Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
Once Upon A Time In Wonderland- And They Lived… (1×13)
“Anything is possible in Wonderland”
Once Upon A Time came to an end this week and everyone lived happily ever after… well except for Jafar who totally got what was coming to him. Despite really liking the show, part of me is relieved it’s over mainly because of the satisfying finale that we were given. During a time where series finales like to do the unthinkable and use the shock factor till the very last drop, Once strayed from that model and it was perfect. They did everything by the book; the fairy tale book!! It was a perfect ending to a less than perfect time spent in the not so wonderful, Wonderland.
We began the episode where we left off last week. Jafar and Amarra were doing the spell to become the almighty and powerful and it worked. They were now the most powerful sorcers in Wonderland and nothing and no one could stop them. Obviously allowing Jafar to have this much power was a recipe for disaster. His first order of business– to make his father finally love him– something he’s wanted since he was 10 years old. But, once he got the loved he so dearly longed for, he had other ideas for daddy dearest. He wanted him to feel what it was like to get killed by somebody he loved and just like that he drowned his father–cold heartedly.
Jafar also planned to kill Amarra, but while he was distracted with his father, she escaped with her son Cyrus and Alice. Back at the rabbits house they plotted to take down the evil sorcerer. The only way would be to build an army which would be led by Alice. They would make their way down to the castle, while Cyrus and his mother would go back to the well of wonders. In order to break the curse, Amarra had to return the stolen water meaning she had to sacrifice herself. When she would die, the spell would be broken and Jafar would lose his powers. Now in theory that sounded like a brilliant plan, but Jafar had some other tricks up his sleeves. I mean, he could finally break the laws of magic– of course he was going to take advantage of it!
First he brought Ana back from the dead, just like he promised. But, it didn’t come without a consequence. Ana returned but was cursed into thinking she actually loved Jafar. The whole idea was disturbing, especially seeing these two exchange tongues…. I was probably more disgusted than Will. Than, Jafar went about bringing soldiers back from the dead to fight and defend the honor of Wonderland. Resurrecting his army was the only way he’d make sure that they stayed loyal to him. And they did… they attacked any intruders that got in the way of finding Amarra. They brought Alice back to the castle, where Jafar threatened to make her forget ever meeting Cyrus unless she told him where Amarra and Cyrus were. Clearly, Alice has never been one that was easily threatened so when Jafar gave a speech about his power would erase her memory and make her suffer a fate worse than heartbreak, she responded with a beautiful speech about how her love was more powerful than any type of magic– even a sorceress one. His magic would never be able to hurt the love her and Cyrus share. Hey, after all, he tried it once already and it didn’t work.
Unfortunately, Ana babbled and told Jafar where Amarra and Cyrus were headed and pretty soon, Jafar caught up to the mother-daughter duo, killing Amarra in cold blood. Truthfully, her death was inevitable but still really sad to have to watch Cyrus see his mother die. The good part was that Jafar was pretty oblivious to how the well of wonders worked and why Amarra was there in the first place. I guess power doesn’t get you everything.
Meanwhile, back at the castle, the rabbit came to help Alice and the Knave, but Anastasia saw and got furious that someone was trying to harm her lovers plans. Will tried desperately to convince Ana that she wasn’t really in love with Jafar; that it was just a curse. The only way to do that properly in a fairy tale is obviously through a kiss. He risked sticking his arm out through the portal that kept him enclosed and pulled Ana towards him hereby breaking the curse. Alice was able to get the rabbits help and teleport over to the well of wonders, just in time as Jafar was about to harm Cyrus.
Cyrus tried to push the remainders of his mother’s borrowed water into the well but Jafar used his magic to steal it out of his hand. And that’s how the battle for Wonderland was won. The water, was never Jafar’s to steal. He basically committed the same crime that got Cyrus and his brothers banished to a bottle for thousands of years. As a result, the guardian placed cuffs on Jafar, stripped him of his magic and off into the bottle he went. It was karma– good karma!!! Silly Jafar, haven’t you heard good always trumps evil!
But it was Ana who really had the hardest day, er week, in Wonderland. First she was killed by Jafar in front of Will’s very eyes. Than she was brough back but put under a spell that made her believe she was in love with Jafar. Will than broke the curse, but once Jafar was banished to his bottle and stripped of his powers, Ana died once again. Thankfully, the guardian of the well realized it wasn’t Ana’s time to go and gave them some water from the well of wonder’s as a gift to bring back Ana, who was resurrected for a third time. Finally, a happy ending for the almost-doomed couple! These two have really had an adventure trying to be together.
With the storm gone, Cyrus and Alice decided to go back home… Alice’s home that is. In a satisfying and tasteful ending, Alice returned back to England to reconcile with her father. We flash forward and see Alice in a lovely white wedding dress. Her father is recalling his time spent in Wonderland and thanking his daughter for proving to him that forgiveness is possible. He walks Alice down the aisle and gives her away to her magical genie Cyrus and the two are made husband and wife by the rabbit. Wonderful touch really. It makes the whole story come full circle and provides evidence to her father and his new wife that everything Alice went through was real. Cyrus’s brothers and happy couple Will and Anastasia are all in attendance for the ceremony. When the ‘I do’s’ were said and done, everyone went back to Wonderland to start a new, peaceful and wonderful life… everyone except Alice and Cyrus. (I’m not surprised, would you want to go back to Wonderland after that experience??) One of the most successful moments during the finale wasn’t the marriage between Alice and Cyrus, nor the reconciliation of Will and Anastasia, but the goodbye between Will and Alice. A true measure of their friendship. We started this show off day one with these two friends, who have grown and evolved. It was sad to see them part ways. Sometimes, I sort of rooted for them to be together…. Nah!!
Yet the best part of it all was the fast forward a couple of years later. Alice was having tea time with her daughter while reading her a book about Wonderland and all of the adventure’s she had there. The daughter, completely mesmerized by the stories asked her mom if they were all true? How could they be possible?? “Anything is possible in Wonderland,” Alice replied, just as Cyrus turned the corner to join his lovely ladies for tea. The rabbit chucked from behind a tree knowingly fairly well, all was right in the world. And what was that story Alice was reading her daughter? Well, it was titled, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. A fitting title for stories that we all grew up with as a kid!!!! And they lived happily ever after…. The End.
Other Thoughts
– How will this time lapse affect Will’s crossover to the originals Once Upon A Time? Will it Will in the future? Will it explain his time in Wonderland? What happened after defeating Jafar?
-Why did Will return to Storybrooke? What about Ana? How did their relationship go after the original happily ever after? I mean, we all kind of know that doesn’t exist.
– RIP Jabberwocky… well until someone finds you and tries to help you again.
– I wonder who got cursed with Jafar as their genie! Ha, sucker!
– Isn’t it kind of a creepy to think that maybe leaving Wonderland was going to heaven? Maybe this was all some kind of dream, like Lost? I highly doubt it but imagine a twist like that!!! Maybe this all happened in Alice’s mind… maybe it was never real at all!
More major Once Upon A Time castings have been made. Storybrooke will be a very populated town this season!
OUAT has cast yet another Frozen character– Prince Hans. Shameless star Tyler Jacob Moore will be joining the cast as Prince Hans, Anna’s treacherous former lover. He will appear in the third episode and will be recurring throughout the season.
Photo Credit: Shameless/Showtime
When we first reported that OUAT directors were hoping to incorporate Hans in the show, we wondered if he would be as evil as he was depicted in the movie. In the Disney film, Hans tricked Anna into falling in love with him in order to become king of Arendelle. He was banished and shipped out by Queen Elsa, so it’ll be interesting to see where his character picks up on the show, considering OUAT is picking up after the movies end.
Also joining the OUAT family is John Rhys- Davies, who will provide the voice of rock-troll Pabbie. Executive producer Adam Horowitz announced the good news on Twitter today. Rhys- Davies is known for his work in Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones. In Frozen, Pabbie helps Elsa cure herself after she accidentally freezes her head with icy magic.
Other Frozen characters making their way to Storybrooke include Queen Elsa (played by Georgina Haig), Princess Anna (Elizabeth Lail), Kristoff (Scott Michael Foster) and Elizabeth Mitchell as the Original Snow Queen aka Elsa and Anna’s mom. Yeah, it’s a mouthful.
Thankfully, this weekend Comic Con debuted a spoiler-ey first look at the season to come! Unfortunately, if you weren’t attending, there’s no way you can get your hands on the video. Basically, the clip gave fans a frosty look at Anna and Elsa putting flowers on their mothers grave, while Elsa tells her that “mother would be so proud of her” before presenting her sister with a wedding gift. Yes, Anna and Kristoff are getting married! *Squeals!* Let’s just hope that Han’s return doesn’t put a bump in their love story… although it most likely will considering Elsa will not be getting a love interest!
Photo Credit: Once Upon A Time in Wonderland/ ABC
Veering away from Frozen, another familiar face is coming to Storybrooke– The Knave of Hearts. Michael Socha will reprise his role as the Knave, the only character from the OUAT spinoff, Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, that seems to have survived. (For good reason!) I’m holding out that he becomes good friends with Hook… or that the two get some decent “bro-ey” screen time. Especially since Captain Hook is getting a new wardrobe! Ditching the pirate clothes doesn’t take the pirate out of the lad revealed Colin O’Donoghue. He might be falling in love with Emma and finally dressing like he’s living in the 20th century, but he’s still a pirate! Sidenote: hotties are taking over Storybrooke!
Once Upon A Time returns on Sunday, Sept. 28 on ABC. There’s way to many story lines for you to even think about missing the season premiere!
Featured Image:ABC/Once Upon A Time
I called it!!! With the cancellation of Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, I said that hopefully some of the characters from Wonderland will travel on over to Storybrooke. Well, turns out I was right. The charming Knave is on his way to the magical town!
Micheal Socha, who plays the Knave on the spinoff show, is joining the cast of Once as a series regular! Bloody brilliant!!! It only makes sense since the Knave’s real home is actually located in Storybrooke (Alice and Cyrus just traveled there to get the Knave’s heart.) Now with his love Ana dead, he’s got nothing better to do. Plus, why would he want to stay in wretched Wonderland? It’s anything but wonderful??? Truthfully, after Jafar and Amarra take over, it might not even exist!!!
What about Alice and Cyrus? No news on whether any other Wonderland characters will make the move yet… but anythings possible after all!
Photo Credit: ABC/ Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
“Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get what you want?”
We’re coming to an end my darlings. An end I’m pretty upset about considering that I feel if Once in Wonderland had a better time slot and better CGI effect, it could have some serious potential as a multiple season show! Unfortunately, as you all probably know, it’s been cancelled by ABC and next Thursday is the series finale! On the bright side, I feel that maybe we’ll see Alice or Knave once again in Storybrooke after their adventures in Wonderland are over!
This weeks thief was none other than the Knave himself. After getting his heart shoved back into his chest and watching the love of his life get stabbed in front of him, Knave accepted a proposal from Jafar. Anything’s possible in Wonderland– even bringing Anastasia back from the dead. There’s just one catch…. they need to let Jafar win and complete his spell to become the all mighty and powerful. That’s clearly never going to happen, for many reasons. One, Alice and Cyrus (and everyone in Wonderland) don’t want Jafar to have that much power. Two, Jafar will never honor his end of the bargain after he gets what he wants. Three, in order to save his brothers and his mother, Cyrus needs to bring her back (or un-staff her), so he can’t really give Jafar the staff to complete the spell.
Alice’s unwillingness to help the Knave save his one true love pisses him off, especially because he’s dedicated so much of his time trying to help her find her true love! What the hell Alice, you can’t return the favor? He embarks on a trip with Alice and Cyrus with the hopes of stealing the staff while their sleeping and giving it to Jafar. After all, a mans got to do what a mans got to do.
The flashbacks were bloody brilliant because they told the story of how Will and Alice came to be the best of friends. Their friendship has really evolved through the course of the show. Sometime’s its deeper than her relationship with Cyrus. Either way, they prove that boy and girl can just be friends! Anyways, FLASHBACK: After giving his heart to the Queen, things weren’t so peachy for the Knave. He basically became her slave— he had to do anything she ordered him too. So he became part of her army and was on a mission to go capture some terrible monster (I’m assuming the jabberwocky). While on the mission, he ran into a cloaked young girl, who was being hunted by the Queen for murder. She had ordered the Knave to kill Alice and so he was trying to fulfill the mission, when he fell into a booby trap. Alice than offered to steal back Knave’s heart from the Queen if it would mean he’d stop trying to kill her. She succeeded and with his heart in her possession, had power to control him. She asked him to help her find some proof for her father that she wasn’t crazy and Wonderland was a real place. The Knave obliged and helped her find a bag with the white rabbit inside. The rest we know from the very first episode! While on her way back to the real world to show her father the rabbit, she found Cyrus’ bottle. Thankfully, this whole ordeal created her witty friendship with Will, which is still a better love story than her and Cyrus!!
Back in the present day, Will punches Cyrus and steals the staff, leaving his two friends behind with the compass. They quickly find Will and Alice tries to stop him, but he confronts her that this whole time, he risked his life to help her find her one true love. When it’s his turn to save his, she won’t let him because she doesn’t care about anyone else’s happiness but her own. Really, I think it’s just the anger and sorrow talking because even the Knave wouldn’t think giving Jafar all that power would be smart. Their friendship is restored when the Knave saves Alice from falling off a cliff and drowning. Heroic for someone who can’t swim!
The three continue on their journey to bring back Amara when their confronted by the Jabberwocky, who is also clearly fed up with Jafar and has lost her loyalty towards him. She helps them devise a plan that would bring Amarra back, who could in turn stop Jafar from completing the spell, as he needs the power of another sorceress, and could bring back Ana. Yet, what none of them accounted for was the idea that Jafar figured out why Amarra wanted to get her hands on these three genies in the first place. It wasn’t about power, she wanted her sons back!
After the plan plays itself out, Knave is shoved back in his bottle, Amarra returns to her bodily self and confronts Jafar, whose magic has gotten really strong yet still shows signs of terror. It’s nice to see Jafar shaken up by another villain. Unfortunately, he pervails in the battle after he leads Amaraa on, only to stab Cyrus when she’s let her guard down. with a shattered mirror piece from her own spell. Cyrus is slowly dying. At this moment, whatever pain Cyrus feels, Alice also feels, which makes the moment much more impactful. It shows the connection they share. Even though I didn’t see it throughout the whole season, maybe that’s the point. They don’t need to be all in your face just to show that they love each other! She knew in that instance that her love was in trouble because as he died, she died with him. Metaphorically speaking. Now Amarra is faced with a decision; is she willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants? The only way to save Cyrus is to complete the spell with Jafar. And that’s exactly what Amarra does. The end of the episode leaves us breathless as Knave watches the madness from his bottle, fate unknown, Cyrus lays on the ground dying and Alice is shocked to see this spell happening, but also worried about her fiance. Things are looking really bleak at this point. Are you ready for the biggest battle in Wonderland next week?
Other Thoughts
-What will Jafar do with all his newly acquired power? Kill everyone in Wonderland?
-What will happen to the genies once the spell is complete? Will they disappear forever? I doubt that otherwise Amarra wouldn’t do it just to save one son?…. Will’s fate is hanging by the strings!
-Will Ana come back to life as well? As much as I liked her character and want Will to get his happy ending and also potentially see her in Storybrooke, I think reviving her character would take away from the dramatics and emotions of last week’s episode. Also, maybe sometimes shows need death to be just that… death. People who die in real life don’t come back, so let’s stop this ‘T.V death’s don’t really mean death’ thing.
–Will Cyrus die or be brought back to life? I realize I just asked this question after the previous rant. With Cyrus though, I think he can’t die or Alice would go right back to that insane asylum… willingly! And after all, I’m forgetting it’s a fairytale show and a true love’s kiss will actually resurrect someone…
-Will Alice ever return to her hometown, to her father and prove that Wonderland is real? I doubt it and I guess in a way she got that closure when Jafar brought her father to Wonderland. Even though her dad thinks that experience was a dream, it was real for her. Although I’d like her and Cyrus to finally leave Wonderland and live normally. If that’s a thing.
– Will with a heart is so much better. Although I’m not saying he wasn’t good before!
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