For the life of me I don’t know why Deadwood actor (and television director) Brad Dourif made an appearance on this week’s Once Upon a Time, but you know what? The reason why doesn’t matter. It’s like asking why the sky is blue: There’s an answer, but to speak it ruins the beauty of the moment. That said, Once Upon a Time might have jumped the silly-shark this week. That’s like jumping the regular shark, only the animal in question is wearing a loud Hawaiian print shirt and a fake mustache. You know, for maximum silliness. There’s a fair amount of disbelief that I’m willing to suspend in the favor of some delicious escapist nonsense. ‘Delicious escapist nonsense’ is basically the definition of Once Upon a Time, and I love it deeply and truly. I’m willing to turn my back to a lot of its problems and cheese (read: the entire Frozen storyline) for the sake of enjoying it as the dramatic equivalent of chocolate trifle. But not even the dramatic work of Dourif or of Robert Carlyle can make me believe that Mickey magic sorcerer’s cap and a poorly rendered CGI-ed walking broomstick are story elements that I want to spend an hour with each week. Maybe the show is just doing its job. The primary function of a serial drama (genre-based or otherwise) is to build anticipation from one week to the next. I desperately want to know about The Snow Queen and her relationship with Emma. I want to know how Will Scarlet is connected to the Wonderland kingdom. I want to spend more time with Regina and Henry all nerding out together (BECAUSE ADORABLE). I want to know if Hook will continue to go to the dark side and if Belle will ever buy skirts that cover her bottom. I care about the majority of the cast and about the world there in. I’m just having a hard time convincing myself that I need to be worrying about Rumple. We’ve already set up a villain for the season in The Snow Queen. Let’s get back to that. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!
