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Former Lost writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz’s debut as showrunners resulted in the year’s most polarizing new drama. Much like Lost did for six years, Once Upon a Time has divided opinion among viewers and critics alike. Even Lost fans themselves are split on whether Once Upon a Time deserves the adoration that some are giving it.

In the end though the single biggest problem with Once Upon a Time is not the show itself, but the connections to Lost.

As a stand alone show Once Upon a Time is really quite an interesting take on an oh-so familiar story. In a way Once Upon a Time is what the Grimm Brothers movie could have been, but never was. It gives viewers a platform through which they can return to their favourite fairy tales from their childhood with a darker feel and a few wicked twists along the way. The story is also rejuvenated through the use of a non-linear plotline incorporating present-day Storybrook and “Fairy Tale Land”.

The concept of using two concurrent timelines is where the comparisons with Lost begin. Once Upon a Time features character-centric episodes with “flashbacks” to fairy tale land complementing the central story occurring in Storybrook. This of course brought the immediate criticism of reusing the Lost formula. However, upon closer inspection Once Upon a Time is not just recycling past ideas.

The flashbacks in Lost reveal the characters past lives and how they came to be where they are. In Once Upon a Time an entirely different timeline is being revealed, one that (most of) the characters have no recollection of. This presents a very different storytelling challenge for Kitsis and Horowitz as they work to form connections between Storybrook and Fairy Tale Land without being able to rely on the same type of interconnectedness between the two stories that Lost did. For the viewer the two-timeline system allows for different mysteries than the flashbacks in Lost did. Instead of slowly discovering the backstories of the characters, how they came to be on the plane and how they are all somehow connected, the viewer is experiencing an entirely different world where the characters have different destinies, ambitions and goals. The juxtaposition of the two worlds in Once Upon a Time provides the viewer with quite a different experience than Lost did.

Many of the characters from Lost are also being compared to Once Upon a Time. One of the most popular of these comparisons so far has been comparing Ben Linus to Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin. Mr. Gold is arguably the most interesting character that Once Upon a Time has to offer, much in the way Ben really revitalized Lost by presenting a complex character full of intrigue. After that most of the comparisons really are forced. Whereas Ben tried to claim a moral high ground for his actions constantly assuring everyone that the others were the “good guys”, Rumpelstiltskin has made no such claim. He only claims to be fair and true to his word, which the evidence suggests he is despite his conniving nature. Mr. Gold on the other hand has yet to show his cards back in Storybrook, which is already becoming one of the biggest mysteries on the show. Once again the Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin storylines represent an intriguing aspect of using the two-timeline concept in the way that the two characters (or one character in two timelines) have such different personas despite their similarities. Ben’s flashbacks provided an incredible insight into his character, but the disconnect between the two timelines mentioned above with Mr. Gold presents an entirely different perspective to the viewer than the story Ben’s past did.

These are just two examples of similarities between the two shows which have upset many Lost fans suggesting that Once Upon a Time is just a cheap rip-off. Below the surface though, the two shows are wildly different and to compare them in the way that has been done since Once Upon a Time’s release is unfair. Lost was one of the greatest cult dramas of all time, but it is over and there will probably never be something like it again. So instead of going to look for the next Lost, viewers should appreciate Once Upon a Time for what it is. If they are still unimpressed then no one is forcing them to watch it, but the Lost comparisons are detrimental to both shows and their respective viewerships.