Luffy Reacts - Once Upon a Time S1E17 - Hat Trick

Yep... Sebastian Stan is the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. You didn't mention you recognized him, so in case you didn't, Sebastian Stan also plays Bucky/The Winter Soldier in the Avengers and Captain America movies. Overall... I really like Jefferson/Mad Hatter a lot. Sebastian Stan's acting throughout this episode was really, really good. And I do like this episode a lot too. However, out of all of the episodes throughout season one, I consider Hat Trick among my least favorite episodes for this season. For some reason, this is the one episode for which I can't exactly pinpoint what it is that really makes it among my least favorites. There are a few annoyances I have among all the good, and I suppose that the annoyances for me outweigh the good? First... I am not a big fan of Mary Margaret choosing to escape from jail, even though I do understand why she did it, which I will talk more about in a bit. And I'm not a fan of Jefferson having his head cut off upon orders from the Queen of Hearts, and him not dying, although once again I understand the reasons for the idea to do this, since the Queen of Hearts is known to order her soldiers to cut off the heads of her enemies in the fairytale. I just felt this scene was strangely done, and could have been done better. Also, I got the serial killer vibe from Jefferson throughout the episode within the present day storyline, which in a sense is cool, and yet it also felt off strangely as well. But these are little nitpicks of mine and they don't really explain my small sense of dislike... for lack of a better word, that might cause me to feel this episode was among the weakest of season one for me, no matter how weak or strong my dislike for it is. I'm sure this makes no sense to you, but it's all I can really say about this. Now... I enjoy the backstory between Jefferson and Regina, that includes Jefferson's daughter Grace, and Regina's father Henry Sr. as a whole despite it's flaws. And I especially love that this is the first episode in which we get to see a new realm aside from just Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest. The overall design of Wonderland is interesting, as we see giant mushrooms and an extravagant maze, and I especially like the design of the maze, in which its walls are made of the plants that have been enchanted to pull all those that get too close to it, inside of it. It reminds me a little of Harry Potter: And the Goblet of Fire. I really like how Regina comes to Jefferson seeking help from him to get to Wonderland, for reasons yet revealed to us at this point aside from her wishing to get back something taken from her. And when he refuses for Grace's sake, I like how Regina manipulated him into later taking back his refusal to help her, by using his love for his daughter against him as she makes him feel weak for being unable to give Grace the stuffed bunny she likes from the market. It's very cruel of Regina to do, and it's sad. But nonetheless... her plan works and Jefferson later returns to Regina to accept her request for his help so he can make sure that his daughter will want for nothing. I absolutely love the idea for the Mad Hatter travelling from realm to realm through the magic of his hat, and I love the design of the inside of his hat that shows the many doorways to all the different realms. Fortunately... Regina is successful in retrieving the box we discover later contains her father, who had been shrunk down to the size of an ant, and with the magic from a piece of a mushroom, Henry Sr. grows back to normal size. Unfortunately for Jefferson, the magic and rules of the hat makes it so he cannot return through the portal his hat had opened, once Regina plants his feet into the ground, then runs through the portal along with her father. As for the present storyline with all that's going on between Emma, Mary Margaret, and Jefferson... I liked it for the most part, aside from the few nitpicks I already mentioned. But I do like how Jefferson appears to Emma in the beginning by pretending to have been hit by her car and knocked off the road, then accepts her offer to drive him home, as we have yet to know his true motives. Then, Jefferson drugs Emma, then later it is discovered that Mary Margaret is also there, after she had already been kidnapped by Jefferson too. I especially love Jefferson's dialogue to Emma throughout his storyline. I love how his curse, or punishment, upon coming over into Storybrooke within the Evil Queen's dark curse, is remembering everything from his former life with his daughter, being so close to her and yet so far away because she doesn't remember who she really is, or who he is. I love how Jefferson states to Emma that having all knowledge and yet being unable to do anything to change it, is maddening. I love how Jefferson tries everything to convince Emma of the truth and that she has to believe in magic, so that he can get her to help him make his hats open a portal for him. However, Emma only tells Jefferson what he wants to hear, and when his guard is down once he turns his back on her, Emma immediately takes the opportunity to strike him down with the telescope Jefferson was using to keep his eyes on his daughter, then she runs to help Mary Margaret once again. However, Jefferson charges Emma with his hat on his head, and it's then that the three of them get into an intense fight, before Mary Margaret suddenly kicks him back and causes him to crash through a window, after which they assume he fell to his death. And yet... Jefferson's body isn't there and is nowhere to be found. Only his hat is left behind. As Emma and Mary Margaret are finally leaving after Jefferson's disappearance, I absolutely love the dialogue between them too, as it parallels perfectly to the second episode... The Thing You Love Most when Regina has Emma arrested. I love how Emma talks to Mary Margaret about their trust and why Emma needed to stay in Storybrooke despite wanting to run away back then. I appreciate that Emma is able to convince Mary Margaret to trust in her again to save her, and to return to her cell before Regina finds her missing like she's expecting to. And I especially love that Emma accidentally calls Mary Margaret her family, and tells her why she wants to save her so much because she does sense there's more to their friendship, and deep down yearns to believe they are mother and daughter. This scene between mother and daughter is my overall favorite scene in this episode, because it's so beautiful and perfectly acted by both Jennifer Morrison and Ginnifer Goodwin. :) I also enjoy the strange conversation between Regina and Gold in the end. It is confusing, because we have no idea what Gold really appears to want at this point despite what we believed he wants. But he has his reasons for doing everything he does. Overall... this episode is pretty good despite it's flaws, and I really like Jefferson. Sebastian Stan brings intrigue to his character and his acting is brilliant. And like you, I love that he does all he does in this episode, in both storylines, purely for the love of his daughter. Like you, I don't believe Jefferson abandoned his daughter. He is fighting to get back to her still. Beautiful and sad too. Thank you again, for another great reaction! And as for the final five episodes... they are all so, so, so good. :)

Heidi Elizabeth Marcum