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Will Scarlet: Alice, Alice, we have to get out of here right bloody now. Alice?
Alice: Who's Alice?

"Who's Alice" is the sixth episode of ABC's Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. It was written by Jerome Schwartz, and directed by Ron Underwood. It premiered on November 21, 2013.

Synopsis

Jafar pays a visit to the Asylum and Dr. Lydgate to uncover information about Alice, while in Wonderland, Alice heads to the Black Forest on her quest. Meanwhile, the Knave is awakened by magic with the help of an unlikely ally and he goes in search of Alice only to find her in terrible danger, and Cyrus does his best to evade the Red Queen. In flashback, Alice returns to Victorian England and her father after losing Cyrus.[2]

Recap

This section is a detailed recap of this episode. There are major spoilers. Click to expand.

The elderly prisoner tells the Red Queen that she'll never capture his former cellmate for he carries with him the greatest power of all: true love. Cyrus climbs down the rocky wall outside Jafar's castle. He sees the glow of an amulet in the distance. He knows this is Alice, who runs into two strangers blocking her way. They are demanding her necklace as a toll. That's not going to happen. Alice draws her sword. She takes down the thieves with relative ease. They had no idea who they were threatening. Alice speaks aloud to amulet saying she lost it once. She's not about to let that happen again.

Alice makes her way into the Black Forest. The place is filled with ominous warning signs to turn back. Alice is afraid, but she presses forward with the torch she swiped from the thieves. Strange noises are heard during the journey. Alice's flame goes out, but it happens just as she makes it through to the other side. A flower shoots a lavender mist at her. This makes Alice feel quite good. She's startled when a man with a saw appears before her. He identifies himself as the Carpenter.

Alice's thoughts are suddenly quite scattered. Something is off. She suddenly believes that it would be okay to stay exactly where she is. The Knave of Hearts runs into the two thieves who tried to rob Alice. He learns she's headed into the Black Forest. After also being sprayed with lavender mist, the Knave is reunited with Alice. He sees the carpenter staring at them. He knows something is wrong. Alice seems to have put her desire to save Cyrus on hold. He demands answers from the Carpenter, who turns into a tree-like creature before his very eyes.

The Knave notices all the trees in the area have faces. He realizes they used to be people. This is what happens to those who stay in this place. The Knave pleads with Alice to leave. His words fall on deaf ears as Alice no longer knows who she is. She violently swings her sword at the Knave insisting she's happy. It's not real happiness though. Vines begin to overtake Alice. The Knave knows that the only way he can get Alice to come with him is if she wants to go. That's going to be difficult since she believes she's finally found a home.

We jump back one year ago to a time when Alice returns to England. She meets a little girl, Millie, who is actually her half sister. Her father, Edwin, got remarried to Sarah. Alice is overwhelmed at the sight of her new family. Her father says she can not mention Wonderland or genies any longer if she wants to stay. He wants her to try to fit in. She agrees only because she has nowhere else to go. Sarah wants to help Alice meet a suitable young man so she can move on with her life. She sets up a tea with the son of Mrs. Darcy who lives down the road. Alice simply isn't ready for something like this.

Edwin and Sarah are angered when they catch Alice telling Millie stories of Wonderland. The next morning, Mrs. Darcy's son pops by for breakfast. Alice knows this is all Sarah's doing. She lets her father know that this woman doesn't make him truly happy like his mother did. She can't just throw away her love for Cyrus like that. Edwin offers the choice of letting Sarah find her a husband or check in to a hospital. A saddened Alice watches her new family disappear as she is taken off in a carriage to Bethlam Asylum.

In present day Wonderland, the Knave desperately tries to convince Alice that she'll never truly be happy without Cyrus. He's attacked by vines as he does this but manages to toss the amulet into his friend's hand. This causes a flood of memories to come rushing back to Alice. She snaps out of her hypnotic state to cut away the vines that surround her. Alice learns that the reason the Knave wasn't affected like she was is because he never put his heart back after Anastasia broke it. He got used to the emptiness.

Cyrus comes to a dead end in his escape run. The Red Queen appears behind him to let him see that he's just come the outskirts of a castle floating in the sky. The drop is a long way down. The Red Queen tries to tell him that sometimes love is not enough. Cyrus disagrees. That's why he jumps off the edge of the floating island.

Jafar arrives at Bethlam Asylum. He swipes a suit so he can look the part of a doctor. Jafar freaks out Dr. Lydgate by showing him the White Rabbit. It's his way of scaring the good doctor into revealing everything he knows about Alice. A short time later, Jafar shows up at Edwin's house. He knows where his daughter went after she escaped the asylum. He promises he can take him to Alice.

Cast[2]

Starring

Guest Starring

Co-Starring

Trivia

Title

Production Notes

Event Chronology

Episode Connections

Disney

Fairytales and Folklore

  • This episode is a rendition of the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland story, focusing on Alice's return from Wonderland.
  • Also featured are the Carpenter, Tweedledee, Tweedledum and the Red Queen from the story's sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the genie, the magician and the sultan from "Aladdin" story.
  • When Alice returns to Victorian England, the camera focuses on a toy tea set sitting on a small table,[9] a reference to the Hatter's tea party from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
    • Similarly, Alice's stepmother Sarah tells her that they've invited Mr. Darcy to come for tea. When Alice is reluctant, her father chimes in that it's just tea.
  • Planning to outsmart Jafar, the Red Queen says, "Jafar will have nothing and I win the game"; an indirect reference to the game of chess, the main theme of Through the Looking-Glass.
  • The Boro Grove is based on the "wood where things have no names" from the third chapter of Lewis Carroll's sequel Through the Looking-Glass. In the story, Alice travels through the mysterious wood, which makes people forget all nouns, including their own name. She eventually makes it to the other side, where she remembers everything.
  • The Boro Grove is named after the borogrove, "a thin, shabby-looking bird with its feathers sticking out all round—something like a live mop", mentioned by Humpty Dumpty in the first chapter of Through the Looking-Glass.
    • Commenting on the Boro Grove, the Carpenter says, "Makes you feel quite mimsy." A stanza in the first chapter reads "All mimsy were the borogoves"; Humpty Dumpty explains that to Alice that "“mimsy” is “flimsy and miserable”".
  • One of the signs on the road leading to the Black Forest reads as, "Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter".[10] This is a reference to Inferno, the first part of Dante Alighieri's epic poem Divine Comedy. In the poem, Dante passes through the gate of Hell, which bears an inscription ending with the famous phrase:


"Through me you pass into the city of woe:
Through me you pass into eternal pain:
Through me among the people lost for aye.
Justice the founder of my fabric moved:
To rear me was the task of Power divine,
Supremest Wisdom, and primeval Love.
Before me things create were none, save things
Eternal, and eternal I endure.
All hope abandon, ye who enter here."[11]


Lost

  • When Alice is looking through the keyhole, there is a close-up of her eye,[15] a recurring theme on Lost.

Popular Culture

Props Notes

  • PAUSE AND READ: The label on Dr. Lydgate's bottle says (some of the text is obscured but can be seen on prop photos;[17] obscured text is set in fuchsia):


PURE
LAUDANUM

451/2 [sic] GRAINS OPIUM AND 65% ALCOHOL

POISON

DOSE.
3 months old 3 drops
One year old 4 drops
Four years old 5 drops
Ten years old 14 drops
Twenty years old 25 drops
Adults 30 drops

FROM
THE LABORATORY OF
Westlake & Son
CHEMISTS

Plymouth, England


  • REAL WORLD FACTS: Laudanum is a highly addictive solution of dissolved opium powder and alcohol. During the Victorian era, which Alice's world is based on, it was lauded as a cure-all remedy in Europe and North America and was readily available in stores and grocers, even pubs. It was used to soothe everything from headaches to depression.[18]
  • REAL WORLD FACTS: Notice how Dr. Lydgate's medicine contains 65% alcohol; laudanum usually contains 25 percent alcohol on average, but some variants contain as much as 60–90 percent.[18]
  • REAL WORLD FACTS: The label on the bottle is based on real antique laudanum bottles:[19] It is labeled "poison", has an illustration of a skull at the top, states the amount of opium grains and percentage of alcohol, states the number of drops recommended for the ages of 3 months, one, four, ten and twenty years old, and adults; and the name of the production company and where it was produced, is printed at the bottom.
  • CREW NAMES ON PROPS: "Westlake and Son" is a reference to Neil Westlake, a graphic designer on Once Upon a Time and its spin-off.
  • REAL WORLD FACTS: Plymouth is a port city on the south coast of Devon, England.

Set Dressing

Filming Locations

International Titles


Videos

References

  1. Thursday Final Ratings: ‘Big Bang Theory’ & ‘Grey’s Anatomy Adjusted Up; ‘The X Factor’, ‘Reign’ & ‘Glee’ Adjusted Down. TV by the Numbers (November 22, 2013). “ABC. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (...) 3.53”
  2. 2.0 2.1 LISTINGS: ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND. The Futon Critic. “Air Date: Thursday, November 21, 2013. Time Slot: 8:00 PM-9:00 PM EST on ABC. Episode Title: (#106) "Who's Alice".”
  3. File:W106Title.png
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  6. InstagramIcon Kylie Rogers (@kylieannerogers) on Instagram: Watch Alice's homecoming on Once Upon A Time In Wonderland. ABC Thurs 8/7c You don't want to miss it!!! (November 18, 2013). Comment: "you'll have to watch to find out, And you can see me with brown hair!!" (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  7. LISTINGS: ONCE UPON A TIME: Air Date: Sunday, October 05, 2014. Time Slot: 8:00 PM-9:00 PM EST on ABC. Episode Title: (#402) "White Out".. The Futon Critic. “Sean Owen Roberts as ruffian”
  8. Perkins, Martha (July 5, 2018). Vancouver acting community rallies behind couple who lost everything in Kitsilano fire. Vancouver Courier. “Fire consumes Bronwen Smith and John Prowse's wedding rings — on the day of their 15th anniversary”
  9. File:W106VictorianEngland1YearAgo.png
  10. File:W106AbandonAllHopeYeWhoEnter.png
  11. Canto III. Internet Sacred Text Archive. Retrieved on September 4, 2018.
  12. File:514Inscription.png
  13. File:514PickUpThePirate.png
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  15. File:W106Eavesdropping.png
  16. TwitterLogo Jerome Schwartz (@JeromeSchwartz) on X, formerly Twitter: @applegirlie21 it was a direct shout out. You nailed it. (January 9, 2014). (backup link) (archive screenshot)
  17. Once Upon a Time [sic] - Rumple's [sic] Laudanum Bottle Prop (0545). iCollector (2020). Archived from the original on December 7, 2020.
  18. 18.0 18.1 Laudanum Addiction. The Recovery Village. Retrieved on June 2, 2019. “In Victorian-era Europe and North America, laudanum was lauded as a cure-all remedy and creative aid by artists and civilians alike. (...) By definition, laudanum is a tincture, which is a solution of a dissolved drug and alcohol. (...) Opium tinctures like laudanum usually contain 25 percent ethanol (alcohol) on average, with some variants containing 60–90 percent alcohol. (...) Laudanum is highly addictive because it contains several habit-forming drugs: opium, morphine, codeine and alcohol. (...) A standardized form of the drug was created in the seventeenth century and sold in Europe and North America as a cure-all medicine. Laudanum use skyrocketed during the 1800s, when it was readily available in stores, grocers and even pubs to people of every social standing. (...) People frequently used the drug to soothe everything from headaches to depression, but unfortunately, physical dependence and addiction were not understood at this time.”
  19. ANTIQUE POISON LAUDANUM BOTTLES W/ PAPER LABEL MOYER BROS. BLOOMSBURG PA 1906. Worthpoint. Retrieved on June 2, 2019. (photograph)
    LAUDANUM-POISON-OPIUM DRUGGIST BOTTLE CA 1900. Worthpoint. Retrieved on June 2, 2019. (photograph)
  20. File:W106AvoidAsylums.png
    Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. Michael Joy. Retrieved on March 2, 2019. (Photograph)
  21. McCormack, Kirsty (June 21, 2013). Queen Victoria's mourning gown expected to sell for up to £3,000 at Derby auction. Daily Express. “Victoria's dress, which consists of a bodice and skirt, dates to around 1890 and is typical of the mourning fashion the monarch wore following Prince Albert's death in 1861.”
  22. File:W101KnowYoureLying.png
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  27. File:104SocksUnderTheBed.png
  28. File:615AllDay.png
  29. File:701ACurseHuh.png
  30. File:702DeadEnd.png
  31. File:714Yesterday.png
  32. File:W106AvoidAsylums.png
  33. File:102Apologizing.png

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