Ever After High (Dragon Games): Shatter the Mirror

Written by Daniel – It’s episode one of Series 4 ‘Dragon Games’ of Ever After High. We open with Raven helping all her fellow students out with her new found powers (from the end of series 3) going to visit her mum (Evil Queen) who’s imprisoned in the mirror realm. Meanwhile Apple also gets an update from her mum through Ever After High’s own video call service. Both Apple and Raven have had enough of their parents expectations.

We’ve got dragons. We’ve got new costumes. We’ve got some new characters. And naturally we have a whole lot more toys. The episode opens with Raven on her way to visit her Mother, in a sequence which feels oddly reminiscent of Clarice meeting Hannibal for the first time in Silence of the Lambs. Raven is told not to touch the glass of the mirror and not to spend too long with her, in fear of how Evil Queen might manipulate Raven; and of course this is Priestley what Evil Queen attempts to to do. She questions Ravens powers, she desires Raven to become the evil woman she is, and most of all longs to be released form prison. Evil Queen’s taunts very nearly work as Raven looses her temper and her magic smashes brick work, but before things get out of hand Raven’s trusty dragon Nevermore stops Raven from getting out of control. There Raven declares how she won’t allow herself to become like her mother, and leaves her.

Ever After High (Way Too Wonderland): Jester’s Wild

Written by Daniel – Episode 2 of series 3 ‘Way Too Wonderland’ of Ever After High unfolds like a strange dream of being back at school, and having to endure the schedule and rules of school once again, only nothing makes sense. Classes are just strange elaborate series of events with apparently no rules or respect for reality – and no one around you is ever going to help. When will we wake up from this nightmare!

We’ve got a few new characters into the mix, namely: The White Rabbit, the handsome Chase Redford (The Red Knight); and Courtly Jester (daughter of the Jester playing card). Courtney as far as I can tell is Ever After High‘s equivalent of DC’s Harley Quinn. The character has a classic jester appearance merged with stereotypical punk iconography, and for what it’s worth, I really like the design and find the character an intriguing one, as I shall go into further detail later in the post (the one flaw with the character is the voice work – she has this awful English accent, which I think they chose to fit in with the punk aesthetics, unfortunately it’s just not good). The episode shows Apple, Raven, Madeline, Kitty, Briar and Liz having to go through Wonderland’s annual school day, and if they are going to warn Liz’s mother The Queen of Hearts of a plot to kill her in time for tea, they need to graduate form school (keeping track? good). 

Ever After High (Way Too Wonderland): Card Tricks

Written by Daniel – It’s the first episode ‘Card Tricks’ of Series 3 to Ever After High. This series has been dubbed ‘Way Too Wonderland’, as the characters begin their investigations into the Wonderland Curse: asking why did Raven’s mother (Evil Queen) closed the bridge between Wonderland and Ever After High? What are the headmasters are really hiding form the students when it comes to the Story Book of Legends? And just where is the Storybook of Legends hiding?

The episode opens at breakfast time in Ever After High, and Apple has an announcement to make, concerning a new project to document Wonderland, it’s magic and its people, for the school paper. Apple calls upon the help of her fellow students, though the turn out is much smaller than she’d hoped: The students which come to her aid include; Raven, Madeline, Liz of Hearts, Bunny, Alistair, Briar, Kitty and new characters; Faybelle (a dark fairy – who quickly leaves frustrated by the goodhearted group) and Darling Charming (sister to Damien and Daring?). At their first meeting, Brooke, the impatient young narrator, interrupts the events to warn Madeline that The Queen of Hearts (Liz’s mother) is in danger, someone intends to steal her crown – today!! Leaving it up to the rag-tag bunch of kids to find a way into Wonderland and save Liz’s mother, before it’s too late.

Ever After High: Spring Unsprung

Written by Daniel – We’re on series two of Ever After High – though it’s not much of a series as its only one episode long, more of a special episode, but Netflix lists it as S2.Ep.1 so I guess that we’ll just go with that for conveniences sake.

We’ve got some new characters into the mix, some odd and others wonderful. That’s right folks we’re introduced to some more characters from Wonderland. Namely: Alistair (Son of Alice), Bunny (daughter of the White Rabbit), the White Knight, and Kitty’s Mother – the Cheshire Cat herself! In addition we also have Brook the daughter of the narrators, and Ginger (daughter of the Candy Witch – you know the one form Hansel and Gretel – so of course she’s a chef who’s made of gingerbread. To be far her personality and place within the plot is well formed, but just the very idea of her character feels like the producers are clutching at straws). The opening of the episode immediately recaps audiences with the events of last episode to series one, where Briar threw the Storybook of Legends down the magic well and ended up in Wonderland. At Ever After High, the pupils are celebrating spring ‘spring-fairest’ and getting reading ready for this big bake off challenge. But as the day unfolds thing’s don’t quite go to plan. In Wonderland Alistair and Bunny have found the Storybook of Legends and have ventured out of Wonderland to return to the book to the school!

Ever After High – Thronecoming

Written by Dan – Thoughts on Ever After High ep. 4 ‘Thronecoming’, which for some reason is 45 minuets long (the format of this series is a mess, the content doesn’t justify the messiness or vice versa, it’s just a good job that what’s going on in the episodes themselves is actually quite good).

It’s Thronecoming, because apparently all the students do at Ever After High is party. I’ve opened this post with a dose of cynicism, but when all things are said and done, this episode is really quite enjoyable. It’s the lead up to Thronecoming (which is essentially prom) where there will be a second chance to sign the book of legends.A decision made by Headmaster Grimm in an effort to get Raven to final sign the book, once and for all, sealing her destiny. 

Ever After High – Welcome to Ever After (part 1)

Written By Dan – Ever After High ep. 2 ‘Welcome to Ever After’ on Netflix is presented as a series of shorts, which act as a prequel to the events of ep. 1 ‘Legacy Day’. Which then concludes with the final moments of legacy day and the following two days and the raised tension between the royals and the rebels.

In this review, to get the most out of what’s actually going on, I thought I’d review each segment/story line individually. So without further ado, let’s begin at the beginning:

Ever After High – Legacy Day

Written by Dan – Thoughts on Ever After High ep. 1: ‘Legacy Day’. In which we are introduced to Raven Queen (daughter of the Evil Queen) and Apple White (daughter of Snow White).

Ever After High is the high school for all the sons and daughters of all our favourite fairy tails, we join our main characters on the lead up to Legacy Day, where students sign the Storybook of Legends and swear to fulfil their destiny by retelling the stories their parents did. I see the show as an allegory for fairy tales being passed on generation by generation. What this means however is that everyone who is the child of an evil character is destined to be evil, and those born under heroes and royalty are destined to greatness. Raven Queen, doesn’t want to be evil, she doesn’t want her life spelled out for her, knowing that she will fail and be punished for things she does not want to do. Raven is not an evil or selfish person, she just wants control over her life, so threatens to abstain from taking part in Legacy Day. This prospect is terrifying to Apple White, who needs Raven to poison her, if she isn’t poisoned by Raven then she’ll never be saved by prince charming and she’ll never become queen.