Once Upon a Time

I became acquainted with this show fairly late, but have loved it ever since. It gives a great adult spin to all the fairytales we know and love, from Snow White and Cinderella to lesser-known tales like Robin Hood, Aladdin, and even the characters from Frozen and The Snow Queen. The characters are definitely my favorite part of this series. There are clear heroes and villains, but often the lines between them are not clean. This makes them delightfully human but also gives each one the potential to do great things for themselves and others. (Spoiler ahead) Since her redemption, I've actually become a Regina fan, although Mary Margaret and Belle remain my two favorite characters. There's also a ton of great discussion fodder in the show. As a Christian I tend to see religious connections, but you can still explore these topics even without a Christian lens. They include: -The power of sacrifice -The importance of purity, unselfishness, and truth -Whether "bad" people can redeem themselves and what redemption means -The fact that children sometimes see things adults can't -The harm envy, anger, and desire for justice/revenge can do if not controlled -The idea of love as a force more powerful than magic -The idea that men and women can both be intelligent and powerful, despite gender restrictions There are some issues that make OUAT inappropriate for children. The bedroom door has remained closed so far, but sex is discussed, including a homosexual relationship between two minor characters. Characters swear, drink, and smoke on occasion. In "cursed" Storybrooke, David/Charming wants to have an affair with Mary Margaret/Snow because deep in his heart he knows they're meant for each other. She resists him because he's currently married but still ends up labeled a tramp. The magic elements can get quite disconcerting. People's hearts are ripped out and crushed (not bloody, but potentially scary for kids). Other people are turned to stone or gold or obliterated from existence. Fireballs are thrown around, ogres hunt humans, and demons, wraiths, and shadow-people appear. One particularly character often takes on a scaly appearance that makes it look as though his skin is disintegrating. The fifth and most recent season prominently features a version of the Greek underworld and the god Hades. While this is not graphic by adult standards, it may be scary for kids. Judeo-Christian parents may raise eyebrows at the lack of a Biblical representation of heaven and hell. However, again, this is more a discussion opportunity than anything else for appropriate audiences. Families can talk about their own faiths' take on the afterlife, what aspects of the Underworld do or don't line up, and so on. Overall, OUAT is one of the smartest and most adventurous shows to come out of ABC recently, perhaps Hollywood in general. I'm really rooting for at least 8 seasons.

It is a great storylines, complexily characters, strong females characters (good role models for women) and message that "love always wins" and "make the right things". But in my point of view would no be good to kids because of implicity sexual insinuations, implicit sex and violence, characters make ambiguous things and darker themes like revenge, passional crimes, villians make evil things with their own family and intenses psycological conflits (parental abuse, depression and self destructive tendencies).