When 'Once Upon a Time' first started it was highly addictive and made the most of a truly great and creative premise. Really loved the idea of turning familiar fairy tales on their heads and putting own interpretations on them and the show early on clearly had clearly had a ball. Watched it without fail every time it came on and it was often a highlight of the week. Which was why it was sad when it ran out of ideas and lost its magic in the later seasons.
"The Return" is a very good, solid episode, if not quite one of the best of the first season. To me the Rumpelstiltskin/Baelfire story fared better than that for Mr Gold/August. The latter was a good opportunity to give more development to Mr Gold, a just as juicy if not quite as interesting character as Rumpelstiltskin, and it does do a very good job on that front. Gold seemed to have more chemistry with the other characters, namely Regina, than with August and the big revelation with August didn't have the emotional punch or shock power it should have done, to me it was too foreseeable too early.
On the other hand, the scenes with Rumpelstiltskin and Baelfire resonated far more. It had more warmth and heart, the chemistry between the two characters was stronger and one totally understands Baelfire's feelings while not passing a negative judgement on Rumpelstiltskin.
Meanwhile the other subplots are handled equally as well. The outcome of the Mary Margaret subplot was surprising and suspenseful, while the charms of Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas together and individually helped give weight and depth to their scenes. Seeing fairy tale business intersected in the real-life/present day Storybrooke scenes was a fascinating touch.
Visually "The Return" is a very handsomely mounted episode, settings and costumes that are both colourful and atmospheric, not too dark or garish and never cookie-cutter. The effects are also above average, not exceptional but not bad. It is photographed beautifully and there is some make-up that suited the characters perfectly. The music is haunting, ethereal and cleverly used with a memorable main theme.
Regarding the writing, "The Return" shows that it really has come on a long way. There is far less corn and instead the humour, emotional and tense elements and the balance between them are getting stronger. The story is absorbing.
A large part of why the episode works as well as it does is the 24-carat gold performance of Robert Carlyle. He is always a high point of 'Once Upon a Time' but up to this early point in the show this episode in particular gives him a lot of juice to work with and it shows in his performance.
In summation, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox
"The Return" is a very good, solid episode, if not quite one of the best of the first season. To me the Rumpelstiltskin/Baelfire story fared better than that for Mr Gold/August. The latter was a good opportunity to give more development to Mr Gold, a just as juicy if not quite as interesting character as Rumpelstiltskin, and it does do a very good job on that front. Gold seemed to have more chemistry with the other characters, namely Regina, than with August and the big revelation with August didn't have the emotional punch or shock power it should have done, to me it was too foreseeable too early.
On the other hand, the scenes with Rumpelstiltskin and Baelfire resonated far more. It had more warmth and heart, the chemistry between the two characters was stronger and one totally understands Baelfire's feelings while not passing a negative judgement on Rumpelstiltskin.
Meanwhile the other subplots are handled equally as well. The outcome of the Mary Margaret subplot was surprising and suspenseful, while the charms of Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas together and individually helped give weight and depth to their scenes. Seeing fairy tale business intersected in the real-life/present day Storybrooke scenes was a fascinating touch.
Visually "The Return" is a very handsomely mounted episode, settings and costumes that are both colourful and atmospheric, not too dark or garish and never cookie-cutter. The effects are also above average, not exceptional but not bad. It is photographed beautifully and there is some make-up that suited the characters perfectly. The music is haunting, ethereal and cleverly used with a memorable main theme.
Regarding the writing, "The Return" shows that it really has come on a long way. There is far less corn and instead the humour, emotional and tense elements and the balance between them are getting stronger. The story is absorbing.
A large part of why the episode works as well as it does is the 24-carat gold performance of Robert Carlyle. He is always a high point of 'Once Upon a Time' but up to this early point in the show this episode in particular gives him a lot of juice to work with and it shows in his performance.
In summation, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox
