TV: Review Once Upon A Time In Wonderland "Nothing To Fear"
By: Sue
After a long hiatus, Once Upon A Time In Wonderland is back. Let’s just hope that the focus is less on the Cyrus/Alice love story, and more on the Knave/Alice friendship, because that is really the better part of the show. The Knave saved Alice, but at what cost? Beside neverending slavery?
The Knave has a watery and very bumpy ride in his new home, the genie bottle, when Lizard finds him and sets him free. She’s so happy to see him, but he thought she was dead and he was stone. The Knave tries to go in search of Alice, but Lizard tells him to wait, and he does. He’s a full fledge genie now, and she has three wishes to make.
Alice awakens in a tent with Cyrus, it wasn’t all a dream he is still free. She got her heart’s desire, they’re together, but there’s still the matter of the red queen. Alice doesn’t want to work with the Queen, not remembering what the Knave did to save them, she doesn’t remember any of it. Cyrus tells her of the Knave’s sacrifice, and the Knave’s enslavement. The Queen wants to save the Knave, and Alice still isn’t sure about working with her. They have to band together to save the Knave before Jafar gets his hands on him, Alice agrees to find the bottle and save the knave.
Jafar proclaims himself the master of Wonderland. He sits upon the throne in front of his father, his father still finds him unworthy. The Sultan tried to murder his own son in the past, his only regret that he didn’t succeed. Jafar calls for his removal. The caterpillar arrives with news. His men’s search, has turned up nothing. Jafar knows that the third wish has been made, that the genie is back in the bottle. Before Jafar can punish the Caterpillar for his failures, he tells him of a creature that would be stronger than an entire army, the Jabberwocky.
Alice, Cyrus and the Queen search the woods. There’s sign of the bottle, but they don’t find the bottle itself. Alice continues her petulance towards the Queen. Cyrus asks how Alice held up, how she made it back, and she tells him that it was the Knave who told her that Cyrus survived, that he brought her back. As they walk and talk, the Queen disappears. Alice thinks they’ve been duped again.
Lizard asks the Knave why he wants to even bother finding Alice, that he has fulfilled his obligation. She offers him a little time for himself if he grants her a wish. He tries to remember the rules to the wishes, and only remembers that he cannot make anyone fall in love. She offers the Knave a wish, and he ponders something good, and comes up with an ice cold beer, one for everyone in the village.
A man goes through his loot. The gems will feed the crowd for a year. They only wonder what they should do with their captive, the Queen. They know exactly who she is, that she is the cause of their sufferage, and they plan to make her suffer as well.
Jafar opens Tweedle’s box and removes his head. He wishes to know where the Jabberwocky is. Tweedle wishes to have a body, and Jafar gets him one, offering him the chance to walk again. Though Tweedle wishes to have the body, he tells him that last time it took 500 men, and a whole lot of magic to enslave
Back at the tower, Jafar climbs the stairs. He finds bodies all around. He hears a voice, asking why he would come. Jafar tells it that he’s heard of its great powers, that he needs its help to find something, that he can set it free. She laughs, telling him that she can get inside of his head, but Jafar thinks that he’s strong enough to not let the Jabberwocky in, but she already is.
The three watch the fireworks, debating on the best course of action to recovering the Knave. The best course seems to be divide and conquer. As the Queen sets off, Alice wants to as well, fearing that she comes in second and the Queen runs off with the bottle. Cyrus has something to say to Alice before they head into the village. He kisses her, and finishes what was interrupted the day Alice thought he had died. He proposes marriage, and Alice accepts. Cyrus tells her that she doesn’t have to be afraid anymore.
The Knave apologizes to Lizard for being such an idiot. He tells her that he’s always enjoyed her company, but that he doesn’t love her, that he doesn’t love anyone that he can’t anymore. She tells him that she knows, she only wishes that he felt something for her. She collapses to the ground, and he moves to help he in vain. With her third wish made Will goes back into the bottle, even as he begs her to take back her words. Back in his bottle, he watches her die, helpless to do anything to help her.
The Queen walks through the village, she finds Lizard in her dress dead. She looks to be in shock over what’s happened, but the bottle is still there. She’s found the Knave.
Cyrus and Alice’s search has come up empty. Cyrus hopes that the Queen has had better luck, but Alice still doesn’t think that she’ll come back if she has found the bottle, but she proves her wrong, showing up with the bottle in hand. The Queen tells them that Lizard has the bottle, and Alice asks what she did to her, but the Queen admits that Lizard was already dead. She tells them that they can ask the genie if they don’t believe her, and they plan to do just that, but she rubs the bottle rather than handing it over. The knave pops out, relieved to see Alice and Cyrus, but not exactly happy that the Queen is his master. She needed an insurance policy, and they all need to get out of there before Jafar finds them. The Knave would rather face Jafar, but the Queen tells them that if Jafar gets his hands on him, then he’ll have all three Genies and be unstoppable. The Queen describes the other bottles for Cyrus, they hold his brothers inside. All three were cast into bottles at the same time, but he thought that they were gone having never been able to find them. Alice vows to find them. The Knave tells them goodbye, since the Queen has never been one to fight for something that does not benefit her. She vows to stay, to become the Queen she should have been, and that united Jafar doesn’t stand a chance.
The Jabberwocky tells Jafar that she will join him, in exchange for her freedom. He tells her that he cannot free what he cannot see, she brings his attention above where she’s pinned with a dagger like a butterfly. He removes the dagger, and she falls to the floor, thanking him. She introduces herself, but he doesn’t hand over the blade that held her though she asks for it. She asks him what he fears, and he tells her nothing, but she sees through him. He fears water, the feeling of drowning at his father’s hands, the
it the first time. Jafar is willing to use the threat of the Jabberwocky to get his genie. He hopes that just the threat will be enough for the entire land to act, and then Alice won’t just be up against him, but against everyone.
The villagers celebrate with a chugging contest. The Knave is really enjoying his wish when he sees Lizard watching him. It’s been a long time since the Knave was wanted around. The Knave asks what Lizard wishes for next, but he cannot give her what she wants. She tells him that she is still working on her next wish.
Alice doesn’t want to waste time looking for the Queen. The faster they find the Knave and the Queen the sooner they can get out of Wonderland and start their lives. Cyrus finds a bit of the Queen’s torn clothing, and signs of a struggle. Cyrus uses a bit of magic to have it lead the way to the Queen. He tells her that he isn’t magic, that its but a simple location spell that anyone could use, that his mother taught him to do. She wishes she could have met his family, but they are long gone.
Jafar goes to where the Jabberwocky is kept. The guard tries to impede his progress. Jafar takes on the guard, and the guard tells him that he is a fool, only death awaits in the tower. Jafar introduces the guard to death, and proceeds to the tower.
The villagers prepare to burn the Queen. She pleads with them, telling them that she was once one of them. But they were never taken care of by the Queen, she left them to be ravaged by beasts and monsters, and now they plan to roast her for one of those. She tells them that it will not stop the attacks, that they will be in the same predicament tomorrow. Alice and Cyrus debate how or if they should intervene. The Queen pleads that she is worth more alive, but they ask who would pay for her, she has no answer. Cyrus tells them that they will pay, points out that if they kill the Queen then they are no better than she is. Alice and Cyrus don’t actually have any money. Alice draws her sword, and the villagers tell her that they will have the same fate. Tied to stakes the Queen, Alice and Cyrus prepare for a pack Bandersnatches to attack. Cyrus gets loose enough to put out some of the torches, but they continue to come. They’re after Alice’s necklace. She throws the necklace and they attack it. The three untie themselves and make a break for it.
The Knave continues to enjoy himself, but Lizard does not. She watches from a window. Knave knows that someone has caught her eye, but he does not see that it is him. Although he cannot make anyone fall in love, he can help without using wishes. Lizard asks him what he looks for in a girl, and he tells her confidence, adventureness, a dress, and fireworks. She asks for all of it, and he transforms Lizard. She looks gorgeous, and he wants to take her out and find the one she desires, but she doesn’t want to go. Lizard finally confesses that is him, it always has been him.
Cyrus commends Alice’s sacrifice, but she says that its just a necklace. She tells him that she’s been waiting to find him, and now that they’re finally together, she fears that it’ll never end, that they’ll never get a happy ending. Fireworks light up the sky, which doesn’t make sense. The poor village cannot afford such a display, the Queen perks up, they’ve found their genie.
helplessness. He doubles over in fear, and she presses him further. She finally releases him, but allows him to keep the blade, taunting him that he may need it.
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