Let’s Go “Home” This Week On Once Upon A Time In Wonderland

Originally published on PopWrapped.  13 December 2013.

We’ve reached the end Wonderers, at least for 2013. In Once Upon a Time in Wonderland’s winter finale, Cyrus and Alice’s quest for one another also, mercifully, concludes. Plus, we’re reminded yet again that Will and the Red Queen are more compelling as characters and as a pair than the doe-eyed lovers. But more on that later because right now it’s time to go “Home”… 

As we like to do, we begin with a flashback. Alice and Cyrus watch falling stars and do a little cute flirting. I admit, as much as this romance irritates me, they do have some sweet chemistry together. Alice harshes on their make-out session by asking Cyrus about the compass he always has with him. Like Jack Sparrow’s it doesn’t point North, or in any direction really, except toward something you’re trying to find. Cyrus’ mother gave it to him long ago and far away when he was a human. So the compass is basically his blankie.

Before the pair can return to snogging, a group of marauders attack to capture Cyrus. Alice proves to be much more than a pretty girl in the frilly dress (again) by whipping out a sword and kicking some butt. And for her trouble she gets a nice stomach wound and collapses into her beloved’s arms. Credits.

In the present, Alice and Will are en route to the place she knows Cyrus must be heading. That might be a bit difficult for him considering he’s just stepped into a snare. Tweedle hears Cyrus’ attempts to free himself through the grapevine (literally) in the Queen’s garden and also spots his brother having a secret rendezvous with Jafar. When Tweedle reports the genie’s capture and his brother’s betrayal to the Queen, she is ecstatic and pissed all at once. Cyrus’ bottle is missing. Commercial.

Stomping their way towards the Outlands in the hope of meeting Cyrus there, Alice and Will first need to make a pit stop at the White Rabbit’s house. They’ll need him to dig them a tunnel somewhere safe to escape from the Queen and Jafar once they’ve gotten Alice’s lover with them.

This Week’s Once Upon A Time In Wonderland Wonders “Who’s Alice”

Originally published on PopWrapped.  22 November 2013.

Previously on Wonderland, Alice was fooled, if only a little bit, by the Red Queen who proved she still has a heart and it still beats, however faintly, for our beloved Knave of Hearts. Also Cyrus escaped and Jafar coerced the Rabbit into digging to London. But most importantly, Will was revived from his stony sleep. Hooray! 

Tonight opens on an Englishman painting in the countryside. He’s suddenly showered with dirt when Jafar and the White Rabbit burst from a hole in the ground. Quite the entrance, I must say. The Englishman, to his credit, is unfazed but curious as to whom the sorcerer and the animated rabbit are. He gives them directions to the Asylum and in return, Jafar takes his suit.

In the Asylum we get the return of Bald Doctor! He’s taking some laudanum when a dapper Jafar, posing as a doctor himself, pops in to have a chat about a certain blond hair, blue-eyed patient. Bald Doctor tries to play dumb but Jafar knows all about him seeing the Rabbit. A quick glimpse of the bunny makes the doc ready to spill all he knows about Alice.

Queenie pays a visit to Cyrus’ empty cage. She’s curious about the genie having fled and Jafar being missing as well. Luckily, or not, the Old Man is still present in his cage to explain that Jafar is gone and Cyrus is on the run. Queenie will never catch him though because the genie has the most powerful magic of all: True Love. Only 5 minutes in and already this show is covered in sap.

This Weeks Once Upon A Time In Wonderland Has A “Heart Of Stone”

Originally published on PopWrapped.  15 November 2013.

Previously on Wonderland the best character on the show was turned to stone and Alice made absolutely no progress toward finding her true love. Also the Red Queen did a terrible job hiding her secret past with Will but a good job being divided between evil ex and regretful ex. So this week we see which one Queenie decides to be, Cyrus takes escaping Jafar into his own hands and we get more delicious details about Will and Anastasia.

Flashback to right when Will and Anastasia are getting ready to leap into Wonderland. Her mom bursts in to ruin everything with her disappointed face and verbal abuse. In addition to calling Will a loser, she also labels her own daughter as a failure. She’d had high hopes for Anastasia to be a princess but would have settled for the girl marrying a nobleman. Guess a prince of thieves isn’t good enough. Will promises that he’ll build a life for them in Wonderland and that he’ll always love her. It’s enough for Anastasia and the pair jump.

Present day Wonderland. Alice covers Stone Will with a shawl in case of rain or snow or bird poop. She is feeling guilty for tricking Jafar with her wish thus causing Will’s current state. Still, she clings to the hope that if she can find Cyrus he can help. Queenie can help her there! She’s willing to make a deal with Alice: she’ll trade info about Cyrus’ whereabouts for some hard to find magic dust. Alice stubbornly refuses this offer until she realizes the Queen is right; she has no other options.

In Cyrus’ Pit of Despair, his companion prisoner has been brought back from his day of slave labor. Cyrus promises to free them both today.

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland Says “Forget Me Not” In This Week’s Episode

Originally published on PopWrapped.  25 October 2013.

Oh Wonders, we’re back again for another jaunt through Wonderland or in the case of this episode, Underland. Alice remains steadfast in her search for Cyrus just as Will remains the most entertaining part of this show. The writers apparently predicted this because tonight’s episode is all about our beloved Knave. We get some juicy info on his thieving past and the Anastasia who broke his heart (Spoilers: It’s not Disney’s Anastasia). We also get a well-publicized cameo from Once’s blonde Robin Hood.

This episode is a fun one especially since it focuses so much on Will and so little on Alice. Also, Jafar doesn’t look quite so ridiculous (although next week’s previews show an unfortunate change in hair style). So, let’s jump in to Once Upon a Time in Wonderland’s “Forget Me Not.”

“A few years ago,” as the title reads, a horse drawn carriage stops to help some screaming men in the roadway. A man is down with a broken leg and as they tend to him, someone else silently drops from the sky and snags the carriage’s loot. Later Robin Hood congratulates his Merry Men on a fine ruse and they welcome the man who snagged to the loot as their newest member: Will Scarlet aka The Knave of Hearts.

In present day Wonderland, Will thinks it’s safer for he and Alice to split up but she thinks they should stay together. Turns out she’s right because he has the idea to seek out the Forget-me-knot. This magical item when held over any area will show what last happened there. It would show them who dug up Cyrus’ bottle and give them something to do considering right now they’re just wandering around.

In Cyrus’ Cave of Woes, Jafar and the Red Queen are having a feast while the genie looks on. Jafar taunts him with Alice’s paper crane and utters the words Wonderland has been dancing around for two weeks now:  “Magic always comes with a price.” Tonight’s price will be forcing Alice to make her first wish.

Will and Alice arrive at the Caterpillars abode. He’s the one with the Forget-me-knot and a bounty on Will’s head. No biggie, the Knave assures Alice. This Underland is his world. Everything will be fine! Yeah. The pair have been in this Underland for barely a minute when they’re held at sword and dagger point. But the Caterpillar, not fancying his Knave skewered, bids them approach his smoking couch.

They try to work out a deal with Mr. Caterpillar, who slimily suggests Alice as the form of Will’s payment toward his debt. Anyone else having Jabba the Hutt with Han and Leia thoughts here? Anyway, Alice uses her smarts to deduce that the Caterpillar doesn’t have the Knot but he does know where it is: with the Grendel. The new deal is they retrieve the knot, bring it and Will’s debt is paid. Bonus for the Caterpillar is if Will tries to keep the magical item, his head gets to become the newest pretty decoration on the Caterpillar’s desk. Win-win-win.

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Uncovers The Meaning Of 0-8-4 This Week

Originally published on PopWrapped.  2 October 2013.

Hello Agents! Let’s dive into this week’s mission, I mean, episode.

We begin with the S.H.I.E.L.D. jet soaring peacefully through the air. A woman’s voice comes on to ask if everything is a-okay. Just as Agent Coulson says it’s going to be “blue skies from here on out” the side of the plane bursts open. Inside, our favorite agent is hanging on for dear life while the blue sky tries to pull him out of the plane. Oh please. If Loki can’t kill Coulson, what makes the air think it stands a chance?

Flashback to before the plane problems. Skye is unloading her precious van and boarding said plane. She looks skeptical but Agent Ward just looks pissed. He’s whining to Coulson about Skye joining the team but Coulson is defending his decision. He points out that she did break into their database. Twice.

“She doesn’t think like us,” Ward counters. “Exactly,” Coulson replies.

FitzSimmons is also on the fence about Skye but they’re at least more cheerful about it as they show her to her bunk. There she encounters a grouchy Ward who pushes the plane’s emergency preparedness pamphlet at her. Then Coulson slides up to talk once more about the magical place known as Tahiti and how he got the plane as a gift for almost dying before the Battle of New York. Also, he’s still adorable, asking Skye to use a coaster for her water bottle on his fancy plane.

But back to the mission. Coulson explains that a 0-8-4 means that they don’t know what it means. “An object of unknown origin.” The last one was…Thor’s hammer. And we all know what happened on the way to that.