New Wonderland

New Wonderland^[1] is a world on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It first appears in the eighth episode of the seventh season.

New Wonderland is based on Wonderland from the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the Disney film Alice in Wonderland; and also on the Looking-Glass Land from the novel Through the Looking-Glass.

History

One point in time, Gothel visits New Wonderland and unearths a special mushroom that can be used for the Curse of the Poisoned Heart. ("One Little Tear")

Rapunzel, succumbing to her envy, squeezes liquid from the mushroom into Cecelia's drink, poisoning the woman's heart. Cecelia, in turn, runs away to New Wonderland to protect her loved ones. ("One Little Tear")

Marcus uses his locket to track her for an entire year to that realm's Infinite Maze, but before he can go searching for her, his locket stops glowing, causing him to believe Cecelia has stopped loving him. ("Pretty in Blue")

At some point, Alice visits Wonderland. ("Hyperion Heights")

In the Infinite Maze, Cecelia ends up at a tea party where she meets Alice. Cecilia tells Alice about how she had to leave her husband and her daughter, Ella, because of the curse of the poisoned heart, the very same curse Alice's father has. At some point after that, a jabberwock attacks them and the other party guests, during which Cecelia fights back but is killed in the battle, leaving Alice as the sole survivor to slay the beast. ("Pretty in Blue")

Years later, Alice runs away and Cinderella and Henry follow her through a portal to New Wonderland along with Drizella later looking to poison Henry's heart. Upon arrival to this realm, Ella leads Henry towards a cottage she believes Alice went into, only for them to be caught in a net trap. Much to Ella's bemusement, Henry finds the situation funny as he recalls how his grandpa caught his grandma in a similar trap after she hit him with a rock. Ella grabs Henry's sword, but the blade accidentally slices the rope, freeing them and sending them tumbling. Henry maintains high hopes that Alice and her father will be together again and shares his grandparents' famous motto, "I will always find you". However, Ella thinks he is a bit naive as he comes from a place where true love prevails, while her world is one of broken promises. Inside the cottage, Ella finds the Infinite Maze entrance, which makes Henry realize she is in Wonderland for other reasons. She admits she means to track down her mother Cecelia, whose abandonment broke her father's heart and she wishes to find out her reasons for leaving. After downing a shrinking potion, she rushes into the maze and stumbles into a tea party, where Alice is hiding. When Ella spots her mother's locket on a teapot, Alice reveals Cecelia was killed by a Jabberwock, but she left her family because she had the curse of the poisoned heart. Ella also learns Alice was misled by Drizella into believing she was shielded from Hook's curse. As she realizes Henry is in danger, her mother's locket starts to glow, to which she makes it in time to save him from her stepsister, who is sent home when Alice dumps a looking glass on her. Seeing both pendants glowing in sync, Ella reciprocates Henry's feelings for her by kissing him. ("Pretty in Blue")

Locations

For detailed location information, please see the list of minor New Wonderland locations.

Trivia

Appearances

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.

References