Once Upon a Time | How Zelena Became My Favourite Character
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- Опубліковано 3 гру 2024
- #onceuponatime #wickedwitch #zelena
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Does wicked always win? Probably not but Zelena became the best thing about Once Upon a Time after a while
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Rebecca Maden truly deserves all the flowers and trophies for playing a deliciously devious anti hero who truly takes her time to grow.
Amazing how she went from being rejected for offering "Florals, for spring" for Runway to a hilarious entertaining villian!
She truly does
As a former member of press associated with ABC who has gotten to sit and chat with Rebecca i must say she is very kind hilarious and truly one of the brightest lights of OUAT
aww you're so lucky to have met her ^_^
Zelena was a fantastic character and the most unexpectedly hilarious part was when she hit the Black Fairy with her car only after she had just begun learning to drive 😂
That's a moment I loved too lol
I think the wicked witch was fun and lovable. But let’s be real, regina is THE standout character of that show. She hooked people in from the very beginning. She wasn’t even meant to be as that central or have a redemption arc but the reviews about her were so positive they had to focus more on her. Deliciously evil but so captivating that the audience loved to hate her until they just plain loved her. I think the writers did a great job but it was Lana’s acting and subtle vulnerability that really made all the difference. I LOVE your videos and would love to see one on regina!
Oh there would be a lot to talk about there for sure!
Zelena is also my favourite OUAT character. I really liked Rebecca Madder's performance. She was powerful, unfortunately writers have done dirt with her character.
And yes, she had done less worse thing than the " heros " and it pisses me off that she wasn't forgiven for that, given that she wasn't even a hero, and written this way.
Btw, great video (too short tho 😂)
Also, I'm surprised you didn't talk about zelena's song, since it was one of the best of the musical episode.
I actually forgot all about it until it was too late 😂
I wouldn’t say she’s “less worse” than the heroes. She raped Robin (pretended to be Marian and slept with him, which is rape by deception) and yet the show glosses over that (the characters are mad at her and don’t trust her, but not because of that) and she gets to be part of little Robyn’s life without so much as apologizing
Okay but like CAN we make time to talk about the Blue Fairy?? Because ohhhh BOY I was convinced she was the BBEG mastermind behind everything for the whole time the show was running
I do think she gets a bad rep in some parts - like with the Black Fairy she was 100% justified in her actions
That's probably because her actress played her that way 😂 Tracy Keegan Connor, from all the way back in Season One, thought that there was more to Blue and that she had ulterior motives based on an interview she did back then. So your hunch was spot on, the writers just missed the memo.
What do you mean BBEG mastermind behind everything. And yesss we need a video on the blue fairy and everything she's done.
I heard the actress did play her that on purpose in case the Blue Fairy turned out to be evil (which would have been a better plot twist, the Dark Fairy could than have been some kind of anti-hero instead what we got in season 6)
I actually completely agree with you. Not in the she's secretly evil kind of way but more so in the Jedi council from Star Wars kind of way, where they are trying to have things a certain way or path, and is stuck on that perspective no matter what.
Wish this was explored more
I never got over Capt. Hook wearing eye liner and mascara.
FOR SURE Season 3 is where OUAT started to show its messy colors. My mom, for one, had been immediately turned off by the Neverland introduction because she thought it was lame (and that Peter Pan as the villain didn't make sense), coming back only for Zelena's arrival, while I managed to stay on board through the Frozen arc (mainly out of excitement and curiosity for live-action depictions of these then-new characters, all of whom I thought were well-cast) before finally letting it go (because WOW did sh*t go downhill after the convolution of the Author happened). Not to mention what became of my Rumbelle ship after a while...eugh. 😬
Lol, I never before caught onto that Rose McGowan-as-Young Cora bit of irony, but having recently re-gained my Charmed love through your videos, I certainly do now! 😆
Wow, I never knew of the plotline reveal where Regina and Zelena had once known each other as loving sisters before Cora separated them again, but if I had...yeah, that would've hit me hard in the feels too. 🥺
Pan as the villain actually makes a little sense considering how morally ambiguous he is in the original. But obvious him as a Machiavellian chessmaster is pure invention
@@BetterWithBob Yeah, Mom wasn't a big Neverland follower so she wouldn't have known that; she's best familiar with his more publicly domain depiction. Granted I was too, so I thought it a little odd initially myself, but I'd be remiss if I didn't say how much Robbie Kay *owns* that performance. 😉💫
@@DJtheBlack-RibbonedRose He seems kind of born to play that role
Peter Pan has been viewed as villain in folklore before but not the main legend everyone’s familiar with. They also mixed his character with the Pied Piper who is also bad.
I think a good chunk of the characters needed at least 3 more seasons for redemptions to work. Given everything Zelena did, she's not completely irredeemable, but it was the type of redemption we needed to see in full. I think in most shows of this caliber the writers are fighting with the network - needing to add drama for ratings. Instead of quippy magic battles, I would've preferred more grounded in-world discussions on why Zelena deserves redemption at all, and how she's worked to start accomplishing that from a personal motive. But, there's always fanfiction, right?
Oh that's an interesting perspective
there IS always fanfiction and i wonder if anyone has done a good job of tackling the messy unrealized potential of OUAT
@@nikoblack1272 Fix-it fics are popular in every fandom, especially in those like OUAT. There's over 5k fics on AO3, and 600+ of those are tagged with 'fix-it.' Add in Zelena's name you get 87 fics. They're definitely out there (roughly speaking, I'm not reading through all 87 atm). Fandom is a powerful thing, and often supplements shows like OUAT. SwanQueen is a huge proponent of that.
One more character that is severely understated! : Anastasia / Red Queen from OUAT in Wonderland
I liked her. Emma Rigby did a good job, and she had a fun arc
@@BetterWithBob I thought so too. Shame it got canceled but oddly enough I think it was a blessing in disguise! Please do a video analysis on her should you have the time :)
I like Zelena too, but I wish the whole Marian-story hadn't been thought of so late. The Marian from the first half of s4 is so clearly *not* meant to be Zelena. She nearly dies without trying to use magic to save herself and she even offers to step aside to give Regina her chance of having true love with Robin - is that something that an envious Zelena would do? They obviously came up with the idea way to late and had to recon things, instead of thinking ahead and making sure to foreshadow it
My headcanon for the latter was that Zelena was torturing Regina by making her think she'd won Robin lol
Season 3 is my favourite too; whilst S1 is the best written overall, S3 is the one I enjoy the most. I loved both arcs, the character arcs and how just FUN it was to watch.
I really liked your video and laughed when you said '...STUFF" to glance over her actions in S4. For me; the 'STUFF' that occured is one that is never properly addressed or given the full weight to, sadly OUAT isn't good when it comes to THAT subject (Regina did something similar to Graham in S1 but again its never properly accounted for). But yet again most TV series aren't, especially when its female - on - male; its normally glossed over.
Also 100% agree, the actress needs to be in more series and/or movies, she's fantastic.
Fun is definitely the word. Back when DVD boxsets were still a thing, I always felt that 3 was the one I would like to own as a whole
I think all the series are great, I love the Camelot arc since it introduces Merida and Dark Swam and Dark Hook, all brilliant. Season 6 is good because of the Black Fairy, Dr Jekyll, Mr Hyde, Aladdin, Jasmine and Jafar. And Season 7 because of Alice/Tilly. The mad girl we all need.
i fucking love rebecca mader her laugh is so infectious and shes so loving especially to her lil sis lana parrilla
She seems like a fun lady
Yours Snow White and the Huntsman video brought me to this channel and I was thrilled to discover Once videos. Every time Disney releases a live action remake I sigh and go but you did it so much better on Once 😂 Zelena quickly became one of my favorites she always brought the drama. I would love to hear your take on the Wonderland spin off and the changes that had to be made after Sebastian Stan had to abandon his Mad Hatter role for the MCU
I feel like Jefferson's story ended by being reunited with his daughter, so there was no reason to keep him around anymore, so it worked out well
Everytime I watch Devil Wears Prada I always think it could be a once upon a Time crossover 😅
Miranda certainly did deserve a fairy tale comeuppance lol
Random fact: the witch wasn't even green in the book. Like the slippers, which were silver in the books, they made her green to take advantage of Technicolor technology
And the Ruby slippers are copyrighted by MGM aren't they? Which is why they had to have them silver here (although truer to the text was the show's thing for a while)
@@BetterWithBob Correct. Lindsey Ellis theorized that Disney desperately wants to get their hands on the Wizard of Oz, and the recognizable elements that come from the MGM movie, and I'm inclined to agree.
Ah yes, Zelena. Since Regina is my favorite character (I simply relate very strongly to her, on many levels), I had a difficult time liking her at first, especially with the whole plot with Robin and...the consequences (loved your reactions on it btw, they're very much like mine X'D). But your video made me appreciate Zelena a bit more and reminded me of how much I did love the sisters aspect of her and Regina, so thank you for that. Also, random side-note: as someone who loved watching Ally McBeal, I couldn't take Once's version of Hades serious at all. I kept expecting him to spout Fishisms. X'''D
Thank you so much for watching :)
Do one about Regina’s character arc, please!😭
One day perhaps 😊
@@BetterWithBobYes yes yes yes please please please. She is hands down my favorite female character across any and all media. I could go on forever about how earned her arc was.
I agree. The first 3 seasons were AMAZING and then by the time the writers got to S4 with the Frozen arc, it just became too much, ESPECIALLY with the Dark One+Camelot arc for the first half of S5. Also, I do have to agree with what was mentioned about redemption. It took Regina 3-4? seasons for people to start accepting her as a good person, but only 1-2 for Zelena, all because she shared a loving past with her sister and their mother took their memories of this away? To me, this was just a way for the writers to speed up the process of Zelena transitioning from bad to good, which felt weird.
Interesting thing I recently discovered is that characters of Zelena and Rumplestiltskin were specifically written for Rebecca Mader and Robert Carlyle
I know Rebecca Mader was offered the role based on having worked with them before on Lost but didn't know that about Robert Carlyle
No because Rumple was always my favorite character. But when I say Zelena was my second and everyone raises an eyebrow? It’s because Mader’s performance AND the character arc…the Hades romance was my favorite arc I think
She definitely stepped it up and made the show more watchable once the others started checking out
I really did enjoy how she keeps inserting "Wicked" in her lines. And loved her redemption arc...now do Regina!!!
From what angle?
@BetterWithBob how the Evil Queen's redemption arc was very long but it was justified considering she killed a bunch of people.
Zelena was the best!!
Terribe writing by the writers though.
Regiloser getting light magic for 3 seconds, that she hadn't used before or after, was just bad writing, because we couldn't have a villain win for once.
But how much more intrestesting the show would have been if she had.
And let's not talk about her being locked in a cell for 2 seasons, and of course losing her magic, because we couldn't have someone be more powerful than the most 1 dimensional character ever written.
I agree. I account season 3 as the last truly great season of ouat. I will re-watch it all the time
The premiere is one of the best episodes of the entire show :D
@@BetterWithBob YESSS!!! 🙌
Ok, Regina wasn’t angry about all of the evil deeds she did in the past, she’s already forgiven her about them. She’s just trying to find someone to blame, again!
You've well crossed the threshold I'm likely to watch what you publish even if I know nothing of the show 🎉
Well I should buy a cake for that lol
Zelena literally means “green female” in Ukrainian💚
Ah very good
UGHHHHHHHHHH SEASON 7 WAS SUCH A DISSAPOINTMENT THEY COULD HAVE DONE SO MUCH WITH ZELENA AND ROBINS RELATIONSHIPPPPPPPPPP
Like Robin was her all, her everything, her hope. and she just kinda DIDNT TALK TO HER FOR YEARS??????????
Amazing work ❤❤❤❤
RM and LP just killed it and I have to say what Camelot storyline!?!
In my world it never happened. It's right up there with Avatar the last Airbender episodes with Yue or the great divide.
I do love your logic 😂
This was a fun video and good retrospective.
Despite me eventually getting disappointed and dropping the mess of a show it became (I surely remember Zelena, but not when exactly I stopped watching) I am happy it existed and I got a chance to see it.
It never really felt like a corporate abuse of beloved nostalgic IPs, but a television fanfiction of a good kind with a lot of heart and passion put into it, also giving us the second of the two great genre convention defying True Love™ kisses during that decade (I guess both done by Disney). As an aromantic asexual it was especially nice to see from them. As well a number of unexpectedly alive mothers. 😅
7:27 does this mean a blue fairy video is on the table?
Eh...anything is possible
@@BetterWithBob I just really hate how she's supposed to be like the purest being, but she really kinda sucks lol. Her treatment of Tinkerbell and that one fairy that Grumpy fell in love with is awful
@@kittyunderwood8918 Tinkerbell I can kind of understand, since she did steal and go against her orders, and Blue was proved right by how Regina didn't follow it. Retroactively with the revelations about the Black Fairy, I could see Blue seeing potential danger signs involving another fairy going rogue and needing to be stopped
I don't agree with a lot of your takes on Once Upon a Time in this video, but I still enjoyed it.
The only season of OUaT I found hard to watch was that season 7 reboot season.
My favorite character was Killian Jones/Captain Hook and Emma Swan was my second favorite character.
I actually loved the Dark One arc and also the Underworld arc. But yeah James Woods is better as Haded
Not to mention the shows cardinal sin of just completly getting rid of August
Yes! Lol 🤣🤣🤣
1:38 had me wondering if Rose McGowan was adopted, then I remembered Paige lol
She did have quite the upbringing herself in real life lol
Rebecca Mader was in The Devil Wears Prada so i like to think we know what Zelena was doing in New York when she was with Robin Hood.
She tells a cute story of the day she wrapped, tentatively going to Meryl Streep's trailer and asking for a picture. Meryl is like "of course, get in here"
Rebecca Mader was excellent as Zelena. Regina is and will always be my favorite OUAT character but Zelena was an enjoyable villain with great one-liners. I was even on board for the whole sibling rivalry and redemption|resolution storyline between the sisters. S3 was definitely my fav. Where the writers lost me was with the entire Robin Hood| baby arc. It just went downhill from there. The Marian reveal was enough - it became too soap opera'ish and put a whole damper on the Regina|Robin Hood arc. Not to mention, instead of giving Zelena her own unique path to redemption, they appeared to just mimic the motherhood angle that came with Henry for Regina. Motherhood was Regina's. Thus, leading to the whole exit of Sean MGGuire (blah) & a "fake" AU version of Robin Hood ending with Regina's alter ego, the Evil Queen, instead of "our" Robin with an integrated Regina. Loved the chemistry of Lana & Rebecca as sisters to the end, but its a shame because it could have been better plot wise.
Agreed. Robin's death felt like another contrivance to keep Regina suffering because some fans didn't like that she got redeemed
Rose, Barbara, Lana and Bex slayed
I think OUAT knew they had landed a heavy hitter as soon as they kept her around after her introduction, otherwise she wouldn't have come back and honestly as far as the story was going, her being absent would not have changed the following storylines that much. That being said, I also really liked Zelena a lot and her quite expressive emotions similar to Parilla's made me believe they could be half-sisters. However, as much as I like her character/personality, I did not like most of the storylines she was given (ahem, the Robin thing).
However, I also add that the show's actual storylines post S3 were not as engaging anymore, so for me, Zelena not fitting in the show, wasn't because of the character itself, but more so that she might have arrived to the show a little too late. For me, peak OUAT was S3, would have loved to have S3 end in the S3 midseason finale because that finale was definitely perfect for a series finale, but I digress. I consider the second half of S3 a fun little addition. I would argue if Zelena were to have been introduced maybe in S2 or even early S3, her character could have garnered an even bigger fanbase and a more coherent storyline, without retconning a lot.
Is it bad that or should I say wicked that I always wanted her to win even in the first place when she wanted to time travel and change everything? She was my favourite and when she was revealed to be alive I was so excited. So deliciously wicked and truly the actress charisma played a huge role in my love for her. Although there were always that confusion with the show itself about dark and light magic like when Regina defeates her in season 3 she's supposed to use light magic against her dark but in the later seasons Zelenas magic is being shown as more neutral and Regina just continues to use black magic. As a devoted "charmed" fan I have many issues with that 😅. Also it's made clear that Zelena is the most powerful witch but we never see that utilized to a great extent, in order not to take the spotlight away from Emma and Regina I am sure...
I think Zelena is more powerful but she lacks technique or cunning because of all her issues. Regina was trained carefully over many years, so she's more skilled
@@BetterWithBobyou are also a big charmed fan don't you find that inconsistency about dark and light magic in "once.." frustrating? Like as I said with Regina when they make her say she's changing when defeating Zelena but at the end of the day only her morals changed not the nature of her magic. That plot is abandoned...
I think Emma had the most powerful magic but lacked the discipline to train to her full potential.
@@BetterWithBobI agree that Zelena is certainly more powerful, but I wouldn't say Regina is more skilled. Everything Regina knew, Zelena already knew. It didn't take Zelena years to become skilled because she was a prodigy and was able pick up Rumple'e lessons much quicker because of her natural talent. I can see the argument for Regina being more cunning though.
@@BetterWithBob I think Zelina is more powerful than Regina, but not that much (and, by the way, Regina has no more experience in magic, since Zelina has owned it since childhood and went through all the Rumpel training long before Regina). Unless, of course, we're talking about her version without a magic amulet. And without him, she's definitely not the most powerful witch. Her mother is certainly stronger than both of her daughters. Well, maybe Gothel too, although I haven't watched the seventh season(You can also think about Maleficent, but this is VERY doubtful) What's If we talk about witches because I don't think we can't put Ingrid in that category.
Zelena was one of tyhe best characters in the show. Only topped by Regina and her actress who brought life to this show.
Lana Parrilla was the GOAT!
I am actually rewatching OUAT and I just finished the 11th episode of the 5th season, aka the last episode of the Camelot arc ... I am sooooooo confused about how fucked up this episode is 😂I think it might be the most chaotic episode on OUAT and that is saying much 😅
Anyway, I really liked your reaction about the Camelot arc and your video is really nice! I agree with everything you said about Zelena, she is actually one of the only reasons I am rewatching the last seasons 😆Rebecca Mader is fantastic and she really revived the show!
Oh lord the Camelot arc was a hot fucking mess with a farmhouse in the middle of it
I definitely disagree. I thought she over stayed her welcome. Rumple should've taken her out a long time ago.
I have a Disney song for her
The Return of Jafar:You're Only Second Rate
Oh ouch 🤣
@@BetterWithBob and if you are interested, I have other disney songs for other characters of the series
I like her but Regina (most like me) and Belle (Ideal wife) are my favorite.
Belle is very underrated. The show understands her better than the live action remake did
I honestly think there are more good episodes with the season 5 for example when Regina sees Henry her father again it's really emotional because the last time she seen him she has killed him.
You mentioned the Camelot arc three times, I think it's called for a video. I mean it's obvious that arc was so bad but how is it compared to the Black Swan arc and season 6 arcs and season 7. I'm just curious.
Doing videos on horrific things has the side effect of being very depressing to make 😂
i've gotten to her introduction in my rewatch of the series and i still don't enjoy Zelena as a person but she's a decent villain and that counts for something
It's the second half of Season 5 that properly gives her that depth
What did the blue fairy do? I can't remember
Haha is that sarcasm?
Everything has a price, Deary, oh thats anor great from the show.
Beware her and her car XD I love her in season 7 even more, does she own if she can be on te main team, and her embracing her husband and being a gym girlboss,is interesting.
oh and ilove the season 7 stepsister and her falling for henry and becoming really likable and conflicted.
I love Selena
I have to say, I didn't like her at first. I think that's because (controversially) I didn’t like S3 with the first half being about Pan which just seemed to drag on and felt like we'd had a full season of him instead of under 12 episodes. By the time Zelena arrives I was tired. However by the time we got to S7 I loved her, and her appearance and storyline in S7 was a true highlight. She just lit up the whole screen, especially in scenes with Lana P as their chemistry was great.
On the point of chemistry, I'd love to see a video on Regina and Robin as that is a relationship I really felt work and believed🙂.
Oh I'm a Regina ride or die defender lol so that's a possibility
@BetterWithBob Oh, me too!😄. I'm on my second watch, and it's been great to go from S7 to S1 and watch it all unfold how she was at the start and how gets there. I love her. Evil version, fighting for Henry, in love with Robin, pouring drinks in a bar. I would hang out with her in an instant😄.
When I watch videos like this I almost want to go back and try again, but I can't watch it. I'm a Rumple/Rumbelle fan and didn't like the direction it wen with them. Rebecca's performance was great and I probably could have liked her, but some of Zelena's actions gave me a ick factor. By then I was tired of the show. I love your video and diving deep into why she's a favorite character.
Oh lord the Rumple bullshit was so repetitive
@@BetterWithBob Yes, it drove my acquaintances and I crazy with the constant back and forth with how he was written. One minute they're implying he has changed and then he has regresses. They turned Rumbelle into a toxic disappointment and I almost wish they hadn't made him the beast. I think the writers were frustrated that they made a such of favorite character with Rumple.
I love your Once videos. But can I give you a piece of advice? Since I see how you don't approve (rightly) the Camelot story arc that destroyed the series and the fanbase (thanks again CS!) would you like to make a video about it? Even only about the ship (That would be good content). I would gladly help you in the case. Seeing someone make a video about it would be satisfying after all these years.
It's difficult for me to make videos about terrible things because they depress me but sure could give it a go someday
Bex was the best actress. Who should she be next????
Full discloser I was nearly done with the show after 3 but I did watch some other parts of it. I'm defiantly not an expert on the later seasons. However, to me almost every bad thing in this show came from Cora. She was just so selfish and self absorbed that she destroyed her whole family. I understand not wanting to be poor but her choices hurt most of these people directly or indirectly. As for Zalena she is a pretty effective character and Rebeca Mader is a good actress
Yes my friend Song says she feels that Cora should have been the final villain of the show and I'd fully agree, because she was the complete antithesis to the main theme - she felt love was a weakness and to give into it was to give up your dreams and ambitions
Your favorite characters were August, Mulan and Aurora and Robin? That's rough. (Also, Mulan/Aurora and Robin videos when???)
Hehe one day maybe
I wish they did more with Glinda, ugh 😩
The actress was really good in the part. Shame she was only in two episodes
I just don’t find what she did to Marion and Robin redeemable, that doesn’t make her a bad character but she was always a villain. She is never held accountable, with the exception of Regina, she never faces the loved ones of Robin or Marion, she never really loses anything because of what she did. The abuse she went through as a child is no excuse for rape and murder.
Why can’t people just like villains nowadays? Everyone’s got to be a redeemable character, but some people, even when they do good things are not redeemable. And some people are still decent people even if they do the wrong thing sometimes. It’s about how they’re trying to live their lives.
Once liked to focus on the fact that evil is made rather than born, and that it is possible to redeem oneself. It's also a side effect of the show's unexpected success and contractual reasons - they wrote Regina to be the one dimensional villain in the first season but suddenly Lana Parrilla is under contract and how can she stay around unless she becomes one of the good guys? And then it's trying to build audience sympathy for someone they went out of their way to sell as a monster
For the algo 🔥🔥🔥
Danke :)
U keep saying stepfather when it's adopted father is there a reason just curious
Must have mixed up the terminology, since they do call Regina Henry's stepmother even though she adopted him legally
@@BetterWithBob it must be cuz they like using the word stepmom for evil lol I was just wondering because some people call half-siblings stepsiblings which does are two different things. I have to say I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my stupid comment love ur videos keep up the great work.
Hades
Maybe Ivy????
I am loving the content of the video but that background music while he's talking is driving me crazy. How can I concentrate on the great words when that music is so loud. :(
Zelena being responsible for the death of Neal gets only a thank you from me. He was the worst character on the show.
I wasn't a fan of him either so it's not exactly a 'bad' thing in my book lol
I stopped watching this show after season 3. I watched two episodes of season 4 and it was garbage.
I'd been prepped for Frozen happening so it wasn't jarring to me but I can understand why it would be
I can’t believe Hook became good and a hero… I loathe him sm