Once Upon a Time (TV series)/Awesome

• Snow White immediately pulling out Prince Charming's sword when the Evil Queen interrupts their wedding.
• Prince Charming fighting off two Evil Queen soldiers at the same time in a broadsword fight all while carrying his newborn daughter, Zhao Yun style.
• Emma cutting down half of Regina's apple tree after she had Emma framed and then threatening that if Regina keeps coming after her she'll cut down the rest of the tree.
• Emma in the pilot. Under the guise of an internet date, she confronts a married embezzler, who tries to run away. She crosses busy traffic (In heels!) to get to where he had parked his car, which she had booted. When he smarts off to her, she slams his head against the steering wheel. This is her first scene in the whole series, mind you.
• In the second episode when you first realize the epic Batman Gambit Rumplestilskin/Mr. Gold is playing you can't help but be impressed. It gets even better when you realize there may even be a Memory Gambit involved. Do we have the show's first Magnificent Bastard here?
  • "...Please."
  • If so, it seems appropriate that he's played by Robert Carlyle, especially considering his previous TV role.
• The Evil Queen's battle with Maleficent, telekinetically throwing dozens of weapons at her unicorn so her guard would be down, then wrapping a chandelier around her.
• Snow White being able to fend off Prince Charming during Episode Three and giving him the scar that makes him easily recognizable.
• Emma's conversation with Ashley in Episode 4

Emma: Screw 'em
Ashley: What?
Emma: Screw. Them. How old are you?
Ashley: Nineteen
Emma: I was eighteen.
Ashley: When you had a kid?
Emma: Yeah. I know what it's like. Everybody loves to tell what you can and can't do. Especially with a kid. But ultimately, whatever you are considering on doing, or giving up, the choice is yours.
Ashley: It's not exactly what you might think it is.
Emma: Never is. People are gonna tell you who you are your whole life. You just gotta punch back and say "No, this is who I am." Want people look at you differently, make them. You wanna change things? You have to go out there and change them yourself - because there are no fairy godmothers in this world.

• Archie standing up to Regina about Henry's treatment, especially the bit about how a child's therapist can be very influential in determining the best place for a child in a (potential, hypothetical) custody hearing. Booyeah.
  • Seconded! Archie, darling! You grew a quad when we weren't looking! It's the first time anyone other than Henry, Emma, or Gold has told her off!
• When Emma rescues Archie and Henry from the collapsing elevator. She has Henry safe in hand, the elevator is going to fall with Archie still inside. They're saying hasty farewells before it drops, and the moment borders on a Tear Jerker when Archie uses his umbrella to hook onto Emma's gear at the last second.
• Regina finding out Emma is now the town's deputy:

Regina: This is now official town business, you're free to go.
Emma: Actually I work for the town now.
Regina gives the Sheriff a look

Sheriff: She's my... new deputy.

Regina: They say the mayor is always last to know.

Sheriff: It's in my budget.

• The future Prince Charming, now just a humble farmer forced into heroics, kills a dragon by using his smarts, after all the knights who were talking down to him get roasted by relying on strength alone.
• Regina and Emma getting into a fistfight at Regina's father's tomb. Immensely satisfying to see Regina finally get some manner of come-uppance for her actions (and if you're a fan of Regina, she whacks Emma a pretty good one as well).
  • It also nicely averts the TV standard catfight or avoidance of females fighting or females being unblemished by fighting. The two of them pull out nice solid punches hard enough to cause visible injury.
  • Graham's break-up speech to Regina just before that. Talk about standing up for himself for the first time in decades.

Graham: I've realized that I don't feel anything, Regina, and I know now it's not me. It's you.
Regina: So you're leaving me for her?
Graham: I'm leaving you for me.

• Mr. Gold's Batman Gambit to get Emma elected sheriff. First he makes her look like a hero by setting a fire she can save Regina from, and then gets the townspeople to admire her even more by getting her to suspect him, and denounce his actions at a public debate.
  • Plus, Emma's declaration after the fire that she would save Regina every time, because that's what good people do.
• Grumpy's declaration that he wants the pain of his lost love, however bad it feels, because "It makes me who I am. It makes me Grumpy."
  • Also a Tear Jerker when we learn just how true that is: he used to be named Dreamy until he was forced to give up on his love for Nova.
• Snow White threatening to start a fire if the king and his men didn't let Grumpy go.
• Mr. Gold confirming that he knows he's Rumpelstiltskin, and remembers everything.
  • YMMV but the scene was in Regina's power. But the Oh Crap on her face sells it how dangerous he still is.
  • Especially when you consider that he may or may not know about the promise Regina made him.
• Regina may be evil, but it's still pretty impressive how she pulls not one, but TWO Batman Gambits in Fruit From the Poisonous Tree". As Regina, the entire thing with Sidney Glass turning on Regina and trying to expose her ends up with cementing Sidney as someone Emma can trust, allowing him to spy on her, with the added bonus of making Emma look like a fool in front of the town for attacking what ends up being Regina's proposal for a playhouse. And back in the fairy tale land, Regina seduces the Genie, gets him to murder her husband, and then set him up for the blame by having him use vipers that come from his hometown. Regina might tend to not be very subtle, but in this episode, we learn that she might just have the trappings of a Magnificent Bastard after all.
• Leroy cutting the power to force everyone to buy candles, saving the nunnery.
• Red staying behind and turning into the wolf to give Charming a chance to catch up to Snow.
• Grumpy informing Snow White that he and the other dwarves are all going to help her get James back. "Let's show him what Snow White and the Seven Dwarves can really do!"
• Rumpelstiltskin manipulating the situation between Snow White and James to finally get his hands on a bottle of Love.
  • For that matter, he's got a very nice collection even before that.
• Mary Margaret instinctively pulling out her Snow White fighting skills to knock Jefferson out the window.
  • Earlier in the same episode, after Emma is drugged and tied up, she gets herself free within seconds of waking up.
• Mr. Gold revealing to Regina how he used her Exact Words against her in the deal about Kathryn, and has controlled things so that all the evidence points to her.
• Mr. Gold figuring out exactly who August is and getting his father to show up at the shop at exactly the right time to confirm it.
• Mary Margaret delivering a first-class What the Hell, Hero? to Emma over her attempt to run away.
• Henry proving he has a set of Brass Balls by taking the poisoned apple turnover from Emma and gobbling it in front of her in a form of Heroic Suicide to not just save her life, but prove to her once and for all that he's not making up the curse.
  • Likewise, grabbing the steering wheel to avert Emma's ill-conceived kidnapping attempt. Suicidally brave, and willing to give up his own chance at happiness and escape for the sake of everyone else? The kid definitely takes after Grandma Snow and Grandpa Charming.
• Snow White and the dwaves' attack on King George's castle, which a big chunk of the budget had clearly been reserved for.
  • The fairies putting the guards to sleep. Who knew fairy dust could make such loud explosions?
• The Huntsman frees Charming, gives him his weapon and provisions, and then proceeds to blatantly lie to the Evil Queen about what happened. This is well after she's made it clear what will happen if he crosses her.
• Emma's fight switching back and forth with Prince Charming's battle, as both must fight Maleficent in her dragon form. Bonus epic for Emma finishing the battle by tossing her father's sword into the dragon's heart in the same manner Maleficent was defeated in the original movie.
  • Also, the fact that Emma pulls a gun on the dragon, despite the fact that it doesn't work.
• Prince Charming cut Rumplestiltskin with a sword. On the face. Rumpelstiltskin even seemed shocked for a brief instant.
  • Especially since we know that with all of Rumpel's power, Rumpel was playing around until he could get Charming to listen. He wasn't expecting an actual fight.