REVIEW: Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, Episode 102
After an episode of questions (a pilot episode tends to do that) it is nice having an episode of answers. In “Trust Me” we find out what Jafar and the Red Queen are up to: they want to gather 3 genies in order to change the laws of magic. It also doesn’t take long to know what these laws are because Cyrus explains them to Alice in a flashback. Cyrus says he can’t kill people (this is only a genie rule and not a law of magic), can’t bring back the dead, can’t change the past (this one is not so strict anymore as you might remember from season 3B of “Once Upon A Time”) and can’t make people fall in love. These are the 3 rules these villains want to be free of, each for their own personal reasons, I’m sure, and those reasons won’t probably take long to be revealed to us.
What is interesting in a villain team up is that they are all constantly trying to be the leader and that is why they usually fail. In the beginning of the episode it is clear that Jafar is the most powerful one and that the Red Queen is just a pawn in his game. He is simply using her to find Cyrus’ genie bottle, making her promises along the way he doesn’t intend to keep. After all, as the Red Queen says, “promises were made to be broken”. But Jafar underestimated the Queen of Wonderland and it doesn’t take long for her to make a stand. She sends Jafar on a wild goose chase, while she and the Rabbit (who she has an upper hand on) go to where the bottle is actually buried, making herself now much more than a pawn in the chess game that is starting to take place.
But Jafar is not the only one making planes, because Alice also makes some of her own. She wants to make 3 harmless wishes (since magic, wishes included, always comes with a price) and then Cyrus will be back to his bottle, which she intends to have by then. But most planes are made to be tossed to the trash and this one is no different. First Alice and Will find a very big lake and, needing help to get through it (since Will can’t swim), they call a fairy, Silvermist. But she isn’t very willing to help (given her past with Will, which she is not as “move on” from as she said) and eventually throws them both into the lake. As luck would have it, they landed close to a little island (convenient, right?) where they rested while trying to come up with something that would allow them to continue their journey. But turned out that they hadn’t used all the luck they had for that day, and the island they were in wasn’t really an island and more of a gigantic turtle. Alice not being one of subtlety, demands the turtle to take them to their destination.
But turned out Alice simply wanted to see who they were up against, because the place they go to wasn’t where the bottle was buried. After finding Jafar digging, Alice and Will go to the place the bottle was actually buried but only find a hole in the ground. The bottle had been taken already. And that is when a message from Cyrus arrives. Cyrus asks Alice to leave Wonderland while she still can’t, but he didn’t have to bother because everyone knew (maybe even Cyrus) that she would never do that. Instead Alice sends him another message: “I’m coming for you”.
This episode also introduced two mysterious character: Anastasia (who is “a tale of heartbreak” for Will) and another prisoner that is trapped in the same dungeon as Cyrus. Keep them in mind because they will be important as the story develops.
I feel like in this episode, in contrary to the previous one, the flashbacks were a little pointless and didn’t add much to the story (not only this episode’s story, but the entire season’s). The only thing that could be called “relevant” we learned in the flashbacks were what the laws of magic are, but that could be easily explained in the present. This being said, I’m glad there weren’t a lot of flashback scenes. They are important and very explanatory in some episodes, but not in this one.
But it was still a good episode and I will give a 7.5/10.
Also keep in mind that Alice isn’t the only one “coming for you”. I will too, so don’t forget to check my upcoming review of episode 103, “Forget Me Not”.
REVIEW: Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, Episode 101
I don’t really like to compare shows, since one of them always gets downgraded, but I think it is inevitable to compare a spin-off and its main show. When Once Upon A Time in Wonderland started, Once Upon A Time was in its 3rd season (which is, in my opinion, one of its finest) and so I feel like OUATiW was a bit ignored by the fans. Maybe it would have been smarter to make it into a summer show, but what is done is done. In the end I was a bit sad it was cancelled but ultimately not too surprised.
Like the pilot of the main show, “Down The Rabbit Hole” begins with the words “Once Upon A Time”, which in itself often represents the beginning of a great story. There is also something in the beginning of the episode that reminded me of an amazing quote from OUAT. When Alice gets home, she tells her father what happened to her and how she visited a wonderful land (see what I did there?) and, even though he is at first a bit reluctant whether to believe her or not, he doesn’t in the end, which brought me back to 117 of OUAT when Jefferson said to Emma, who was also a non-believer: “Everyone wants a magical solution for their problem, and everyone refuses to believe in magic”. I think this quote kind of sums up the world we live in today, because even though some of us want to believe in something else other than what we have, there are always the ones that will constantly make sure we go back to believing only in what our eyes can see and that is exactly what cuts off imagination and creativity.
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It was also incredible to see that Alice is not a damsel in distress and that she can take care of herself very well when we see that, on her own, she took care of all the employees of the asylum when Will came to her rescue (which turned out to be the other way around).
After the asylum we finally leave our world (not completely, but at least until the end of this episode) and enter Wonderland. I think they built this new world very well, because we are told in Lewis Carroll’s tale that nothing makes sense there. It is true that the special effects and the scenarios behind the characters are awful and evidently fake in some scenes, but it is still nice to see the Wonderland nonsense: dragonflies that are actually mini-dragons, a marshmallow lake, food that makes you smaller and drinks that make you bigger… and that is only some of the few things we see in this premiere, because more nonsense things will continue to arrive to the screen throughout the season.
While we see Alice talking to Dr. Lydgate (who also makes an appearance in S6 of the main show), we see some flashbacks of this young girl going through some adventures trying to prove to her father she is not crazy. While in this, she accidentally meets a guy who is destined to become her true love: Cyrus, the genie. Even though their love seems impossible (since genies are always changing masters and lands) they start having a lot of adventures and have an almost immediate Happy Beginning.
But of course there cannot be heroes without villains and this spin-off introduces two: The Red Queen (who had to be a regular villain, of course, since she is the trouble bringer on the original story) and Jafar (who shouldn’t belong here, since he is in the wrong story, but somehow fits completely). It is always nice seeing a villain team-up. Heroes join forces all the time, so why shouldn’t villains do the same? In the last scene we see Alice and Cyrus together, these villains go to distance to make Alice think her genie is dead. The Red Queen throes him into the Boiling Sea (right after he proposed), while Jafar catches him with a flying carpet (Alice doesn’t see this last part, of course).
The end of the episode is also something I thought was nice. Alice goes to the Mad Hatter’s looking for Cyrus (who was allegedly seen there) but finds nothing but lots and lots of hats (at least inside the house). About to lose hope and control over her tears, she goes outside and finds a necklace that belongs to Cyrus, making the assumption that if it survived, maybe Cyrus did too, right? And that brings us to the best quote of this episode: “When you really love someone, you don’t need proof. You can feel it”. This quote Alice makes is actually a repetition of what Cyrus says in flashbacks when they first meet, but I thought it had more impact in this last scene then on the previous one, maybe because this times Alice is referring to someone who will always believe in her, no matter how absurd she may sound.
Making now the last comparison between shows, it was cool to see that this pilot didn’t end in a major cliffhanger or plot twist, like most pilot episodes do. Instead (like Once Upon A Time’s pilot) it ends with a bit of hope and belief in something that cannot be seen, only felt. In the end of this episode, Alice knows for sure that Cyrus is alive, not only based on a rumor she heard, but also in the love they share (call her mad, but she is right).
Overall, it was a good episode, but better ones are coming our way. That being said, I will give this episode a 7 out of 10.
Hope you guys stick around for my upcoming review of episode 102 of this show entitled “Trust Me”.
Does Agent Carter Need to Be Renewed?
Agent Carter‘s second season finale, “Hollywood Ending,” was an example of good television. Loose ends were wrapped up in a neat little bow, and a thread was picked up for a potential next season (with executive producer Michele Fazekas teasing, “He’s [Thompson] not necessarily dead. He got shot. That’s all we show. It certainly didn’t tickle. But we were really clear when we talked to Chad about it, we were like, ‘Just so you know, you are getting shot. And that is all we are saying.'”) There’s just one problem: even with such a great finale, Agent Carter has not been guaranteed a third season. TVLine has reported the rather bleak ratings— 2.37 million viewers with a 0.7 in the ratings— despite its readers giving the episode an overall “A-” grade. Already, articles have popped up championing a third season with heated debate filling the comments section— the excuses range from the Nielson ratings system is archaic (we hear that), to ABC’s website is problematic for those who don’t have cable, forcing viewers to turn to unofficial streaming sites (fair enough), to Dish Network subscribers don’t get ABC (is Dish Network the be-all-and-end-all for TV viewers? Can it make or break a show?)— and despite the fact that Agent Carter has never been a ratings all-star, audience reception has been (for the most part) overwhelmingly positive. But if rumours of cancellation are enough to prompt hundreds of fans to come out of the woodwork— hundreds who, when combined, could impact those ratings. There’s even an article about how to make unsuspecting viewers watch Agent Carter on the down-low) fans of the show are doing their best to endorse it. Why is it consistently doing badly in the ratings?
Maybe this period piece is (strangely) ahead of its time. Lots of great shows with interesting characters and ideas have gotten the axe despite being incredibly watchable— Tru Calling, The Secret Circle, Lie To Me, Red Band Society, etc.— or maybe it’s just not meant for TV. Not in the traditional sense, anyway.
Let me be clear: I am not advocating for Agent Carter‘s return because third-wave feminism dictates I should. I’m not doing it because I’m tired of seeing heterosexual, cis-gendered white dudes all over my screen. I’m not even doing it to complain that mainstream television is a pile of tripe that only the most brainwashed of sheeple could enjoy, which somehow means that my tastes are superior to society’s at large (spoiler alert: they’re not).
I want to see Agent Carter renewed because it’s funny and smart with an all-star cast. But I also (and maybe this is my inner optimist reaching. I rarely let it out, as it’s so often proven wrong) think that the third season and all its potential will see the light of day. Peggy Carter will live to fight again. And I don’t think low ratings will stand in the way of an obviously quality (if under-appreciated and under-viewed) television property.
That said, if ratings are the issue people are fussing over: maybe (as Maureen Ryan pointed out in her article, linked above) it’s not the right fit for cable TV and would reach a wider audience on a streaming service like Netflix, or maybe Marvel needs to get its television properties onto a subscription-based app, much like Marvel Unlimited (disclaimer: I use Comixology to get a little bit of everything, but the die-hard Marvel fanatics in my life have assured me that Unlimited is worth the price). I’m not going to lie: I’ve often wondered what sort of show Agent Carter could become if it were made into a Netflix property. Given how wonderful Jessica Jones turned out to be, I really do believe they could work magic with any given series, even one that struggles to find a sizeable audience.
The show has so much more to do before it makes its exit, and Peggy has so much room to grow and change and inspire those around her to do the same.
On the off chance that it does get cancelled— at least we had it for two seasons. At least Atwell brought everything she had to the table and made Peggy a heroine worth fighting for. At least Peggy is more to the Marvel universe than just a woman Captain America once loved. But again, I don’t think it’s naive to hope for a third season and not worry about cancellation at this time. Agent Carter has beat the odds before, and there’s no reason that it can’t do it again.
ABC Orders More Once Upon A Time, Grey’s Anatomy and 5 Other Series
ABC has rewarded seven of its current comedy and drama hits with additional episodes.
All of Wednesday’s comedies (Modern Family, The Middle, The Goldbergs and Black-ish) have received additional orders for two more episodes each. All four comedies will air 24 episodes this season.
Castle and Once Upon A Time have each received one additional episode order. Each series will have a total of 23 episodes. While, Grey’s Anatomy will receive two additional episodes bringing its Season 11 total to 24.
H/T: TVLine
ABC Gives Full Season Orders to How To Get Away With Murder and Black-ish
ABC is the first network to grant full-season orders to freshman series. Ratings hits How To Get Away With Murder and Black-ish have been picked up for full seasons.
Murder‘s freshman run was always designed to last 15 episodes, while Black-ish will run 22 episodes.
Murder debuted to 14.3 million total viewers and a 3.9 demo rating, becoming fall’s No. 1-rated new series. Black-ish debuted to 11 million / 3.3 in the 18-49 demo, making it the fall’s No. 1-rated new comedy.
H/T: TVLine
ABC Renews Mistresses; Alyssa Milano to Depart Series
ABC announced Wednesday that their steamy summer series Mistresses will return in the summer 2015 for its 3rd season. The renewal comes a month after the series’ Season 2 finale. Much like Seasons 1 and 2, Season 3 will consist of 13 episodes.
Hours after ABC renewed the series, star Alyssa Milano posted on her Twitter and Facebook pages: “Sadly, I won’t be returning to #Mistresses.” She linked to a post on her official website that gave a detailed description as to why she will not continue on with the summer series.
After two wonderful seasons in Los Angeles, the studio has decided to shoot Season 3 of Mistresses in Vancouver, Canada for financial reasons. It’s with a heavy heart that I have decided that I can’t relocate.
I have two babies under 4. Being a mother and wife comes first, and I just can not uproot my children and separate the family by moving away.
I will miss this job desperately and wish everyone the absolute best.
Mistresses‘ second season closed with Milano’s Savi about to find out that her sister was in flagrante delicto with her ex-husband on a beach. Let’s hope that Milano returns for at least an episode or two to properly finish up her character’s storyline.
H/T: TVLine
ABC’s Dancing With the Stars Announces Professional Dancers for Season 19
The professional dancer lineup for Dancing With the Stars season 19 was revealed Wednesday on ABC’s Good Morning America.
Here’s a list of the professional dancers:
⋅ Mark Ballas (two-time champ, seven-time finalist)
⋅ Cheryl Burke (two-time champ, seven-time finalist)
⋅ Whitney Carson (SYTYCD alum, entering her second cycle as a DWTS pro)
⋅ Artem Chigvintsev (Strictly Come Dancing champ, first-time DWTS pro)
⋅ Val Chmerkovskiy (Season 16 finalist, entering his seventh cycle as a pro)
⋅ Tony Dovolani (Season 15 champ)
⋅ Allison Holker (SYTYCD all-star, Emmy-nominated DWTS choreographer, first-time pro)
⋅ Derek Hough (five-time champ, Emmy-winning DWTS choreographer)
⋅ Keoikantse Motsepe (Burn the Floor tour vet, first-time DWTS pro)
⋅ Peta Murgatroyd (Season 14 champ)
⋅ Emma Slater (Burn the Floor tour/Broadway show vet, Season 17 DWTS finalist)
⋅ Karina Smirnoff (three-time finalist, Season 13 champ)
The celebrity / professional dancer pairings will be announced September 4 on GMA.
Hosted by Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews, Dancing With the Stars launches its new season Monday, September 15 at 8pm ET / 7pm CT.
H/T: TVLine
ABC 2014-2015: What’s New? What’s Cancelled? What to Expect?
Last month the major broadcast networks announced their 2014-2015 television season pickups and cancellations. Over these five days we will be breaking down for you what’s coming (and going) on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and The CW.
First up: ABC!
ABC Renews S.H.I.E.L.D., Resurrection, Castle, Revenge, Goldbergs and More
ABC formally picked up rookie series Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Resurrection and The Goldbergs as well as established hits Once Upon a Time, Castle, Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy. It also picked up new seasons of Revenge, Modern Family, The Middle, Last Man Standing and Nashville. ABC also renews the reality hits Shark Tank, The Bachelor, America’s Funniest Home Videos and Dancing With the Stars.
ABC Cancels Trophy Wife, Suburgatory, The Neighbors and More
ABC officially cancelled Trophy Wife, Mixology, The Neighbors, Suburgatory and Super Fun Night (as well as the already-dead The Assests, Back in the Game, Betrayal, Killer Women, Lucky 7, Mind Games and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.)
ABC Orders Shonda Rhimes Drama, Agent Carter, Black-ish and 6 Others to Series
ABC added nine new shows to its fall 2014-15 schedule, including Marvel’s Agent Carter and Shonda Rhimes’ legal thriller How to Get Away With Murder.
Here’s the logline/casting/pedigree info for each of the new series: (more…)
The Chupacabra Saves President Guillermo in Jimmy Kimmel Live‘s Last Scandal Spoof
Last night, Jimmy Kimmel Live! aired its final installment of its telenovela spoof of the hit ABC soapy political thriller Scandal.
The Señor B’s Jugo de Jicama sponsored Escandalo came to a dramatic (and insane) conclusion — complete with an appearance by the mysterious chupacabra! We find out who El Mole is… and the true identity of the chupacabra!
View the parts one through three AFTER THE JUMP… (more…)
Ryan Phillippe to Headline ABC’s Secrets & Lies
Ryan Phillippe is headed to the small screen.
The Cruel Intentions, 54 and I Know What You Did Last Summer star is in final negotiations to headline ABC’s drama pilot Secrets & Lies.
Based on an Australian television series, Secrets & Lies is about “a family man who finds the body of a young boy and quickly becomes the prime murder suspect. He has no choice but to try to find the real killer as his marriage, his kids, his reputation, and his sanity are all at stake.”
Phillippe got his big break in 1992 on the ABC soap One Life to Live, where he portrayed the first gay teen character on daytime television.
H/T: Entertainment Weekly