Season 7 of “Once Upon a Time” premiered this past weekend.  I have to admit that I have been a fair-weather fan of this series, over the last couple of years.  There have been times when I have loved it, and times when I have been quite bored.  In many respects it is a show almost best binge-watched than watched on a weekly basis, but this season is taking a brand new twist, and I am giving it another chance.

Season 6 ended with the marriage of The Savior and Captain Hook–which was WAY over-due, and honestly I thought it would have been a fitting end to the series.  All the ends neatly tied up, our favorite characters in a good place–so why not stop there?  They had defeated many foes, been to different Realms, overcome differences, been united on many fronts and overcome their evil counterparts.  It would have been a great end to a fun and different series.  Instead, they have chosen to continue the series by fast-forwarding all of the characters about ten years into the future and making the new main character Henry Mills–the son of the Savior and the adopted son of the Evil Queen.

We have yet to see if they will be able to make the series great with this new direction.

In many ways I was loathe to watch this season, seeing as SO many plot twists and story arcs have already been done and I don’t think there are that many new directions to go with this premise.  However, the introduction of new actresses such as Gabrielle Anwar (Burn Notice) and Adelaide Kane (Reign), did pique my interest a little as I have adored them in past roles.  I was also worried that they might exclude former favorite “Once” stars, but was happy to see that they will still be included.

I did find it a little trite that the premise for this season is once again a “curse”–where none of the characters know who they truly are.  I mean–major Deja Vu anyone?  The writers have definitely been down this road more than a few times.  However, there may still be hope for the series to turn itself around.  The current trend in entertainment media with its love of super heroes and fairy tale characters is not about to abate any time soon, so that alone may keep “Once Upon a Time” in the popular category.  Let’s just hope that the writers know when to pull the plug and end the series on a high note before dragging it out for too long.