Despite not being wowed by the previous two 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' episodes "Down the Rabbit Hole" and "Trust Me" (while far from disliking them), there was enough to them to make me want to continue watching the show. Especially considering that its parent show, at this stage in the first half of its third season, was at its peak and in one of its best seasons. There was the intrigue to see how Robin Hood would fit in in this Wonderland world.
"Forget Me Not" is another episode worth the look, but for me it still wasn't a must see with the show still being in relative infancy and not yet settled (it never got the chance to fully do so). It is a step down from "Trust Me" and on par with the first episode, with a lot to recommend and it was great to see a familiar 'Once Upon a Time' character back. Yet "Forget Me Not" still struck me as a very uneven episode and one of the weaker ones, some great ideas not fully explored.
Will start with what "Forget Me Not" does well, which again is a lot. It is beautifully and atmospherically photographed and the Wonderland settings do have a sense of wonder, the Robin Hood parts remind me fondly of the production values of 'Once Upon a Time'. The music is atmosphere appropriate and has a charm, the opening sequence still enchants. Still love the witty interplay between Alice and Knave, Knave again having the best lines. Especially his hilarious response to Alice's reading aloud his wanted poster.
Even if there is a lot of introducing us to new characters and ideas, it does advance things too. Namely a big reveal concerning the true identity of Knave's love and how and why she did what she does that did leave me reeling first time, was not expecting it. Enough of the story does intrigue and is lifted by the character chemistry and the Robin Hood scenes. Robin's a nice character with charisma and swagger. Sophie Lowe, Sean Maguire and Michael Socha are all strong.
Against all that, to me the villainy was still bland and cartoonish. Emma Rigby is better than in the previous two episodes and doesn't overplay as much, but she still doesn't bring much nuance to the role and her feelings seemed all over the place. The special effects are a long way from special, the Caterpillar (with Iggy Pop being an odd choice) is cheap looking but it's the truly amateur hour quality for the Bandersnatch that fares worse.
Tonally and narratively, "Forget Me Not" is on the messy side. Certainly having its moments, but seemed unsure as to whether to take it seriously (i.e. the soap opera writing that is Knave and Anastasia's subplot) or camp it up and is instead a very uneasy mix of both. To me, this is one of the biggest examples of the show of an episode that story-wise has too much going on. It was like two or three episodes in one, and a longer length was needed to do more with the content. The writing has moments but also has weak parts.
Overall, not bad at all but didn't entirely work. 6/10
"Forget Me Not" is another episode worth the look, but for me it still wasn't a must see with the show still being in relative infancy and not yet settled (it never got the chance to fully do so). It is a step down from "Trust Me" and on par with the first episode, with a lot to recommend and it was great to see a familiar 'Once Upon a Time' character back. Yet "Forget Me Not" still struck me as a very uneven episode and one of the weaker ones, some great ideas not fully explored.
Will start with what "Forget Me Not" does well, which again is a lot. It is beautifully and atmospherically photographed and the Wonderland settings do have a sense of wonder, the Robin Hood parts remind me fondly of the production values of 'Once Upon a Time'. The music is atmosphere appropriate and has a charm, the opening sequence still enchants. Still love the witty interplay between Alice and Knave, Knave again having the best lines. Especially his hilarious response to Alice's reading aloud his wanted poster.
Even if there is a lot of introducing us to new characters and ideas, it does advance things too. Namely a big reveal concerning the true identity of Knave's love and how and why she did what she does that did leave me reeling first time, was not expecting it. Enough of the story does intrigue and is lifted by the character chemistry and the Robin Hood scenes. Robin's a nice character with charisma and swagger. Sophie Lowe, Sean Maguire and Michael Socha are all strong.
Against all that, to me the villainy was still bland and cartoonish. Emma Rigby is better than in the previous two episodes and doesn't overplay as much, but she still doesn't bring much nuance to the role and her feelings seemed all over the place. The special effects are a long way from special, the Caterpillar (with Iggy Pop being an odd choice) is cheap looking but it's the truly amateur hour quality for the Bandersnatch that fares worse.
Tonally and narratively, "Forget Me Not" is on the messy side. Certainly having its moments, but seemed unsure as to whether to take it seriously (i.e. the soap opera writing that is Knave and Anastasia's subplot) or camp it up and is instead a very uneasy mix of both. To me, this is one of the biggest examples of the show of an episode that story-wise has too much going on. It was like two or three episodes in one, and a longer length was needed to do more with the content. The writing has moments but also has weak parts.
Overall, not bad at all but didn't entirely work. 6/10
