| "The Serpent" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Once Upon a Time in Wonderland episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 1 Episode 4 | ||
| Directed by | Ralph Hemecker | ||
| Written by | Jan Nash | ||
| Original air date | November 7, 2013 (2013-11-07) | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of episodes | |||
"The Serpent" is the fourth episode of theOnce Upon a Time spin-off seriesOnce Upon a Time in Wonderland.
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The Knave of Hearts is kidnapped by the Red Queen (on behalf of Jafar) after saving him from Caterpillar's Collectors. Jafar wants him publicly beheaded to serve as an example of what happens to anyone who helps Alice. Alice befriends a collector named "Lizard" who helps Alice in her mission to rescue the Knave of Hearts. Meanwhile, the Red Queen is hesitant to kill the Knave since she's still in love with him and flashbacks reveal Jafar's real reasons for wanting Cyrus' power.
Jan Nash was the writer for the episode, whileRalph Hemecker was its director.[1]
The episode was watched by 3.55 million American viewers, and received an 18-49 rating/share of 0.9/3, down from the previous episode. The show placed fifth in its timeslot and fifteenth for the night.[2]
Amy Ratcliffe ofIGN gave the episode an 8.3 out of 10, giving it a positive review. She said "Tonight’s episode delivered some interesting backstory for Jafar and was expertly executed by Naveen Andrews, who showed he can still do nuance. The Knave/Queen story was deepened, too, and it’s nice to see things are still in a bit of play there. Alice got to be daring and fantastic. Her use of her first wish (and the shopkeeper’s last, too) shows a level of cleverness and forward thinking that is heartening to see, and engaging to me. How smart could you make your wish?"[3]
Christine Orlando ofTV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.2 out of 5, signaling positive reviews.[4]
Lily Sparks ofTV.com gave the episode a mixed to negative review, saying "What to do withWonderland? It’s great hate-watching if you have that kind of time to kill and love raggin’ on sloppy green screen edge-feathering, but otherwise it is not exactly pushing me to the edge of my seat. The writers probably envisioned that audiences would respond to their characters the same way we've gotten attached toOUAT Original Seasoning. ButOUAT Original spent a good year laying groundwork, letting us get to know the characters before making them pull laughable stunts in 100 percent CGI environments."[5]