So, the first of the fairy tale shows has started this season, with Grimm up to bat on Friday. I’ve been curious on how they will handle fairy tale characters in a real-life setting without making it too much like Fables. The pilot wasn’t bad and there were parts that kept my interest, so I’m definitely going to check it out for the next few weeks to see how they continue the show. Let’s see what happened.

We start with Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) on a date on her birthday. It seems kind of strange that she didn’t mention that to her date earlier, but it turns out that it’s not really a date. He’s been hiding and she was hired to find him (since that’s what she does). Going home, she lights a candle on a cupcake (since it is her birthday) and makes a wish to not be alone. Then, magically, the doorbell rings and a 10 year old boy (Henry) is at the door claiming to be the son she gave up a decade ago. After an awkward reconciliation, she agrees to take him back to his hometown of Storybrooke. Going there, his mom is the mayor (a law and order type), the teacher is a pixie cut Ginnifer Goodwin who wants to help Henry. We also meet Henry’s therapist(Raphael Sbarge) and a businessman (Robert Carlyle). Mom wants Emma to leave, but Henry begs Emma to give the town a week, since he seems convinced that she will help start the final battle for good.

Meanwhile, in fairytale land, Prince Charming and Snow White’s wedding is interrupted by the Evil Queen who promises an evil spell to hurt them all. The couple goes to see the one person who can tell them what’s really happening, Rumpelstiltskin. He tells them that they will be thrown into a prison, but their daughter can save them on her 28th birthday. The Blue Fairy gives the a magic tree that can save one person from the spell. They try to get Snow White to it, but she gives birth too soon and they save baby Emma.

Overall, the story so far isn’t bad. It’s interesting to see how they mix and match the characters between fairytaleland and Storybrooke. The central mystery is somewhat interesting and I like the fact that they decided to build a mythology from the beginning (rather than have some standalone episodes before they start the mythology). I do wonder where they will go and if they can keep some semblance of quality along the way. But, for at least the first episode, I’m interested. We’ll see how long it lasts. Recommended