What good is it having a son who is the author when your ending is already written in the stars?
Speaking of Henry, he yet again sticks to what his character does best — delivering a string of hopeful words together for his downtrodden mother. On the other end of the spectrum is the latest and greatest addition to the cast.
Hyde is giving off some serious Rumpelstiltskin season 1 vibes. He is cool, he is smooth, he has a voice that makes you wish he would talk forever. We’re not quite sure what he wants with Storybrooke, but he certainly has a ton of information from his time serving as a warden. Here’s to hoping we get more out of our warden than dumps of information when it’s convenient.
We did not learn a ton about the Savior’s history apart from their connection with the oracle and that multiple Saviors have met their end. Aladdin appears but for a fleeing moment at the top of the episode at his absolute lowest point, unable to muster up the strength to combat Jafar with words let alone hand on hand combat.
The Savior from “many, many years ago” is reaching the end of his rope, no longer able to serve those who need protecting. Jafar seems to hint that it is due to overexertion.
Emma had this title thrust upon her. She had little say in whether or not she wanted to be the Savior, but once she got the hang of the routine — curse, sacrifice, save town, curse, sacrifice, save town — Emma’s only choice when it came to her identity occurred during one of the sacrifice phases of her life. As the Dark One, Emma explored what she truly did not want to be — pure evil.
Aside from “not evil,” Emma’s list of who she wants to be when she grows up is rather limited. She bears the responsibility well, choosing to cling to her mother’s ability to bring out the best in people, her father’s passion for justice, and her son’s ability to fill a room with love and hope.
These are going to be important traits for Emma to lean on as she moves into what appears to be the final chapter of her story. Can the Savior be destroyed and Emma live on to tell the tale, you know, horcrux style? Even if that is possible, could Emma go on to live a fulfilling life without the namesake of the Savior?
In another universe, Rumpel and Belle get some housekeeping out of the way. Rumpel tries to fool Belle and the audience into thinking this is a fairytale meant to have a happy ending. A journey into Belle’s dreamworld reinforces the notion that Belle is not all right with the person Rumpel is at his core.
Posing as Morpheus, Belle and Rumpel’s unborn son appears in the dreamscape to offer his two cents on their relationship. Weird, sure, but the re-imagined fetus has a point — dancing around a ballroom and flashing a tiny teacup are not enough to make up for the years of lies and deceit. After all, Rumpel starts his journey by saying he needs to “make her” fall in love with him again.
It’s always a matter of force with Rumpel, and now (finally) Belle is finding her own force.
While the threat of Hyde is on hold for the moment, the Evil Queen lurks about in the farmhouse spotting the weakest and ironically the strongest link in Storybrooke, Zelena. Emma is not the only person shrugging off grief in this series. Regina connects trusting Zelena to Robin’s death and thus her presence makes it impossible to channel anything but regret.
With Zelena scorned by Regina’s choice to seek out Snow in a time of need, she heads to the farmhouse with her little one and meets with the half of the sister she can really vibe with for an appletini.
Let’s process what we just learned, shall we? The biggest threat to Emma Swan right now is Emma Swan. The great burden of knowing the future and fighting the unknown, a person who could be right in front of her or still to come, will certainly weigh heavy on the Savior. Hyde remains a valuable source of information regarding the characters currently hiding in Storybrooke’s forest. The Evil Queen is not going down without a fight.
Stray Observations
• An hour before the premiere, Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz took some time to answer fan questions in a special titled, “Evil Reigns Once More.” A few teasers for the upcoming season were confirmed, including the assurance that some of the characters seen in the season 5 finale would appear. Expect to see Paul Bunyan, the Three Musketeers, and more.
• “Hey, muttonchops!”
• Archie Hopper is finally doing his job! Way to go, you little cricket!
What did you think of the ‘Once Upon a Time’ season 6 premiere?
Once Upon a Time season 6, episode 2, “A Bitter Draught,” airs Sunday, October 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
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