Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, S1 Ep5

Now we’ve been clued in! Each of the main characters has had a flashback episode all to themselves, and it just so happened to be Anastasia’s turn this week. I have to say I was most excited to view her history in particular, since she seems to be the most mysterious character of the lot. In comparison to Jafar’s motives (which appear to be quite clear), Anastasia is a bit more enigmatic in her aims. “Heart of Stone” sat particularly well with me because it was balanced. The episode didn’t become solely about the Red Queen. Important things were happening for most of the characters in the series. They were not set aside to make way for Anastasia’s past, but rather intertwined gracefully with the flow of the story. All players were off the sidelines and on the field. Even the White Rabbit played a pivotal role.

Speaking of our furry double agent, Jafar is a twisted, sick man. At first, I was all, Holy crap! He smacked him with the staff! That’s not okay! And then I realized, HOLY CRAP! HE CUT HIS FOOT OFF! THAT’S REALLY NOT OKAY! Seriously, man! What is your deal? You have daddy issues, but that doesn’t give you the right to be cuttin’ off feet. You’re just a big ball of malicious misdeeds. The second we think you’re as bad as you possibly can be, you get worse. I am fearful of what you’ll think of next (which will involve someone Alice cares about). However, I am eager to discover the identity of said loved one. I have a hunch, but it could be anyone. The good thing we took away from the White Rabbit’s whole foot ordeal was that even though he blabbed, he’s still a good guy. He kept his mouth shut and let Cyrus escape. Well done, sir.

“There is someone, but they’re not in Wonderland.” ~ White Rabbit

Alice once again proves that she is the ultimate, steadfast heroine. She literally walks out into the middle of a ravine because of her faith in true love. That’s what dedication looks like, people. Not only does she risk her life, but she passes the magic dust test with flying colors! That was trippy, man. I mean, I was waiting for tiny, past Alice to get all creepy/homicidal on us. They definitely could have gone in that direction, but instead they decided to give her the ability to shake mountains, which was AWESOME. Talk about a temper tantrum! I’ve done some temperamental stomping in my day, but never quite to that effect. It sent Anastasia tumbling down, that’s for sure. You know, even though her plan was to screw over Alice the entire time, at least she had the living daylights scared out of her in the process. Let’s be real. She deserved it. Kudos to Alice for secretly snagging some of the dust! She may be the smartest cookie in Wonderland. Really, is there anything she can’t do? I hope not, because it’s only going to get more treacherous from here.

“There’s a darkness there.” ~ Alice

“There’s a darkness everywhere when the Sun goes down.” ~ Anastasia

The sad story of Anastasia has me feeling less sorry for her, and I say it’s sad because she clearly isn’t wholly happy with where she is now (if happy at all). She exchanged true love for the power of the throne, and a love of power is quite different from true love. Admittedly, you can’t help but feel at least a little sympathetic towards her current state of affairs. The possibility of her still having romantic feelings towards Will is very real, and her actions to help him are more than apologetic. There’s an unspoken element in there. Perhaps a hint of caring? If Will had woken up from his statuesque slumber just a tad earlier, maybe he would have seen a flash of her garment rounding the hedge. Alas, he did not. So, we wait and see what happens. I know, it’s killing me too. At the very least, we know Anastasia is putting forth a genuine effort to make amends, even if she doesn’t want Will to know about it. She’s complicated. As an audience, we like complicated. It keeps things interesting. Let’s just be happy she didn’t go groveling back to her old home.

“Heart of Stone” completes the background check for the main members of the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland family. They’re all coming from vastly different places, but the information provided about them will be crucial for the future if we are to understand the choices they make. I sense there is much more to learn about Alice, and the next episode (entitled “Who’s Alice?”) will reveal some unknown aspects of our heroine. I solemnly swear that I am looking forward to it.