"Down the Rabbit Hole" was an above average if uneven start to an above average if uneven show, that cut off when it was starting to grow. That episode had much of the good things about 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' present in pretty much all the thirteen episodes, but also had a number of the things that the show didn't do so well that either had glimpses of improvement in a few of the later episodes (Jafar and Red Queen had moments) or were never corrected (the effects and few of the episodes had perfect story execution).
"Trust Me" is the second episode of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' and it is an improvement overall over "Down the Rabbit Hole". It has all the good things of that episode done even better, has a couple of improvements but at the same time some of the flaws of that episode are also here and in a couple in particular done worse here. "Trust Me" is a pretty decent episode and somewhere in the middle as far as the first half of the show (those from "Down the Rabbit Hole" to "Who's Alice" with "Bad Blood" the halfway point) goes but not great.
Once again, "Trust Me" is mostly well made. Especially the photography, which is never too drab or garish, and colourful costumes. The Red Queen's palace had regality and foreboding. The special effects may not be great still, but they fare better than the ones in "Down the Rabbit Hole". Silver Mist being one of the show's better visual effects. The music is atmosphere appropriate and has a charm, the opening sequence still enchants. Again, there are some very fun moments in the dialogue. The best lines again going to Knave. Did appreciate that the storytelling didn't try to do too much this time and kept the main subplot straightforward without being simplistic.
Although the flashbacks are cute, the biggest pleasure is the whole dynamic between Alice and Knave. Then again their chemistry is one of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland's' biggest selling points. "Trust Me" does progress the characters, especially Cyrus who is likeable here and better developed but wouldn't become as interesting as here until "Dirty Little Secrets". It also has a couple of surprises, namely how Cyrus got to Wonderland, and starts to put some small chess pieces into place, even if not everything in the story was as interesting or illuminating as ought. Sophie Lowe, Peter Gadiot and especially Michael Socha are still delightful.
Sadly that cannot be said for either Naveen Andrews or Emma Rigby. Andrews has a little more charisma than in "Down the Rabbit Hole" but is still bland, and the episode doesn't really do anything with Jafar or quite how he fits in. Meanwhile watching Rigby's scenery chewing was like watching an under-rehearsed pantomime. When together, it turns into a contest of who can overact to the heavens the most and unfortunately the results are more cartoonish and indigestion-inducing than fun (it doesn't even have camp value). Have actually liked both of them elsewhere, but neither were successful casting generally apart from a few episodes where they shone.
Like "Down the Rabbit Hole", some of the dialogue is cringe-worthy. Namely for Jafar and Red Queen, but other parts could have gone less on the sugar in at times the flashbacks. The story generally engages more and isn't as muddled, but there are parts that don't add much and go on for too long.
In summary, an improvement and pretty decent but a long way to go still. 7/10
"Trust Me" is the second episode of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' and it is an improvement overall over "Down the Rabbit Hole". It has all the good things of that episode done even better, has a couple of improvements but at the same time some of the flaws of that episode are also here and in a couple in particular done worse here. "Trust Me" is a pretty decent episode and somewhere in the middle as far as the first half of the show (those from "Down the Rabbit Hole" to "Who's Alice" with "Bad Blood" the halfway point) goes but not great.
Once again, "Trust Me" is mostly well made. Especially the photography, which is never too drab or garish, and colourful costumes. The Red Queen's palace had regality and foreboding. The special effects may not be great still, but they fare better than the ones in "Down the Rabbit Hole". Silver Mist being one of the show's better visual effects. The music is atmosphere appropriate and has a charm, the opening sequence still enchants. Again, there are some very fun moments in the dialogue. The best lines again going to Knave. Did appreciate that the storytelling didn't try to do too much this time and kept the main subplot straightforward without being simplistic.
Although the flashbacks are cute, the biggest pleasure is the whole dynamic between Alice and Knave. Then again their chemistry is one of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland's' biggest selling points. "Trust Me" does progress the characters, especially Cyrus who is likeable here and better developed but wouldn't become as interesting as here until "Dirty Little Secrets". It also has a couple of surprises, namely how Cyrus got to Wonderland, and starts to put some small chess pieces into place, even if not everything in the story was as interesting or illuminating as ought. Sophie Lowe, Peter Gadiot and especially Michael Socha are still delightful.
Sadly that cannot be said for either Naveen Andrews or Emma Rigby. Andrews has a little more charisma than in "Down the Rabbit Hole" but is still bland, and the episode doesn't really do anything with Jafar or quite how he fits in. Meanwhile watching Rigby's scenery chewing was like watching an under-rehearsed pantomime. When together, it turns into a contest of who can overact to the heavens the most and unfortunately the results are more cartoonish and indigestion-inducing than fun (it doesn't even have camp value). Have actually liked both of them elsewhere, but neither were successful casting generally apart from a few episodes where they shone.
Like "Down the Rabbit Hole", some of the dialogue is cringe-worthy. Namely for Jafar and Red Queen, but other parts could have gone less on the sugar in at times the flashbacks. The story generally engages more and isn't as muddled, but there are parts that don't add much and go on for too long.
In summary, an improvement and pretty decent but a long way to go still. 7/10
