OUaTiW 1x02: Trust Me
Jul. 3rd, 2020 11:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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tori_reviewsOUaTiW 1x02: Trust Me
As with so many shows over the years, I feel like this really needed two episodes to get going. The first episode was an initial sketch but this begins to fill in some aspects that are quite necessary to invest in for the show to work.
I do have a plot point to make first though; I didn't remember this episode (at least not consciously) but I realized pretty early that Alice was setting a trap to see who would come for the bottle if they heard about it. And when the flashbacks gave us Cyrus talking about how you always need to know who you're fighting, the connection was even more obvious.
Although there is a bigger plot point to consider, why would they bury the bottle in the first place? I guess I kind of get it if they were going to go off adventuring in Wonderland and burying it would be safer than trying to carry it with them. But as a long term plan...would Cyrus really want to end up in the bottle underground if Alice ever made her wishes? And while I will allow that Alice probably knows more about how this magic works than I do, why wouldn't she have maybe tried this sort of plan when Cyrus first 'died'? Dig up the bottle, make some wishes, and see if he shows up; I'm a little surprised she ever assumed he was that mortal anyway. Granted we don't know how she made it home after that happened (or why the Queen didn't kill her then) so maybe it wasn't a real option, but I'm raising the question.
This episode, more than the pilot, reminds me why for a while (when I cared about this verse at all) I counted Alice/Cyrus as my main ship in the OUaT-verse . They're very cute together and I enjoy their scenes together. Them apart might get a bit much as they keep going on about the power the love that connects them, but that's kind of normal in this verse so in terms of ranking OUaT ships it can't be a big complaint. And at least I believe they like each other which was more than I could say for a lot of the ships in this verse.
But I think there is also something to be said for why this ship appeals to me specifically; I actually considered that even in the first ep, but I'm not quite sure yet what that thing it could say is.
I remember at the time there was a decent contingent of people who wanted Alice/Will, but I never understood that. Admittedly there could be stuff further in that I'll grudgingly admit could be read that way, but this show sold me on Alice/Cyrus early, while making Alice and Will seem like siblings that I'm not actually sure like each other. So all around, this was never a case where I was tempted to go against canon shipping (at least with them, I don't remember having very strong feelings about the other major ship).
I know I'm talking a lot about shipping ideas in this review, but that's kind of my point in what this episode does a better job with than the pilot. The pilot introduced us to the situation and had a lot of ground to cover setting up the different aspects of the plot in one episode, while this accomplished very little in terms of plot but gave us a better feel for the characters we'll watch going through it.
Part of me wonders if it would be more tense if we were really with Alice rather than seeing Cyrus until after we know he's alive and still loves Alice. I'm not quite sure it would have worked, as I don't have the ability to look into alternate dimensions where shows were structured differently, but it could have worked I think.
Because this episode also gives us a reason to have Will be a modern day guy, and someone who can be cynical. Not that there weren't cynics before the modern day, but at least a little cynicism is pretty common in today's world; be it about people or relationships or just knowing Murphy's Lay. He can also make modern day references that Alice being a Victorian girl couldn't.
And you know, I think that may answer some of my confusion about fan reaction. I can see where there might be a split in who you identify with and relate to better; the modern cynic or the romantic idealist. And I find Alice a lot more relatable than Will; but it's kind of a Doctor Who companion thing if it's easier for you to project onto Will or more caught up in Alice's starry-eyed dreams. If you want Alice to succeed and get her man and live happily ever after, you'll probably lean towards Alice/Cyrus; but if you think Alice needs to grow up and live in the real world (which is sort of an odd thing to say about a show taking place in Wonderland) you may want a more 'realistic' take that she has to let go off the overly romantic idea of Cyrus.
I think the acting was generally better in this episode, except for the Queen, and I kind of remember having that reaction to her before. There's definitely stuff you could analyze about her moves here, possibly even more now than you likely would have done a few years ago, but I'm pretty distracted by the rough acting and the convenience of the plot. So the rabbit told her both the real story and the fake one Alice was putting out there? Then the Queen (yes I know she's Ana, I'll stick with Queen as long as that's the most center to her self-concept) has the presence of mind to pass of the specific false information to Jafar? Sure part of the point is not to underestimate her, but I don't find the pieces fitting together very well. Also, is Wonderland super small considering how easily everyone walks around? The rabbit has portals, but it hasn't been established if those are just for between worlds or also work on the same world, in which case that's pretty useful power for whoever's side he's on.
To start off I noted the pretty obvious set-up for this episodes plot development, but I do want to give them some credit for seeding in that I'm pretty sure Will if heartless. If you didn't know that was a possibility from OUaT your mind probably wouldn't go there, but even not remembering for sure if he is, there's been just enough laid down to suggest without putting a spotlight on it yet.
As with so many shows over the years, I feel like this really needed two episodes to get going. The first episode was an initial sketch but this begins to fill in some aspects that are quite necessary to invest in for the show to work.
I do have a plot point to make first though; I didn't remember this episode (at least not consciously) but I realized pretty early that Alice was setting a trap to see who would come for the bottle if they heard about it. And when the flashbacks gave us Cyrus talking about how you always need to know who you're fighting, the connection was even more obvious.
Although there is a bigger plot point to consider, why would they bury the bottle in the first place? I guess I kind of get it if they were going to go off adventuring in Wonderland and burying it would be safer than trying to carry it with them. But as a long term plan...would Cyrus really want to end up in the bottle underground if Alice ever made her wishes? And while I will allow that Alice probably knows more about how this magic works than I do, why wouldn't she have maybe tried this sort of plan when Cyrus first 'died'? Dig up the bottle, make some wishes, and see if he shows up; I'm a little surprised she ever assumed he was that mortal anyway. Granted we don't know how she made it home after that happened (or why the Queen didn't kill her then) so maybe it wasn't a real option, but I'm raising the question.
This episode, more than the pilot, reminds me why for a while (when I cared about this verse at all) I counted Alice/Cyrus as my main ship in the OUaT-verse . They're very cute together and I enjoy their scenes together. Them apart might get a bit much as they keep going on about the power the love that connects them, but that's kind of normal in this verse so in terms of ranking OUaT ships it can't be a big complaint. And at least I believe they like each other which was more than I could say for a lot of the ships in this verse.
But I think there is also something to be said for why this ship appeals to me specifically; I actually considered that even in the first ep, but I'm not quite sure yet what that thing it could say is.
I remember at the time there was a decent contingent of people who wanted Alice/Will, but I never understood that. Admittedly there could be stuff further in that I'll grudgingly admit could be read that way, but this show sold me on Alice/Cyrus early, while making Alice and Will seem like siblings that I'm not actually sure like each other. So all around, this was never a case where I was tempted to go against canon shipping (at least with them, I don't remember having very strong feelings about the other major ship).
I know I'm talking a lot about shipping ideas in this review, but that's kind of my point in what this episode does a better job with than the pilot. The pilot introduced us to the situation and had a lot of ground to cover setting up the different aspects of the plot in one episode, while this accomplished very little in terms of plot but gave us a better feel for the characters we'll watch going through it.
Part of me wonders if it would be more tense if we were really with Alice rather than seeing Cyrus until after we know he's alive and still loves Alice. I'm not quite sure it would have worked, as I don't have the ability to look into alternate dimensions where shows were structured differently, but it could have worked I think.
Because this episode also gives us a reason to have Will be a modern day guy, and someone who can be cynical. Not that there weren't cynics before the modern day, but at least a little cynicism is pretty common in today's world; be it about people or relationships or just knowing Murphy's Lay. He can also make modern day references that Alice being a Victorian girl couldn't.
And you know, I think that may answer some of my confusion about fan reaction. I can see where there might be a split in who you identify with and relate to better; the modern cynic or the romantic idealist. And I find Alice a lot more relatable than Will; but it's kind of a Doctor Who companion thing if it's easier for you to project onto Will or more caught up in Alice's starry-eyed dreams. If you want Alice to succeed and get her man and live happily ever after, you'll probably lean towards Alice/Cyrus; but if you think Alice needs to grow up and live in the real world (which is sort of an odd thing to say about a show taking place in Wonderland) you may want a more 'realistic' take that she has to let go off the overly romantic idea of Cyrus.
I think the acting was generally better in this episode, except for the Queen, and I kind of remember having that reaction to her before. There's definitely stuff you could analyze about her moves here, possibly even more now than you likely would have done a few years ago, but I'm pretty distracted by the rough acting and the convenience of the plot. So the rabbit told her both the real story and the fake one Alice was putting out there? Then the Queen (yes I know she's Ana, I'll stick with Queen as long as that's the most center to her self-concept) has the presence of mind to pass of the specific false information to Jafar? Sure part of the point is not to underestimate her, but I don't find the pieces fitting together very well. Also, is Wonderland super small considering how easily everyone walks around? The rabbit has portals, but it hasn't been established if those are just for between worlds or also work on the same world, in which case that's pretty useful power for whoever's side he's on.
To start off I noted the pretty obvious set-up for this episodes plot development, but I do want to give them some credit for seeding in that I'm pretty sure Will if heartless. If you didn't know that was a possibility from OUaT your mind probably wouldn't go there, but even not remembering for sure if he is, there's been just enough laid down to suggest without putting a spotlight on it yet.
