Edwin, also known as Alice's Father,[1] is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. He débuts in the first episode and is portrayed by guest star Shaun Smyth.
Edwin is based on Charles Kingsleigh from the live-action Disney film Alice in Wonderland.
History
In Victorian England, Edwin is saddened by the death of his wife, and even more so when his young daughter, Alice, goes missing. After a long period of not knowing of her whereabouts, he begins to suspect she is dead. To his shock, Alice returns to the house doorstep exclaiming excitedly with tales of a place called Wonderland. He consults with a doctor, who influences Edwin into thinking Alice is making all of it up. At an older age, Alice disappears again. Many years go by and he eventually decides to let go of the past by remarrying another woman, Sarah, and they start a new family by having a daughter, Millie. Mysteriously, Alice turns up alive and makes an attempt to reintegrate herself into their lives as a family. Edwin is puzzled at Alice's desperate pain over losing a man named Cyrus, who he believes is a delusion in her head. Sarah is more wary of Alice, but Edwin wants to give her a chance to change. During one evening dinner, Alice has a nervous reaction when Sarah suggests that she have tea with a neighboring young man. She squeezes a glass cup until it breaks and accidentally injuries her own hand. Alice pleads that she is not ready to move on yet. That night, Alice awakens from a nightmare and lets knowledge of Cyrus slip to Millie. Edwin and Sarah intrude upon the conversation to send Millie back to her own room. They express disappointment at Alice for filling Millie's head with nonsense and don't think she is trying hard enough to move on. ("Down the Rabbit Hole," "Who's Alice")
At breakfast the following morning, Edwin and Sarah invite in a young man to introduce to Alice, but she angrily rejects the engagement and storms out. Edwin follows and tries to snap his daughter out of her fantasy world. Alice, on the other hand, is heartbroken that her father doesn't believe anything she is saying. Since nothing is working, Edwin decides to send her to an asylum. She stiffly follows through with his decision and specifically asks him not to bother visiting her. On the day Alice is set to leave, Edwin sadly watches from the window as she stands outside with her belongings and is picked up by a doctor in a carriage. ("Who's Alice")Edwin hears word of his daughter, Alice, and her escape from the asylum. No one is able to find her, but one day, Edwin is visited by a man, Jafar, who claims to know where Alice is. ("Who's Alice")
After being shown the White Rabbit as proof of Wonderland, Edwin is promptly taken there. Jafar insists that Edwin must convince Alice to come home. However, he mentions his rocky relationship with his daughter, which causes Jafar to change his tune. Edwin is kidnapped to a lair and has his blood extracted while Jafar makes a potion to masquerade as him. Following this, he is thrown into a cage near another prisoner in an enclosure. Edwin says a prayer for Alice just before drinking some cold soup he's been served. He learns from the prisoner of a previous detainee in the lair, Cyrus, who escaped, and recognizes the man as Alice's beloved. Suddenly, Jafar storms in and wretches Edwin out onto a flying magic carpet to Alice, who is quite certain that he's an impostor of her father. However, Edwin proves to be her father when he gives a painful admission to having blamed Alice for all the unhappiness in his own life, such as her mother's death, and is deeply regretful for not believing in her. He asks not for forgiveness and compassion for his actions, and instead discloses that Cyrus escaped the prison before being dropped into the sea. He is saved when Alice wishes him home. Back in Victorian England, Edwin awakens in his study with a start as his wife Sarah checks up on him. He remembers seeing Alice and being in Wonderland, but thinks all of it is just a dream. ("Bad Blood")
Later, Alice and her fiancée, a very real Cyrus, return to England, confirming that Edwin's visit to Wonderland was not a dream. On the day of Alice's wedding to Cyrus, Edwin visits her as she is getting ready. He thanks his daughter for proving to him that forgiveness can be real and is very happy to welcome Cyrus to the family. Alongside Sarah, Millie and various Wonderland guests, they pay witness to the marriage ceremony as the happy couple are finally joined in matrimony. ("And They Lived...")Family
Unknown † | Edwin | Sarah | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cyrus | Alice | Millie | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Granddaughter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes:
- Solid lines denote parent-child blood relationships
- Dashed lines denote marriages that result in offspring
- † denotes the deceased
- Edwin was firstly married to Alice's mother, and then to Sarah
Trivia
Appearances
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland | ||||||||||
"Down the Rabbit Hole": | "Trust Me": | "Forget Me Not": | "The Serpent": | "Heart of Stone": | "Who's Alice": | "Bad Blood": | ||||
Appears | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Mentioned | Appears | Appears | ||||
"Home": | "Nothing to Fear": | "Dirty Little Secrets": | "Heart of the Matter": | "To Catch a Thief": | "And They Lived...": | |||||
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Appears |
References
- ↑ LISTINGS: ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND: Air Date: Thursday, October 10, 2013. Time Slot: 8:00 PM-9:00 PM EST on ABC. Episode Title: (#101) "Down the Rabbit Hole".. The Futon Critic. “Guest starring are [...] Shaun Smyth as Alice's father”