Did Once Upon a Time in Wonderland manage to wrap up all the loose ends in tonight’s series finale, “And They Lived?” Find out in our full recap.
The White Rabbit offers a tip of the hat as the Once Upon a Time marches to the sunset. The march is one filled with battles between good and evil, new love, and resolution. Read the full recap to see how the spin-off series bid farewell to Wonderland.
The Rules Have Changed: Now that Amara and Jafar changed the laws of magic, no one is dead forever, the past is able to be changed, and anyone can fall in love with the snap of a finger. First on Jafar’s list, his father. The Sultan falls under Jafar’s spell and showers him with affection. However, Jafar requests his father go one step further and feel what it is like to be murdered by someone he loves.
As the Sultan drowns at the hands of Jafar, Cyrus is dragged through the palace by Amara and Alice until they reach a magic carpet. The trio arrives at the home of the White Rabbit and his wife who try to help save Cyrus. However, Amara takes matters into her own hands and heals Cyrus’ wounds.
Trapping Will inside a forcefield, Jafar takes the opportunity to tell Will he changed the second law of magic and walks Anastasia into the room. There is one catch, Ana is now under the illusion that she is in love with Jafar, not Will.
For/Against Wonderland: Jafar and Alice each take up arms to restore order to Wonderland. Alice and Cyrus decide to split up. Amara and Cyrus will head to the Well of Wonders and return the water while the White Rabbit and Alice find an army to take on Jafar.
Across Wonderland, Jafar raises the fallen men of Wonderland to hunt down the soldiers attempting to take away his power. Alice’s army begins to grow weary of their fate, but a pep talk from their leader encouraging them to be brave and strong because they are fighting for the future of the place they call home, urges them forward.
At the red doors, Cyrus and Amara are surrounded by Jafar’s soldiers, while Alice is ambushed on her end as well. While Amara uses her powers to have the soldiers turn their swords on themselves, Alice fights valiantly, but is captured and taken to Jafar. Even after killing his father, torturing Will, and bringing an entire army to life, Jafar decides to one up his own wickedness by threatening to erase Alice’s memories. He offers her one way out of losing Cyrus and her only chance at true love, if she gives up Amara, her memories are safe.
The Past is in the Past: Alice’s resilience and faith in true love casts an omen over Jafar’s desire for full control. While Jafar insists Alice is underestimating his power, he is underestimating the advantage she has over him. Love, after all, is something that no amount of magic can ever bring to fruition. Whatever Jafar does to Alice, it will not change the fact that he will never feel true love.
Jafar convinces Ana to give up the location of the Well of Wonders so that he may cut off Amara. Once he leaves, Alice and Will spot the rabbit in the palace and decide to distract Ana to escape. Will turns to Ana and tells her that the love she believes she feels for Jafar is nothing more than a spell. She can find it in herself to remember the love she and Will once shared. Will pulls her to him through the forcefield and kisses her, breaking the curse Jafar cast on her.
At the Well of Wonders, Amara and Cyrus are met by Jafar who casts Amara to the floor and removes the powers from her body. She then returns to the water that first cast her sons into their bottles. As Jafar goes toward Cyrus, Alice appears from the rabbit hole and encourages Cyrus to get the water back into the well.
As Cyrus takes up the water into his hands and offers it to the well, Jafar freezes it in mid air and wipes it away in his hands. Thinking that the opportunity for Alice to win is put to rest, he proceeds to declare his victory. However, the water from Amara was returned when she returned to her liquid state. The water Jafar washed over his hands was stolen water and therefore places him in the custody of servitude to others for eternity. Cue Aladdin II.
Unfortunately, the end of Jafar also means the end of everything Jafar changed in the present. This includes Anastasia’s renewal of life. The pain that Will experienced the last time, happens all over again, but does not last for long. Cyrus and Alice show up with water from the Well of Wonders. This time, the water is a gift and will not require Anastasia to serve others since her fate was changed by Jafar.
The End: Back in Victorian England, Cyrus and Alice tie the knot with their closest friends. Yes, this includes a White Rabbit officiate sitting in the same room as Alice’s family. At the end of the ceremony, Alice bids farewell to her friends and promises to return and visit.
Will and Alice share a prolonged goodbye thanking each other for returning love to their lives and making sure they each got their happy ending. Alice’s life flashes forward as she closes the story of Wonderland she composed for her daughter and assures her that every word of the story is true.