Wonderfalls : Wax Lion

Season 1, Episode 1

Story by Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller

Teleplay by Bryan Fuller

Directed by Todd Holland

Original Airdate: 12 March 2004

"She's not disturbed, she's depressed, and they have pills for that now."

Karen

REGULAR CAST

Caroline Dharvernas as Jaye Tyler
Katie Finneran as Sharon Tyler
Tyron Leitso as Eric Gotts
Lee Pace as Aaron Tyler
Diana Scarwid as Karen Tyler
William Sadler as Dr. Darrin Tyler
Tracie Thoms as Mahandra McGinty

GUEST CAST

Gabriel Hogan as Thomas
Scotch Ellis Loring as Dr. Ron Campbell
Kari Matchett as Beth
Kathryn Greenwood as Ronnie
Chelan Simmons as Gretchen Speck-Horowitz

CO-STARRING

Neil Grayston as Alec
Kim Roberts as Peggy
Curt Wu as Doctor
Steven Taylor as Loitering Boy
Bailey Stocker as Ronnie's Daughter
Lisa Marcos as Attractive Nurse
Jorge Molina as Male Tourist
Morgan Drmaj as Bellman
Anna Starnino as Triage Nurse
Corry Karpf as Heidi Sockett-Gotts
Chantal Purdy as Little Girl
Melissa Grelo as Native Princess
Brandon Oakes as Native Chief

MUSE VOICES

Scotch Ellis Loring
Ted Dykstra

SYNOPSIS

Jaye reveals the legend of the Maid of the Mist to a young customer at a shop near Niagara Falls. Native Americans, Jaye explains, believed there was a god in the waterfall, and sacrificed a virgin princess to appease the god. As she went over the falls the young princess said, "I surrender to destiny." The god of the waterfall saved the princess, who became the Maid of the Mist. Twenty-something Jaye is a clerk in a Maid of the Mist souvenir shop. She pays no attention to Thomas, an obviously miserable UPS delivery man. A girl from Jaye's high school happens into the shop, and Jaye has to admit that while she got a degree from an Ivy League school, she's working at the souvenir shop. The girl is appalled. Peggy, the manager of the souvenir shop, is about to take maternity leave. She delegates assistant manager duties not to Jaye, but to 17-year-old Alec. Jaye feels her life could hardly get worse. She pictures herself walking to the falls and jumping to her death. Instead she goes back to work. A customer uses a machine to make a wax animal, but the resulting lion's face is smooshed. Jaye argues with the customer but Alec resolves the matter smoothly, ordering Jaye to give the customer a rebate. Suddenly the wax lion on the counter tells Jaye not to give the woman any money. Jaye is startled; no one else seems to hear the lion speaking. Jaye gives the woman her money, and as soon as the woman leaves the shop a thief steals her purse and runs away. Jaye passes out.

Jaye's family gathers in her trailer. Her mom, dad, sister Sharon, and brother Aaron are there. They debate what to do about her fainting spell. The consensus is that Jaye's depressed, understandably given that she has a pathetic job and lives in a trailer park. Jaye goes to see Dr. Ron, her mother's therapist. A brass monkey on Dr. Ron's desk suddenly begins talking to Jaye. The monkey tells Jaye to steal it, so she does. Later, at a bar, Jaye meets a new bartender, Eric. Eric says he got married a week ago, but caught his bride having sex with a hotel bellman, and now isn't speaking to her. Eric hits on Jaye, but she warns him that she may be clinically insane.

The next day at work, the wax lion tells Jaye to ask Thomas, the UPS man, why he's no longer wearing his wedding ring. Jaye tries to ignore the lion, but it starts singing. She caves in and asks Thomas about his ring, and he reminds her that he already told her all about his divorce. As he leaves, Thomas flicks a quarter into a fountain. The wax lion tells Jaye to go get it. She pulls the quarter from the fountain, and the eagle on its back turns and looks at her. Jaye drops the quarter, which bounces down a flight of stairs and into a bicyclist's fast-food sack. Jaye chases the cyclist, and he throws the sack in the garbage. Jaye pulls it out and gets the quarter. In the garbage can she notices the purse that was stolen from the shop customer earlier. Jaye goes to the hotel where the woman was staying, and knocks on dozens of doors until she finds the purse's owner, Ronnie. Ronnie thinks Jaye is part of an identity theft ring. Ronnie and Jaye get into a fistfight and are taken to the police station. Sharon comes to bail Jaye out. Sharon tells Jaye to grow up, and storms away. Jaye goes to the bar and tells her friend Mahandra that inanimate animals are talking to her. Jaye is afraid she's insane. Mahandra theorizes that everything has a soul, and the animals are talking to Jaye because she's repressing their souls.

Jaye's mother comes to see her at work the next day. Mom tells Jaye she has to return Dr. Ron's brass monkey. Jaye denies stealing it but Dr. Ron has it on tape. The wax lion insists that Jaye has to set her sister up with Thomas the UPS man. Jaye tricks them both into meeting her for dinner. At dinner Jaye steps away to flirt with bartender Eric. Sharon confides in Thomas that nothing will happen because she's a lesbian. When Jaye returns, Thomas asks if Sharon is really a lesbian. Jaye doesn't know, but she notices Thomas' neck is swelling. He's having an allergic reaction to his salad. Jaye and Sharon rush him to the hospital. On the way they discuss Sharon's homosexuality. Thomas stops breathing, and Sharon gives him an emergency tracheotomy with a pen. At the hospital Thomas' ex-wife Beth shows up. Beth and Sharon have obvious chemistry, and leave together.

Jaye goes to look at the falls. Eric walks past, heading home from work. They talk about surrendering to destiny. Eric says it's peaceful; Jaye thinks it's like drowning. When Jaye gets home Sharon is in the trailer. Sharon asks why Jaye is suddenly being nice to her, which, comparatively, she is. Jaye admits she's confused. They have a bonding moment. At the shop a plastic-faced bear starts singing to Jaye. The bear indicates a passing woman who has toilet paper stuck to her shoe. Jaye resists but finally, sighing, gives up and goes after the woman to tell her about the toilet paper.

TRIVIA

Corry Karpf has an unbelievable resemblance to Jewel Staite and appears very briefly as Heidi Gotts in a flashback in this episode. Jewel plays the character from Safety Canary onwards.
In the unaired pilot, Aaron Tyler was played by actor Adam Scott, and Mahandra was played by Kerry Washington. Both were recast for various reasons before the first episode was filmed (although you can see a picture of Adam as Aaron on the Regular Cast page where he features in one of the shots).