Entertainment Article: Grimm Vs. Once Upon A Time
Guest article by TV.com
Hollywood loves finding a fad, and this season fairytales are all the rage. From the multiple Snow White film adaptations, to the small screen where two new TV shows are bringing viewers their own spin on nursery tales: Once Upon A Time and Grimm. With both dramas tackling the idea that fairytales are real, to the untrained eye these two may seem identical. However, spend a little time looking at how Once and Grimm execute their fairytale-inspired plots and you will find you could not get two more radically different shows if you tried.
Let’s look at the first difference and the one most intrinsic to both show’s plots: the fairytales themselves. Once Upon A Time takes a literal approach. In the Once world fairytale creatures are real; there is a Snow White, there is a Rumpelstiltskin, there are spells and talking animals and the whole nursery rhyme shebang. Initially ensconced in their own magical kingdom, a wicked witch casts an equally wicked spell transporting Snow White, Prince Charming and the rest of the kingdom to our world. The spell also erases all knowledge of their magical beginnings; now all of the ex-fairytales are cursed to live out their lives sans memories in Storybrooke, a little town in Maine. (Maine specifically does not seem to be part of the curse, though really, it should be.) However, there is hope- Snow White’s daughter, Emma, was sent ahead of the rest due to a prophecy about her being the only one able to save them. Now a grown woman, Emma is persuaded to go to Maine by her son. The son, who she gave up for adoption, was raised in Storybrooke and recently uncovered the curse.
Grimm, on the other hand, gives itself a lot more wiggle room. The fairytale creatures in Grimm are actually a race of monsters called the blutbaden. Apparently back in the day two enterprising monster hunters, the Grimm brothers, catalogued the blutbaden’s profiles published them as fairytales, making it harder for the blutbaden to hide. Thus each type of blutbad, while matching up with a specific fairytale (the big bad wolf, the three bears) have their own twist — the ones that resemble wolves cannot stand the color red, the ones that resemble bears have complex coming of age rituals, etc. The plot then revolves around Portland, Oregon homicide detective Nick who learns he is a Grimm, a descendant of the original monster hunters, and must now take up their mantle.
The differences between the two continue with their characters and themes. Once is concerned with one overarching idea: destiny. Emma is destined to save the town; the characters are destined to replay their lives, to fall in love with the same people, to have rivalries with the same villains and heroes they used to. In the same vein as LOST, where Once’s creators got their start, Once relies heavily on flashbacks to the magical fairytale world explain who people are. In fact, Once is pretty much LOST with Mother Goose thrown in. Both are dramas that flip between worlds and revolve around a central mystery, in this case “how to break the curse” instead of “what is the Island?”
Grimm, on the other hand, is a character-driven police procedural. Unlike Once’s cast of dozens, Grimm is about one man, Nick. His police partner Hank assists him and a reformed blutbad named Eddie, but that’s pretty much it. Coincidentally, the show is also concerned with one central idea: free will. Not all of the blutbaden are monsters; some are reformed like Eddie and are just trying to live normal lives and avoid killing, even if it’s in their nature. Nick too is fighting against his destiny by wanting to just be a cop, refusing to believe his Grimm monster-hunting Aunt when she tells him he has to kill the blutbaden he comes in contact with.
The core difference, at least in this reviewer’s eyes, is Once is a tired and nearly incomprehensible slog and Grimm is much more fun. I cannot repeat enough times how much Once is similar to LOST in format and formula. The creators are not concerned with telling a story, they are setting up a complicated mythology. The show is serialized and complex to the point where missing an episode means you miss vital clues and information. Needless to say, Once is not friendly for anyone hopping on any later than the pilot. Grimm, on the other hand, is a far simpler show and far more enjoyable for it. The police procedural aspects keep the show episodic and fresh, and even the overarching plot of Nick becoming a monster hunting Grimm is broken up into bite-sized audience-friendly chunks. Opposite in tone, execution, and intent, only time will tell if viewers will continue to watch both shows, or if fairytale fatigue will knock off one of these television dramas.
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