Once Upon a Time: “Hat Trick” Recap & Review

Emma and Mary Margaret are kidnapped by a man named Jefferson in this Alice in Wonderland themed episode. Meanwhile, the Evil Queen uses the Mad Hatter (Jefferson) for her own gain and leaves him to live up to his name. Here is a recap and review of “Hat Trick”.

Recap:

Emma sets out to find Mary Margaret, who was last seen escaping from jail. Along the way, Emma meets Jefferson, a madman who takes her captive and already has Mary Margaret tied up. Jefferson believes whole-heartedly in the curse, and attempts to convince Emma of its truth while forcing her to make a hat that will return him to his fairy tale life. A struggle between the three of them leads to Jefferson being shoved out the window, but all that is seen on the ground is his hat. Although Emma gives Mary Margaret the chance to run, she chooses to go back to her jail cell. Regina scolds Mr. Gold for their scheme to punish Mary Margaret not working as planned. In the end, Emma is enthralled by Henry’s storybook and asks to keep it for a while.

Jefferson runs into the Evil Queen, who asks him to help her retrieve something that was taken from her. In return, she promises to give his daughter the life she deserves. Jefferson brings a hat to the Queen’s castle, spins some magic, and they both jump into Wonderland. While inside, the Queen uses one of her heart boxes and the earth to bring her father back. No more people are allowed to leave wonderland than the amount that entered, so the Queen and her father exit through the looking glass while Jefferson is left behind. He is captured interrogated by the Queen of Hearts, who seeks information on how he came into Wonderland. Jefferson so strongly desires to go home, and from then on spends his time madly making unmagical hats.

Review:

The first thing that popped into my mind during this episode concerned the stranger and his additions to the storybook. Henry seemed puzzled by the appearance of the Alice in Wonderland story, so I am assuming that it was a new one. Does this mean that August was adding stories that we do not consider to be “classic” fairy tales? If so, this gives the writers of Once Upon A Time a much larger base. I am looking forward to whatever else they pull out of their hat, but I hope they do not get overwhelmed with possibilities and forget where the show started.

The fact that the Queen of Heart’s face was covered the entire time makes me wonder about her identity. We have seen Once Upon A Time take a few creative liberties with their characters, so I would not be surprised if she was or becomes someone of importance. I hope it means that we will be revisiting the story of Alice in Wonderland, complete with the Cheshire Cat and White Rabbit who were sadly missing tonight.

I know there were questions surrounding this episode as to what constitutes a fairy tale, and does Alice in Wonderland really count as one, but regardless of your answers, you must admit that they made this story fit in well. The whole idea of magic and Jefferson wanting to return to his real life brought up the issue of why some characters are realizing that the town is cursed while others are completely blind to the situation. Maybe because Jefferson’s story was added to the book later is why he was able to figure it out. Or maybe Emma did bring a little magic into Storybrooke and her influence is causing others to remember.

I mentioned August adding stories to the book in my article last week and suggested that they were for the purpose of convincing Emma of the curse. Well, what was a far-fetched theory at the time may be somewhat accurate. (Maybe I should start throwing out crazy ideas more often … Cassidy Freeman as the Little Mermaid!) It was the Mad Hatter’s tale that made Emma take a further interest in Henry’s storybook. Could this be the turning point that has been hinted by the cast and creators? Personally, I think it is an appropriate time for Emma to start investigating the curse, even if it takes her a while to truly believe in it. The story has to begin building up to the finale; so much of this season has been about Henry pleading with Emma to believe him that it needs to pay off sometime. Hopefully this means that Emma will be more prevalent in the story moving forward.

It was great to see Emma taking more of a role in this week’s episode. She was actively incorporated into the story instead of running around solely as Sheriff or only having a small scene or two. We have been seeing back-stories for all the other characters, wouldn’t it be fun to see her prior to her life in Storybrooke? I would love the opportunity to contrast her in the past with her now, and see how precisely the town has changed her. I miss seeing her feistiness. It is almost as if she has become a shell of the character she used to be as all the others are being fleshed out.

Seeing the Evil Queen as the Old Hag was great! Even for a brief second. It was a small but memorable reminder of who her character is, of how twisted and ugly her nature is in a world that puts her in the most elaborate wardrobe. With next week’s episode focusing on her relationship with her mother and Snow White, I eagerly await what more convoluted explanations they have in store for her character.