Miss last night’s episode? Here’s what you need to know about ONCE UPON A TIME’s “The Stranger”
AIRDATE: 4/29/12 WRITERS: Ian Goldberg & Andrew Chambliss DIRECTOR: Gwyneth Horder-Payton SYNOPSIS: As August goes to great lengths to convince Emma that she is destined to be Storybrooke’s savior in the fight against the Mayor, a slew of fairytale characters — including Geppetto, Pinocchio and the Blue Fairy put a plan into motion that will save Snow White and Prince Charming’s daughter, in addition to his own son, from the Evil Queen’s impending curse. INTRODUCED: The true identity of August, which in case you missed it, is the grown up version of Pinocchio as a result of Geppetto striking a deal with the Blue Fairy to transport his son to safety in the very same magical wardrobe that is being constructed for a then baby Emma. NOTABLE QUOTABLE: “Then you are all screwed,” was how Emma reacted to August’s assertion that she is the Storybrooke’s only hope! LESSON LEARNED: Should Jennifer Morrison opt to ender the Emmy race, she all but has her “For Your Consideration” scene in the bag thanks to a phenomenal emotional breakdown in which she admits to August that she can barely handle the idea of being Henry’s mom let alone that the entire fate of a town resting on her shoulders. Also, there is no such thing as too many references to LOST! CRITIQUE: Proof positive that executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis have been paying close attention to the copious number of mythology-laden series’ that have unsuccessfully attempted to replicate the success of LOST, last night’s episode of ONCE UPON A TIME continues to earn high marks for having characters that actually confront one another. And while we may not have been nearly as enamored with the outcome of August and Emma’s tête-à-tête thanks to poor Emma’s inability to see what is quite literally right in front of her (ie. August = Pinocchio), we never seem to tire of watching Henry dressing down his mom (“No matter what you do, Snow White will have her happy ending!”) or Mary Margaret standing up to Regina (“Your life must be filled with such incredibly loneliness if your only joy comes from destroying everybody else’s happiness… It’s so sad because despite what you think it won’t make you happy it’s only going to leave a giant hole in your heart”). And speaking of heartless, you best be getting yours checked if you didn’t choke up just a wee bit when Geppetto tearfully sent son Pinocchio/August into the magical wardrobe. GRADE: A-
ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8PM on ABC (7PM on CTV in Canada) Catch up on past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv