Why You Should Catch up on Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

Originally published on For Your Excitement.  1 February  2014.

It has been a bumpy trip down the rabbit hole for Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. The spinoff to Once Upon a Time has received mixed reviews from critics and viewers and the ratings have been slowly declining. But that’s no reason count the fantasy/romance/adventure series out. After all, Veronica Mars only pulled 2.5 million viewers its first season and it has a highly anticipated feature film coming out next month.

The basic premise of the ABC show is this: Alice travels back to Wonderland to search for her lost love, genie Cyrus. The Knave of Hearts and the White Rabbit help her against the land’s many creatures and villains, including Jafar and the Red Queen. Just like on Once proper, we get flashbacks and bits of backstory as we progress as well as ties to classic fairytales and the writings of Lewis Carroll. Seems interesting enough right?

Whether you are already a Oncer, a Wonderer, or are uninitiated in either world, Wonderland is worth your time. Here are five reasons why:

1. It Gets Better

This is important to clarify right off the bat. I know some of you watched the pilot episode and were underwhelmed at best. It’s true that Wonderland’s first outing does not grab you the way its parent show did. At first glance Wonderland is clunky and exasperating but let’s recall that many of us initially felt this way about little shows like The Office. Keep with Wonderland through the slow moments and you’ll be rewarded with stellar episodes like “Forget Me Not” (Ep. 3) and “Bad Blood” (Ep. 7).

2. The Knave of Hearts

Arguably the most entertaining character on the show, the Knave aka Will provides most of Wonderland’s humor and action. As Alice’s partner and guide in searching for Cyrus, he routinely saves the day and the episode with his cleverness and charm. Michael Socha, with his delightfully thick accent, plays Will as a fighter, lover, smartass and all around adorable rogue. As we slowly learn Will’s backstory, I found I only loved him and his puppy dog eyes even more.

3. The Red Queen

It would have been easy for Wonderland’s creative team to just make their own Evil Queen aka Regina. Instead they opted for a character who you think is a mindless pawn but slowly unfolds to reveal an emotional depth and intelligence that downright surprised me. Thanks in large part to Emma Rigby’s controlled, simmering performance, by the midseason finale it was the Red Queen’s story I most looked forward to (sorry Alice).

4. The Laughs

I love a show that makes me laugh even if it’s unintentional. Sure there are funny moments when Will cracks a joke or the Red Queen delivers a snappy insult. But there are also moments like Jafar (Naveen Andrews) surfing away on his magic carpet like he’s catching a gnarly wave. Whether I am supposed to be as amused by this show as I am, I’m not sure. I do know that I thoroughly enjoy snickering and giggling through each episode and that’s enough for me.

5. The Excellent Midseason Finale

If you’re going to convince skeptics to stick with your show when it returns three months later you need a fantastic midseason finale. Wonderland delivers in spades, tying up some loose ends and providing us with the hint of fantastical new adventures ahead. For a show that often felt artificial in its sentimentality and poignancy, I was unexpectedly moved during the finale. I credit this mostly to a knockout performance by Emma Rigby (see above). While you could watch “Home” without seeing any other episodes and you would probably get along just fine, you’d be missing out on the true emotional punch it delivers.

So do yourself a favor and binge watch all eight of Wonderland’s episodes before the show returns on March 6th. Then tune in here for weekly recaps by yours truly.

Meet “The Serpent” On This Week’s Once Upon A Time In Wonderland

Originally published on PopWrapped.  8 November 2013.

After a weeklong break we’re finally back to the topsy-turvy world of Wonderland. Alice still searches for her beloved Cyrus but her Knavish friend is looking for a long-lost love as well: The Red Queen aka Anastasia. When their paths finally cross, you better believe heads will roll. Except not really because even though the villains effectively capture their prey, they do almost nothing to them and even freely let them go. We do lose a beloved character though and get some juicy scenes between my new Wonderland OTP: Will and the Red Queen. Also, we learn via icky hookups and daddy issues that Wonderland’s writers have been watching way too much Game of Thrones. So without much further ado, “The Serpent.”

We begin many years ago in Agrabah. A blacksmith beats and yells at his slave boy for taking too long with some coal. The boy cowers and as much as I want this to be little Aladdin, it’s pretty clear right away that this is young Jafar. He’s also pretty ballsy because when everyone else in the market turns away from a beautiful sorceress who wanders through, Jafar stares straight at her. He follows her later to her door where he begs her to teach him dark magic. He wants people to fear him like they do her and he wants revenge on the Sultan. Jafar is supposedly the Sultan’s son but was cast out for being a bastard and now he wants some payback. Whoa this got Game of Thrones-y real quick. Credits.

In the Red Queen’s palace, Jafar materializes with some new perfectly coiffed hair. He’s perturbed that she didn’t tell him about the Knave but she brushes it off. The Knave coming with Alice wasn’t intentional but he was helpful in getting the girl to Wonderland. Now that he’s served his purpose though, Jafar is ready to eliminate him. Judging by the look on her face, the Red Queen might have some issues with that.

Hey speaking of issues, Will and Alice are arguing again, now about the Red Queen and the White Rabbit. Will wants to fool the Rabbit into telling them everything but Alice would rather hold the bunny over a cliff. Some debt collectors sent by the Caterpillar interrupt their exhaustingly boring bickering. When Alice stupidly asks what they should do, Will quips, “Well basically we could die or we could run.” Running quickly turns to Will volunteering as a distraction to lead the Collectors away from Alice, which works quite well.

While his love plays hide and seek in the forest, Cyrus grovels in his cage for a scrap of food. Even a bone would suffice, he pleads. A guard takes pity, for…reasons. But Cyrus didn’t want the food after all, just the wishbone.

Back to the forest, Will is feeling pretty proud of himself for evading the Collectors until he sees that they have all been knocked out. The Red Queen appears to greet her old lover.

In Agrabah, grown up Jafar is being happily entertained by the stories of his goat herder. After giving the man some wine in thanks for his hard work, Jafar goes indoors to complain to Mistress Dark Sorceress about wanting to learn the spells in her book (if you know what I mean). This includes a spell that requires a human liver… which she’s just procured for them from Jafar’s goat herder friend, who is slowly being poisoned by the wine. Mistress Dark Sorceress gives Jafar a creepy analogy about them being like snakes who need to shed their skin and asks him if he’s ready to be reborn. Just as Jafar sets down the poison’s antidote, the man dies. Dark Sorceress #1 congratulates Jafar on being reborn and they celebrate by making out. So many levels of ewewewewew!