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Tweedledum, also known as Tweedle #2,[1] is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. He débuts in the first episode and is portrayed by co-star Ben Cotton.
Tweedledum is based on the character of the same name from the novel Through the Looking-Glass, Tweedle Dum from the animated Disney film Alice in Wonderland, and Tweedledum from the live-action Disney film of the same name.
History
In Wonderland, Tweedledum and his twin, Tweedledee, become servants of Anastasia, who is soon to marry the Red King. While she is settling in at the palace, they introduce themselves to her. When she cheerfully inquires for their names, Tweedledee states that due to their status as servants, they don't have any. During the conversation, Tweedledum notices the Queen of Hearts has come to greet Anastasia. The two Tweedles follow closely behind as the women stroll and casually talk. ("Heart of the Matter")
After Alice's return to Wonderland, the Red Queen rides up in her carriage and stops on the road to greet the White Rabbit. As she steps down, Tweedledum and Tweedledee help her out. One of the guards grabs the White Rabbit to bring him towards the Red Queen, who walks up with the two Tweedles beside her. She thunders about him being late, which he stutters apologies for, causing a smile to peek from her face. ("Down the Rabbit Hole")
In the royal castle, the Red Queen sits on her throne to receive a continuous stream of complaints and pleas for help from the kingdom's peasants as Tweedledum and Tweedledee stoically stand by. After she remarks their problems bore her, the crowd of people react in outrage until Jafar magically freezes everyone in the room except himself and the Red Queen. He confronts her about working towards finding the bottle and to free up more time for the search, Jafar turns all the peasants into piles of ash, which unfreezes Tweedledum and Tweedledee in the process. Red Queen looks on in displeasure as Jafar leaves while Tweedledum and Tweedledee begin sweeping up the mess on the floor. Afterwards, the two give her a skin scrubbing cleanse, which she chides them to work harder at it. They are dismissed when the White Rabbit comes for a visit. ("Trust Me")
While helping to fit the Red Queen into a new outfit, she admires herself in the mirror until noticing Jafar standing nearby. Then, he and Tweedledee are sent away. Following Jafar's demand for the Red Queen to get rid of Knave, she follows through with the request. When Knave is sentenced to a public execution, a crowd gathers outside to await the spectacle. Alice heroically rescues Knave and they escape by launching themselves into a maze with a catapult. Led by the Red Queen, Tweedledum and Tweedledee catch up to stop Alice and Knave from getting away. Jafar forces Alice to make her first wish by threatening Knave's life. Next, he exerts physical pain on Alice herself, but she adamantly refuses to make a second wish, so Jafar deals a final damage by transforming Knave into a stone statue. Overcome with rage, Alice slaps the Red Queen for not helping Knave, to which Tweedledee and Tweedledum move to defend her. The Red Queen refuses their help and handles Alice by giving her a glaring lecture. As their Queen turns to leave, Tweedledum and Tweedledee follow behind. ("The Serpent")
Tweedleedum reports back to the Red Queen in the throne room to inform her that Cyrus, who jumped off Jafar's floating lair, cannot be found despite ongoing searches at the shoreline. He begins to propose that perhaps Cyrus is capable of disappearing as a form of genie magic, but the Red Queen cuts him off. Tweedledum also wonders if the genie simply perished from diving off the lair. As Jafar comes into the room from behind, the Red Queen, unaware, continues talking about how she will have the upper hand against the sorcerer once the genie is hers. He nervously nods in response, but alerts her too late to Jafar's presence. Tweedledum stands by as the Red Queen clues Jafar in on the fact Cyrus escaped. In turn, Jafar tells her not to get silly ideas that she has the power to change the laws of magic without him. ("Bad Blood")
Through the grapevine, Tweedledum realizes Cyrus has been captured in the forest. As he goes to inform the Red Queen, he witnesses his brother handing over something to Jafar. He relates this to the Red Queen, who reacts with outrage at the betrayal, since Tweedledee gave Jafar the bottle. ("Home")
Following Jafar's takeover of the castle as well as the capture of the Red Queen, Tweedledee's loyalty to his original monarch remains unwavering. He visits a disheveled Red Queen, offering her some food, when she requests a favor. She asks him to deliver a message to Alice and Cyrus to tell them to leave Wonderland now that Jafar is too powerful with the Jabberwocky by his side. ("Dirty Little Secrets")
Heading for the Outlands, Tweedledum bursts into the invisible hideout of Alice and Cyrus to warn them, per the Red Queen's wish, that they must leave Wonderland now that Jafar fully possesses all three genie bottles. Instead, they ask him to show them the castle's underground tunnels in order to gain access inside, which he complies with. ("Heart of the Matter")
Tweedledum then attended Alice's and Cyrus's wedding in Victorian England. After the wedding, Tweedledum, the White Rabbit, Mrs. Rabbit, Will, and Anastasia head back to Wonderland through Percy's portal. ("And They Lived...")
Trivia
Popular Culture
- Tweedledum and Tweedledee wear the same facial makeup that David Bowie wears on the cover of his 1973 album Aladdin Sane. ("Down the Rabbit Hole" et al.)
Set Dressing
- The framed prints in the hallway of Jefferson's mansion are John Tenniel's classic illustrations from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Among the pictures is an illustration of Alice and Tweedledee and Tweedledum (it's the bottom picture on the left when Emma asks Jefferson why he's been watching her).[2] ("Hat Trick")
Costumes Notes
- The cloaks worn by Tweedledee[3] and Tweedledum[4] are the same cloaks worn by Bo Peep's bodyguards in the Once Upon a Time episode "White Out",[5] and Jacob in the Once Upon a Time episode "The Other Shoe".[6] ("Down the Rabbit Hole" et al.)
Appearances
| Once Upon a Time in Wonderland | ||||||||||
| "Down the Rabbit Hole": | "Trust Me": | "Forget Me Not": | "The Serpent": | "Heart of Stone": | "Who's Alice": | "Bad Blood": | ||||
| Appears | Appears | Absent | Appears | Appears | Absent | Appears | ||||
| "Home": | "Nothing to Fear": | "Dirty Little Secrets": | "Heart of the Matter": | "To Catch a Thief": | "And They Lived...": | |||||
| Appears | Absent | Appears | Appears | Absent | Appears | |||||
References
- ↑ LISTINGS: ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND: Air Date: Thursday, November 07, 2013. Time Slot: 8:00 PM-9:00 PM EST on ABC. Episode Title: (#104) "The Serpent". The Futon Critic. “"The Serpent" guest stars include [...] Ben Cotton as Tweedle #2”
- ↑ File:117Why2.png
- ↑ File:W106Annoyance.png
- ↑ File:W108Grapevine.png
- ↑ File:402MessWith.png
File:402Laughing.png - ↑ File:603GoodAfternoon.png
