Once Upon A Time "Hat Trick" Review

I never really cared for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Disney animated adaptation is the best adaptation of the stories, even though it inspired 11 year old me to note the similarities between a drug trip and the story. I don't really like Once Upon A Time as a whole. The thought of the two stories meshing tonight filled me with dread. Luckily, I literally thought of the worst case scenario for "Hat Trick." The actual product isn't as irritating as the alternate version I created in my head. The ABC promo department is to blame for my feelings of dread. The trailer made this episode seem unwatchable, and each subsequent viewing of the trailer was worse. "Hat Trick" is the origin story of the Mad Hatter rather than an actual adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Without a doubt, though, OUAT's adaptation will happen. Kitsis and Horowitz were more interested in how the Mad Hatter ended up in Wonderland, as well as in how he became the Mad hatter.

The story of Jefferson aka The Mad Hatter begins, predictably, with a hat. Actually, the story begins with a visit from the queen. Jefferson runs through the fairy tale forest like a dude who just committed a significant crime; however, Jefferson is merely playing a game of hide-and-seek with his daughter, Grace. A brief bit of exposition tells us that Jefferson's previous line of work resulted in the death of Grace's mother, which motivated him to turn his back on that line of work. The queen is a woman who gets what she wants through immoral methods. She promises Jefferson a life of wealth for him and his daughter should he do what she wants. Jefferson is reluctant because he wishes not to be separated from his daughter. Unfortunately, Jefferson cannot deal with his low existence. At the market square, he's ashamed when he can't buy a stuffed white rabbit for Grace. Grace continually tells her father that material items don't matter to her as much as he does. But Jefferson is a weak man. He takes the job in hopes of providing a better life for his daughter without realizing the choice will deprive him of her.

The queen is a deceptive bitch; this quality of the character isn't new. The trip into Wonderland is absolutely ridiculous. I'd feel like a broken record if I devote several sentences to the ridiculous quality of the trip into Wonderland. I mean, it's not much different from what we've seen in other episodes. Jefferson spins the hat, creates a vortex, or tunnel into another world, and he and the queen jump through into Wonderland. The journey through Wonderland is tame. Jefferson's sulky and miserable because he wants to be home. The queen uses her magic to easily get through the challenges of Wonderland. The item she seeks is a box; she gathers a seed from a plant, drops it into the box, and then her father appears out of a purple smoke. The short back story is: the queen of hearts kept her father in Wonderland for some sort of leverage, and the queen took the leverage back. In the process, she screwed Jefferson over. 3 people can't leave Wonderland when 2 people enter. The queen of hearts' army captures Jefferson and informs him that he can leave Wonderland when he creates a new hate--a process which will eventually drive him mad.

The modern Jefferson, the Storybrooke version, isn't mad at all, but, rather, aware and completely in possession of both sets of memories. He kidnapped Emma under the belief she possesses magic to make a new hat that can let him go home and be with his daughter again. Jefferson watches the citizens of Storybrooke through a microscope, unable to leave the house, because it is his curse to remember everything and be torn between both worlds. I liked how the story finally brought Emma to a place where she needed to actually consider the possibility of magic in Storybrooke; that the stories in Henry's book were real; that everything Henry theorized is right. Emma wouldn't be able to act without some belief in the nonsense her son believes in, especially when Mr. Gold and Regina are in cohorts together. Emma-the-Skeptic hasn't been interesting. It's like the series forgot to emphasize her skepticism. The scenes between her and Jefferson were all about the importance of her belief, about how folk want a magical solution to problems but insist on not believing in magic. At most, Emma's been a passing skeptic depending on the episode. In the end, I suppose the arc tracked, but it was sloppy.

Once Upon a Time continues to tell the same basic story with all of its characters. Sometimes a character is separated from a lover; sometimes a character is separated from his or her child. The audience's sympathy for Jefferson stems from his relationship with his daughter. We saw the basics of their relationship: all they have is each other; they play games, and share fake tea. It's okay for an 8PM family show. It's too simple and boring for me though, and that's entirely subjective and a matter of personal taste. This episode just added another reason for the audience to root for the curse to lift; it made Regina into a more of a bitch; it showed Mary's resolve and more of Emma's commitment to her mother.

I'm sure the origins of the Mad Hatter delighted the more ardent fans of OUAT. I'm curious about the root of his madness. I wonder if the writers will keep the mercury root; but, what if Wonderland doesn't have mercury? Of course, Lewis Carroll didn't explicity say the Mad Hatter's mad because of mercury in the story. If Jefferson's just mad from the process of making hat after hat after hat with no result, he could become a quasi-Sisyphus, an absurd hero who overcomes the evil queen by his resolve to make the hats even if it's inevitably fruitless. But this is an 8PM family drama on ABC, so that will never happen.

Other Thoughts:

-I hope we never see the caterpillar again. If we do, let's hope more money is spent in the effects department. I know we'll have more adventures in Wonderland because of Alice's adventures there. Also, there's the mystery of the queen of hearts identity to consider.

-Regina's and Mr. Gold's best laid plans went awry when Mary returned to her cell. Blah.

-The best Alice in Wonderland is actually that nonsense early morning Disney half-hour series that aired years ago.

-Vladimir Svetko and David H. Goodman were the credited writers. Ralph Hemecker directed it.

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