John H. McDonald House, New Westminster, Canada

So, now we're both trapped in the book. Congratulations. Let me tell you about this place. It's cold, there's no running water, and things are always trying to kill you.

Lee Arenberg, Patrick Fischler, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Josh Dallas in Once Upon a Time (2011)

Patrick Fischler and Josh Dallas in Once Upon a Time (2011)

Jennifer Morrison in Once Upon a Time (2011)

Sean Maguire and Rebecca Mader in Once Upon a Time (2011)

Ginnifer Goodwin in Once Upon a Time (2011)

Ginnifer Goodwin, Lana Parrilla, and Josh Dallas in Once Upon a Time (2011)

Ginnifer Goodwin

Jennifer Morrison

Lana Parrilla

Edward Kitsis

Adam Horowitz

Emma, her parents, Hook, and Regina scramble to stop them, but when Gold and the Author turn the tables on heroes and villains alike, the prospect of any happy outcome appears worlds away. Henry discovers he has big shoes to fill ...

Romeo Tirone

Operation Mongoose: Part 1

Starting the race to the finish

When &apos;Once Upon a Time&apos; 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 4 had a lot to live up after Season 3 being as impressive as it was. At this early stage of the season, one can see a lot of promise, some may argue that it is capitalising on &apos;Frozen&apos;s&apos; success but there is much more to the season than that. This promise was apparent from the get go, with a great season opener in &quot;A Tale of Two Sisters&quot;. As far as the previous Season 4 episodes go, they were all decent to brilliant with the only small dip being &quot;Family Business&quot; and the best being the &quot;Smash the Mirror&quot; two parter, &quot;Best Laid Plans&quot; and &quot;Mother&quot;.

Both parts of the season finale &quot;Operation Mongoose&quot; for me are wonderful and Season 4 at its best. It is a tense, compelling and emotional episode with inventive twists and turns, the ending in this first part is unexpected.

Loved the expanded role of The Author, bringing a lot of mystery, fun, intrigue and tension to the proceedings. His alliance with Gold is a perfect example of character and story advancing and the race against time story is always engrossing. A lot happens with several characters involved, but in a way that never feels over-stuffed or crammed. One doesn&apos;t feel like they&apos;re going round in circles, in fact the story is pushing forward, and the characterisation is not contradictory or underdone.

All the acting is strong, with particularly terrific performances coming from Patrick Fischler and Robert Carlyle proving why he was always one of the show&apos;s best and most consistent actors. Lana Parrilla, Colin O&apos;Donoghue and Jennifer Morison don&apos;t put a foot wrong either.

Furthermore, &quot;Operation Mongoose: Part 1&quot; 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, or corn or cheesiness here. This aspect has come on such a long way since when &apos;Once Upon a Time&apos; first started, much more complexity and nuance.

In summary, wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox

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 4 had a lot to live up after Season 3 being as impressive as it was. At this early stage of the season, one can see a lot of promise, some may argue that it is capitalising on 'Frozen's' success but there is much more to the season than that. This promise was apparent from the get go, with a great season opener in "A Tale of Two Sisters". As far as the previous Season 4 episodes go, they were all decent to brilliant with the only small dip being "Family Business" and the best being the "Smash the Mirror" two parter, "Best Laid Plans" and "Mother".

Both parts of the season finale "Operation Mongoose" for me are wonderful and Season 4 at its best. It is a tense, compelling and emotional episode with inventive twists and turns, the ending in this first part is unexpected.

Loved the expanded role of The Author, bringing a lot of mystery, fun, intrigue and tension to the proceedings. His alliance with Gold is a perfect example of character and story advancing and the race against time story is always engrossing. A lot happens with several characters involved, but in a way that never feels over-stuffed or crammed. One doesn't feel like they're going round in circles, in fact the story is pushing forward, and the characterisation is not contradictory or underdone.

All the acting is strong, with particularly terrific performances coming from Patrick Fischler and Robert Carlyle proving why he was always one of the show's best and most consistent actors. Lana Parrilla, Colin O'Donoghue and Jennifer Morison don't put a foot wrong either.

Furthermore, "Operation Mongoose: Part 1" 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, or 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.

In summary, wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Emma, her parents, Hook, and Regina scramble to stop them, but when Gold and the Author turn the tables on heroes and villains alike, the prospect of any happy outcome appears worlds away. Henry discovers he has big shoes to fill as he steps up to save his family before the story's final page is turned.

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Operation Mongoose: Part 1

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