Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

This week’s episode was quite the trip down the rabbit hole. The pilot for Wonderland was for the most part, a solid start to the series.

Let’s start with the best part of this pilot: Sophie Lowe’s Alice. She’s strong, brave, and can handle herself in a fight. She doesn’t need to depend on a man, or even magic, to save her. The scene in the asylum where Knave lets her out shows Alice’s badassery. She’s all that, but there’s a certain innocence to her (down to the ruffle socks). Alice here is a grown-up, but she’s still that curious, lonely girl.

I was a bit worried how they were going to deal with portraying Wonderland. It’s a magical land with a talking cat and caterpillar, and it’s all a bit trippy. The CGI, for the most part, worked. The White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat didn’t look too cartoony. The marshmallow lake, on the other hand looked like there was an obvious green screen. Now, I’m curious to see how they handle the CGI in future episodes. Hopefully they balance it out more, and don’t depend on it so much.

One weakness I see is that the show isn’t doing a great job of balancing all its storylines. Between flashbacks and the present, there are ten different stories going on. In Wonderland at least the story is simple enough: Alice has to find Cyrus the genie, her true love. Although Jafar was also introduced. Let’s hope they just stick with Wonderland and Agrabah.

For a pilot, we have a good grasp on the characters’ motivations. Alice wants to find Cyrus and vice versa, Jafar wants Alice’s wishes, and the Red Queen is working with both the White Rabbit and Jafar. There’s still some mystery, but we have the big picture set up.

If you’re already a fan of OUAT, this is a show for you. Or if you’re looking for a new interpretation on the Wonderland story, then consider checking it out.

Quick notes:
– How cool was it to see Grumpy and Cinderella at the beginning the episode?!

– I’m interested in seeing what Knave did that he had to leave Wonderland for Storybrooke.

– Since Jafar is part of the story, does that mean we might see Jasmine and Aladdin? Or might that just be wishful thinking?

Author: Lone Commander

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