Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20161004013349

An Untold Story is practically just delayed fate, or rather trying to "push pause" on whatever was going on. Apparently this land has magical properties and we will learn more about it. Great! But it suffers from every seasonal  "Big Idea". A little recap:

4B discussed potential for darkness. This was befuddled with actual darkness, pre-disposed darkness, and concurrent darkness, and the writers seemed to lack a nearby dictionary. We discussed this on the forums and many have discussed it at length in podcasts, reviews, etc.

5B discussed unfinished business. It was rather contrived who had some, who didn't, and how they went beyond it. "Meh" is what I say to that concept.

6 is discussing untold stories. Definition is a bit weird, but it works, right? Well, besides the fact that all the stories have been told and Once LWM must live in some vacuum of logic..ahem, knowledge of this fact, nothing really points to these stories being untold or why everyone is so "meta" about these things, especially since no normal person thinks this way.

Let's take the first part--the reveal. How can the stories be Untold if they are in a OUAT Book? Who wrote that book? Isaac was the Author during the Count of Monte Cristo's story. His story is vaguely related to the actual story (but that's a Once stylistic choice) and it would have to be in the book. Jekyll and Hyde are well-known in the LWM and there's an end to their story as well as their story being in the OUAT Book. What gives?

Issue 1. Everyone is very meta about their stories and pushing a literal pause on things. This borders the meta-ness of "I'm a hero. You're a villain." from season 4. Noone goes around proclaiming themself a hero and noone should think of themselves as the evil guy or gal in the books they have read.

Issue 2. An Untold Story doesn't want there story told....but it is. Edmond wanted to save Charlotte. He did for a while. But that is still a story. Does it fall into the "Happily Ever After" trap? Because there's no such thing as a Happy Ever After in any life as there are sad, mad, glad moments too.

Issue 3. None of this really relates to our main gang. Regina says her story is untold, but it isn't. She made a choice to be "the villain" and her story was told from youth to adult, in the book, in the show, etc. What she wants is a new start, a new story...which is exactly what she wanted in season 4 and learned that it doesn't work that way. Emma doesn't want her "story" (life, life!) to end, but all stories do, all life does. Emma's story is currently being told as we watch. Back to the LoUS gang, Edmond's story supposedly ends with death. Okay, well, they were both going to die eventually. He wanted to stop Charlotte's story to not end with death, but it was. Here again, we see that they've equated life with story. You can't push pause on life, but some of the circumstances. None of this relates to our main gang and it's weird that these refugees would see themselves as storybook characters.

Ex. Edmond Dantes sought vengeance through an Evil Queen. He was stopped by the contenance of a young handmaiden. He took her far off to save her. THE END. (Stories don't always end with the character's untimely end. However, the story did still play out in this example.)

Issue 4. Stories implies fate. As fate is immutable, these characters can't really push pause forever. At best they have a Dark Curse or some dreamland. If Belle stayed under the sleeping curse, she "pushed pause on her story"? Well, maybe. However, she'd eventually wake up or die, etc. The story doesn't stop just because you choose to do something mundane or something else. If Emma "push pause" with the prophecy, it was told that it would still happen. Where's the hope? What's the lesson?

It seems to be a cool concept that fits everyday life. There are our personal stories that we have that noone knows. Are they untold? Noone rights about them, so yeah. It seems to have the base of unfinished business of 5B and the annnoying, unexplained meta-ness of season 4. How can a story be Untold when it is told? How can someone have a happy ending when their life isn't over?

TL; DR: Complex concept leads to confusing implications, questionable morals, and seems to repeat conceptual flaws of previous seasons.

Feel free to comment, question, discuss, etc. Bonus: Do you think the subject matter is a bit too big to be fully portrayed within the confines of 22 43-minute episodes (aka this season)? 