A Case of Mistaken Identity: The Wicked Witch

As we come to St. Patrick’s Day, it’s good to remember that it’s not easy being green. Especially when you’re constantly compared to one of the most heinous villains of witch-kind: the Wicked Witch of the West. So let’s start with the OG witch. The big baddy of Oz. 

The Wicked Witch of the West

The infamous witch of the original Wizard of Oz, specifically the 1939 movie adaptation, is one of the most devious and evil villains. The movie was released only two years after the Evil Queen appeared in Snow White. 

While the Evil Queen was fueled by vanity, I think it’s safe to say that the Wicked Witch wasn’t concerned with vanity, simply power. She’s known for being petty, vile, and volatile. At least as far as the movie is concerned, her identity is based in the obsessive need to have Dorothy’s slippers. That's what makes her such an iconic villain, even decades later. And that has impacted our view of this green-skinned woman ever since. 

Zelena (Once Upon a Time)

This iteration of the Wicked Witch came onto the scene as the residents of Storybrooke returned to the Enchanted Forest. With their cursed memories available, Snow, Regina, and everyone else immediately equated Zelena with the Witch from the movie. 

And that’s kind of how Zelena was raised in Oz. Because of her magic, her adopted father considered her some wicked curse. When she learned about her half sister and turned green with envy, her appearance only reinforced that belief to the people of Oz. You call someone wicked long enough and they’ll believe that’s all she is. In fact, she began to equate herself with wickedness. “Wicked always wins” may have been her mantra, but that line is filled with shame. It wasn’t until she was treated with love from her mother and her sister that she began to see herself as something other than “wicked”.

Elfaba (Wicked)

Going into the Broadway play, we're meant to compare Elfaba to the original Wicked Witch. Like Zelena, she was treated as a villain because of her magical abilities. Unlike Zelena, Elfaba kept to her values and her priorities in a version of Oz that was full of discriminatory propaganda. Because she wouldn't play the Wizard's game, Elfaba was villainized.

It would have been easy for Elfaba to take on that baggage, like Zelena, and believe she was "wicked". Instead, she was sure enough of herself to be able to recognize the darkness of the world she lived in and rise above it. There are a lot of possible interpretations of "Defying Gravity" and this is one of them. We live in a fallen world and it can be easy to take on who the world says we are. It takes a lot of internal strength to remain a person of integrity when everyone around says to conform. Elfaba literally rose above her haters. She may not have changed Oz, but her influence changed Glinda and Fiyero "for good".

A Case of Mistaken Identity: Regina Mills

"I was afraid. I didn't... You said I could let go of the anger that was weighing me down. And suddenly it felt like without it, I would just... float away. That anger was all I had. What would I be without it?"

This quote from Once Upon a Time resonated recently. To my credit, I haven’t been resentful enough towards anyone that I sent a huntsman after them. However, I’ll admit that like Regina I have a hard time forgiving. And for a long time that anger defined her.

Once upon a time, Regina was a loving woman. As a youth, she jumped at the idea that she had a big sister (until Cora separated them). She loved her boyfriend Daniel freely (when her mother wasn’t looking). She even loved Snow White at first and was quick to show affection to the girl.

However, after that ten year old girl spilled the secret about Regina’s boyfriend, her heart was filled with darkness and hatred from the trauma. For decades, this hatred consumed her kind soul and grew to the point that she was ready to punish an entire kingdom for Snow White’s childhood mistake. Even when she had a chance at love, she turned away, not willing to give up that defining hatred. It was bad enough that she internalized the moniker of the Evil Queen.

After casting the Dark Curse, she had her revenge. And it was perfect. Until it wasn’t. Finally, when she adopted Henry she caught a glimpse of love again. But with how controlling a mother she was, I’m willing to bet it was her trauma and insecurities, always worried about losing him, Emma’s arrival in Storybrooke only amplified that fear.

When True Love’s Kiss broke the curse, she was a pariah once again. She used her magic as a crutch to avoid losing Henry. I think it was when she was forced to co-parent with Charming that things began to change. I mean, she made herself vulnerable to losing Henry when she helped Emma and Mary Margaret through the portal. By the time the crew left for Neverland, she had briefly lost her magic and was forced to trust her foes to save her son.

I’m not sure Regina could have made the sacrifice to lose Henry, in undoing Peter Pan’s curse, if not for that growth. The love of her son, and his love for her, opened her heart to the point that the grief of losing him almost drove her to bury her heart and impose a sleeping curse on herself. By the time they were back in Storybrooke she was able to open her heart enough to consistently trust the Charming family (and for them to trust her) that she went undercover with the Queens of Darkness while searching for her happy ending.

Opening her heart like that had to be the scariest thing in her life, making her feel vulnerable. But it somehow made her heart stronger. Even after Robin Hood’s demise, she managed to hold onto hope. Sure, she was as angry and resentful towards her sister, but she wasn’t murderous like she had been to Snow.

And while I could’ve done without the final season of the show, her character as Roni under the new curse showcased her transformation. After all she’d been through, she was the embodiment of hope in Hyperion Heights.

If I’m going to take one lesson from Regina’s story, it’s that opening your heart will make you stronger and help you discover your true identity. Regina was worried that forgiveness would leave her with nothing to ground her. But instead she found that opening her heart, discovering who the real Regina was, and letting in the love offered… that grounded her. By the end of the series, she felt loved and sure of herself. I’m not exactly sure how to get there in a practical sense myself, but I’m sure it’s easier said than done. Step one is compassion for myself. That seems to be what Heavenly Father is trying to teach me lately.

Once's Missed Opportunity: A Christmas Episode

My wife recently finished rewatching Once Upon a Time (we use it as a background show while doing chores and such). I have various opinions about the series—possibly some unpopular ones—about characters, story arcs, relationships, etc. but that’s a topic for another blog post. Today I want to talk about the biggest missed opportunity I took note of during this recent viewing. Why the heck didn’t Once Upon a Time have a Christmas episode?

My first thought was maybe the producers  were trying to evade religion or potentially controversial topics… even though they had no problem alluding to the Last Supper in the Season 6 finale. And there was David the shepherd boy who became king. But even religion aside, Christmas has become such a cultural thing and it’s been secularized for years. They could have avoided the Nativity scene altogether and just gone with the mythology of Santa. 

Even just with Santa Claus, there are so many different Santa stories they could pull from. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, The Santa Clause, etc. to name a couple. But even if you leave Santa aside for a second, there are countless Christmas classics and specials they could have  pulled from, like Charlie Brown trees or the Grinch. Heck, we already had a Victorian era England in Wonderland and the Jekyll/Hyde story, so why not do an adaptation of A Christmas Carol?

This hypothetical Christmas episode didn’t even need to be Christmas focused exactly either. They had episodes taking place on Halloween and Valentine's Day that had little to do with those holidays. There could have easily been an episode taking place on Christmas (maybe during the Frozen arc would have been appropriate) with references to North Pole magic, Christmas spirits, or Santa Claus without making it a major focus of the episode. Heck, leave the supernatural aside; with all the time jumps and everything, we had at least two or three holiday seasons we skipped over. Why couldn’t we have stopped on one of them? They were filming in Canada in the fall/winter anyway. 

Above all else, if Christmas movies and Christmas specials have taught me anything, all the “Christmas magic" basically plays into Once's themes of family, true love, etc. If “true love” is the most powerful magic of all, Christmas magic would be the most powerful version of “true love” magic. I can just imagine Emma snuggling up with Henry in front of a fire after a Christmas fairytale incident, showing us the importance of being together as a family, even in the midst of holiday chaos. 

I don’t know if a holiday episode even crossed the minds of the Once Upon a Time writers. And there’s a reason they’re TV writers and I’m not, so I’m not here to say I could have done better. But I think this could have been really cool. That being said, even without Once, Disney Plus has plenty of content for the holiday season. And now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s culturally acceptable to watch Christmas movies and listen to Christmas music (I’ve already been doing both for a month), so let’s enjoy the Christmas season, drawing close to our loved ones and away from our wish lists. 

Princess Jasmine: A 30th Anniversary Tribute

(Guest post by David T)

On November 25, 1992, “Aladdin,” Walt Disney Pictures’ 31st animated film premiered in theaters. Loving Disney feature animation, I was excited to see the newest addition to their canon. However, these feelings were tempered by the preconceived idea that I wouldn’t love it like “Beauty and the Beast” released the previous year. When I watched Aladdin on the big screen for the first time, I was immediately drawn in by the gorgeously detailed hand drawn and computer animation and the music by Alan Menken, Tim Rice, and the late Howard Ashman. Surprisingly the movie surpassed Beauty and the Beast in becoming my favorite Disney film. The moment was the appearance of the Sultan of Agrabah’s daughter, Princess Jasmine.

In the Princess’ introductory scene, I learned that she was being required to marry a man of the same social status by a predetermined date (Jasmine’s “next birthday”). In addition, the royal remained in the palace confines by her loving yet overprotective father. Like Belle, I quickly related to Jasmine. As a thirteen-year-old boy, I wasn’t royal, and marriage wasn’t even near the horizon. However, I began feeling the constraints of my parents’ rules. I was growing older and wanted to decide how to live my life.

Since my first encounter with her, I’ve been inspired by Jasmine’s characteristics exhibited in Aladdin and its adaptations to Broadway, television, and live-action film. In the original animated feature, I admire Jasmine’s independence. From the beginning, the princess is willing to utilize it and reject Prince Achmed as a potential husband. She is unafraid to vocalize to her father that she wants love to be the reason she marries and not because a law demands it or to satisfy the Sultan. Jasmine demonstrates her autonomy when she condemns Aladdin (disguised as Prince Ali), the Sultan, and Jafar for debating what’s best for her life. She states, “I am not a prize to be won!” When Aladdin offers the royal the chance to leave the palace via magic carpet, she willingly accepts. After Jafar takes over the kingdom, the deposed royal defies the evil new sovereign by refusing to bow and later rejects his offer to become his queen to end her enslavement. The most powerful moment where Jasmine exercises her independence is when the Sultan alters the marriage law to which she happily declares that Aladdin is her choice. 

I like the observing and introspective nature Jasmine displays in the Broadway version of Aladdin. In her solo, the princess expresses frustration with specific demands of her royal station, especially the requirement to wed a man she doesn’t know or love. She knows that her suitors are only interested in her wealth. As the royal and her handmaidens sing about her situation, Jasmine recognizes that if she doesn’t listen to her heart and change course, she’ll end up bitter and unfeeling. This self-realization cements for the princess that she needs to leave the strict security of the palace and find what she is yearning for.

In the retelling of Aladdin in the television series Once Upon a Time, I love how Jasmine’s leadership is exhibited. Determined to end Jafar’s control over her father and Agrabah, the princess seeks out the mythical “diamond in the rough” which turns out to be Aladdin. When the evil sorcerer re-emerges as a threat after initially being stopped, Jasmine rejects the Sultan’s proposed plan for protection which would require her marrying a prince who possesses a military. Instead, she searches for Aladdin (who has disappeared) to enlist his help again. The royal is ready to make the sacrifice and willingly marry her people’s enemy when it appears her options have run out. Even though Jasmine faces setbacks, the princess perseveres. In doing so, Jafar is ultimately defeated and Agrabah is free and safe.

I’m affected by Jasmine’s self-advocacy in the Aladdin live-action remake. The possibility of succeeding her father as Agrabah’s ruler is questioned by Jasmine’s handmaiden, Dahlia, and dismissed by the Sultan and Jafar. This doesn’t stop Jasmine from expressing herself. The most dramatic moment of this is when Jafar usurps the throne. The princess powerfully persuades Hakim, the Captain of the Guard to continue supporting the rightful royal family. Through this demonstration and Jasmine’s subsequent willingness to stand up to their enemy, the Sultan realizes that his daughter is capable of reigning. He abdicates allowing the princess to become a female Sultan. 

Since seeing Aladdin during the 1992 holiday season, the Princess of Agrabah has been and continues to be an inspiration. I had the unbelievable opportunity to meet her speaking voice, Linda Larkin and share how Jasmine has influenced my life. In honor of the 30th anniversary of Aladdin’s theatrical release, this post is dedicated to one of my most beloved Disney Princesses. Happy 30th Anniversary, Jasmine! Thanks to you, “I’m like a shooting star. I’ve come so far. I can’t go back to where I used to be!”

The Magic of Memory

Amnesia is an old trope in fiction, all the way back when Fred Flintstone was clocked over the head with a frying pan and suffered a football player level concussion. While getting hit in the head and forgetting is usually done for a laugh, when magic is involved the amnesia trope takes a more serious tone. The exploration of memory loss turns from a well timed joke to a timeless message about loss and the space a person makes when they're no longer there. 

Trigger warning: Suicide

"Better if I was Never Born"

Modern fiction sees the first incident of magical amnesia in It's a Wonderful Life when Clarence shows a suicidal George Bailey what the world would be like if he was never born. Not exactly a memory spell but it may as well be. We see that without George Bailey, nobody is happy. His wife is an old maid (kinda sexist I know but this was 1946), his mother takes in boarders since her only son is now dead because nobody saved him from the ice when he was a kid. With nobody recognizing George he is lost, begging Clarence to let him live again so that he could be part of the world full of people he loves. The message is that no matter how hard life is the world is always better with you in it, which is a message that is still true today. The memory loss emphasizes the point in the most direct way it could come across. 

(Side note: I once had to write a 13 page dissertation about how Potter in It's a Wonderful Life was the good guy. It was fun to defend the villain but after watching that movie so many times over the course of a month I couldn't watch it for a couple years after, despite it being one of the few Christmas movies I actually like)

The Curse to End All Curses

If you haven't watched Once Upon A Time, frankly I don't blame you because it is a wild trip and may not be for everyone, but I liked it. Anyway, the first season centers around this curse the Evil Queen casts on the Enchanted Forest that's supposed to tear everyone away from their happily ever afters. What the curse does is transports everyone to a little town in Maine and makes them all forget their pasts, giving them fake identities and making them all shadows of their former selves. We go back and fourth between the little Maine town and the magical land before getting to know these characters in both states, watching how Snow White was a strong willed rebel and Prince Charming was a knight errant only to see Snow as a meek teacher afraid to voice her own opinion and Charming as a two-timing jerk. It's up to our main characters Emma and Henry to remind everyone who they really are. The interesting message here is just how close to the Gospel the entire affair is (Minus Rumpelstiltskin and the entire Disney vault being involved). It talks about being something before, something magnificent and beautiful, and remembering that person in the now, trying to identify with the parts that are magical and special. In this sense Emma and Henry are essentially missionaries without nametags. Obviously a powerful message if it's taught by missionaries all over the world, just without Snow White et al. 

Obliviate

No, I'm not talking about Gilderoy Lockheart. 

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 1 starts with tears when we see Hermione casting the memory charm on her own parents, erasing her from their memories. We see the baby pictures on the mantle disappear and their eyes glazing over as the spell takes over. Hermione knows that the best way to keep her parents safe is to erase herself from their memories in case the Death Eaters show up and start asking questions. While the memory charms are touchy in the Harry Potter universe (the muggle guy in Crimes of Grindlewald just kind of shrugged it off with the help of his manipulative girlfriend), this scene is still heartbreaking to think that Hermione will probably never be able to see her family again, choosing their safety over her own needs. This theme will come up again later and while it's heartbreaking it does counteract the message from It's a Wonderful Life so it should be read cautiously. 

Tegrof

For the non-comic book readers let me give you a quick synopsis on the comic Identity Crisis. A murder mystery leads to the discovery that a small group within the Justice League has been going to villains who find out the identities of super heroes and erasing their minds with Zatanna's magic. Batman walked in on the heroes and tried to stop them only for Zatanna to freeze him and erase his memory of them being caught. The question behind this is if you have the power to erase memories to protect others, do you? And what if someone disagrees, do you have the right to erase their memories too? The implications of the memory wipes escalates in the comics to Batman becoming paranoid after finding out he's been manipulated, Catwoman finding out that Zatanna got to her to make her a good guy and questioning everything she believes about herself, and a dangerous villain trying to take vengeance on the league for not only altering his memories but partially lobotomizing him in the first place. The story brings up questions of accountability, manipulation and is a person who they are supposed to be if part of who they are is missing. 

Under Your Spell

Along with Zatanna messing with memories to protect heroes identities, we have Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer messing with memories to protect her relationship. By the later seasons Willow has become a full-fledged witch, and has started using her magic in unsafe ways. On one of her first dalliances she accidentally erases the entire Scooby gang's memories and we get a funny episode of nobody knowing who they are. We get the serious stuff when it's revealed that Willow's been erasing her girlfriend Tara's memories of them fighting, thus manipulating Tara into staying with her even though she's abusing magic. The theme here goes into gaslighting in relationships, lying and manipulation to keep a person with you. When Tara finds out she breaks up with Willow, making Willow's plan backfire in the end. 

Peter Who? 

More recent memory mishaps happen in Spider-Man: No Way Home where Dr. Strange agrees to help Spider-Man erase his secret identity from everyone's memories, thus letting his friends and family go back to having a normal life. After the spell fails and some multiverse shenanigans happen Dr. Strange casts the spell again, this time making it so everyone forgets who Peter Parker is. This plays out a lot like the It's a Wonderful Life lesson, except Peter decides that it's best if the world did forget about him and just know him as Spider-Man. He believes he can then let his friends have a normal life and that they can't be hurt by getting in the way of his heroism. The message here is that maybe it is better that they don't know Peter Parker is Spider-Man, which implies that it's better for Peter to disappear than be part of the world. See the issue here? 

The point of all the memory plotlines is that we are who we are because of our memories. When we lose parts of our memories we lose parts of who we are, so those parts, even if painful, are still worth having because they forge us to be better. Our relationships are made up of memories as well, when you see a friend on the street you're not excited to see them for no reason, it's because you remember how much you love them and how much fun they are to be around. When that person is gone, there's a hole left behind that can't be refilled without them. 

So when it comes to memory remember this: people would rather remember a life with you in it than without, and the only way to move forward is to make new memories both good and bad, because to not make new memories at all is just as bad as forgetting altogether. 

Also remember that really every mechanic in the Harry Potter universe is unstable and will never make sense. 

-JOE

Before They Were Cursed

My wife and I just finished rewatching Once Upon a Time again. Other than the last season or two we’ve seen it enough that we can have it on for 10 minutes at a time or in the background (which was nice when we were packing and moving last month). Created by the same people as LOST, I always take note of the actors and actresses that they brought back for this show. But even besides Anton the Giant and King George, there are plenty of other actors that my wife and I recognize all the time from their other appearances before they ended up in Storybrooke. So in honor of them, let’s take a look at their work.

Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan) - Star Trek

She appeared as one of Ted’s many girlfriends in How I Met Your Mother. Though she appeared for thirteen episodes in that series, I want to spotlight her appearance with StarFleet. In the opening scenes of JJ Abrams’s Star Trek movies, she gave birth to James T. Kirk as her husband (the mighty Thor) saved them and hundreds of others, giving his own life. Gosh. I need to watch that movie again.

Lana Parilla (Regina Mills) - LOST

As I said before, lots of actors in Once Upon a Time were previously stars on LOST. However, Lana wasn’t a star on LOST. In fact, she only appeared in one season finale as one of the Others. But even with only one appearance in the supposedly flooded DHARMA station, she was an intriguing addition to LOST, later to return as the Evil Queen.

Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White) - Ramona and Beezus

Before she was a princess or school teacher, Ginnifer Goodwin played the cool aunt in this Walden Media movie. When it showed up on Disney Plus, my wife wanted to watch it. It’s a nice feel-good movie about a young girl and her explosive imagination. So if you want to see Mary Margaret as a fun aunt, check this movie out on Disney Plus.

Josh Dallas (Prince Charming) - Thor

Before he was a shepherd or a prince, he was Asgardian by the name Fandral. As one of the Warriors Three, he traveled with Thor to fight the Frost Giants before the God of Thunder was banished to Earth. Along with the others, Fandral fought in New Mexico. Fortunately/unfortunately, due to his work on Once Upon a Time, Josh Dallas did not return in Dark World or Ragnarok, so the role was re-casted with Zachary Levi.

Rebecca Mader (Zelena) and Emilie de Ravin (Belle) - LOST

And of course since I brought LOST in, I couldn’t do this post without mentioning the Wicked Witch and Belle being Charlotte and Claire. They didn’t share a ton of scenes in LOST, but I’m sure they spent plenty of time together off camera. In contrast, they spent plenty of time on camera together in Storybrooke, often making themselves a tag-team th at I didn’t know I needed.

Dania Ramirez (Cinderella) - Heroes

She didn’t appear in Once Upon a Time until the final season, which I affectionately call the “spin-off season”. As we’ve been finishing that season of Once Upon a Time, I’ve also been watching Heroes on my own, where she appears as Maya Herrera in Season 2. Unfortunately, her storyline in Heroes was cut short due to the writers’ strike that year. She was supposed to play into the finale, instead of being written off in the next season. But I guess that’s just how it goes.

There are plenty of other actors and actresses I could reference from Storybrooke. For example, did you know Tinkerbell was a Power Ranger, the Snow Queen was Mrs. Claus, or that the White Rabbit was Lord Farquaad? But this list is good for now. So chime in with your favorite role that a Once actor or actress has played outside the Enchanted Forest. 

Five Franchises that Don't Get Enough Love

 Yes they have fans, but you don't hear that much from them. 

Yes they have merch but it's few and far between.

Yes there's fanart but it's not as popular on Deviantart. 

These franchises need far more love than they get, and they're going to get some here. 

5: Young Justice

The more grown up Teen Titans show was a victim of bad marketing. Meant to be a toy selling scheme for kids, the show's overarching storyline and more adult issues didn't hit well with kids, however older DC fans loved the show. Without the coveted toy market cornered, the show was cancelled on a cliffhanger only to be brought back on DC's not defunct streaming service. All three seasons now have a home on HBO Now, so hopefully it'll get more fans discovering this lost DC treasure. 

4: Gargoyles

I may be wrong about a stable streaming service giving a show new life, as it didn't work for Gargoyles. The show was a hit back in the 90's, but it's received little buzz since showing up on Disney Plus. The show is relatively dark compared to most of Disney's fair, but the story is engaging and the characters are far deeper than cartoon characters today. This is worth a rewatch and some more fan love from the geek community. 

3: Superman the Animated Series 

(A lot of DC on this list...)

After the much beloved Batman the Animated Series, Superman got his own show in the same universe. The cartoon breathed life back into the beloved Man of Steel, but sadly it's not talked about even close as much as Batman's is. Superman the Animated Series needs a good rewatch, though that will be hard to do since it's not currently available on any streaming service. 

2: Once Upon A Time

Okay so this one gets plenty of love from this blog, but overall....

Yes, this show was overdramatic. Yes it was complicated as it tied every fairy tale and Disney movie into one giant mass, but it was incredibly fun and the acting was on point. You can actually identify with the characters and their magical issues. Every episode, as absurd as it is, makes you want to say "....One more episode." Check it out again, let yourself into the world, and let it be either a guilty pleasure or an indulgence into pure dramatic fun. 

1: Daria

The voice of disillusioned teenagers, Daria was the show that gave us permission to question the world around us when we were told to just obey and go along. Daria was an MTV exclusive back in the day, so I get why not a lot of people have seen it, but now that it's on Amazon Prime, maybe this show can get the attention it deserves. If you don't have Prime, the box set is sold for a reasonable price and is worth every penny. Check it out and let the misenthropic teenage girl inside out for a few hours. She might thank you for it. 

-JOE

Who is Zelena?

My wife and I are currently working our way through Once Upon a Time again for the second or third time since the series concluded. We’re coming up on the introduction of one of my favorite characters from the series: Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West. Because she’s awesome, I’m going to feature her in my first character spotlight. But first a brief history on the Wicked Witch, in case it’s been a while since you’ve seen the series. 

Zelena was fathered by Jonathan, Prince Leopold’s gardener, under the guise of being a prince himself. Knowing she couldn’t climb the social ladder as a single mother, Cora sent Zelena through a portal to Oz to give herself a fresh start. She was taken in and raised by a couple in Oz, but her adopted father becomes more abusive after her mother dies. He convinced her that her magic was a curse that made her wicked, which was only reinforced by others in Oz as she grew up.

As an adult, she was taught by Rumpelstiltskin to control her magic. When he rejected her affection, she retreated to Oz and plotted to travel to the past to change her fate. Along the way, she made friends with Glinda and Dorothy and fell in love with Hades, but because of her past she got insecure and self-sabotaged any attempts at love. 

Years later after Regina’s dark curse was reversed, she plotted to take the Charmings’ baby to complete her time travel spell. This scheme led the Enchanted Forest back to Storybrooke where she would eventually cast her time travel spell before seemingly being killed. She lived on and managed to masquerade as Robin Hood’s wife, Maid Marian, to split him up from her half-sister Regina.

By the time her masquerade ended, Zelena was already pregnant with Robin’s child, ensuring her safety (and it resulted in her being dragged to Camelot). After the baby was born, she was banished by Robin and Regina to Oz. However, it wouldn’t be long before she followed them to the Underworld where she reunited with her daughter and her love, Hades. After Hades and Robin are killed, she tries to bond with Regina. It’s touch and go for a while, but by the end of it all, she becomes an anti-hero we can all love.

Long after the “Final Battle”, Zelena and her teenage daughter Robin go to the New Enchanted Forest to help Regina, Henry, and new friends. When Drizella’s curse hits, Zelena takes on the persona of Kelly West, who eventually leaves Hyperion Heights to fall in love and teach spin classes in San Francisco. She’s brought back to Hyperion Heights by Regina/Roni and Henry, but heads back home when her fiance is put in danger. In the end, she joined her friends and family in the United Realm/Storybrooke.

She started out as the most despicable villain, willing to hurt a child to accomplish her plans. But as time went on and she felt love from her daughter Robin and her half-sister Regina, she softened and became a good person. Looking at her as a survivor of abuse and abandonment, it makes more sense. I’m no expert on abuse, but something we all need is love. And when you give someone love (and they choose to receive it), things can change. Like her sister, she had a heaping of character development over her five seasons and she became (along with Regina) one of the most redeemable aspects of Once's soft reboot in Season 7. Honestly, it wouldn't have been worth it without the two of them.

I think the reason I love Zelena is because she’s relatable. We all have trials we’ve gone through and we all crave love. And especially nowadays, I think we all have a little bit of dark humor. Even when she becomes a hero, Zelena isn’t too far away from a snarky comment about their current situation. What’s more relatable than that? I think my only complaint about her character is that her character was all wrapped up and done and they insisted on bringing her back and redeeming her. Am I upset that she came back? Not at all. But her original story arc was perfect already, they didn’t have to add anything.

What’s your favorite Zelena moment? Do you prefer Zelena or Elfaba as the Wicked Witch? I’m anxiously awaiting her story as my wife and I approach her Oz story arc once again. And in the meantime, don't forget...

Before They Were Heroes (and Heroes Reborn)

I'm finishing up with my re-watch of LOST and it's making me nostalgic for shows I watched back in the day. One of those shows is Heroes and I swear I still see those actors showing up every once in a while (like Mohinder showing up in The Flash this year). But for now I want to flashback to before Heroes (and its sequel, Heroes Reborn) aired and to what some of our heroes were up to before they were heroes.

Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli) - Gilmore Girls
Long before he was Jack on This Is Us, he was Peter on Heroes. Before he was Peter, he was Jess on Gilmore Girls. When my wife had me watch Gilmore Girls, I absolutely hated Jess. That being said, his character development is one of the most intriguing. He's actually one of my favorite characters from A Year in the Life because his development seemed so natural and flawless. Just goes to show how great of an actor Milo is.

Jack Coleman (Noah Bennet) - Cow Belles
Before he was the senator on The Office or the mysterious company man on Heroes, he was on a Disney Channel movie: Cowbelles. My wife stumbled across this appearance when we were binging Disney Channel movies. He's definitely got the loving dad character down.

Hayden Panettiere (Claire Bennet) - Remember the Titans
"Save the cheerleader, save the world." It's the catch phrase that got us hooked on Heroes, right? But before Claire was a cheerleader, she was an avid football fan. You may or may not have recognized her though, because of how young she was, but she was Coach Yoast's little girl Sheryl. We love this movie in our house, so it makes it even better than she was in it.

Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura) - Scrubs
Besides being a master of time and space, Hiro (in another life) was a lab tech at Sacred Heart Hospital. On Scrubs Masi played the snarky (often manipulated) lab tech that plays a recurring role throughout the adventures of JD and his colleagues. It was kind of a small role, but it was very different from Hiro, which made me happy for some reason.

Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman) - LOST
So as I was starting to watch Heroes, I'd barely started watching LOST. So two shows in a row I had Greg Grunberg showing up as a pretty important character. He was the pilot Captain Norris on LOST (plane wouldn't have crashed without him) and the he was the mind-reading cop Matt Parkman when he started appearing on Heroes. Loved his character!

Cristine Rose (Angela Petrelli) - Friends
She does such a great job playing angry, pretentious rich ladies. She was on How I Met Your Mother, Gilmore Girls, Heroes, and Friends. Every time she was stuck up and I loved it. I chose to single out her appearances on Friends because she played Paul Rudd's mom and I absolutely love Mike Hannigan on Friends. Also she was great being drugged up at Mike and Phoebe's the wedding.

Zachary Levi (Luke Collins) - Tangled
He didn't appear in the original series, but in the reboot/miniseries he appeared as a new hero. Though at first he was a bounty hunter for powered individuals. That's what a change from where we've seen him before. Previously he'd played one of Thor's comrades in The Dark World and Ragnarok. However, my favorite he's been in: Tangled. Who doesn't love Flynn Rider? Disney prince and superhero (twice over if you count Shazam). If you ever get a chance to see his panel at a Comic Con, do it. You won't regret it.

Robbie Kay (Tommy Clark) - Once Upon a Time
Another newcomer for Heroes Reborn. Although he played one of the twin heroes here, he was one of my favorite villains on Once Upon a Time. He played Peter Pan and wow he's menacing. I had my critiques of the Neverland arc of Once Upon a Time, but Robbie's portrayal of Peter Pan was the best part of that storyline.

Who were your favorite actors on Heroes? Writing this post has definitely made me want to pull out my Heroes DVDs and start binging it again. If you like Heroes, don't forget to check out the post Ryan did about the series.