Once Upon a Time, Episode 2

Being bad has never looked
so good!

At the end of the pilot episode for Once Upon a Time, I said I'd withhold my verdict until episode two. I was hoping the next episode would live up to the promise the pilot made. Well, after the second episode, I can say, "I'm in."

The pilot was a bit bogged down with exposition but this episode hit the ground running and left me with several good questions. What happened to make the Evil Queen so evil? Who is the sheriff's fairy tale counterpart? Does Emma have a copy of those pages she burned?

The reason those are good questions is because those are the kinds of questions you ask when a show draws you in.

I'm glad to see Jennifer Morrison (Emma) play a part so different from her character on House (likewise for Giancarlo Esposito, whose Man in the Mirror/Newspaper Editor is a far cry from the steely sociopath he played on Breaking Bad). She comes across as capable and tough enough to go  up against the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla). Speaking of Her Royal Bad-Assedness, Parrilla is delicious in her role. I loved when she attempted to hand Emma one of her 'apples'.

This is the only show I've seen so far this season that actually lives up to the hype. I now know where I'll be Sunday nights at 8:00!