Once Upon a Time: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Almost there... almost there...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown August 22, 2014

Once upon a time, there was a brave little series from ABC. Wide-eyed, excitable and full of hope, it stayed out of the shadows most television fantasy favors and embraced somewhat lighter, more thematically fanciful fare. Darkness still lurked in the surrounding forests, of course, where sinister queens and evil imps prowled. But Storybrooke was more a land of magical fairytales than bloody swords-and-dragons fantasies, and the little series was safe. Too safe. Season Two, though, was a different beastie; a slightly nastier, toothier killer with a stillborn heart more akin to NBC's Grimm. Having shed its skin at the end of Season One, Once Upon a Time cleverly and all too shrewdly abandoned its town-wide amnesia angle, freeing itself to do more of what it did best: putting fresh, unexpected spins on familiar heroes, villains and stories from childhood. Yet somehow, despite being unshackled from its first season restraints, despite entertaining more grit, menace and black magic in its second season, and despite a sharper, darker third season, the brave little series -- a must-see for some, a guilty pleasure for others, but a categorical success for ABC and Disney all around -- still suffers from the same problems it has from the beginning. It continues to grow into a surer hour of television, absolutely. But something is still amiss in Storybrooke...

Can five heroic characters set aside their personal grudges and private demons to rescue Henry (Jared S. Gilmore), and themselves, from the ultimate evil? The stakes are higher than ever in a Neverland that's the stuff of nightmares. At the dark heart of its mystery is Peter Pan (Robbie Kay), an ageless entity with a diabolical agenda and a chilling secret. For Henry, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle), Regina the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla), Captain Hook (Colin O'Donoghue), Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) and Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin), Pan's actions have far-reaching consequences that will change their lives forever, inspire new alliances and betrayals, and introduce both Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest to a powerful new villain of legendary wickedness: the Wicked Witch of the West (Rebecca Mader).

I'm a sucker for the classics. Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz? Tweaked and toyed with in new, interesting ways? Sign me up. Yes, even with such rich soil to garden, Once Upon a Time still paces in circles and takes its sweet time planting seeds. And yes, it's all drawn out ad nauseum, particularly the back-and-forth with the Wicked Witch of the West. But Pan and Westie bring new levels of villainy to the series, bringing out the hero in our heroes, pushing reigning villains toward the light, and giving scene-stealers O'Donoghue and Carlyle plenty to work with. The addition of Ariel (Joanna García Swisher) and other notable icons of old (many of which are glorified cameos unfortunately) certainly helps, even though The Little Mermaid is a tad obnoxious until the Big Bads begin manipulating her vices and good intentions.

Season Three is a stronger 22-episode adventure altogether... but could be much stronger if Snow, Charming or Emma were given more to work with than pouty melodrama and dutiful exposition. It's fun to watch the Mouse House indulge in stark alterations to darling characters and unsettling twists to familiar favorites (Pan most of all), but it also never feels as if Disney is allowing the series writers to cross every line they so clearly wish to cross. Snow always stops short. Charming is dashing but rarely daring. Emma is a bore. It's also interesting to see how much the lead trio are marginalized this time around, with Hook, the Evil Queen, Rumple and the Wicked Witch all but dominating the last half of the season. (And rightfully so. It makes for a more addicting show.) Once could frankly kill off all three heroes, reap the benefits of its fans' shock, and walk away a better series for it. Not that anyone in the writers' room is itching to roll those dice.

Which brings us back to Once Upon a Time's magic word: safe. No matter how dark things get, no matter what sort of evil infects classic heroes and heroines, no matter how many pulsing hearts are plucked from mainstays' chests, the series always pulls back at the last minute. Even when death comes to Storybrooke, it tends to feel overdue and, worse, manufactured. Ah well. As much as my dark side would enjoy an alternate reality where Once Upon a Time was HBO's weekly lead-in to Game of Thrones, this is network TV, complete with traditional network sensibilities; Disney TV, with Disney sensibilities. And while that may read as if it's a criticism, it isn't. It's a divining rod. If your love of Disney is greater than your love of twisted television, Once will continue to appeal to you more than those looking for something darker. Season Three is without a doubt a leaner, meaner trip into Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest, though, meaning those who've been on the fence might find themselves climbing down and sticking around a little while longer.

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like the Blu-ray releases of Season One and Season Two, Once Upon a Time's third season looks terrific in high definition. Or rather as terrific as it could. Low-grade CG, glaring green screen seams and other unsightlies continue to haunt the series' 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 presentation, and there are instances of aliasing, artifacting and distracting anomalies inherent to the visual effects. However, even the biggest eyesores should, in no way, be used to judge the encode's quality. Colors are strong and lifelike, with naturally saturated skintones, satisfying black levels and beautiful primary punch. The vivid reds and soft blues of Snow's overcoats. The greens and golds of Oz. The lush hues of the Enchanted Forest. All of them lovely, each one as striking, restrained or subtle as it's meant to be. Detail is excellent too, particularly in regards to close-ups. Edges are crisp and clean (no ringing to report), fine textures are rewarding (especially in generously lit scenes) and delineation is revealing. Several scenes suffer from quick-hit color grading, with shadows and darkness sometimes tinted orange, brown and purple, but it traces back to the production, not the encode. All told, The Complete Third Season delivers. I don't have any real complaints.

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Once Upon a Time's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is, once again, a bit too flat and front-heavy for its own good. Action and adventure is still teeming with rear speaker flourishes and earthy, resonant LFE oomph, but quieter conversations aren't nearly as immersive, at least those that take place in Storybrooke interiors. Trips through the Enchanted Forest, to the docks and to all realms of magic and mystery are much more enveloping, with ample ambience, plenty of light directional touches and transparent pans. Low-end output lends weight to elements that require it, and dramatic heft to scenes rife with tension. Dialogue remains clean, intelligible and smartly prioritized as well, and there weren't many moments that left me straining to hear hushed whispers or distant voices.

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

• Audio Commentaries: Four audio commentaries are available, including "Lost Girl" with writers Andrew Chambliss and Kalinda Vazquez; "Think Lovely Thoughts" with writers David H. Goodman & Robert Hull and actor Robert Carlyle; "The Jolly Roger" with Goodman and actor Colin O'Donoghue; and "There's No Place Like Home" with co-creators/executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.
• Wicked Villains (Disc 5, HD, 12 minutes): An overview of the series villains, from their twisted motivations to their troubled pasts, tragic backstories and sinister endgames. Do the villains fancy themselves evil? Not in Once Upon a Time. Their methods may be, but their ultimate goals aren't so easy to lock down.
• The Tale of Ariel (Disc 5, HD, 8 minutes): The Little Mermaid comes to Storybrooke, and this featurette briskly moves from casting to JoAnna Garcia Swisher's performance, her memorable character beats and the challenges of adapting an animated icon for a live-action series.
• Inside the Writers' Room (Disc 5, HD, 3 minutes): A tongue-in-cheek promo for Season Three set in the writers' room. Unfortunately, the notes on the whiteboard behind the writers are funnier than the bit itself.
• Deleted Scenes (Disc 5, HD, 13 minutes): Nine deleted scenes are included on the set's fifth disc: "Mr. Van Winkle," "A Helping Hook," "Father of the Bride," "Thank You Note," "Baby Gift," "Force Fed," "Connected," "Princess Leia" and "Liar, Liar."
• Comic-Con Meets Ariel (Disc 5, HD, 1 minutes): The Ariel reveal that debuted at Comic-Con.
• The Fairest Bloopers of Them All (Disc 5, HD, 2 minutes): A mercifully short outtake reel.

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

Once Upon a Time is slowly, oh so slowly, moving in the right direction, sharpening its swords, bearing its teeth and letting loose its roar with more abandon than before. The stories and scripts are steadily improving too, especially as the villains and morally questionable rogues move to the forefront, pushing Snow, Charming and Emma to the back of the pack. There are still a number of problems, most of which involve stretching a roughly 13-episode story to 22 episodes. With the week-to-week budget thinner, scenes set in the fairy tale past fewer, and grander adventures reduced to a small handful, there's just too much filler. What I wouldn't give to see a leaner, more confident and ultimately more streamlined series; one whose every episode was better than the last, without any lulls or dry spells to endure. Fortunately, Disney's Blu-ray release is more effective thanks to a fantastic video presentation and solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. A more extensive supplemental package would have been appreciated, but the content that's available will still please fans of the show.