Disney Twisted-Wonderland The Animation

Episode 7

Even more egg-based violence? I'm cackling. I can't believe that raw eggs have been the impetus for not one but two scenes of conflict in just seven short episodes of Disney Twisted-Wonderland The Animation. In “A Duel Ill Advised,” the penultimate episode of the season, we finally got at the yolk of Riddle's tortured backstory. This episode only spanned a handful of minutes in linear time, but much of the story took place in the interior, within Trey and Riddle's memories, revealing a surprisingly deep and relatable pain at the crux of Riddle's psyche. A big visual reveal at the end clinched this franchise's absolute chokehold on drama.

The melodrama of the egg hurtling through the air as it spun, missile-like, toward its target. The unmistakable goopy crack as it made landfall in Riddle's hair. Where did the egg even come from? You can't tell me there were raw eggs sitting on the table at a tea party. No, somebody brought this egg ahead of time. This was premeditated egg violence. The anonymous egg assailant may have chickened out of coming forward, but the action was enough to change the entire vibe of the party. You could say something cracked. There's just something funny about an egg as the weapon of choice here. (Though it is quickly joined by everything from books to paintbrushes. Poor Riddle!) The students of Heartslabyul house reached a breaking point this episode in the face of Riddle's petty tyranny. But what could possibly redeem Riddle?

Enter one narcissistic parent. As a mom myself, of course it was gonna hit me hard to see a mother treating her kid like a possession, an extension of herself. Over the course of this episode it becomes clear that the memories Trey has of Riddle as a child come from what appears to be one singular afternoon that Riddle escaped from under his mother's thumb. I liked the detail of child Riddle gasping for breath, like he was unused to running and playing outside. “I've been so good all these years,” Riddle says right before he explodes. He has resisted everything he wanted to do in order to become Mommy's Perfect Pawn. Like I said last week, his mommy issues perfectly describe his fixation with the Queen of Hearts, another matronly figure. As for the unreasonable rules, that's just living with a narcissist! If his mom freaks out and admonishes an eight year old for asking to eat dessert, then that's his only frame of normalcy. If the Queen of Hearts says no lemonade after dinner, that might as well make sense to him, too.

The Overblot scene is exquisite, with lacy black and red details transforming Riddle into a harlequin-like monster. The blend of masculine and feminine in his costume showcases the inherent queerness in Disney's classic villains—and here that's dialed up to 11. There's clearly been a lot of thought put into depicting Riddle's personality and values into all his forms, but this unhinged version is particularly mesmerizing. I do wonder, however, about what does and does not merit expulsion at Night Raven College. Vandalize a statue = get expelled. But attempted murder? Crowley is right there and he doesn't make a move to stop Riddle.

The most glaring downside of this season continues to be the subtitles. For no reason I can think of, the subtitles are on the TOP of the screen this episode despite being at the bottom for all 6 previous episodes. Of course they are dubtitles, word-for-word what comes out of the English dub actors' mouths, so there's no reason to watch subtitles anyway. In this very Riddle-centric episode, I'm curious about Paul Castro Jr.'s choice to use a British accent for Riddle, which none of the other characters have. I'll have one more episode to ponder on it as Riddle, now thoroughly evil, becomes even more imposing than before.

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Disney Twisted-Wonderland The Animation is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Lauren is a freelance journalist with a focus on anime fandom.