Once Upon a Time in Wonderland 1x04: The Serpent
Wow! I think I kind of... liked this ep? A lot? Despite being relatively Knave-lite, it was action-packed, had a few interesting confrontations and the minimum of Alice/Cyrus humdrum. All in all, I think it was worth waiting for.
1. Jafar's backstory, whoo! Of course we can't not have issues, but at least this time it's Daddy issues. Moreover, the way Jafar acts makes it seem like revenge is just a pretext. The guy has ambition in spades and he certainly doesn't seem completely obsessed with his father (at least in this episode), which makes him what? EVIL! Finally! A normal evil guy who wants stuff for himself!
(c) weloveoursuperheroes
I think the little exchange towards the end of the episode - "You loved me. - No, you loved me." - is pretty indicative of Jafar's priorities, and I love how calmly he goes about achieving his goals. It's a bit disturbing that I like him more in the flashbacks than in the present timeline; he's grown kind of... too flashy? I like how collected he is in the flashbacks. He doesn't start out as a bad guy but he's that rare example of a villain who starts out neither good, nor bad. He's not born evil, but he's also not made evil. True, he's endured years of poverty and humiliation, but he still has some good in him, and yet he doesn't hesitate too much about sacrificing an innocent man. In that sense, he's closer to Cora than to Regina. His revenge is an obscure thing, it doesn't seem to be his obsession, it doesn't rule his life, which is pretty awesome because damn, it's rare for someone's life in this show not to have a controlling factor. O_o
Meanwhile, the invasion of Lost actors continues. This time we have... er... actually I don't remember what she even did on Lost, but she was a terrorist collaborator on Homeland, and she was cool. She's pretty cool here too except maybe for the name. Seriously, I'd watched The Vampire Diaries shortly before OUATiW; I'm not sure I can handle two Amaras in one day!
Also, Jafar is clearly a sexist bastard, but... thequestioning, can you believe that the Jafar/his staff pairing is not that far-fetched now!? XDDDD
2. "Bloody hell" is back. Three or four times in one ep? That's definitely becoming the Knave's catchphrase.
(c) uprysing
The not-so-long-awaited meeting between Will and Anastasia turned out to be surprisingly not bad. Little by little the Red Queen stops annoying me, though I still wish they'd chosen a different actress because Emma Rigby's acting skills are not getting any less questionable. Just imagine how emotional all those scenes could be with a proper actress. And now I'm curious what was it that Anastasia did to "wreck" Will so much.
It's evident that she still cares about him. She does try to sort of save him after all. One thing I don't get are her mispaced manic grins during the confrontation between Alice and Jafar. I mean, I get it, she's evil-ish, but she also doesn't want Will dead. She wants Alice to make her wishes, but that's clearly not the way, so there's nothing to grin about really. It just looked so out of place, as if the actress was just enjoying the scene so much that she forgot what she was supposed to act. XD
3. This episode was also oddly... femslash-y. XD I don't need much, just a bit of violence. XD
(c) uprysing
I could potentially ship that... You know, if Alice hadn't been so fixated on Cyrus and if I hadn't had a ton of issues with the Red Queen in general. Still, whatever angle you look at it from, it was a cool confrontation. Alice finally knows who Anastasia is, she knows that there's more to the Anastasia/Will story than memories and she also has her own issues with the Red Queen. I'm curious to see how all this plays out.
And then of course we have Lizard. Don't even get me started on the whole "I can't be straight with people who point swords at me" thing. But hey, of course she sort of has a crush on Will. Not that I blame her, who wouldn't? ;) I just hope they're not setting her up as his next big love in case he doesn't get back together with Anastasia (which I hope he doesn't b/c SERIOUSLY!?).
4. Speaking of Will, he's adorable and sassy and always even if he doesn't get much to do in this ep. I did love his "Don't you ever clean this thing?" remark. That's how you act when you're about to get your head chopped off. ;)
I also liked the way he talked to the Red Queen. Even if he still loves her, it doesn't mean he should turn into mush at the very sight of her.
5. The confrontation between Alice and Jafar was pretty awesome. He finally got to make Alice make a wish - and it was a pretty neat wish too! Too bad it didn't really help.
(c) uprysing
Still, it's touching that Alice would spend a wish on Will. And I do love how ruthless Jafar is. Ruthless, but not stupid. He stops torturing her pretty quickly because he understands it's not the way. And let's not forget the Red Queen's words about Wonderland being a prison. She and Alice seem to have interesting history together, and I'm curious about it.
The only thing I'm wary about now is how long the Knave will be gone for. This show is pretty much hinging on him (for me at least), so it's not in the show's best interest to keep him gone for too long. Still, the next ep promises him at least in the flashbacks, so we'll still get our sarcastic fix. ;)
(c) minskodesta
6. Cyrus, oddly enough, wasn't annoying in this episode. Not as much as he usually is. I liked the whole thing with the wishbone, it was pretty surprising, but it would have been better if it hadn't accompanied a full montage of existing and potential pairings in this show, including Lizard -> Will and Amara -> Jafar (though Amara in her current state would probably be thinking of revenge more than anything).
(c) weloveoursuperheroes
By the way, who's willing to bet the old dude chatting with Cyrus is the sultan? ;))
7. Totally random: I love the Queen's Bowie-esque valets (the one who spoke with Jafar seemed slashy).
1. Jafar's backstory, whoo! Of course we can't not have issues, but at least this time it's Daddy issues. Moreover, the way Jafar acts makes it seem like revenge is just a pretext. The guy has ambition in spades and he certainly doesn't seem completely obsessed with his father (at least in this episode), which makes him what? EVIL! Finally! A normal evil guy who wants stuff for himself!
(c) weloveoursuperheroes
I think the little exchange towards the end of the episode - "You loved me. - No, you loved me." - is pretty indicative of Jafar's priorities, and I love how calmly he goes about achieving his goals. It's a bit disturbing that I like him more in the flashbacks than in the present timeline; he's grown kind of... too flashy? I like how collected he is in the flashbacks. He doesn't start out as a bad guy but he's that rare example of a villain who starts out neither good, nor bad. He's not born evil, but he's also not made evil. True, he's endured years of poverty and humiliation, but he still has some good in him, and yet he doesn't hesitate too much about sacrificing an innocent man. In that sense, he's closer to Cora than to Regina. His revenge is an obscure thing, it doesn't seem to be his obsession, it doesn't rule his life, which is pretty awesome because damn, it's rare for someone's life in this show not to have a controlling factor. O_o
Meanwhile, the invasion of Lost actors continues. This time we have... er... actually I don't remember what she even did on Lost, but she was a terrorist collaborator on Homeland, and she was cool. She's pretty cool here too except maybe for the name. Seriously, I'd watched The Vampire Diaries shortly before OUATiW; I'm not sure I can handle two Amaras in one day!
Also, Jafar is clearly a sexist bastard, but... thequestioning, can you believe that the Jafar/his staff pairing is not that far-fetched now!? XDDDD
2. "Bloody hell" is back. Three or four times in one ep? That's definitely becoming the Knave's catchphrase.
(c) uprysing
The not-so-long-awaited meeting between Will and Anastasia turned out to be surprisingly not bad. Little by little the Red Queen stops annoying me, though I still wish they'd chosen a different actress because Emma Rigby's acting skills are not getting any less questionable. Just imagine how emotional all those scenes could be with a proper actress. And now I'm curious what was it that Anastasia did to "wreck" Will so much.
It's evident that she still cares about him. She does try to sort of save him after all. One thing I don't get are her mispaced manic grins during the confrontation between Alice and Jafar. I mean, I get it, she's evil-ish, but she also doesn't want Will dead. She wants Alice to make her wishes, but that's clearly not the way, so there's nothing to grin about really. It just looked so out of place, as if the actress was just enjoying the scene so much that she forgot what she was supposed to act. XD
3. This episode was also oddly... femslash-y. XD I don't need much, just a bit of violence. XD
(c) uprysing
I could potentially ship that... You know, if Alice hadn't been so fixated on Cyrus and if I hadn't had a ton of issues with the Red Queen in general. Still, whatever angle you look at it from, it was a cool confrontation. Alice finally knows who Anastasia is, she knows that there's more to the Anastasia/Will story than memories and she also has her own issues with the Red Queen. I'm curious to see how all this plays out.
And then of course we have Lizard. Don't even get me started on the whole "I can't be straight with people who point swords at me" thing. But hey, of course she sort of has a crush on Will. Not that I blame her, who wouldn't? ;) I just hope they're not setting her up as his next big love in case he doesn't get back together with Anastasia (which I hope he doesn't b/c SERIOUSLY!?).
4. Speaking of Will, he's adorable and sassy and always even if he doesn't get much to do in this ep. I did love his "Don't you ever clean this thing?" remark. That's how you act when you're about to get your head chopped off. ;)
I also liked the way he talked to the Red Queen. Even if he still loves her, it doesn't mean he should turn into mush at the very sight of her.
5. The confrontation between Alice and Jafar was pretty awesome. He finally got to make Alice make a wish - and it was a pretty neat wish too! Too bad it didn't really help.
(c) uprysing
Still, it's touching that Alice would spend a wish on Will. And I do love how ruthless Jafar is. Ruthless, but not stupid. He stops torturing her pretty quickly because he understands it's not the way. And let's not forget the Red Queen's words about Wonderland being a prison. She and Alice seem to have interesting history together, and I'm curious about it.
The only thing I'm wary about now is how long the Knave will be gone for. This show is pretty much hinging on him (for me at least), so it's not in the show's best interest to keep him gone for too long. Still, the next ep promises him at least in the flashbacks, so we'll still get our sarcastic fix. ;)
(c) minskodesta
6. Cyrus, oddly enough, wasn't annoying in this episode. Not as much as he usually is. I liked the whole thing with the wishbone, it was pretty surprising, but it would have been better if it hadn't accompanied a full montage of existing and potential pairings in this show, including Lizard -> Will and Amara -> Jafar (though Amara in her current state would probably be thinking of revenge more than anything).
(c) weloveoursuperheroes
By the way, who's willing to bet the old dude chatting with Cyrus is the sultan? ;))
7. Totally random: I love the Queen's Bowie-esque valets (the one who spoke with Jafar seemed slashy).