Sebastian Stan and Jennifer Morrison in ONCE UPON A TIME - Season 1 - "Hat Trick" | ©2012 ABC/Jack Rowand

Stars: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Robert Carlyle, Lana Parrilla, Jared Gilmore, Josh Dallas, Raphael Sbarge
Writer: Vladimir Cvetko & David H. Goodman
Director: Ralph Hemecker
Network: ABC, Sunday nights, 8 p.m.
Original Telecast: March 25, 2012

How much you like “Hat Trick” will depend a lot on how you define Fairy Tales. If you believe that ONCE UPON A TIME should restrict itself to Grimm, Andersen and maybe folklore, then you’re not going to like this episode. If you’re fine with including any Disney property involving magic (and you know it will all be Disney), then this dabble into the world of Wonderland will be just fine, especially since we’ve got an interesting twist on the whole Storybrooke/fairy tale world back and forth with the character of Jefferson (Sebastian Stan).

The episode picks up exactly where last week’s left off, with Mary Margaret’s (Ginnifer Goodwin) empty cell and Mary Margaret running like the wind through the woods. So Emma (Jennifer Morrison) goes after her and ends up picking up Jefferson instead.

But then we switch to the fairy tale world, and the Evil Queen (Lana Parilla), who is going by her Storybrooke name Regina,  is asking said Jefferson to do some dirty work for her and Jefferson says no. Wait – folks in the fairy tale world use different names than in the real world of Storybrooke, Maine, to which they were all banished by the Evil Queen’s curse. Except for Emma, who landed elsewhere in our world, thanks to being stashed as an infant in a magic cupboard just as the curse was descending on the fairy tale world.

Turns out Jefferson has a beautiful young daughter in the fairy tale world and Regina is definitely up to twisting Jefferson’s arm to use a magic hat for her purposes.

Back in the real world, Jefferson accepts a ride from Emma but then kidnaps her with some drugged tea. Surprise, surprise, Emma is able to break through her bonds and in trying to escape finds Mary Margaret all tied up in Jefferson’s house. But strange, Jefferson refers to Henry as Regina’s father. That Henry does not have a real world counterpart because he died so that his daughter the Evil Queen could set off her curse. So then we jump back to the fairy tale world where Jefferson has a magic hat in the fairy tale world that sends people to the mirror portal to Wonderland. The catch? If two go in, only two can come out.

The Evil Queen shows up at Jefferson’s house again and coerces him into using the hat to take her to Wonderland. There she finds a magic box, takes it with her, then pulls up her father Henry. Now, here’s where it gets sticky. Since we saw that the queen had taken her father’s heart to launch her curse – that which she most loved – it’s hard to tell at what point in the fairy tale narrative she’s resurrecting her father now. Logic dictates this would have to be prior to the curse, since Jefferson’s daughter has a modern counterpart with a different name. Also, the queen ditches Jefferson in Wonderland, where he goes more than a little crazy trying to create a new magic hat. In fact, that’s his purpose in kidnapping Emma – because she’s special, she should be able to create a new hat.

Back in Storybrooke, Regina confronts Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) over Mary Margaret’s return to her cell – it seems he was supposed to be working for her. But as with most things connected to Gold, it’s hard to say how and whether he is working with Regina or just saying he is.

So as things between the fairy tale world and real world start meshing here and there, Emma is starting to maybe believe a little more – she certainly escapes from Jefferson by making him believe that she’s worried about Mary Margaret because Mary Margaret is her mother. But then, Emma goes all bad-ass on Jefferson and somehow it doesn’t seem like she believes that much. But then she asks young Henry for his book – the one that details what’s really going on in the fairy tale world and to a degree in Storybrooke.

To coin a phrase from the original Alice in Wonderland, curiouser and curiouser.

AGREE? DISAGREE? LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD – COMMENT BELOW

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Article: TV Review: ONCE UPON A TIME – Season 1 – “Hat Trick”

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