When 'Once Upon a Time' first started it was highly addictive and made the most of a truly great and creative premise. Really loved the idea of turning familiar fairy tales on their heads and putting own interpretations on them and the show early on clearly had clearly had a ball. Watched it without fail every time it came on and it was often a highlight of the week. Which was why it was sad when it ran out of ideas and lost its magic in the later seasons.
Season 5 had a lot to live up to after Season 4 being as impressive as it was. As far as Season 4's episodes go, they were all decent to brilliant with the only small dip being "Family Business" (though "Heart of Gold" was uneven) and the best being the "Smash the Mirror" two parter, "Best Laid Plans", "Mother" and the first part of "Operation Mongoose". So was expecting a good deal from Season 5 and "The Dark Swan" didn't disappoint at all. All the episodes between that and this were decent to brilliant.
Personally liked "The Bear King" far more than the previous reviewer. It is far from one of the season's or show's best episodes and a let down after the previous two episodes, but it is the best of the two Merida-centric episodes up to this point of the show (the other being "The Bear and the Bow", though that was not quite as Merida-centric) and explores the character much better. Can understand the mixed reviews and disappointments, thought it was good myself respectfully and found a lot to admire.
Seeing more development to Merida and efforts to make her more interesting was appreciated and it is successful to a point in this goal.
Not that "The Bear King" is perfect, it isn't. The old/existing characters are missing here and their lack of presence is quickly noticeable and deeply felt, mainly because they are far more interesting in personality and development. Mulan and Ruby were brought back and for a very marketed and anticipated return, it didn't completely work. Merida, Mulan and Ruby don't have enough scenes together and Ruby has too little to do and one questions a little her necessity in the storytelling.
Also there is not yet enough to Merida to make her completely compelling or worth rooting for, though her development is much more interesting here, brave and heroic she is but there is also negative character traits like selfishness and combative nature that makes her less endearing.
However, it was great to see her developed and in a why softened. We do know much more about it, mainly her family and how she came to be the way she is. We also find out what her purpose is and the why, what and how of her being important to the Arthur/Camelot storyline.
Despite being underwhelmed a bit by Ruby, the chemistry between Merida and Mulan fares much stronger with some great moments and Mulan has lost none of what made her interesting in the first place. Zelena serves as a suitably formidable villain and the different interpretation of Arthur is continuing to work wonders.
There is with this storyline a lot of potential and the characters introduced at the start of the season are already intriguing. The most striking assets and the interesting aspects are the development to Merida, the return of Mulan and Ruby and the interestingly different "villainous" interpretation of Arthur.
Lots of evidence of forward momentum and character development advancing. There is a grandeur and mystery to the setting. and the story on the most part is absorbing and balanced with assurance and coherence on the whole.
All the acting is strong, Amy Manson is even better here than she is in "The Bear and the Bow" and Jamie Chung proves that Mulan's return was a welcome one. Meghan Ory does her best with what she has, while Liam Garrigan continues to impress as Arthur and Rebecca Mader positively casts a spell as Zelena.
Furthermore, "The Bear King" is a very handsomely mounted episode visually, the settings and costumes are both colourful and atmospheric, not too dark or garish and never cookie cutter. It is photographed beautifully too. The music is haunting, ethereal and cleverly used with a memorable theme tune.
Writing has the right balance of humour, pathos, mystery and intrigue, little corn or cheesiness here. This aspect has come on such a long way since when 'Once Upon a Time' first started, much more complexity and nuance.
Summing up, didn't blow my mind but well done. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Season 5 had a lot to live up to after Season 4 being as impressive as it was. As far as Season 4's episodes go, they were all decent to brilliant with the only small dip being "Family Business" (though "Heart of Gold" was uneven) and the best being the "Smash the Mirror" two parter, "Best Laid Plans", "Mother" and the first part of "Operation Mongoose". So was expecting a good deal from Season 5 and "The Dark Swan" didn't disappoint at all. All the episodes between that and this were decent to brilliant.
Personally liked "The Bear King" far more than the previous reviewer. It is far from one of the season's or show's best episodes and a let down after the previous two episodes, but it is the best of the two Merida-centric episodes up to this point of the show (the other being "The Bear and the Bow", though that was not quite as Merida-centric) and explores the character much better. Can understand the mixed reviews and disappointments, thought it was good myself respectfully and found a lot to admire.
Seeing more development to Merida and efforts to make her more interesting was appreciated and it is successful to a point in this goal.
Not that "The Bear King" is perfect, it isn't. The old/existing characters are missing here and their lack of presence is quickly noticeable and deeply felt, mainly because they are far more interesting in personality and development. Mulan and Ruby were brought back and for a very marketed and anticipated return, it didn't completely work. Merida, Mulan and Ruby don't have enough scenes together and Ruby has too little to do and one questions a little her necessity in the storytelling.
Also there is not yet enough to Merida to make her completely compelling or worth rooting for, though her development is much more interesting here, brave and heroic she is but there is also negative character traits like selfishness and combative nature that makes her less endearing.
However, it was great to see her developed and in a why softened. We do know much more about it, mainly her family and how she came to be the way she is. We also find out what her purpose is and the why, what and how of her being important to the Arthur/Camelot storyline.
Despite being underwhelmed a bit by Ruby, the chemistry between Merida and Mulan fares much stronger with some great moments and Mulan has lost none of what made her interesting in the first place. Zelena serves as a suitably formidable villain and the different interpretation of Arthur is continuing to work wonders.
There is with this storyline a lot of potential and the characters introduced at the start of the season are already intriguing. The most striking assets and the interesting aspects are the development to Merida, the return of Mulan and Ruby and the interestingly different "villainous" interpretation of Arthur.
Lots of evidence of forward momentum and character development advancing. There is a grandeur and mystery to the setting. and the story on the most part is absorbing and balanced with assurance and coherence on the whole.
All the acting is strong, Amy Manson is even better here than she is in "The Bear and the Bow" and Jamie Chung proves that Mulan's return was a welcome one. Meghan Ory does her best with what she has, while Liam Garrigan continues to impress as Arthur and Rebecca Mader positively casts a spell as Zelena.
Furthermore, "The Bear King" is a very handsomely mounted episode visually, the settings and costumes are both colourful and atmospheric, not too dark or garish and never cookie cutter. It is photographed beautifully too. The music is haunting, ethereal and cleverly used with a memorable theme tune.
Writing has the right balance of humour, pathos, mystery and intrigue, little corn or cheesiness here. This aspect has come on such a long way since when 'Once Upon a Time' first started, much more complexity and nuance.
Summing up, didn't blow my mind but well done. 8/10 Bethany Cox
