Once...in Wonderland 1.09: Nothing to Fear

‘Home’ gave Wonderland an opportunity to make the story that’s being told a lot more exciting. The power plays, dynamics and mythology were almost upended, so the big question with ‘Nothing to Fear’ was whether or not it dropped the ball in the face of all that.

I don’t think it completely failed in taking advantage of all the new opportunities. Some of the episode felt disjointed, and some parts didn’t really have a thorough impact, but I think the direction that things are heading in is a good one.

One of the parts I liked a lot about this episode was seeing Will finally have a good time. He’s been the harbinger of all things sarcastic and pessimistic so far, and watching him let loose and help out Lizard out of kindness was a nice change.

Her death fell slightly flat, though. The significance wasn’t lost on me - wishes are dangerous, we’ve heard that time and time again since the series started - but we never knew much about her to really feel not just for her falling victim to her wishes, but for her heartbreak when Will rejected her proclamations.

Obviously Will not wanting to fall in love again is understandable after what Ana did to him. It does seem like she’s starting to change, and not just because she’s dropped that ridiculous accent. We saw her scampering off in the face of danger a few times this week, but she still stuck by Will, Alice and Cyrus in the end. Her reasons for doing so are still a little selfish, but I think her efforts to win Will back are paying off.

Wonderland’s take on the Jabberwocky is a fun one. Jafar has fallen flat as a villain so far, and it makes a whole lot more sense to drop in someone who’s more evil, manipulative and unpredictable than him. How many of you guessed the exact dialogue between him and his father at the start of the episode? Ugh, so clunky.

I’m not blown away by ‘Nothing to Fear’, but nothing that it presented was particularly worrying. The chances to spoil the series haven’t been taken, which is a relief, no really exciting steps were taken either. I think the next episode will tell us more about how great the show’s final couple of episodes will be.

6/10

Plus

Alice and Cyrus’ reunion is a little anti climactic. Sure it’s nice to see them back together, but other that the ACTUAL fireworks, there’s very little spark between them.

Of course the Jabberwocky is in the form of a human. Imagine the cost of a full CGI monster!

He Said, She Said

Anastacia: “It appears you two are the only people in Wonderland who care whether I love or die.”

Anastacia: “We need to find the rabbit, get out of Wonderland before Jafar gets us.”
Will: “I’d prefer to take my chances with the homicidal maniac with the snake stick, thank you though.”

Also posted at Doux Reviews.