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In a recent interview, Michael Socha talked about his involvement with Once Upon a Time, saying not so great things about the experience. Note I had to edit some of his comments, due to use of language:
When I first got there and did the spin-off [Once Upon A Time In Wonderland], I was working an awful lot. It was great to work in the green screen studios and all that sort of stuff. It opened my eyes and I got to see a completely different world. I got to see LA. I got to live in Vancouver for two years, eventually.
But then I joined the main show and I wasn’t really used, so I found myself in Vancouver for a long time not really doing owt, which (screwed) me up a bit really. I thought, if I’m going to be here, do something with me. I’ve got a boy at home and it’s crucifying me being here and not working. If I was here working, I’d feel I was doing something at least, but it kind of (screwed) me up a bit really.
Wonderland was incredible, but Once Upon A Time, I found it quite soul-destroying. My mam came out for three months eventually because I just wasn’t doing owt. I found it sort of unfair. It wasn’t the fault of the powers that be, it was just the way the cookie crumbled I suppose, but I didn’t really enjoy it by the end.
Can’t say I blame him. He was a series regular, and they did nothing with the character all of last Season. Despite these comments, he did say he was open to returning:
They didn’t kill me. I get on really well with the writers, Eddie and Adam [Kitsis and Horowitz]. I don’t know. I’m not the sort to go pushing, but if they asked me to go back I would. I’d need like a guarantee though that I’m going to be doing something worthwhile. I don’t want to be doing a job where I’m not doing a job, just sitting around in my flat just bored.
[adrotate group="5"]That is what happens when the writers have one plan and then just throw it away. You have an actor you contracted as a regular that you then don’t use. They should have tried to put the frozen plot and the original plot together.
To think they could have saved us all the trouble had they simply not brought Will over to the main show last Season in the first place. Wonderland ended on a satisfying conclusion, and Will was happily together with Anastasia. There was nothing more that they had to do with his story. Bringing him onto the parent show, and ultimately leaving his story up in the air did not do any favors for anybody, including Michael Socha himself.
Will’s sister is dead right? They could have brought him over for this arc if they wanted to and have him met his sister in the UW. I liked his character by the end of WL. Hated him at the beginning, but loved him at the end.
To think they could have saved us all the trouble had they simply not brought Will over to the main show last Season in the first place.
Well, Will was kinda the Hook of the other show. I think they wanted him over to bring in more watchers.
"I could have the giant duck as my steed!" --Daniel Radcliffe
Keeper Of Tamara's Taser , Jafar's Staff, Kitsis’s Glasses , Ariel’s Tail, Dopey's Hat , Peter Pan’s Shadow, Outfit, & Pied Cloak,Red Queen's Castle, White Rabbit's Power To World Hop, Zelena's BroomStick, & ALL MAGICMichael said even more in another interview. Again, edited for language:
“I did the spinoff, Wonderland, which was great, man – I enjoyed that, I was in it all the time,” he told Digital Spy.
“But I was quite redundant in Once Upon a Time. I wasn’t really used.”
Socha revealed that the Once writers even apologized to him for not making better use of his character.
“They apologized – they just said that they couldn’t do it,” he said.
“They’ve got a lot of main cast, that the fans are so loyal to and so desperate to hear their stories. So this new dude with no real reason [to be there]… he ain’t important.”
“I understood it, it was just hard being over there [in Vancouver] not doing anything. But I’m not dead, so who knows? They might bring me back… and use me!”
It sounds like it came down to Adam and Eddy biting off more than they could chew. They had plans for Will’s character, but ultimately just couldn’t find the time to fit his story in. After all, 4A had so much screentime devoted to Frozen. 4B was crowded with the Queens of Darkness, evil Rumple, the Author, and then Zelena returning on top of that. It didn’t help that Will had virtually no ties to the main cast, aside from Robin Hood. They tried to pair him off with Belle, and that failed spectacularly.
Good for him! A and E ran rough shod over him and his character. And now fans of WL, who reallllllllly loved him and Ana, have to try and headcanon what happened to them after. Did she die? Did they reunite? It sucks cause their ship was one of the strongest on either show.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Well, Will was kinda the Hook of the other show. I think they wanted him over to bring in more watchers.
Maybe popularity-wise.
I actually consider both Wonderland couples (Cylice and Willastasia) to parallel Swanfire. With the added bonus of Amara being Rumpel.
In my mind, Wonderland now occurs after Season 4. Yeah, I know the storm Will is walking through was supposed to be when the Wraith attacked Storybrooke, but that could very easily be retconned now. The final version of “Down the Rabbit Hole” makes no usage of Season 2 footage, nor even mentions the Wraith. In fact, it could easily be the storm the Darkness caused at the end of Season 4 instead. The only inconsistencies I can think of is that Will ends up dating Belle, while in Wonderland Will swore off love after taking out his own heart. He was also effected by the Spell of Shattered Sight, but you could easily argue that Will was just taking advantage of the chaos to pickpocket and get back at Hook. Still, this is one retcon I would gladly welcome, if it means Will retains his happy ending with Anastasia.
Well, on the timeline I’m still going with the storm being the wraith in my mind, but I’m open to other possibilities.
I still hope they will wrap up Will’s story somehow. They could have used him better, but they chose not to. His moments on the show (even if I was going WTH about pairing him with Belle and messing with two beloved ships) were still good moments, and he was amazing in Wonderland.
It was a mistake to bring him onto the main show without a better plan for his inclusion. I’m glad he’s able to talk about it and I can’t blame him for being frustrated. I agree that it’s difficult to balance the sheer number of storylines they’re trying to balance, but it doesn’t help when they drop one to seize the next shiny one without finding a way to conclude the first or incorporate it. We’re still waiting on the outright promised tale of Mulan/Aurora/Phillip, and more of Red and Whale (who are now cameos at best, though at least Red has a chance to have more of her story told), and Lily’s search for her father, and…
They do a wonderful job of making us care about these characters. They pick talented, beautiful actors who inspire feelings in us. To just abandon them is cruel to the actors and audience alike, and it’s happened far too often in this show. I’m not sure which is worse, really, between dropping a character entirely (in such a way they can be brought back easily) or underusing a character the way they do Belle and did with Red, Will, and quite a few others. But Socha has very valid points about how underusing the actor affects his real life. It’s hard to hold onto the passion you have for the project if you’re not allowed to be involved.
Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing
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