TV Recap: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland 1-5 - Heart of Stone

Ever since we learned who Knave is and his connection to the Red Queen, I was quite interested in learning her back story.  That’s exactly what we got on last night’s Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and so much more.

The episode started right where the flashback from two weeks ago ended – Will Scarlet and Anastasia were prepared to jump through the looking glass to see what they found in Wonderland.  Before they do, Anastasia’s mother shows up.  She’s tracked them down to this cottage.  She rails against Anastasia throwing away all she’s worked for on a thief like Will instead of becoming the wife of a nobleman if not a king, but Anastasia announces that she loves Will.  Her mother says if they leave, Anastasia can only come back as a servant in the family, but they jump.

When we next see them, things in Wonderland have not been as wonderful as they hoped they would be.  They are starving and barely surviving based on what Will has to steal for them.  When they find out about a ball, they decide to crash it and steal some food.

While Will doesn’t fit in thanks, Anastasia feels right at home.  While she ogles the jewels, she catches the eye of the king.  They are talking when Will is found out and they are thrown out.

Anastasia decides to go back and steal the jewels.  She’s going to sneak in and then get them to Will, who will be waiting below.  However, she is caught by the king.  Instead of arresting her, however, he makes her an offer – become his queen.  She professes to love Will, and the king says that doesn’t matter.  In the last scene, she is presented to the people with Will looking on from the courtyard.

Meanwhile, modern day Wonderland was pretty busy even if Knave was a statue the entire time.  Let’s start with Jafar and White Rabbit.  Jafar is looking for some weakness in Alice and his hoping that Rabbit, as a friend, will know what it is.  When Rabbit refuses to cooperate, Jafar uses his staff to cut off Rabbit’s foot.  He offers to reattach it if Rabbit will spill a secret in the next 60 seconds.  We don’t know what he says, but next thing we know, Jafar has reattached Rabbit’s foot and is commanding him to create a portal.  Rabbit asks where to, and Jafar says he knows.

Meanwhile, Cyrus is still drilling out the bottom of his cage, sitting over it to hide his work when a guard comes to check on them.  He completes the hole and then swings over to the ledge.  A guard comes in, Cyrus steals his keys and knocks him into the pit.  He throws them to the old man in the other cage, but the man drops them, saying he would just slow Cyrus down.  Reluctantly, Cyrus runs down the corridor…

…and into the White Rabbit.  Rabbit is trying to escape from Jafar so he doesn’t have to create this portal.  Cyrus begs Rabbit to stay quiet, and after a tense stand off, he shoes Cyrus down a side corridor.  He then turns back and tells Jafar he is ready to create the portal.  Jafar says it is a good thing Rabbit didn’t escape because the land around his fortress is not very friendly.

Which brings us to Alice.  The Red Queen finds her standing and looking at the statue of Knave.  It takes some doing, but Queen finally convinces Alice to accept a deal.  Alice will retrieve some magic dust that Queen needs to fend off Jafar’s dark magic and then Queen will tell Alice where Jafar’s fortress is so Alice can try to rescue Cyrus.  It turns out this magic dust is on the other side of a deep cavern with no way to it.  And only the pure in heart can get it.  While Alice isn’t certain of her changes, Queen knows they are better than her own.

Alice takes a first step and finds she is walking on air.  However, after a few more, she plummets to a cavern.  There, she is confronted by her younger self (in the blue dress) who offers Alice a chance to get her revenge by killing Queen.  She even shakes the ground enough to get Queen in the cavern with them.

Of course, Alice can’t do it, and it’s a good thing because it was a test.  Since Alice passed, she is given the magic dust, most of which Queen takes.  And then Queen takes off without keeping her end of the bargain.

However, Alice has a little of the dust on her own.  She tells it to show her the way to Cyrus, and it heads over a valley and reveals Jafar’s hidden fortress.  Meanwhile, Cyrus has made it outside and sees the flash of Alice’s necklace.  The two know how to get to each other.  But what lies between?

Meanwhile, Queen takes a portion of the magic dust and throws it on the statue of Knave.  She walks away before he awakens, but it works.  He’s now human again.

The king that Anastasia agreed to marry sure looked like the White King to me.  Since the book Through the Looking Glass had both the White and Red Queen, I’m wondering if I’m just mistaken or if there is a story behind how she became the Red Queen.  (Unless it was the Black and Red Queens.  It’s been a long time since I read the books.)

So where are Jafar and Rabbit going?  And just how much danger and peril are between Cyrus and Alice?  Will Knave find Alice?  It would be interesting if he caught up with Cyrus first instead.

I’m already looking forward to next week, but hit me up with any comments as we wait.