Once Upon Time Season 4

When I first started this show, Frozen, believe it or not, was the reason why. At first I said to myself "Wow. A show I don't watch must be really desperate for ratings if they're using this". Granted I ended up becoming obsessed with the show but, yeah, ratings ploy. Maybe it's just me and probably a huge coincidence I'm reading too much into but it's interesting to note that the Wicked Witch was the focus of the second half of season three. What came out the previous year? Oz: The Great and Powerful which made a profit at the box office. The focus of season four is Frozen and later Maleficent. What came out just barely six months earlier before the finale of season three and a couple weeks after it wrapped? Yup that's right, two movies that made a profit at the box office.Now I do want to make one thing clear. I like Frozen, it's a good movie. However the characters really serve no purpose in the show. The entire storyline could've been done by just adapting the Snow Queen fairy tale and having the connection to Emma when she was younger. Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Hans, do nothing to the plot. Elsa spends nine episodes wanting to know where Anna is you could make a drinking game out of it and she conveniently wishes her to town. I know a lot of stuff happens out of convenience in this show but that one takes the cake. The use of these characters, as stated, was a ratings ploy that paid off in the premiere but returned to normal as the first half aired. It's really frustrating that out of the first eleven episodes, only two flashbacks pertain to a main character, Emma, since she has the connection to Ingrid. The creators/writers decided to part the other characters like the Red Sea, so to speak, just to capitalize on the popularity of a movie. Everything else is built on the guest characters, more so than the previous season with Pan and Zelena (where only two episodes featured Oz). Why is David good with a sword? Anna taught him. Out of all the characters to encounter Rumplestiltskin, who outsmarts him? Anna. Sure Hook stole the magic bean in season two and the time with Cinderella in season one (though we learn he wanted to be caught) but Anna, of all people, gets the dagger and commands him to send her home and not to follow or harm her and Elsa (guess she doesn't care about Kristoff too much). On top of that, the first flashback to focus on Belle before she met Rumple has absolutely nothing to do with her! Sure there's the stuff about her mother and the end leads into "Skin Deep" but that takes a backseat to Anna finding out about Ingrid and getting captured. Also an appearance by Oaken just so we hear him say "Oo hoo" (which I swear is dubbed in from the film). I don't know if they ever planned on using the actress who played Belle's mother for more than the 45 seconds she got (she dies before her credit appears) but she was wasted. Would've been nice to actually see Belle have an actual moment with the person who inspired her love of reading but whatever.Speaking of wasted potential, Michael Socha reprising his role of Will Scarlet from the Wonderland spin-off. Where do I begin? Take a popular character from that show, make him a main cast member on the parent series, and do nothing with him! In the long run he turned into a glorified guest star and, as the season went on, a glorified extra. There's hints of something in his first several appearances but after that he's regulated to the background just to fill a scene. He doesn't even get a freakin' line in the season finale! Oh and he's a rebound for Belle. That's his character arc for the entire season. I've heard from others (again nothing I can back up) that there was story planned for him but once they got the approval to use Frozen, that went out the door. Nothing is done with his relationship with Robin Hood after they have their library adventure. There could've have been something when Maleficent was revived since it was he who stole her looking glass but nothing. Granted that's a small straw to grasp at but the man had nothing to work with! Now my favorite couple out of both shows have been broken up (despite the epilogue in Wonderland that shows he and Anastasia do end up as the White King and Queen but apparently season four happens between Alice's wedding and that end scene) and now the character is stuck in town for nothing since the actor is no longer with the show (who I've read has stated that while doing Wonderland was fun, the main series was soul crushing). Not even the Queens of Darkness, three of Disney's most popular villains, or even the Author, get much compared to Elsa and Anna. How did Cruella end up in the Enchanted Forest after her encounter with Issac? Why was Ursula written out of the show so quickly to the point where she didn't even get the chance to be evil?By all accounts, I should really hate this season but I don't. I enjoy and, dare I say it, my favorite season because of the villains. The Snow Queen was a great character, a change of pace in terms of villains. Her death scene was the highlight of the first half and highly emotional. The interaction of Cruella, Ursula, and Maleficent was fun and Cruella's origin was one of the best of the season and darkest (if not the darkest) episode of the series. Victoria Smurfit really nailed the character to the point where the animated version and Glenn Close barely register. They did a much better job at making Maleficent a sympathetic character when compared to the Angelina Jolie film where she was built up to be a "hero" at the expense of making everyone else an idiot. The stuff with Lily, while not fully explored to its potential like most of this season, was good. The episode "Mother" featuring the return of Barbara Hershey was fantastic as they once again show the twisted relationship between Cora, Regina, and Zelena, along with Emma, the Charmings, Maleficent, and Lily. The season finale was fantastic as well as we get to see roles flipped between the main characters in the alternate universe. There was so much material in the second half alone that it should've been the focus for the whole year! Why were these half season stories done anyway? They're too short and not everyone gets the attention they deserve like Will. What has prevented the creators (up until this current season) from doing a single season story like the first two years? Granted I wouldn't want 22 episodes of Neverland and Frozen but when they crammed in the Queens of Darkness, the search and discovery of the Author, the return of Zelena, Will's separation from Anastasia, and trying to make Emma dark into 11 episodes is far too much than what they could handle and resulted in not doing much of anything outside of "hey we got to do Frozen because it's popular". Sadly next season suffered from juggling too many characters as well and the death of a popular ship didn't help.

These are great retellings of old stories with reasons bad guys become bad. It is so inventive and compassionate. Maybe it's because they are working with myths and stories that have stood the test of time, even when they borrow from Disney, they are all working from ancient stories and in their own way making the stories richer by providing backstory. When I first saw this series on TV I missed quite a bit, but rewatching them I got relevance to my own life. This 4th year works with the Hans Christian Anderson's Ice Queen, her magic they make into a spell of shattered sight; something that prevents one from seeing the truth or beauty of another. I think when parents criticize and undermine their children they cast a spell of shattered sight. It's like a curse, to be self critical. I loved all four years of this series, and will rewatch them (though the fifth next series is not holding up so far).

I’ve never been a big fan of Frozen like at all. But I feel like this show does the movie’s story way better & handles the characters’ lore so much better in my opinion. Absolutely love this show. Used to rewatch it a hundred times before Netflix removed it so I had to own it.

The most incredible show on television right now. I am salivating waiting for next season, season 5! In fact, purchased all past 4 seasons from Amazon, and re-watching again, on Kindle, Roku, PC; wherever I find myself with sewing to do or knitting, to just sit and watch and be productive at the same time! What a mind blower. Cannot cut the cord between 'Once Upon a Time' and myself, and by the way, I'm a 71, almost 72 year old Nana of 14 grandchildren and mother of 5. So its not like I'm a teen. I LOVE THIS SHOW. My daughter and her three teen children got me hooked on a visit to Arizona in April. At first I wondered what in the heck I had opened myself up to as it went back and forth between this life and another realm - and another realm! Another realm? Really? You must be joking! But indeed no, this is the show to watch as they transition from realm to realm. Love it. But soon I fell prey to the amazing story telling and now, alas, am among those hooked (literally) on not only 'Hook' but the entire cast and crew. What more can be said about the acting, superb, deviousness and pure naughty magic from Mr. Gold, and villainess turned good girl, Regina. The entire cast is without a doubt, the very best. Any of the threesome though, well, let's see, Henry, Mr. Gold, Regina, Emma, Hook, Snow White (Mary Margaret), Prince Charming (David) for starters, any could easily take the Emmy. And Henry, watching him grow has been wonderful, seeing the maturity in his acting and looks I have enjoyed (And all in three weeks!) I watched all four seasons in three weeks! Does that tell you how much I love this show! It's not for everyone as I discovered with my husband, but you know, there always has to be a party pooper correct ha ha. But as for myself, three of my grandies and one daughter, we will continue our love affair with not only 'Hook' (I drool even at the very look of the name!) but the entire cast, crew, writers, producers, and above all the story line. Kudos to the incredible writers. Thank you thank you thank you. Love love love. <3 <3 <3

Llegó en el momento indicado por el proveedor. Excelente calidad y precio

This series is worth a watch. Enjoyed so much I bought the dvds

Es una serie que que mescla de manera suave las historias de adas con la vida cotidiana, muy buena para ver en compañia...

実物のアナとエルサがみられます。NHKもそれが目的でこの第４シーズンまで放送したようです。アナ＝エリザベスライル、エルサ＝ジョージナヘイグ

Cette saison 4 pour Once upon a time est le signe que la série continue de s'approfondir et de s'aventurer vers d'autres univers ...Pourtant à 1ère vue, on aurait pu craindre qu'elle tourne en rond : apparemment la construction narrative semble être une décalque de celle de la saison précédente avec deux arcs a priori centrés sur la venue inopinée d'une nouvelle menace pour les habitants de Storybrooke (la Reine des Neiges dans les 11 premiers épisodes, les "Queens of Darkness" dans les 11 suivants) . En fait ce qui a été fait dans le 3 volet ne réapparaît qu'a travers le reflet du miroir déformant qu'est cette 4e saison embarquée en vérité dans des chemins assez différents. .Ici les scénaristes prennent un malin plaisir à faire en sorte que toutes les apparences soient trompeuses. L'arrivée d'Elsa laisse penser à un Big Bad de plus mais assez vite in comprend que la Reine des neiges made in Disney en cache une autre (épisode 2) plus directement inspirée du conte originel d'Andersen et campée par la très belle Elisabeth Mitchell. On pourrait penser que le surgissement de Marianne allait ruiner le retour en grâce de Regina et lui redonner envie de renouer avec son côté obscur mais les choses vont s'avérer nettement plus compliquées. On pensait la "sainte Famille" des "Charming" bien à l'abri des séductions des Ténèbres mais certaines révélations vont écorner le stature héroïque des parents d'Emma et ébranler les relations qu'ils parvenaient à développer avec leur fille . Emma-quant à elle- se trouve en proie au doute sur ses pouvoirs (épisodes 7-8) et son statut de Sauveuse -si difficile à reconnaître depuis 3 saisons-s'avère finalement complexe à assumer en parallèle de ses amours assez contrariées avec Crochet et des "fantômes" venus de son passé d'orpheline..On s'imaginait l'amour capable d'éclairer tout le monde y compris le cœur noirci du Darkone mais peut être qu'on se leurrait sur la profondeur de certains attachements (Episode 12) ..Avec cet univers de faux semblants, de quiproquos, d' incompréhensions mutuelles , de mensonges, des secrets cachés derrière les postures, se construisent des intrigues globalement plus sombres alors même que l'emprunte "Frozen" aurait pu laisser penser le contraire: avec son imaginaire emprunt de "folklorisme" scandinave et ses éléments comiques (la maladresse d'Anna, la décontraction de Kristoff) on imaginait que la série allait prendre une tournure plus juvénile. Assez habilement encore, "Once upon a time" sait mêler le propos adulte impliquant une certaine profondeur avec une sensibilité et un référentiel enfantins, Appréciable toujours, cette construction de plus en plus baroque tenant avec les ficelles du "soap" mais imprégnée de langage littéraire élaboré pour une oeuvre grand public (ce que peu de critiques professionnels daignent lui reconnaître): par exemple, la thématique du miroir est distillé de façon intelligente parmi les personnages ou les éléments du récit ( les objets symboliques notamment ) : du retour de Sidney Glass (épisodes 1 à 5) à l'apparition du miroir de Trollden tiré du conte du XIXe siècle (Episode 6) . De même, l'architecture narrative joue sur des parallélismes complexes entre les destins d'Emma , de Regina et de Lily. Enfin, les esprits affûtés verront des emprunts au récent  The Snow Queen  de M Cunninqham voire s'essaieront à reconnaître les incursions dans la littérature classique en particulier Dos Passos, James Ellroy et F.Scott Fitzgerald (notamment autour du personnage de Cruella Devil campée par une électrique Victoria Smurfit)On sent au fur et à mesure que la saison avance une volonté d'élargir la palette de la série: si on part de problématiques intimes dominées par la question de la sororité, de l'identité personnelle , on glisse vers des interrogations plus "métaphysiques" (osons le terme !) et sérieuses sur le sens de l'engagement pour le mal ou le bien, sur les lois du destin entre "fatum" et libre arbitre et sur le pouvoir de la littérature. Il est à ce propos plaisant de constater dans "Once upon a time" le rôle central , que l'on donne aux livres et aux écrivains, ces magiciens du monde réel, ces maîtres de l'imagination . Le fil directeur de ce 4e chapitre s'avère donc être la quête pour retrouver l'auteur du livre de contes d'Henry ; auteur détenant ( lui, le "deus in machina "du grand théâtre du monde " qu'est Storybrooke ),les clefs de la destinée des personnages.Il y a aussi une mise en abîme progressive des histoires contées en passant derrière le rideau du décor comme si on était amené à se poser des questions sur les forces qui tiraient les ficelles et quelque part sur les artisans de la série eux-mêmes. Assez logiquement donc,on comprend dans les derniers épisodes que l'univers d'"Once upon a time" est amené à s'aventurer au delà du périmètre de Storybrooke et des contes pour entrer à plein dans celui des mythes fondateurs médiévaux (la légende arthurienne) et antiques (dieux et héros grecos-latins), jusque là évoqués de façon très ponctuelle; un sacré défi à relever pour la saison 5. The Snow Queen

Meine Rezension bezieht sich auf die französiche Ausgabe mit deutscher Tonspur.Diese ist auch enthalten, somit konnte ich die wunderschöne Staffel genießen.(SPOILERFREI)Wer die ersten 3 Staffeln gesehen hat, kommt natürlich nicht um die 4. herum.Bekommt die böse Königin endlich Ihr Happy End?Wird Mr. Gold ( der Dunkle) endlich seine Belle in die Arme schließen können?Und Emma Ihren Killian?Und, was hat es mit dem dunklen Geheimniss von Snowwhite und Prinze Charmingauf sich?Fragen über Fragen, in der märchenhaften Staffel4.Und wie man es von den "Lost" Machern her kennt, sind dieGeschichten wieder mal stark verschachtelt.Jeder Protagonist ist irgendwie mit dem anderen verbunden und verknüpft.Ein Ereigniss jagt das nächste.Also aufpassen!Was hat mir besonders gut gefallen?**********************************************Natürlich ist die 4 Staffel wieder super spannend, es gibt im Prinzip3 !!! Handlungsstränge:Die SchneeköniginDie 3 bösen Hexen und der Autorund was passiert, als die Handlung einfach umgekehrt wurde?Es passieren wunderschöne Liebesmomente, wo man denkt:hachhh was schön,leider wird auch wieder manipuliert und falsche Entscheidungenwerden getroffen.Liebe , Eifersucht, Macht, Enttäuschung, Manipulation,Hoffnung,Zusammenhalt, Mord, und ein fieser Fluch:Stoff aus dem die Märchen sind ;)Dabei wurden noch ganz tolle Gaststars verpflichtet,ua. aus True Blood Eric Northmans Freundinund aus Lost die blonde Ärztin.Alle spielen die Rollen sehr glaubwürdig und mitHerz..Dabei leg ich Euch noch Once upon in Wonderland ansHerz -leider nur eine Staffel - die ist genauso wie das Orginal.Da lernt Ihr Will Scarlett kennen. Der in der 4. endlich dabei ist.Bis zur 4 DVD wird die Spannung Folge für Folgegehalten, mitte der 4. DVD gibts dann eineextreme Überraschung in der Geschichte, ich wartotal überrascht und hätte mit allem gerechnet ,aber damit nicht.Also, wer sich sowas ausdenkt, wunderbar.Der Schluß hats natürlich in sich, und leider mußman jetzt wieder ca. ein Jahr auf die NachfolgeStaffelwarten, weil am Schluß gibts natürlich einen ganzfiesen Cliffhänger.Noch ein Wort zu den EXTRAS:**************************************enthalten ist natürlich einGag ReelAm Set,Making offrausgeschnittene Szenenund eine Folge kommentiert von ua. Regina.Fazit:*******Wer alle 3 Staffeln bis jetzt geliebt hat, kommt natürlich nicht um die 4.Staffel drum rum!Laßt Euch wieder von spannenden Märchen verzaubern!Regina, Emma, Snowwithe und Prinze Charming und natürlichMr. Gold erwarten Euch schon in Storybrooke.