Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Seventh and Final Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 30, 2018

Before proceeding, newcomers should start at the beginning of Once Upon a Time and work their way up to season seven. See reviews for each of the previous six seasons below:

• Season One
• Season Two
• Season Three
• Season Four
• Season Five
• Season Six

It isn’t often, in this age of movie and television reboots, that a show or film is able to recapture the spark that made the original worth revisiting in the first place. While not a direct reboot -- it's more like a soft re-imagining that advances time between seasons six and seven, changes around established characters, and introduces several new ones -- Once Upon A Time's seventh season actually accomplishes that rare goal with surprising ease and confidence in the story laid out in the six previous seasons and its unorthodox continuation thereof for this seventh and final season. Perhaps what makes it even more impressive is the efficiency with which season seven folds in new characters with established, familiar faces. The cast gels and that spark remains ever-bright, even if it's shining on a hybrid of past and future installments of Once. Through the changes, the show's tonal presentation remains steady and the story, while greatly evolved since fans last visited the show's world where reality and fairy tales intersect, continues on without missing a beat, even if many years have passed between the end of season six and the beginning of season seven.

Please note that spoilers follow both for this season and the previous seasons may follow.

Official synopsis: A few years after the Final Battle in Storybrooke, a grown-up Henry Mills leaves home in search of his own destiny. What he finds is true love with a new incarnation of Cinderella and unexpected danger from her hateful stepmother and stepsister -- plus the added menace of Mother Gothel, a villainous sorceress. And when a new Dark Curse erases his and everyone else’s memories, it’s up to Henry and Cinderella’s daughter Lucy, with the help of Regina, Wish-Realm Hook, Gold and Zelena, to defeat Gothel and end her reign of terror. If they succeed, will Rumple and Belle ever be reunited? Will Regina finally get her happy ending, and will all past memories be restored?

An eerie similarity greets viewers of season seven when it begins very much like season one when Lucy appears at (now adult) Henry’s apartment door claiming to be his daughter. From there, season seven's aim appears to be a total recreation of the previous six seasons to come before it in one single season go. While that's obviously not entirely possible in such condensed fashion, the season hits many of the same story and character beats while still differentiating itself in a new world, outside of Storybrooke and with a hodgepodge of new and old characters interjecting into the tale. But it's not as mundane as it sounds. Season seven proves capable of shining at nearly every turn, as the new curse is revealed and the battle to save everyone and everything unfolds. The only downside is the absence of several familiar faces, but perhaps they are indeed living "happily ever after" elsewhere.

Lana Parilla (Roni/Evil Queen/Regina) shines in her new, cursed role as a barkeeper. The character differs a great deal from the Regina of past seasons, and Parilla proves more than capable of pulling off the character's sassy new beats with ease while still falling back into her more familiar imperial attitude in the scenes depicting the old Regina. Robert Carlyle (Weaver/Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin) continues to dazzle with his signature style as, in this iteration, a cursed police detective who helps the evil mastermind, as it suits his own agenda, of course. While his new character is more similar to his past characters than is Parilla's, Carlye still crafts the character with a uniqueness of new and old, borrowing from his past character iterations and creating a distinct personality for his new persona. Colin O’Donoghue (Rogers/Killian/Captain Hook) continues to do amazing work on the show in his portrayal of multiple roles. From the new role of rookie police detective to his classic role of Killian and the somewhat new role of Wish-Realm Hook , he manages to make each character unique and easily identifiable even when they simultaneously appear on the screen.

The new cast that's sprinkled throughout impresses just as much as series veterans, the latter of whom have the unenviable duty of evolving with the show and the former of whom the unenviable task of blending into such a densely established world. Adult Henry Mills, who is portrayed by Andrew J. West, takes the reigns as series lead and eases into the role with a commanding presence that builds on Jared S. Gilmore's work from previous seasons. His dueling personas of mild mannered author in the real world and resistance fighter in the fairy tale realm mesh well together and the actor does a remarkable job of recreating the confused memory loss from the curse while willingly helping Lucy, even if he disbelieves her story. Dania Ramirez (Cinderella/Jacinda) offers a fresh take on the usual Cinderella story; rather than wait for her prince, she has a mind to rescue herself from her less-than-ideal life. She develops her characters with depth and detail and manages to maintain the "girl power" vibe in both realms. Gabrielle Anwar (Lady Tremaine/Victoria Belfrey) offers an appropriately villainous persona in both realms. Her evil ways are perfectly disagreeable and she makes it easy to root against the character's evil plans in hopes that, as these things tend to do, true love can win out in the end. Yet she builds the character, much like Regina has been built, from the inside out, and there's a degree of intimacy and understanding of her place in the realms beyond her generally evil ways. Alison Fernandez (Lucy) steals the show with her little girl hopes and dreams and desire for her family to be complete. Much like young Henry back in season one, her belief in the curse and desire to reunite her parents fuels the plot and is the key cog in making everything happen. Mekia Cox (Tiana/Sabine) offers an interesting twist on the classic princess story and makes for a good sidekick for Jacinda in the real world.

Though similarities between seasons seven and the preceding six seasons abound, it's in the differences where season seven differentiates itself. There's a very healthy balance between new and familiar, expected and unexpected, and the season -- which is to be the last for Once -- celebrates the idea of both emulating and building on the previous six. But the differences are the draw. Seattle is a much larger playground than Storybrooke, allowing for more interaction between the fairy tale characters and, now, the big, wide world around them. Henry's progression from child hero who steadfastly believes in the fairy tale world into an adult who has essentially become everything he rallied against in his youth adds a nice twist of irony to the season. Rewriting two of the show's most memorable rule benders -- Hook and Rumplestiltskin -- into police officers offers enough of a divergent angle to stretch their characters from those audiences have come to know and love. Regina's entire angle, really, paints the character in an entirely new light.

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Seventh and Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Seventh Season's 1080p transfer dazzles. The digitally sourced photography shines, with top-rate clarity and complex details the norm. Right from the opening shot, a bright exterior back in Storybrooke outside of Regina's house, Henry saying goodbye to her, reveals fantastic clarity, picture-perfect texturing on her sweater and his jacket. That's best case scenario for the show from the outset, and it largely holds to that level of excellence. Lower light scenes are ever so slightly less dynamic, with creeping noise that appears more obvious, but not particularly bothersome, in lower light. But as a rule, textures are first-rate, skin definition is striking, dense Seattle exteriors and interiors are effortlessly complex, and natural beauty shines in various fairy tale forest exteriors. Colors are well saturated, punchy, and can be intense: natural greenery, Cinderella's blue dress, for a couple of examples. There's no shortage of dazzle. Blacks hold true and skin tones appear natural. This is another top-rate Once Blu-ray release from Disney.

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Seventh and Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Seventh Season features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation is stable and reliable throughout the season. Musical clarity is very good, with fine instrumental details audible with every burst of score. Spacing is good, though the front end often dominates with the surrounds usually carrying scant information. Ambient effects are a delight, whether bustling city din or mild forest atmospherics. Various bursts of more intensive action-type elements deliver well, with prominent depth and pleasantly aggressive activity. Bass isn't prolific but the low end adds a little kick as necessary. Surrounds likewise pick up derails as-needed. Dialogue is the commanding sonic device, and it's presented with good, firm front-center placement. Clarity is always on-point.

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Seventh and Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Seventh Season contains supplements on discs one and five. The release ships with an embossed slipcover.

Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: For "Hyperion Heights:" Co-Creators/Executive Producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.

Disc Five:

• And They Lived Happily Ever After (1080p, 22:28): Cast and crew discuss their roles on the show, casting, being part of the franchise and the deeper meaning behind the show, favorite scenes and episodes, and the importance of the fan base.
• Capturing Magic: Lana's Directorial Debut (1080p, 3:53): Lana Parilla, who portrays Regina, shares her desire to direct after starring in the show for seven seasons. She discusses the difficulties in directing such a complicated show. Cast and crew discuss the show and working with Lana on the episode "Chosen".
• The Fairest Bloopers of Them All (1080p, 4:23).
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 15:25 total runtime): Included are Groundbreaking, "I Know Who You Are," "I Didn't Expect to See You," "If She Can Change…," "One-Upped By A Nanny Cam," A Promise, The Hopeful Ones, and In A Hurry.
• Audio Commentary: For "Homecoming:" Executive Producer/Writer David H. Goodman and Executive Producer/Director Steve Pearlman.

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Seventh and Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Season seven rallies for one more go for Once Upon a Time in a way that continues the story but pushes it well ahead, rewrites several rules, shifts around characters, and introduces some new blood for this final string of episodes. The cast remains a strength, the writing is sharp, and the story reaches its conclusion with enough satisfying depth that fans will certainly mourn its closure but, at the same time, there's plenty to celebrate. Once has evolved into one of the most entertaining, clever, and reliable shows on (or that was on) TV, maintaining an excellence and even-keeled narrative even as the previous seasons introduced and followed a rather large assortment of classic characters while season seven ups the ante even more. It's a quality show, and season, that fans will most assuredly want to revisit again in the future. And what better way to watch it again than the Blu-ray releases, which deliver impressive technical credentials through the run, with season seven being no exception. Supplements are a little sparse, but this season, and the series, comes highly recommended.