Reel Tastes & Travels – a light dose of entertainment to wake you up

We continue where we left off in the last episode with Riddle gearing up to punish Yu for his perceived role in the whole opening ceremony fiasco. However, they get distracted by the Magic Mirror stepping in (figuratively speaking) to confirm that Yu has no magic. Even more perplexing, when Yu asks to be sent back home, the Mirror states that there is no such place. So, it looks like Yu is stuck here for the time being. I had half wondered if this would be a typical coming-of-age story of an unassuming hero who slowly discovers the hidden depths of his powers. I suppose there is still a chance of that happening but for now it seems like Yu will, refreshingly, continue to be the unmagical counterpoint to the more eccentric characters in the show.

Seeing as how Yu has no place to go, the Headmage ‘magnanimously’ offers him accommodation in a disused, haunted dormitory. He also convinces him to take on maintenance jobs around the school in exchange for food and clothing. Though given how much he pats himself on the back for this largesse, it feels more like an excuse to get an unpaid janitor/handyman for the school rather than a genuine attempt to help him.

Yu gets right to work the next day cleaning up the statues of the Great Seven. Which provides the perfect setting to meet our next two characters, Ace and Deuce, as well as provide more exposition on the world and how the Disney Villains are perceived in it. Quite a fascinating recast of the villains and their motivations as the heroes in their respective stories. I particularly loved Jafar being viewed as a savior who rescued princess Jasmine and the Sultan from the machinations of a greedy, lying scoundrel. It’s an interesting commentary on how stories can be twisted in the retelling and how unreliable history can be given how much it is shaped by the narrator’s biases and perspectives.

I did note Yu’s unfamiliarity with the characters, which begs the question of whether or not Disney (or even these fairytales in general) exist in his version of the world. Is it just that Yu has never been exposed to these stories before arriving here or are they actually absent from his world? Probably an irrelevant question but fun to debate, nonetheless.

Grim, having somehow rid himself of Riddle’s collar, pops up again and predictably chaos follows, leading to a duel between him and Ace that ends with the Queen of Hearts status engulfed in flames. This provides the impetus for the first quest of the show (undoubtedly influenced by the original video game format) – to avoid expulsion for the destruction they unwittingly caused, the quartet (Deuce, Ace, Grim and Yu) have to retrieve magic crystals from an enchanted mine to power the school’s chandeliers. Sounds simple in theory, but the ominous shadow shown at the end promises some challenges ahead. Perhaps we’ll see some twisted versions of the Seven Dwarves popping up as the antagonists in this quest?

Stray Musings

• Grim is pretty annoying so far. But, as he speaks longingly about his desire to become a great mage, I think we’re seeing the groundwork laid for softening up his character and integrating him with the rest of the group. Yu even sees a reflection of his junior from the Kendo team in Grim’s ardent desire to overcome his limitations and better himself. Hmmm… I wonder if we’ll eventually get a reveal that Yu’s adventures here were all a dream (Wizard of Oz style) and the people he interacts with here have counterparts in his real life? Seems plausible to me, except that we didn’t really see too much of his life before the Academy to be able to draw parallels to it at some future point. But perhaps that may be remedied through flashbacks in later episodes.