Saturday, November 23, 2013

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland - Who's Alice


While Jafar (Naveen Andrews) travels to London with the White Rabbit (John Lithgow) to find out more about Alice (Sophie Lowe) and her stay in Bethlem Asylum from Dr. Lydgate (Jonny Coyne), Alice journeys into the Dark Forest where she meets the Carpenter (John Prowse) while loosing her bearings and memory in the Boro Grove unaware that both Cyrus (Peter Gadiot) is free of Jafar's dungeon or that the Red Queen (Emma Rigby) used the hard-won magic dust to restore the Knave (Michael Socha) back to the land of the living.

"Who's Alice" also includes flashbacks to Alice's return home after the apparent death of Cyrus to her father (Shaun Smyth), new stepmother (Heather Doerksen), and stepsister (Kylie Rogers) who allow her to stay in their home only on the condition that she forgets and never mentions Wonderland again. Despite her promise to try and be happy, Alice struggles with normal life and her parents attempts to set up the still-grieving Alice with the son of a neighbor. Ultimately unable to fit in, the flashbacks reveal how Alice found herself in Bethlem Asylum under the care of Dr. Lydgate.


Although the Knave eventually catches up with Alice, he finds it hard to convince the perfectly content young woman to give up her new found bliss (even if staying in the Boro Grove means a death sentence). Eventually the Knave is able to convince Alice to leave, but to do so means forcing the young woman who has finally found the peace she's sought all her life (even if it was all a magically-induced lie) to abandon happiness and embrace the pain of her current situation.

The episode ends with a revelation of the Knave's own condition which explains why the magic of the Boro Grove was unable to effect him, given the heart Alice returned to him as a child was never put back in his chest, and with Jafar coming face-to-face with another pawn to use to try and force Alice to use her remaining wishes. It will be interesting to see if her father's arrival in Wonderland will be the burden Jafar believes it to be or a boon that will finally help Alice reconnect with her true love.

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