A Noteworthy Binge: Once Upon a Time

It wouldn’t be the season of love if a Noteworthy Binge didn’t offer some solid advice on what to watch on those cold nights.  “Once Upon a Time” shows the characters of fairy tales we all grew up with and what happens after they live happily ever after.

This show offers some background on characters and their continued story that the movies could never touch. It expands the ever-so-dull Snow White movie and gives the viewer a little more insight on the Evil Queen and her hatred, but also delves into the immense true love of Snow White and Prince Charming.

After the Evil Queen loses her battle with Snow White and is forced from her kingdom, she concocts a new plan – one that will ruin everyone’s happy ending. She enacts a curse.

This curse forces all fairytale characters from their land, The Enchanted Forest, to Earth, more specifically a town called Storybrooke in Maine. No one remembers the magic of the enchanted forest and nobody remembers their lives before the curse was cast. In addition, everyone is separated from their true love.

Emma Swan is the main character of this story along with a young child named Henry. Now, neither of them are fairy tale characters, which makes this intriguing. Emma is a bail bonds investigator from Boston until her son, Henry, finds her and makes her follow him to Storybrooke. Emma’s return is what sets the entire story in motion.

The story isn’t just about good versus evil or true love, it’s also about family and accepting yourself. Many characters in this show are facing a crisis of self identity they are forced to overcome.

A prevalent storyline is that of Snow White. This is where the lines of family become muddled. Every family is somehow affected by this fairy tale, re-creating what family really means. It’s not only the family you are given, but also the family you create.

“Once Upon a Time” is a bit different from other shows on television because it lacks sex and violence. I know those may be two of your favorite aspects to television, but sword fighting can’t always be epic.

If you are in the mood for a heartwarming, dramatic and true love based show, then this is your Netflix match.

There are currently four seasons on Netflix with 24 episodes per season, so get your heated blankets out and tune in.

You may enjoy “Once Upon a Time” if you already watch “Teen Wolf,” “The Originals,” “Pretty Little Liars” or “The Vampire Diaries.”

Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Jared Gilmore, Robert Carlyle and Emilie de Ravin.