ONCE UPON A TIME: The Question Marks

Have you ever watched any of your favourite shows and asked questions about what happened, only to never get the answers you were looking for in return? Have you ever had those moments whilst watching your shows when you felt the need to apply logic and wanted to know how something was the case? Were there ever times during the show, when you simply thought 'Huh?'. If you are a huge fan of Once Upon A Time, than surely you should be no stranger to these ideas. Take it from me, a proud and loyal 'Oncer' who is awfully familiar with them. This series will forever be an absolute favourite of mine, but when I see problems within it I'm not afraid to speak up about them. Unaddressed plot inconsistencies can be found anywhere and everywhere, but Once Upon A Time is home to quite a few significant ones. They can come in the form of characters, events or even plot items and are often discomforting because of lacking the relevant background information. I thought I'd pick ten of this show's plot inconsistencies that have either left me or anyone else permanently confused.

Let's dive right in:


1. 'Prince Thomas! Where Have You Been?'

Let's go all the way back to the fourth episode of the very first season, 'The Price of Gold'. It was the introduction of Cinderella (Jessy Schram) and her story from slave to princess. Like most tales, this one was moulded to become something entirely owned by Once Upon A Time. It saw the pretty face choose the darkest of paths as an act of desperation to escape unpleasant servitude. But like all deals with the devil that was Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle), her decision came with a hefty price; her firstborn. It was a fresh and fascinating turn of events. But one thing remained untouched. When Ella broke the deal by deceiving Rumple into thinking she was having twins, her husband Prince Thomas (Tim Phillipps) not long after disappeared whilst leaving to fetch water from the well. An upset Ella demanded answers, only to be told by Rumple that he had no clue other than knowing the laws of magic still applied and that Thomas would only return once the initial contract was fulfilled. However, the first dark curse saw Thomas as a factory worker named Sean who was seen supposedly living with his overbearing idiot of a father. Although cursed like the rest, he seemed to be safe and in one piece. He and Ashley/Ella ended up getting engaged, living happily with their kid and sticking together when other trouble came knocking on the door. But Thomas' time between the disappearance and the first dark curse stayed a story untold. You'd wonder if Ella would've ever raised the question to him after the curse was broken. What happened? We could've at least been handed a brief explanation.


2. 'It's A Long Story'

Long story. I haven't counted exactly how many time these two words have been used throughout the series. But one thing I do know is that they have definitely been used an awful lot, particularly in scenes when reason seemed required. Recently viewing different clips and extracts from each of the seven seasons online, I found myself picking up how common the 'long story' answer was mentioned. On some occasions it was used well for comical effect, but other times had seen it only making things appear more nonsensical. Sometimes, you just wanted answers, but all you'd ever get was this. While necessarily shifting the attention to more important matters, this was a cheap attempt by the crew to take the easy way out and avoid explaining the difficulties surrounding their choices. Here are three notable examples of the 'long story' problem I stumbled across during my revisit of the numerous clips:

1. Much to Snow White's (Ginnifer Goodwin) incredulity, Lancelot (Sinqua Walls) stepped out from the castle's shadows only to warn her about the corrupted King Arthur (Liam Garrigan). Us viewers for a while were left with the idea that he died many years ago, with Cora (Barbara Hershey) stating that she killed him. All of a sudden in this scene we had ourselves asking 'How is this possible?', only to be given the cold shoulder by the writing team. It was just another one of those 'I'm alive because I am and I survived because I did' moments.
2. I'm not going to talk much about this one now, as I'm going to be digging a little bit deeper into it later. It's in regards to Ariel's (JoAnna García Swisher) encounter with Jasmine (Karen David) in the season six episode 'A Wondrous Place'.
3. This one wasn't so bad, but it did seem rather pointless. When Merlin (Elliot Knight) and the gang broke into the dungeon to free Lancelot, they too found Merida locked in the opposing cell. It's no surprise that the two magic words would be used as an answer to how she ended up where she was. But not much longer after that, she would answer the question properly whilst walking with Belle (Emilie de Ravin). What was initially labelled as a long story, was nothing but a brief sketch. All she could've said to begin with was 'I was chasing a whisp for answers to save my brothers when I got caught by Arthur's henchmen and was thrown in the dungeon'. Not hard at all. It could even be argued that we already knew the answer before it was given to us. In this case, the use of the 'Long story' answer was practically a waste of someone's breath.


3. 'So Merida, What Did You Have In Store For Arthur?'

Merida: Arthur! You have no idea what's coming for you!

We have no idea either. As a matter of fact, we never did have an idea. Were we suppose to believe that Merida (Amy Manson) and her personal vendetta against King Arthur were going to play a huge role? If so, it all fell extremely short of expectations. All she was left doing was guard duty for Arthur's imprisonment in Storybrooke and assigning others the role while she made herself busy. Surely she had something more torturous in mind for Arthur other than being a babysitter for his jail cell. After all, he did kill her father for a piece of metal. That last line of 'The Bear King' could just about be one of the most pointless ways the writers closed an episode, especially since Merida was never given the responsibility of determining Arthur's fate. Unless of course we heard something among the lines of 'I will call upon the God of the Underworld, have him set up his return to the living and come around to snap your neck'. Sound ridiculous and far-fetched, but at least it would have made that final line more meaningful. Unfortunately in the end, the writers didn't handle a half of Merida's story very well.


4. 'Make Up Your Mind Peter Pan!'

Pan: I never forgot about You! Why do you think I call myself Peter Pan?!
Rumple: Don't think for a moment that I believe it's because you care for me.
Pan: But I do.

Let's see here! This man loved Fiona (Jaime Murray) more than his son. He would blame his son for his love's misjudgment and give him a horrid name. He constantly lied to his child's face and would later abandon him when he was needed most. On top of that came taunts and the successful attempt to turn Rumple's son against him. And who could forget him having referred to a young and innocent Rumple as a 'pink, naked, squirming, little larva'. Wow! It seems like he really loathed his own kid. But apparently that wasn't the case. Even after all this, Malcolm (Stephen Lord) as Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) still claimed he cared for Rumple, held onto hope that Rumple would forgive him for everything he did and that they could start fresh. So he both loved and didn't love his own son! Yeah, I have a hard time believing that! He was basically asking for the life he fought so hard to get rid of. The magic Pan lived on must've have really warped his brain. Either that or, he was continuing to be that conniving little bastard most saw him as. For me, nothing was making sense here. But there was one thing Malcolm definitely did get right. He was never cut out to be a father.


5. Maleficent: Protector Of Magic Potions

Remember that time when Charming (Josh Dallas) was given a magic potion in a case to store inside a fire-breathing dragon? How about that time when her daughter Emma (Jennifer Morrison) was sent to retrieve it many years later? Both memorable scenes from the same season finale. Well how about the time in between them? If you found yourself having watched the second half of season four, then this should be no stranger. A certain number of flashbacks that involved Maleficent took place within the events of the season one finale. Such moments included her working with Cruella (Victoria Smurfit) and Ursula (Merrin Dungey) and having her unborn child taken from under her wings. Why do I look towards these flashbacks you ask? Well it is all for one significant reason, and that was the fact that she was still carrying the magic potion placed inside her. The strange thing is that there was no proper mention of this throughout the 'Heroes and Villians' arc. Was Maleficent aware? Did she ever fell something was off about herself? You'd assume the answers were no and no, which wouldn't be a surprise. It's yet another bothersome sidestep in story logic. You place four walls around the idea of 'magic', but how far apart are they from each other?


6. That Frame Job!

Hook: 'If that's him (Dr. Hopper), then who did you kill?'
Cora: 'How do I know? It's my first day in town.'
Hook: 'You disguised the body to look like him. If death wasn't punishment enough. Marvellous work!'
Cora: 'Thank you.'

Recall this scene? It was from the tenth episode of season two, 'The Cricket Game' and followed an attempt by Regina's mother Cora to have the residents of Storybrooke continue standing against her daughter. Most would have accepted the series of events for what they were, but little do they know they have brushed aside one of the show's biggest mysteries. One that lacked so much sense, that it could leave one's head spinning. It was in fact, the entire frame job. There was one time I thought I'd search for the answers to the lingering questions, thinking that I possibly missed them whilst watching the season. That was when I would come to discover one of the strangest confirmations by a crew member from the show. The whole frame situation, was intended to remain without many details. Fans were never to know the whole story about how it came into play. Ironic for me to get irritated by this a little, given the fact that I'm the sort of person that loves mysteries. But this moment seems to hit me harder than most others. You may think it's just because of never knowing who this Archie (Raphael Sbarge) copy was, but there's actually a little more to it.

Here are a couple of confusing points I picked up from the episode. Pongo recognised that Regina wasn't who she was (as she was secretly Cora) when she visited Archie's office, but for some unknown reason he couldn't recognise same thing with fake Archie. Perhaps the relationship between man and dog was too strong on this occasion. Then again, dogs are quite clever and can usually pick up something wrong fairly quickly. Another thing that was difficult to wrap my head around was the entire setup of the frame job. We were to assume Cora grabbed the closest Storybrooke resident within reach and used them as a puppet for her plan to get closer to Regina. But how about the specifics? Unfortunately, you can't have them. I don't have them either. Why is that you ask? Well it's because they were never given. That's a fair bit of grey area if you ask me. Other than disguising the mystery victim, there is no telling what else was said and done by Cora to have them behave like regular everyday Archie. As previously mentioned, magic is often said to have its limitations in this show. Most of what took place in 'The Cricket Game' however, doesn't exactly account for that bold message.


7. 'Tiny' By Name, 'Tiny' By Presence

From the business side of things, it's understandable as to why this character wasn't to be seen beyond the second season. Jorge Garcia was one of a few small-screen actors in high demand. Either that or he was probably looking for more screen time elsewhere. Or that he wasn't required much to begin with, who knows. Regardless, Anton the Giant was nothing more than a flash on the screen from the story side of things. There had been a number of characters to arrive in Storybrooke and hang around, only to never be seen again later down the track. This one however, was one of the few to irk me a little more than others. True, one could question his relevance and place in the series moving forward. But it would've been nice to find out what he had been up to or what else he did other than trying to grow one or two beans in the space of a few years. Anton was mentioned more often than he was seen. It was a shame because I did enjoy Garcia being a part of the family. Guess his role on Hawaii Five-0 was too good of an opportunity to give up. I can't blame him for that.


8. 'Won't Somebody Break The News To Gideon?'

I don't think there's any need to question the whereabouts of Gideon (Giles Matthey). He would most likely still be living and studying at Elphame Academy. What I do have a problem with however, was how father and son spent their final moments together. The last exchange of words between the two having focused on Rumple's answer to achieving a reunion with Belle in the afterlife. That's it! To his own son, Rumple spoke of the guardian and how he aims to move onward into the unknown. No words of his progress along the way. No proper goodbyes if anything happened to go pear-shaped. It was just the chase for mortality and then the ultimate sacrifice. No mention of his own son within his last minutes or anything. From what we were given, Gideon was not only left unsure of his father's fate but was treated like he never even existed. Sure he had his own life and family to begin in another realm, but it would've seemed fitting for the only child of 'Rumbelle' to have found out the news and deliver his short side of the story. Any confirmation would've at least sufficed.


9. 'Nice Necklace! Where Did You Get It?'

Deus ex machina at its finest right here. For a long while the red-haired mermaid was supposedly without a voice after it was taken from her by the Evil Queen, or so we were left to believe. Much to everybody's convenience Ariel would return in the fifteenth episode of season six entitled 'A Wondrous Place', this time with a brand new and unfamiliar piece of fine jewellery. A necklace that would not only allow her legs anytime she pleased, but restore her voice. How she happened to find such a rare and valuable gift, we'll never know? In fact, we don't know if it even was rare and valuable. Did she find it or was it borrowed from somebody else? How did she lose it prior to dealing with Regina and Rumple at Neverland? Surely if it was hers, she'd have been keeping it close to her chest (pun intended) and wouldn't have ever worried much about having some bracelet giving her legs. Seemed to have wasted a few of Regina's seconds over that. This was one of the biggest disadvantages of doing a series constructed from scattered time. Once Upon A Time saw a lot of continuity errors come into play and this was one of many to leave us puzzled.


10. 'Blue! Why You So Shady?'

Pretty much everyone had picked up something off about the Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy). Even the actress herself has acknowledged it. Most had their suspicions about the character and didn't find her to be as light or as good as she was made to be. And given how she represented almost all of the fairies, it raised questions about her kind. While bearers of light magic, I had found fairies in this show to always represent neutrality. They were sprites that greatly believed in the laws speaking for everything and felt they had no place in impacting any series of events. Quite ironic don't you think? Little did the leader of them all know that she was doing exactly the opposite. When it came to both action and reason, Blue lacked any clear direction. She was too cryptic with her approach to dealing with others. When called for assistance, she'd lay down a reminder of the boundaries before providing the vaguest of solutions. She quashed a couple's true love for legality. She forged the weapon that was used to determine the saviour's fate. And you could say that it was because of Blue, we saw the birth of a villainous family. Sure she probably never meant for any of this to be the case, but the shadiness and doubts that surrounded her never looked to fade.

Travis "TJ" James