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"The Serpent" is the fourth episode of ABC's Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. It was written by Jan Nash and directed by Ralph Hemecker. It premiered on November 7, 2013.
Synopsis
When the Knave’s life is in danger, Alice has to make the tough decision on whether to use one of her three precious wishes and what that would mean for her and Cyrus. Her new friendship with Lizard reveals some of the Knave's backstory and Cyrus plots to escape. Meanwhile, Jafar’s plan to kill the Knave puts the Red Queen in a difficult position as she grapples with her feelings for him and her desire to get what she wants. In flashback, we explore Jafar's origins and find out what he truly wants from Cyrus.[2]
Recap
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Deleted Scenes
A scene or segment with Jafar's Servant was deleted from the episode. However, the actor is still listed in the episode's press release.[2]
Cast[2]
Starring
Guest Starring
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Co-Starring
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Trivia
Title
- The title card features a serpent.[3]
Production Notes
- REUSED ACTOR: Cedric De Souza, who plays Akil, also plays the Sultan in the Once Upon a Time episodes "Street Rats" and "A Wondrous Place."
- REUSED FOOTAGE: The establishing shot of Agrabah[4] is stock footage from "Trust Me."[5] The same shot is reused in "Dirty Little Secrets."[6]
- HIDDEN DETAILS: When the Red Queen instructs Tweedledee and Tweedledum to leave, Tweedledum and Jafar share a look;[7] a subtle clue to their partnership.
- HIDDEN DETAILS: During Jafar's visit to the Red Queen's palace in "Trust Me," the vase of roses sitting in the Red Queen's throne room is full.[8] By the time the Red Queen imprisons Will Scarlet in this episode, the roses have dwindled in size.[9]
Event Chronology
- The Agrabah flashbacks take place after "Bad Blood," and before "Trust Me" and the Once Upon a Time episode "Street Rats." (For more details, see the Agrabah timeline)
- The Wonderland events occur after "Forget Me Not" and before "Heart of Stone." (For more details, see the Wonderland timeline)
Episode Connections
- The circumstances surrounding Jafar's hatred towards his father are shown in "Bad Blood."
- The Collectors are after Will due to the events in "Forget Me Not."
- Will's history with the Red Queen is briefly touched upon in "Forget Me Not" and further explored in "Heart of Stone" and "Heart of the Matter."
- The events surrounding Will's return to Wonderland are explored in "Down the Rabbit Hole."
- The real reason why Amara is after the genie bottles is revealed in "Dirty Little Secrets" and further elaborated in "To Catch a Thief."
- The story behind the genie bottles in Jafar's possession is shown in "Dirty Little Secrets."
- After escaping from the Red Queen's palace, Alice tells Will that "a simple thank you would suffice." Robin Hood says the same thing to the Evil Queen in the Once Upon a Time episodes "New York City Serenade," "A Curious Thing" and "Operation Mongoose Part 1."
- Cyrus told Alice about Jafar in "Trust Me."
- Will is freed from the stone in "Heart of Stone."
- The Red Queen references Alice's first visit to Wonderland. She returns from her visit in "Down the Rabbit Hole."
- Amara is transformed back into a human in "To Catch a Thief."
- Alice is seen resting under a tree, just like she and Cyrus did in "Trust Me." Her habit of sleeping under trees is mentioned by Alice in "Home."
Disney
- After finding out the Red Queen has the Knave of Hearts locked up in her palace, Jafar tells her to give him a public execution "so everyone will see the price for helping Alice in Wonderland." The line is an obvious reference to the animated Disney film of the same name (the book is called Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, not "Alice in Wonderland").
- This episode contains a number of other references to Disney works. See the list of Disney references for more.
Fairytales and Folklore
- This episode is a rendition of the "Aladdin" story, focusing on the appearance of the magician; and the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland story, focusing on Alice's adventures in Wonderland.
- Also included is the genie and the sultan from the "Aladdin" story story and the Lizard, the Knave of Hearts and the executioner from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, as well as Tweedledee, Tweedledum and the Red Queen from the story's sequel Through the Looking-Glass.
- While running from the Collectors, Will splits up from Alice with the promise to meet her at "Tulgey," a reference to a stanza from the novel Through the Looking-Glass, where the Jabberwock "Came whiffling through the tulgey wood."
- Jafar orders the Red Queen to eliminate Will, adding, "Remove him from the playing field." This is an indirect reference to the novel Through the Looking-Glass, where chess is the main theme of the story.
- Alice says to Will, " I've seen your cards, Knave, and they're quite lacking," an indirect reference to the living playing cards from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
- On the Red Queen's orders, Will is sentenced to be executed via beheading and is put on the chopping block, a reference to the way the Queen of Hearts repeatedly calls for the beheading of those who displease her in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The crowd shouts "Off with his head," a reference to the Queen of Hearts iconic lines from the novel.
- In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the executioner serves the Queen of Hearts. In this version, he serves the Red Queen.
- The Red Queen sits in her throne room, playing chess all by herself,[10] a reference to the novel Through the Looking-Glass, where chess is the most important theme of the story.
Popular Culture
- Cyrus breaks a wishbone[11] and says that people believe that when you break them the one who has the larger half gets a wish, a reference to the American tradition of breaking the wishbone of a turkey during Thanksgiving.
Props Notes
- REUSED PROPS: The dagger Lizard is wielding[12] is the same dagger Albert Spencer is using against David in the Once Upon a Time episode "Murder Most Foul."[13] Lizard is also wielding the dagger in "Nothing to Fear."[14]
- MYSTERIOUS SYMBOLS: One of the pages in the Genie wisdom book[15] contains an illustration from Heptameron, or Magical Elements (1496), a grimoire by the thirteenth century Italian philosopher Pietro d'Abano. It is "The figure of a Circle for the first hour of the Lords day, in Spring-time."
- Another page[16] contains a table filled with symbols from a page in Key of Solomon, an old grimoire incorrectly attributed to King Solomon. This particular page is from one of the earliest manuscript of the grimoire, entitled The Clavicle of Solomon, revealed by Ptolomy the Grecian, dated 1572. (The three symbols used in the book can be seen in the lower right hand corner of the grimoire page.)
- REUSED PROPS: The genie lamp in Jafar's collection[17] is the same prop as the Magic Mirror's lamp from the Once Upon a Time episode "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,"[18] but with differently colored jewels.
- The same prop is used for the genie lamp that Aladdin steals from Mr. Gold's pawnshop in the Once Upon a Time episode "I'll Be Your Mirror," again with differently colored jewels.[19]
- REUSED PROPS: The genie bottle in Jafar's collection, the one which used to belong to Gerard,[20] was reused for the tea party in the Once Upon a Time episode "Pretty in Blue," where it is lying on the table.[21]
Set Dressing
- HIDDEN DETAILS: The serpent decorations in Amara's house[22] are a reference to her being "reborn" after drinking the magical water from the Well of Wonders in "Dirty Little Secrets."
Costumes Notes
- HIDDEN DETAILS: A part of Lizard's attire bares resemblance to lizard skin;[23] a reference to her nickname.
Filming Locations
- RECYCLED SET: The set used for the interior of the Blacksmith's workshop[24] is a redressed version of Farzeen Shahmed's shop from "Trust Me."[25] The same set doubles as the interior of Ulima's house for the episode "Bad Blood."[26] The easiest way to spot this is the doorway, which has the same unique shape in all three locations.
- Burnaby's Central Park doubles as Wonderland for the scene where Alice and Will are running from the Collectors[27] and the scene where the Red Queen captures Will.[28] Parts of the episode was filmed on a closed set in the park, before the production moved to a more public path in the evening for exterior scenes.[29]
- Some scenes were filmed at the North Shore Studios, due to the Neverland sets at The Bridge Studios, the studio used to film Once Upon a Time, taking up too much space.[30]
Goofs
- In the wide shot of the crowd preparing for Will's execution at the Red Queen's palace, Alice and Lizard can be seen at the back of the crowd.[31] In the wide shot of the watermelon flying in the air, the pair have disappeared,[32] before reappearing in the following shot.[33]
- During Will's execution, Jafar, the Red Queen, Tweedledee and Tweedledum can be seen looking down to the execution stage.[34] However, during certain angles in the same scene, the four of them have disappeared.[35]
International Titles
| International Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Title | Translation |
| French | "Le Serpent" | "The Serpent" |
| German | "Wer bist du, Anastasia?" | "Who Are You, Anastasia?" |
| Italian | "Il serpente" | "The Serpent" |
Videos
W1x04 - The Serpent - Promo
W1x04 - The Serpent - Sneak Peek
References
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External Links
The Serpent on Internet Movie Database- The Serpent on Wikipedia
