Before watching "The Serpent" and after watching the previous three episodes, part of me at first was not expecting much from it. Seeing as it was going to be centered heavily around Jafar, a character that didn't do much for me in the previous episodes and generally was a weak link in 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' in general. What got me seeing the episode anyway was that there were some very interesting ideas on paper and because the previous episodes had enough that held my interest.
Imagine my surprise seeing that "The Serpent" turned out to be one of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland's' biggest surprises. Was somewhat expecting it to be one of the weaker episodes, but actually it turned out to be one of the top 5 ones and the improvement seen with Jafar was immense. Is "The Serpent" a perfect episode? No (none of the show's episodes are, even the best), a couple of things hold it back from being that. It is still very good and by far the best of the four episodes up to this early point of the show.
The special effects are still though very ropey, looking under-budgeted and downright cheap with some over-obvious overuse of sloppy green screen.
Emma Rigby lacks menace to be believable as the type of character she plays and lacks subtlety also to be a more conflicted character, pretty much all her emotions feel forced and sudden.
On the other hand, Naveen Andrews' acting vastly improves here and this is a contender for the episode to contain his best acting for the show. There is a lot more charisma here and he has the menace and nuance here that was lacking in the previous three episodes. Jafar's backstory actually fascinates and adds a lot to his character and motivations, he also poses more of a threat which helped give the conflict the tension that it didn't have before. Loved too the development to Knave, still at this point a contender for my favourite 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' character, and to see more depth to his story and dynamic with the Red Queen.
Alice is at her most daring and most resourceful up to this point of the show, which was great to see, as was her interacting with characters other than Knave to equal effect (i.e. Lizard). The writing is witty and thoughtful, as well as more tonally balanced than for example "Forget Me Not's" writing. The entertainment value is all intentional and it's fun, while because there is more at stake and one sees a not as sassy side to Knave one can take it more seriously at the same time. Other than the effects "The Serpent" looks good and it's well scored. Sophie Lowe and Michael Socha have lost none of their spark.
Concluding, very good and one of the best episodes of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'. 8/10
Imagine my surprise seeing that "The Serpent" turned out to be one of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland's' biggest surprises. Was somewhat expecting it to be one of the weaker episodes, but actually it turned out to be one of the top 5 ones and the improvement seen with Jafar was immense. Is "The Serpent" a perfect episode? No (none of the show's episodes are, even the best), a couple of things hold it back from being that. It is still very good and by far the best of the four episodes up to this early point of the show.
The special effects are still though very ropey, looking under-budgeted and downright cheap with some over-obvious overuse of sloppy green screen.
Emma Rigby lacks menace to be believable as the type of character she plays and lacks subtlety also to be a more conflicted character, pretty much all her emotions feel forced and sudden.
On the other hand, Naveen Andrews' acting vastly improves here and this is a contender for the episode to contain his best acting for the show. There is a lot more charisma here and he has the menace and nuance here that was lacking in the previous three episodes. Jafar's backstory actually fascinates and adds a lot to his character and motivations, he also poses more of a threat which helped give the conflict the tension that it didn't have before. Loved too the development to Knave, still at this point a contender for my favourite 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' character, and to see more depth to his story and dynamic with the Red Queen.
Alice is at her most daring and most resourceful up to this point of the show, which was great to see, as was her interacting with characters other than Knave to equal effect (i.e. Lizard). The writing is witty and thoughtful, as well as more tonally balanced than for example "Forget Me Not's" writing. The entertainment value is all intentional and it's fun, while because there is more at stake and one sees a not as sassy side to Knave one can take it more seriously at the same time. Other than the effects "The Serpent" looks good and it's well scored. Sophie Lowe and Michael Socha have lost none of their spark.
Concluding, very good and one of the best episodes of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'. 8/10
