Forget Me Not

Forget Me Not
Season 1, Episode 3
Airdate	October 24, 2013
Written by	Richard Hatem
Directed by	David Solomon
Episode Guide
Previous Trust Me	Next The Serpent

Forget Me Not is the third episode of the Once Upon a Time spin-off series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

Plot

With the Genie's bottle in her clutches, the Red Queen sends the Bandersnatch after Alice since Jafar needs her in order to use Cyrus (who is discovered to have contacted her). Alice and the Knave of Hearts head to the house of the Grendel in the Whispering Woods to obtain the Forget-Me-Knot so that they can find out who stole Cyrus's bottle before Jafar could steal it. In the Knave of Hearts's flashback, it is shown that he joined up with Robin Hood's Merry Men back when he was Will Scarlet. It is also revealed that Wonderland's Red Queen was once his love Anastasia.

Production

Richard Hatem was the writer for the episode, while David Solomon was its director.

Reception

Ratings

The episode was watched by 4.38 million American viewers, and received an 18-49 rating/share of 1.1/4, down from the previous episode. The show placed fifth in its timeslot and thirteenth for the night.

Critical reception

Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave the episode a 7.2 out of 10, giving it a positive review. She said "Overall, this episode wasn't the strongest but there was plenty to enjoy. The reveal of Anastasia's identity opens the doors to plenty of stories, the most obvious one being how and why she betrayed the Knave. I'm dying to know how she stepped into the Red Queen's elegant shoes. The Alice and Cyrus story was the undercurrent in this episode, and it's good to know they're willing to put the main plot in the backseat from time to time."

Christine Orlando of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.3 out of 5, signaling positive reviews.

Hillary Busis of Entertainment Weekly gave the episode a mixed to negative review, despite giving a positive comment about the chemistry between Lowe and Socha. She said:

Wonderland isn’t a bad show, per se — but it’s also not great, or at least not as engaging as its parent show Once Upon a Time. Though Wonderland‘s main duo (Sophie Lowe’s Alice and Michael Socha’s Knave) have good chemistry and general appeal, the series surrounding them is tonally confused: It’s too cartoony to be taken anywhere near seriously, but too earnest and predictable to veer into pure giddy camp. And then there’s that horrific CGI, which might be fun and whimsical if it didn’t look so dreadfully cheap. Lowe and Socha have a lot to offer; too bad they’re offering it against a backdrop ripped from a Windows 95 screensaver.

Trivia

• The title card's special feature is the Forget Me Knot as the 'O'
• When The Red Queen and Jafar are talking about how to get Alice to use her wishes, the Red Queen mentions a sarlacc, which digests the victim over a thousand years. This is a reference to Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, where Jabba the Hutt tries to have Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca killed by having them thrown into a sarlacc pit.

Goofs

• When Alice draws her sword on Nazim upon entering the Underland, her sword position changes. When the camera angle is showing her it shows her palm up, putting the blade away from Nazim's throat. When the camera points to Nazim her palm is down with the blade towards his throat.

Quotes

Knave of Hearts: Nazim! Pleasure to see you again. Nazim: Don't "pleasure" me. Knave of Hearts: I wouldn't dream of it.

Knave of Hearts: I think now might be a good time to use one of those wishes. Alice: There has to be another way out of this. Knave of Hearts: The only way out seems to be through his digestive tract.

Alice: [Reading the Knave's "Wanted" poster] "For theft, fraud, posturing, in-posturing, gambling, disturbing the peace, and... public nudity"? Knave of Hearts: In my defense, I was tied to a tree and stripped of my clothes, so that one wasn't really my fault.

Knave of Hearts: Don't panic. I've been in worse binds than this. Well, equivalent binds.

Alice: You were the one that kept telling me to use a wish. Knave of Hearts: Now I wish you didn't.