ONCE001: Pilot and Introduction

December 12, 2011 By 12 Comments
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Introduction and review of Once Upon a Time’s pilot episode. We explore the characters, theorize where the show could go, and share Lost easter eggs.

What is “so horrible” about Storybrooke? Is it just the robbery of everyone’s happy endings?

Will it be Emma or Henry to help the Storybrooke characters know their true identity?

All was dark and cold in the land until Prince Charming broke the spell by kissing Snow White.

Will we learn that every character has some kind of superpower?

Never yell, “Hey!” before you throw a sword at an evil queen.

Flying monkeys in Henry’s book. Maybe a hint to The Wizard of Oz?

Dan saw Emma’s license plate, “836-M4X,” and immediately saw “magical forest.”

Emma's license plate: 836-M4X

Emma finds people. It’s her expertise.

Emma makes a wish upon a star.

Emma wishing on a star

Grumpy (Leroy) was in the jail cell next to Emma when she woke up.

Grumpy the dwarf (Leroy) in the jail cell next to Emma

Check out what’s written on Emma’s door!

Note the lines, “302.6 entrance cast a spell,” and “spellbind cast a spell beguile.”

Would the future have happened if Rumpelstiltskin hadn’t told Prince Charming and Snow White about Emma’s future?

Regina looks into a mirror and finds some kind of comfort.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall?

Regina has apples and apple cider (“the best apple cider you’ve ever tasted”) in her home.

Does Regina know who she is? Does she remember their real past? Perhaps people are pushing out some imaginations of their memories.

“The only happy ending will be my happy ending.” Storybrooke is Regina’s happy ending?

How did Henry come to be in Storybrooke with Regina if Emma lived far away.

Mary Margaret said, “You’re building a home, not a cage.” Could this be her approach to life in Storybrooke, even though she doesn’t know that she’s in a cage?

Is Mary Margaret’s necklace a sword or a cross?

Mary Margaret's sword or cross necklace

Mary Margaret’s last name, Blanchard, means “white” in French. Regina means “queen” in Italian.

Daniel made quite an amazing connection between Regina’s last name, Hills, with the a queen who stands on sevel hills mentioned in the Biblical book of Revelation. But then he realized her last name is Mills, not Hills.

Some of the other characters we saw: Jiminy Cricket, Gippetto, Pinocchio, and Little Red Riding Hood.

Prince Charming and Snow White sent Emma away to give her her best chance. Emma gave Henry away to give him his best chance.

Henry had a light carousel that has a swan on it.

Who is Sheriff Graham?

Lost easter eggs

Mayor’s street address is 108 (key number from Lost).

The clock tower changes from 8:15 to 8:16. Both are part of the Lost numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) as well as 815 being the flight number.

The actress playing Regina was also in Lost as Greta (episode near the end of season three).

Emma Swan connects to the Swan Station from Lost.

Black smoke was part of the curse, maybe also a Lost easter egg?

WhosYourMomma.org is registered by ABC. Check out these other funny-looking emails.

The story-telling mechanism of Once Upon a Time are similar to the flashbacks from Lost.

What could be ahead?

Emma has decided to stay. What kind of “final battle” will we see?

Rumpelstiltskin knows Emma’s name. Does that mean he has power over her?

We’ll probably see bad things happen when people try to leave Storybrooke.

Sheriff Graham gives off a “wolf impression.” Could this a hint at his character?

What if Emma’s success will bring everyone back to Fairytale world to fight a battle there?

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  • ronpammccall

    I’m so glad you’re doing this podcast! You guys are so fun to listen to! I would like to see the promised screenshot of the cursive promised :p

    • Daniel J. Lewis

      @ronpammccall Done. :) (Actually did this before Christmas, but just now got to replying.)

    • Daniel J. Lewis

      @ronpammccall Done. :) (Actually did this before Christmas, but just now got to replying.)

  • hjbau

    I totally remember putting Rumpelsiltskin’s name backwords in a Kings Quest game. Probably Kings Quest 2. That was another life.

    • Daniel J. Lewis

      @hjbau King’s Quest 1. Have you seen the free remakes of King’s Quest 1, 2, and 3? http://www.agdinteractive.com/games/games.html

      • hjbau

        @Daniel J. Lewis Thank you. That is awesome. I always liked the second King’s Quest the best. I played these when i was a kid and we had those huge floppy discs in a very old apple computer where you had to switch the discs for different parts of the game like on Dracula’s island. And now you can download it from the internet. Weird. Thanks.

        • Daniel J. Lewis

          @hjbau ME, TOO! I first played King’s Quest 1 on a PCjr. I remember the excessive disk-swapping with Space Quest IV when we didn’t have enough space on our 20 MB hard drive for the full game.

  • hjbau

    I totally remember putting Rumpelsiltskin’s name backwords in a Kings Quest game. Probably Kings Quest 2. That was another life.

  • hjbau

    You guys didn’t mention Emma’s baby blanket. In her boston apartment it was behind her on the chair. And then i think you see Granny knitting what most likely is the baby blanket at the War counsel in the fairytale world. So she does still have an artifact of her past life. Maybe someone will recognize it at some point in the show. Thanks for the podcast. I really enjoyed it.

    • Daniel J. Lewis

      @hjbau Yes, danflyndesign had pointed out Emma’s blanket in her apartment, and he was going to blog about it and other easter eggs in early episodes. Then Christmas happened. :P

  • Dream_Drop_Distance

    I know this is really late, but I don’t know if you guys noticed this. I recently watched the Pilot over again, and I found a rather large LOST easter egg. Have you seen that the guy that Emma tries to arrest, or whatever she tries to do to him, is Jack from LOST? Here’s the screenshot from the beginning when Emma is in the restaurant.

    • http://About.me/DanielJLewis Daniel J. Lewis

      Yes, it looks like Jack, but it’s not the same actor. This is Warren Christie, but Jack Shepherd was played by Matthew Fox.