‘Once Upon A Time’ Review: The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

I’m at a loss of words for last night’s Once Upon A Time! So many thoughts are racing through my head at the moment! The writers definitely proved to us that they’re not afraid to kill off someone… Even if that someone is extremely handsome.

Since the very beginning we’ve been questioning who Sheriff Graham (Jamie Dornan) is in Fairytale Land. It was finally answered, along with some other details. Sheriff Graham is the Huntsman. The story of the Huntsman is simple. He is ordered by the queen to kill Snow White, and to bring Snow’s heart to her. As he is about to stab Snow White, he stops, because he has fallen for her. The Huntsman instead brings the heart of an animal, leading the queen to believe that it’s Snow White’s. This story is almost identical to the story in Once Upon A Time, except that in the book, we never find out what happens to the Huntsman. Sadly, in Once, his fate wasn’t exactly uplifting.

The Fairytale World:

“I’d always felt there were two kinds of people. Wolves and sheep. Those who kill, and those who get killed.” -Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla)

If finding out that the sheriff is the Huntsman was a shock, you can image the surprise when it is revealed that the Evil Queen is Snow White’s (Ginnifer Goodwin) step-monster… Mother. Snow White’s father has died, but we soon find out who caused his death. None other than the Evil Queen. She is getting revenge on Snow White for taking away something dear to her. Now, she is planning Snow White’s death. Enter the very, very attractive Huntsman.

“My prey is beloved by all the kingdom. I need someone who won’t be blinded by that. Someone without compassion. Someone who will have no qualms carving a heart out, and bringing it back for my collection.” -Evil Queen

Gross. Collecting hearts? The Evil Queen should get a better hobby. Perhaps collecting rocks? Besides the point, the Huntsman accepts, and begins his travels with Snow White. Things take a turn for the worse, when Snow White catches onto the plan, and escapes into the forest. The Huntsman soon finds her writing a letter to the queen. As he’s reading it, he starts to tear up, becoming more boyfriend material by the second, and he eventually lets Snow White go.

The Huntsman returns back to the queen to deliver a heart, but not Snow White’s heart. After the Evil Queen realizes this, all hell breaks loose. She takes the Huntsman into her heart chamber, and rips out his heart! Luckily, this is the fairytale world, and he survives this. But there’s a catch.

“You’re now mine. My pet. And this is your cage. From this moment forward, you will do everything that I say. And if you ever disobey me, if you ever try to run away… All I have to do is squeeze. Your life is now in my hands. Forever.” -Evil Queen

Aw snap! Poor Huntsman! Did anyone notice that she didn’t even hesitate to tell the guards to bring him to her bed chambers… *Shivers*

Storybrooke:

It all started with s kiss. Seriously, Sheriff Graham was drunk and throwing arrows, then he ran after Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and kissed her! What made this kiss even more spectacular was the fact that he started having flashbacks of the fairytale world while kissing her. Now we know the secret to having everyone remember. Just line up, and kiss Emma.

Let me just point out that during Graham’s rampant search for answers, he comes across a wolf. The same wolf that Emma almost hit during the pilot. Love how they tied that in. This wolf, along with Henry’s storybook, lead Graham to discovering more answers. The wolf lead him to Mary Margaret, whom lead him to Henry. Henry reveals his ‘identity’ to Graham, and informs him that the evil queen has his heart. Literally.

“It’s my heart, Emma. I need to find it.” -Sheriff Graham

Is it just me, or did Emma and Graham’s chemistry JUST start. Maybe it is just me, but I didn’t see their chemistry at all before this episode. I thought of them more as friends, and now they’re pretty much lovers. Which doesn’t go over too well with Regina. After she catches them in her father’s burial site– looking for Graham’s heart no less– you can tell she is not pleased. Graham pretty much dumps her (FINALLY), and Emma tells her off.

“Henry came and found me. Graham kissed me. Both were miserable. Maybe, Madame Mayor, you need to take a good hard look in the mirror, and ask yourself why that is. Why is everyone running away from you.” -Emma

Regina gave Emma a small smirk, and then PUNCHED her in the face. Full blown girl fight, and it was not disappointing. It’s official, Emma and Regina are beyond bad ass. Their punches made MY jaw hurt.

In the last few minutes of Once Upon A Time, heart’s of millions broke… No pun intended. Like Regina said as her fairytale counterpart, the Huntsman/Graham’s life is in her hands, and if he ever tried to runaway, she would squeeze his heart until he died. And she did just that. Graham is dead, and I’ll probably be depressed about this for the rest of my life. Why did the hot sheriff have to die first? It’s like LOST all over again when Boone (Ian Somerhader) died. It’s time to start the “Save the Sheriff” campaign. Who’s with me?

Although my beloved Graham’s died, this episode was still pretty epic. I just can’t get over his death. I’m conflicted. Part of me thinks that he had so much potential as a character, and as Emma’s love interest. Another part of me says that he should have died. Let’s face it, he had to go. He figured out the truth, and if he lived– telling everyone of the fairytale world– Once Upon A Time would be over. Graham was a fan favorite, and he will be missed. Maybe he’ll come back? Hopefully to haunt Regina.

R.I.P. Sexy Sheriff Graham

Rating:
A

Questions:

  • Favorite moment during last night’s episode?
  • What huge secret did the queen tell Snow White?
  • Sheriff Graham: Should he have died?

Responses

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  1. i hope regina/evil witch dies a slow painful death. she truly is coldblooded for killing graham. i really hope someone finds a way to bring him back on the show. i loved how he got his memory back, and went to henry for answers. and watching him and emma grow closer. emma was just starting to let her wall down and let love in and BAM the sheriff is dead.

  2. I am just wondering….perhaps a kiss from Emma will wake him up and the magic of love will prevail? After all, this is a modern take on a fairy tale where hopefully good triumphs over evil. However, Prince Charming has gone back to his wife to sort things out instead of running off with Snow White….but that way he won’t have bad karma when he finally ends the marriage. I feel there is an overall morality that will play out in this series, but with happy endings for most.

  3. Why is the Hunstman’s story such a surprise? Did you not read or see ANY fairytale stories during you youth? ONCE UPON A TIME is staying very true to the basics of Disney’s SNOW WHITE animated movie from the 1930’s – it’s not stardust & roses & singing dwarves. From the opening scene, there is death, jealousy, more death, & an assassination attempt. Where did you think the phrase “wicked stepmother” came from?

  4. Thanks for the comments, guys!
    I really, really want Graham back! He’s a great character, and showing his story only made me love him more. 🙂

    @vamplover I love to hate the Evil Queen! Lana Parrilla is amazing.
    @Didimae To me, it seems as though there aren’t that many happy endings! There seems to be more happy endings in Storybrooke than in the fairytale world, right?
    @SuzyQ I agree with you on some points. OUAT does stay true to the classic fairytales, but they also give the stories more details. The reason why it was a shock, is because they didn’t reveal it during Snow White’s story. They waited awhile to let us in on the Evil Queen/Snow White’s relationship to the point where many people didn’t expect it. 🙂

    I don’t know about you all, but I really want that next episode!

  5. i think in this episode, it was the first time we saw SOMEONE doing something “magical” in storybrook, not just strange events happening on their own. When Regina got Graham’s heart and killed him, I was shocked, because I didn’t think that Regina could still do magic. I thought the rando events (the clock starting, “prince charming” waking up, etc.) were just signs of a rift being created between the magical world and the real world…

  6. There’s been at least one other reference to the elements from the previous realm. At the end of the mine collapsing episode – we saw Regina throw that object down that shaft and then at the bottom we saw another object – that looked like Snow White’s coffin. It was quick, and we didn’t get a good look at it – but that’s what it looked like to me. Based on the last episode and that vault being located underground as well, I have to wonder how much more of the magical realm is accessible underground as well. O_oXD – I don’t think the magic is as far away as we think. But I was surprised too – I didn’t think anyone (except maybe Rumple) could still do magic.

  7. this is such a great show. i can’t wait for new episodes to start back up. still heartbroken over graham though. fairytale or not, i want him back. i love reading everyone’s theories over in the OUAT forum thread.

  8. I like how this show perpetuated, for as long as possible, the notion that Storybrooke *might not* actually be the modern-day form of the fantasy world. Clearly, the audience [myself included] hoped it would be, but I appreciate the writers’ ambiguity on this point for so many of the episodes this season.

    That said, I was simultaneously heartbroken by Graham’s death and by the clear indication Regina could not be redeemed. Guess it’s clear now if it wasn’t before, we have a consummate villain at work.

    And lastly, it’s always been clear kissing Emmas is a source of magic!

  9. So, are they framing things to ultimately lead to a showdown between Regina and Mr. Gold? He seems to be the only one who isn’t vulnerable to her.