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Amara

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This page is move protected The subject of this article is involved with the Once Upon a Time The subject of this article is involved with Once Upon a Time in Wonderland The subject of this article is or relates to a character The subject of this article is female The subject of this article is involved with Agrabah The subject of this article is involved with Wonderland The subject of this article is magical or capable of using magic The subject of this article is deceased The subject of this article is featured in Season Six of Once Upon a Time


She gave her life for ours... so that we may grow old together, and build the family she's always dreamed of.

—Cyrus to Taj and Rafi src


Amara is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and Once Upon a Time. She débuts in the first episode of the spin-off series and is portrayed by guest star Zuleikha Robinson.

Amara is based on Jafar's snake staff from the Disney film Aladdin.

History

Before First Curse

Amara is mother to three sons, Taj, Cyrus and Rafi, and they all live together. She has a great admiration for serpents because of their ability to renew themselves, and decorates her home with many images of them. One night, she is trapped inside the house when it is set on fire by men who have a grudge against her son Cyrus for cheating at cards. She becomes bedridden with burn wounds and nearly perishes, but is restored to health with the aide of magic water from the Well of Wonders. Once Amara learns her sons stole water from the well, she ushers them to leave Agrabah as soon as possible before Nyx, the well guardian, comes to claim them. Her warning comes too late as Nyx manifests in the house. Amara implores the guardian for mercy, a plea Nyx ignores, and then the well guardian curses the three brothers to become genies and grant the desires of other people. As Amara looks on in horror, Nyx traps each of her sons in a bottle and scatters them to unknown locations. As the stolen waters keep her eternally young, she uses her extended life to harness magic. She also becomes determined to find her sons no matter the cost, and becomes a ruthless sorceress. ("Dirty Little Secrets," "Heart of the Matter")

Later, Amara becomes a widely feared sorceress who lives on the outskirts of Agrabah and retains her affinity for serpents. The city's inhabitants are terrified of her, to the point the locals evacuate the market whenever she shops there. On one such excursion, Amara notices a young boy, Jafar, staring curiously at her. She returns his stare for several, prolonged seconds and then moves on. Shortly thereafter, Jafar goes to Amara's home and begs her to teach him magic. She refuses until he admits that he is the Sultan's bastard, and wants revenge because of his father's abandonment. Intrigued, Amara caves in and spends the next several years training him. In the process, she develops romantic feelings for Jafar and begins to see him as a partner and not a student. As a test, she poisons the wine that Jafar later gives to a shepherd, Akil, as a reward for finding his lost goat. Amara introduces him to a masking spell, that requires a liver ingredient, which she intends to take from Akil. She offers Jafar the antidote to save his friend, but warns if he does, they won't have a liver for the spell. To prove he is willing to do whatever it takes for magic, Jafar lets Akil die. Pleased, she congratulates his choice and lures him into a lustful kiss as they become lovers. Eventually, Amara shares with him her master plan to use three genies and rewrite the laws of magic to become the most powerful sorceress ever, or at least, that's the reason she lets him believe. In truth, she wishes to break the laws of magic to free her sons from their eternal doom as genies. After acquiring two of the genie bottles, Jafar betrays Amara by turning her an actual snake, which then becomes his staff. The staff allows Jafar access to her magical abilities, which will eventually enable him get around the spell's requirement of needing a second sorcerer. ("The Serpent," "To Catch a Thief")

Since then, Jafar carries Amara in staff form and uses her magic whenever he desires. ("Down the Rabbit Hole" - "The Serpent," "Dirty Little Secrets," "The Savior")

Sometime during Jafar's attempt to assume control in the capital of Agrabah, Aladdin uses magic to sever the staff in half, which prevents Jafar from using Amara's magic. ("Street Rats")

After First Curse

Jafar corners Alice and Cyrus after their journey to another realm to reclaim the Knave's heart. By fulfillment of Jafar's requirements, the heart must be returned to Knave, who has taken Cyrus' place as one of the three genies required for a spell to break the laws of magic. When the twosome refuse to surrender it, Jafar uses the serpent staff to send them flying backwards; allowing him to snatch the box containing the heart. When he attempts to kill Cyrus with the staff's power, Amara, recognizing the man as her son, deflects the magic to hit the sorcerer instead. The fallen staff is then picked up by Cyrus, and though Jafar tries to magically repossess it, Amara resists him, leaving the villain no choice but to flee. Afterwards, Cyrus confusedly examines the serpent staff and tests his magic compass on it. Amazingly, the compass, which they have been using to locate Cyrus' mother, continually points at the staff. Cyrus realizes the weapon is indeed his mother, and they set out to free her. ("Heart of the Matter")

Alice and Cyrus intend to return the water inside Amara to the well guardian Nyx, but Knave, desperate to break the laws of magic so his lover can be resurrected, steals the staff for Jafar. Eventually, he is convinced otherwise by Alice. Continuing on with the journey, the trio are ambushed by Jafar's ally, the Jabberwocky, who cares little for the sorcerer and only wishes for her own freedom. Alice desires help to revive Knave's true love, Anastasia, but the Jabberwocky doesn't have that kind of power. Rather, the Jabberwocky states she can help them, gesturing at the staff, whose serpent eyes begin giving a bright glow. In some way, Amara regains her human form and confronts Jafar in the palace. As she distracts her former apprentice into a magical duel, Cyrus begins freeing himself from his binds. With every attack she delivers, Jafar counters back evenly. Finally, Amara rips glass shards from a mirror and levitates them towards him. Jafar pushes back, but instead of killing her, he uses a shard to impale Cyrus. Despite how well-guarded she kept her secret from him, he has already figured out that Cyrus and the two other cursed genies are her sons. Amara despondently nestles her wounded son while Jafar offers the only opportunity to save him by breaking the laws of magic. Pushed to her limit, she gives in and combines powers with Jafar to obliterate the laws of magic. ("To Catch a Thief")

After breaking the laws of magic, she rushes to her son's side where Alice is currently tending to him. Amara does not resist when Jafar attempts to kill her, which is stopped by the old prisoner. During the distraction, she and Alice carry Cyrus into the hallway. Amara summons a magic carpet to fly them to the White Rabbit's house where she magically heals Cyrus. After thanking Alice for protecting her son, she suggests they defeat Jafar once and for all by returning the well water to Nyx, which will then undo the genie curse as well as the broken laws of magic. Despite that this will guarantee her own death, Amara is willing to make the sacrifice. Alice still wants to save the Red Queen to fulfill her promise to Knave, but Amara chastises that it's not possible now without risking all their lives. The girl splits from Amara and Cyrus to gather soldiers with the White Rabbit so they can regroup and storm the castle together. Arriving at the well, Cyrus is still unwilling to allow his mother to die, but she persuades him to let her go. As she approaches Nyx, Jafar murders her. After her death, Cyrus attempts to return the water in his mother's body to the well, but Jafar obliterates it. He meets his end at Nyx's hands; enslaved as a genie, which strips him of his former powers and reverses the laws of magic. Nyx's genie curse is lifted and frees Knave, Taj and Rafi from servitude. Cyrus, Taj and Rafi are saddened to learn of their mother's sacrifice. ("And They Lived...")

Magical Abilities

  • Conjuration - Ability to conjure objects out of the blue.
  • Shapeshifting - Ability to alter the appearance of oneself or others.
  • Telekinesis - Ability to control the movement of the environment.

Family

 
Amara †
 
 
 
Unknown
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TajCyrus
 
 
 
AliceRafi
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daughter

Notes:

  • Solid lines denote blood parent-child relationships
  • Dashed lines denote marriage relationships that result in offspring
  • † denotes the deceased

Trivia

Character Notes

Production Notes

  • The casting call describes her as, "a powerful and beautiful sorceress from Agrabah."[3]

Props Notes

Set Dressing

Appearances

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.

References

  1. ↑ File:W111Title.png
  2. ↑ File:601Title.png
  3. ↑ Once Upon A Time in Wonderland - Episode 1.04 - 2 roles being cast. SpoilerTV (August 22, 2013). “Also, the guest role of Amara, a powerful and beautiful sorceress from Agrabah.”
  4. ↑ File:W105StopWatch.png
  5. ↑ File:W104No2.png
    File:W104No3.png
    File:W104No4.png
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