TV Recap: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland 1-12 - To Catch a Thief

It was pretty funny.  Last week, I mentioned wondering how Knave got his heart back.  Then during the week, I got to wondering how Alice and Knave became friends in the first place.  Both of those questions got answered in the flashback from this week's episode.  And the events in the modern story line?  Yikes!  They've got a lot of wrap up in the series finale.  (Did you catch they actually called it that during the promo?  Not that I'm surprised.  I'm just glad they are giving us the entire thing.)

Anyway, let's start with the flashback, which finds Will working as the Knave or Jack of all Trades for Cora.  Yes, it's an unexpected consequence of having her rip his heart out.  And his current mission?  Hunt down and kill Alice.  However, Alice keeps out smarting Knave and the other soldiers sent after her.  The second time, she captures Knave in a rope trap.  When she learns why he is hunting her, she decides to steal his heart back for him.

Due to precise timing, she manages to sneak into Cora's heart vault.  It takes her a bit to figure out her naming system, but she gets the right one and comes back to Knave.  That was a very funny scene as she realizes she can order him to do whatever.  But she quickly decides to have him help her get proof that Wonderland exists to prove to her father.  Once she's captured the White Rabbit, she gives Knave his heart and departs.  Of course, we know she's about to find Cyrus's genie bottle, but that's a different flashback.

Meanwhile, Knave and Alice's friendship is put to the test in the modern storyline.

The episode starts with Alice and Cyrus back at their retreat trying to decide what to do with the staff.  Alice wants to free Cyrus's mom so at least he'll have a few minutes with her, but Cyrus is in favor of just putting it into the Well of Wonders as is to free his brothers faster.  He's just convinced Alice to do that when Knave shows up.

Knave comes bringing the news of Red Queen's death and his hopes to revive her.  However, Alice and Cyrus are not going to let Jafar win at all.  Knave appears to go along with them, but he's really still plotting against them.  When they go to sleep for the night, he tries to steal the staff.  Cyrus wakes up and tries to stop him but gets punched out for his efforts.  When he wakes up, he and Alice start using the compass to find Knave and the staff.  They do, and Alice tries to talk to him again.  However, he stalks off and that would have been the end of it except that Alice falls off the cliff they are talking on and into the river below.  Despite not knowing how to swim, Knave rescues her.  As they are talking after the rescue, Alice finally convinces Knave that they will find another way to get Red Queen back after defeating Jafar.

But here's where things get interesting.  Jabberwocky shows up.  She's decided that Jafar will not keep his word to free her, so she meets up with our trio to try to join up with them.  After all, once Jafar is defeated and gone, there will be no more fear in Wonderland, so she will move on as well.  And that's exactly what the trio decides to do.

Therefore, Cyrus is "captured" by Jabberwocky and taken to Jafar.  Meanwhile, Knave and Alice sneak into the dungeon.  Knave draws the guards away while Alice sneaks in and rescues Jafar's father.  Meanwhile, who should talk in to confront Jafar but Amara.  She and Jafar start to fight it out magically, however Jafar has figured out her secret - the genies are her sons.  Amara breaks a mirror and sends the shards of glass at Jafar.  He deflects one of them over to Cyrus, killing him.  Alice immediately knows, and this brings her running.  But it also changes Amara's mind on things.  The spell that Jafar wants to enact to change the laws of magic requires two sorcerers, and Amara is now willing to help with it since it will save one of her sons.  And the last scene is of Jafar and Amara enacting it.  Then Jafar's eyes glow white.

This can't be a good thing.

Remember a few weeks ago when I said I didn't see how they'd spread out the story for a few more weeks?  They did a good job of doing just that and keeping me watching.  Now, I'm wondering just how they will resolve everything in one episode.  I'm sure there is a plan, but it's going to be packed from start to finish.

I'm still trying to figure out how this all fits into the timeline of the mother series.  How could Will, Alice, and Red Queen be so young to have met Cora who spent 28 years not aging under a curse?  But I'm letting it go because I've enjoyed the series enough it truly doesn't matter.

I also have no theories on how they will defeat Jafar next week.  They could still turn him into a genie, but I think it's going to take more than that.  Any theories while we wait for the final episode?