8/9

8/9 Sammy Daniels brings a different kind of vulnerability into the story. He is a child caught up in the Hatter's legacy, and the opening arc of the ongoing Wonderland series shows the corruption spreading through the town where Calie and Violet have tried to settle. The hat's influence on Sammy and the return of Johnny's spirit connect this new danger to the old one. Violet becomes the intended host in a ritual, and Calie is forced to confront the threat of her brother again. That does not make Sammy simply Johnny with another name. Sammy is a different person whose life has been invaded. Keeping him separate makes the situation more disturbing, because there is another child being used to continue an adult history of violence. It also changes what safety means for Calie. She can leave a house, survive a confrontation, and try another town, yet still find that something from Wonderland has reached somebody nearby. The danger does not wait for her to willingly step through the mirror again.