By Richard Hatem
**SPOILERS!**
If you haven't seen the episode please do so before continuing!
Whee! An episode providing the back-story for my favorite character!
We begin in the place I didn't think I would be seeing in this series: the Enchanted Forest! It's a bit like going home, really... seeing familiar faces (though I'm fairly certain Robin Hood was only a recent addition for the "in Neverland" portion... because why have Rumplestiltskin's son return with Mulan to the castle where his father played the Beast and imprisoned Belle to find a portal to rescue Princess Aurora and Snow White--without everyone's favorite outlaw?) and feeling as though we know what's going in other places not shown, because we're so familiar with the timeline.
Sure enough, Robin and his men pull off a heist, stealing from a random rich man for the benefit of the poor, oppressed towns under the Evil Queen's rule. We find out that it was Will Scarlet who organized the ruse, as a way of proving himself capable of joining the Merry Men. Will throws back his hood--and it's none other than our plucky Knave of Hearts.
In the present, Alice and the Knave (hereafter referred to as Will) are walking down the yellow-red-brick-road after the dismal revelations of the previous episode, where they discovered an empty hole where Cyrus' bottle should have been. It just so happens that this path is positively peppered with "Wanted" posters featuring the Knave/Will... and I have to say, it's a fairly decent likeness. (Side note: maybe if the artists making the Flynn Rider posters for the kingdom on Tangled should have gotten drawing lessons from these guys... then perhaps they would have gotten the nose right!)Alice and Will can't possibly think of who might have known where the bottle was buried and thus dug it up before they got there--so how are they supposed to find it? Will knows about this thing called the Forget-Me-Knot (they have such clever names for things in Wonderland!) that shows the last thing to happen at a place when you look through it. It would enable them to see the thief digging up the bottle.
There's just one problem....
Turns out the Caterpillar holds the Knot... and he's the one who put a bounty on Will's head. Alice and Will must pay him a visit (in the Underland of Wonderland--which Alice just happens to describe as "bigger on the inside"..... and the instant she says it, I start thinking... now Who does that remind me of??
When they get there, lo and behold, the Caterpillar doesn't have the Knot. It was never very clear if he ever had it at all... but he knows where it is. Will tries to negotiate another deal: he goes and retrieves the Knot, and the Caterpillar calls off the bounty hunters. The Caterpillar agrees, stating that there are fates worse than death if he fails--which is only a perfect segue into the the worst computer graphics of the whole episode, consisting of this guy just screaming for a good ten seconds straight.But in all this hullabaloo over Alice and Will, we've neglected Cyrus. Remember the message Alice sent him at the end of the last episode? Unfortunately, Jafar had intercepted the note, and so he and the Queen are teasing their prisoner about it. He and the Queen banter back and forth, trying to decide the monster they will send to "fetch" Alice. The Queen has a book of monsters, and she suggests a few (one of note is the Sarlacc... really?? She has one of those?? I never knew that "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" fell within the realm of "Once upon a time".... I guess anything really can happen in Wonderland...) before they decide on the suitably-Wonderlandish Bandersnatch.
But then, of course, it's time for another flashback. Will Scarlet has made inroads with the Merry Men, and works to convince Robin Hood that it would be a good idea to steal from Maleficent's castle. Robin initially refuses, maintaining that they "aren't thieves" because they don't steal "for themselves." They have a "higher cause"--which of course, Will doesn't really believe in. He has another motive for wanting to sneak into this castle: he's after Maleficent's Looking-Glass, which is rumored to be able to take him and his girlfriend Anastasia to a place far away from the Enchanted Forest. Robin warns him that "If you steal for personal gain the first thing you lose is yourself." Will doesn't heed the warning.... and of course we now know at least where he ended up because he wouldn't listen.
Meanwhile, Alice and Will are headed to the house of the monster who has the Forget-Me-Knot: the hideous Grendel. On the way there, Will poses the question to Alice: what if it did become possible for her and Cyrus to be together forever--but at the cost of causing many people to suffer? Alice can't answer that question; she remains fixated on securing her happiness... Which will fashion an important conflict later on.Will attempts to teach Alice a few tips on thievery ("It's about poise. Always think two steps ahead of your mark") before they promptly fall into a pit trap dug by the Grendel for unsuspecting passersby. So much for that advice...
Will and Alice are now trussed up and waiting in the Grendel's kitchen. The knots are too tight for them to slip out, so Will immediately suggests using a wish, but Alice is too clever for that.
They overhear the Grendel apparently talking to himself--but no, he's watching a touching scene play out on the Forget-Me-Knot. Alice immediately assumes that the monster had done something terrible to the loving couple who were the last occupants of the home, but Will knows better. He realizes that there might be a way to get the Grendel to give up the Knot after all.
He starts trying to reason with the Grendel, guessing correctly that the Grendel used to be the handsome man depicted in the Knot, talking about how the best cure for heartache is not to keep remembering the painful past, but to let it all go, leave it all behind him, and move on. No dice; it looks like Alice and Will are going to be served up for dinner after all.
As soon as the Grendel leaves the room, Alice works free of her bonds. Turns out the little gemstone "wishes" were pretty handy at cutting through the ropes. So though she did "use" them... she still has all three. They hesitate before just running out, because Will is desperate for the knot, but as soon as they decide to just open the door--The Bandersnatch arrives. The Grendel comes charging in to defend his home, but the Bandersnatch just tosses him aside. Alice, being the clever girl she is, figures out a way to create a diversion. The Bandersnatch comes charging in, and, through the Forget-Me-Knot, sees Alice and Will apparently cowering behind the table. It charges--
And Alice and the Knave, who were in reality waiting in the far corner, use the Knot like a noose and strangle the Bandersnatch, which explodes in a cloud of ash.
Back in Jafar's dungeon, the Queen celebrates the death of the Bandersnatch, because she assumes it means Alice has surely used her wish, but Jafar knows otherwise. What neither of them know is that Cyrus had already told her how to defeat the Bandersnatch, so it was never going to be an issue.
Meanwhile, Alice and Will earn the Grendel's gratitude, and since the vision of his dead wife is no longer in the Knot, he gives it to them.
Alice and Will return to the meadow with the empty hole and peek through it to discover what the viewers already know from the last episode: The White Rabbit dug it up, and gave it to the Red Queen.I find Alice's shock at this revelation to be a tad unreasonable. How on earth can she be so clever at getting out of tough situations and out-foxing the Caterpillar, for goodness' sake--and yet be silly enough to buy into the Rabbit's ruse? I mean, even I wasn't convinced by all his hemming and hawing and hastily-concocted hogwash. Will is suitably nonplussed about it--and yet the sight of the Red Queen gives him pause.
Back at the Grendel's house, the Queen and Jafar arrive and learn that Alice is traveling with someone called the Knave. Cue a similar reaction from the Queen--which Jafar notices. They kill the Grendel for his pains, and depart.
En route to the Caterpillar's "Underland", Will recalls what he learned about thievery, and decides that he doesn't want to be a thief. His conclusion reflects a very narrow application: "If I bring this Knot back to the Caterpillar, then I stole it for myself, and it makes me a thief. If I don't bring it back, then I took it for your sake, Alice, and that makes me a person with some humanity left." Say what now? Oh well... They decide that no one should have the Forget-Me-Knot, and they burn it.
Meanwhile, the Caterpillar is waiting for the Knave's return, and who should show up but Jafar. He is very interested in this Knave of Hearts, and wants to learn everything about him--
Namely, that Anastasia is, in fact, the woman currently known as the Red Queen. SAY WHAAAAT??
FINAL SCORE: I am of the opinion that the Knave is the strongest character of the bunch--and this episode proves my point. Focusing on the Knave just amps up the level of all the characters involved. (Interesting note: I'm pretty sure this is also the first episode where Cyrus doesn't say much... does that prove anything?)
The banter was spectacular in this episode--especially with the inclusion of the Merry Men. My favorite exchange:
(SCENE: Displaying a chest full of gold from a recent haul)
Merry Man #1: Have you ever seen anything so beautiful in your entire life?
Will: A chest full of gold cannot compare to the love of a beautiful woman.
Merry Man #2: Depends on the woman.
Merry Man #1: Depends on the chest!
The exchanges between Alice and Will were as quippy as ever. ("The best way to catch a thief is to bring someone who thinks like one." "I think there was a compliment in there somewhere!") It was wonderful. As far as graphics go, there was a lot more real props and stunts, and the most (and worst) CGI in the episode were the shrieking head and the Caterpillar, which didn't appear too much. The conflict, I felt, was better suited for moving the story forward and actually pitting characters against each other, bringing the total to a solid 9/10. Best episode since the pilot. (Yes, I admit I might be biased... so what?)
Heroes—5/5
Villains—5/5
Banter—5/5
Graphics/VFX—4/5
Conflict/Resolution—4/5
OVERALL: 9/10
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