Was mostly impressed by the previous episode "Nothing to Fear", which improved itself quite a lot on the disappointing mid-season finale. It was especially striking for being the episode to introduce the viewer to the Jabberwocky (a promising first impression, excepting its physical form), for not having flashbacks and having a necessary recap. It wasn't a great episode but it was a good one with a lot to like, generally the second half of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' was better than the first.
"Dirty Little Secrets" was another good but not great episode of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'. It was one of the more surprising episodes to me as the premise didn't appeal to me massively and Cyrus had not been the most interesting of characters for quite some while. With a lot more focus here, there was both intrigue and worry as to whether he would be a compelling enough major character or be bland. Seeing as the episodes with Jafar and Red Queen's backstories turned out to be surprisingly good and briefly improved the characters, there was optimism amidst the doubt. As said, "Dirty Little Secrets" wasn't great but it impressed me on the whole.
As with all the thirteen episodes of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland', there are imperfections. As much as it pains me to still rag on about the special effects, their quality has still not improved at all. Jabberwocky for example still looks laughable.
Some of the dialogue for Jabberwocky and Red Queen made me cringe, which made their scenes not too easy to sit through. It felt a bit rushed at the end.
However, as said "Dirty Little Secrets" really surprised me and made the not so appealing premises on paper appealing in execution. Cyrus hasn't been the most interesting or most well developed of character since "Trust Me" (the show's second episode, we are now episode ten), in between he was pleasant enough if not quite leading man material (the show did a much better job with Knave) and could have been developed more. He is a well done character here and the most interesting he's been since "Trust Me", even growing since that episode. He here has a lot of personality not seen as much before and has flaws and strengths. Sophie Lowe is an ever appealing and confident Alice, assertive and not cutesy.
Emma Rigby, despite her dialogue being wanting at times, doesn't resort to overacting as much as she did in most of the show's first half, her decisions less all over the place. Peta Sergeant unsettles as Jabberwocky and cheap physical form aside the character is not a missed opportunity. It looks good mostly, namely the photography, and the music fits well. The writing is mostly fun, it also has more at stake and has more emotional connection than most of the previous episode. "Dirty Little Secrets" is eventful without trying to do too much and had no trouble being able to follow it.
On the whole, good but not great. 7/10.
