1x08 Babes in the Wood

[7.8/10] This is another episode that really succeeds as just a dose of loony fun on the one hand, but digs into some meaningful character work and advancement of the miniseries’ overall arc on the other.

On the “loony fun” side, I just loved Greg’s adventures in Cloud City. It is, at once, a tribute to 1930s and 1940s cartoons, with the art style and Silly Symphonies-style adventurism of it all. The songs in particular were a delight, from the cheery song about the various welcoming committees to the jazzy grooving good time that was the “Old North Wind” song. It really helped unleash the show’s already ample creativity.

Plus, it works as a fun tribute to The Wizard of Oz, from homages to “the lolly pop guild” to a veritable wicked witch of the north, to a good witch coming down from a shining beacon, “Babes in the Woods” has lots of fun riffing on the technicolor classic.

But there’s also some good character stuff. I like Wirt both losing hope and giving up responsibility for Greg as choices that leave him vulnerable to The Beast’s machinations. It seems like the overall themes for the show center on doing just the opposite -- persisting and finding a path forward and taking care of those around to be taken care of, so I like this as a lowest point for Wirt.

I also like the impact his words have on Greg, who takes Wirt’s blame for their predicament and decides that, since his goofing off has gotten the big brother he loves into many problems, the best thing Greg can do is prevent Wirt from having to take care of him. The implication that Greg basically offered himself up to The Beast in order to spare Wirt from succumbing to its grasp is a heartbreaking choices. And the fact that Beatrice has been flying around looking for the two of them amid all of this is heartening.

You can tell the show is building to something. It gives us just enough hints and scenes with The Woodsman and The Beast, amid other teases, to suggest something grander afoot. It gives us our worst and most vulnerable points for our protagonists. And it puts each on the path toward regretting what they’ve said and done and trying to right what’s gone wrong. With only two episodes to go, I’m saddened by the “Where’s Greg” ending here but excited to see how Over the Garden Wall wraps things up.