Once upon a time, there was a magical sequence full of basic fairy tales and Disney characters thrown into the true world by way of a darkish curse forged by an Evil Queen — the present was appropriately referred to as, Once Upon a Time. The brainchild of former Lost writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, the present enchanted ABC viewers for seven seasons and 156 episodes. During a latest interview with Collider, former Once star, Colin O’Donoghue, bought followers serious about the potential of a Once Upon a Time revival. While there is definitely an argument for the present’s return, audiences haven’t got to attend for a theoretical revival to return to the realms of the present.

Premiering in 2013 alongside the primary present’s third season, the spin-off sequence, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, was an thrilling growth of the Once universe that many viewers missed out on. The romantic-adventure sequence had a large advertising marketing campaign and fairly a little bit of buzz main as much as its premiere, but it was not a scores darling like its predecessor. Though the endeavor might have solely lasted one season, it is most positively worthy of a watch by followers of the dad or mum sequence because of a full story, an epic sequence finale, and an growth on a variety of fan-favorites.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

In Victorian England, the younger and delightful Alice tells a story of a unusual new land that exists on the opposite facet of a rabbit gap.

Release Date

October 10, 2013

Cast

Sophie Lowe , Michael Socha , Peter Gadiot , Emma Catherine Rigby , Naveen Andrews , John Lithgow , Brian George , Ben Cotton

Seasons

1

Creator(s)

Jane Espenson , Zack Estrin , Adam Horowitz , Edward Kitsis

What Happens in ‘Once Upon a Time in Wonderland’?

Before Once Upon a Time‘s third season, it was introduced that ABC had picked up Once Upon a Time in Wonderland for a 13-episode season. During Season 2 of the primary sequence, viewers complained that the present wasn’t airing constantly, as “in two weeks” grew to become the frequent tagline for the present’s post-episode promos. To treatment the difficulty, ABC introduced Once Upon a Time‘s 22-episode third season could be break up into two volumes, with the primary 11 episodes premiering within the fall and the ultimate 11 airing within the spring, which allowed the episodes to air with out the interruptions of particular occasions within the winter, such because the Superbowl and the Academy Awards. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland was initially meant to fill the event-less weeks in between these two half seasons. After early buzz following the present’s 20-minute pilot presentation and the discharge of its trailer, the community moved the revival as much as its fall schedule and gave it its personal night time and time slot.

Set in Once‘s (first) rendition of Wonderland, the 13-episode sequence follows Alice (Sophie Lowe), as she returns to Wonderland alongside her buddy, the Knave of Hearts/Will Scarlet (Michael Socha), to seek out the real love that she thought she’d misplaced: a genie named Cyrus (Peter Gadiot). There, she should defeat the complicated Red Queen (Emma Rigby) and the malevolent Jafar (Naveen Andrews) to reunite together with her genie and produce peace to Wonderland.

‘Once Upon a Time in Wonderland’ Benefited From Its Shorter Run

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland‘s one-season storyline made for a tight, well-paced arc, as a shorter run meant that there was no want for filler episodes. When the season begins, Alice is up towards the Red Queen and Jafar’s alliance. Cyrus is Jafar’s prisoner, whereas Alice and the Knave seek for him. By the time the winter finale aired, Alice and Cyrus reunite and the fan-favorite Red Queen has turn into an anti-hero, compelled to work with the lovers with a view to defeat Jafar and to win again her personal real love. While followers cherished Regina’s (Lana Parrilla) redemption arc within the unique sequence, it was a multi-year wrestle for the previous evil queen, as viewers needed to wait till Season 3 to see Regina crew up with the heroes. Instead, Wonderland was in a position to ship a deliciously enjoyable villain-hero dynamic after simply a few episodes.

Related

Every Season of ‘Once Upon a Time’, Ranked

Magic at all times got here at a value…

Speaking of character dynamics, the quick run additionally allowed for ample character improvement. While Once Upon a Time‘s character arcs made for iconic tv, these tales needed to be stretched out over the course of twenty-two to 23 episodes a 12 months. Each season additionally introduced in new characters from fairy tales and Disney lore, which led to a crowded roster. Wonderland‘s single-season arc meant that every of its fundamental characters wanted to not solely attain their full improvement by the season’s finish, however additionally they needed to do it in a shorter interval. This resulted in a well-balanced and dynamically written season, the place every character bought to shine in each single episode. The arcs culminated in a satisfying and delightful sequence finale that’s the Once Upon a Time universe at its easiest, however these characters weren’t the one ones given a probability to shine.

‘Once Upon a Time in Wonderland’ Expanded on Favorite ‘Once Upon a Time’ Characters

Throughout its seven-year run, Once Upon a Time launched a slew of fan-favorite characters. But with such a giant ensemble, it was comprehensible that some characters fell to the wayside. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland‘s barely smaller fundamental forged allowed the present to broaden on a few Once Upon a Time favorites. In the sequence’ third episode, it is revealed that the Knave is from the Enchanted Forest and is none apart from Will Scarlet, one in every of Robin Hood’s (Sean Maguire) Merry Men. Maguire seems in a flashback in a story that lays the groundwork for Robin’s wrestle in Season 4 of Once, by which Socha reprised his position as Will. The flashback additionally consists of the criminally underrated Once Upon a Time villain, Maleficent (Kristen Bauer van Straten), who, at that time, hadn’t appeared on the primary present for the reason that first season, and would not return till the Queens of Darkness story in Season 4. Maleficent wasn’t the one massive dangerous from the dad or mum sequence to fall down the rabbit gap, although.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, one of the vital evil Once villains of all made an look in Wonderland when Cora (Barbara Hershey) invaded Episode 11, “Heart of the Matter.” The episode focuses on Rigby’s Anastasia; as she adjusts to her new position as Wonderland’s Red Queen in a flashback, the Queen of Hearts, Cora, pays her a go to. Cora takes Anastasia underneath her wing after saying her personal daughter (a nod to Regina) has been a “disappointment.” She volunteers to show Anastasia magic, although the younger woman is reluctant. While increasing on the Red Queen’s story and serving to make her extra comprehensible to Wonderland viewers, it additionally furthers Cora’s story. Viewers will keep in mind from the primary present that — regardless of turning into the monster Cora needed her to be — Regina at all times had a turbulent relationship together with her mom. The Caterpillar, who initially appeared within the 18th episode of Once Upon a Time‘s first season (together with the debut of Wonderland as a realm), makes quite a few appearances and is revealed to be a mob boss. But the spin-off’s connections to Once weren’t one-sided. When the dad or mum sequence returned for its fourth season the next season, the mythology and characters of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland would discover their strategy to Storybrooke.

Does ‘Once Upon a Time in Wonderland’ Connect to ‘Once Upon a Time’?

Once Upon a Time‘s fourth season was plagued by new characters. From the addition of Frozen‘s lore to a trio of a few of Disney’s greatest witches, there was no scarcity of latest forged members. But an underrated addition was that of Socha’s Will Scarlet. Debuting within the season’s fourth episode, Socha was added to the principal forged. His arrival is a nuisance to Emma and the Storybrooke gang initially, as he will get himself into all kinds of hassle with the sheriff’s division. But his crime spree really teased additional connections.

Related

Nothing Was the Same After This ‘Once Upon a Time’ Episode

This Season 3 episode is mythology writing at its greatest.

Emma arrests Will after he breaks into the library and passes out drunk. When she finds him, Emma confiscates a web page Will tore out from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; a web page that particularly references the Red Queen. Throughout the season, Will laments that he is separated from Anastasia, and showrunners Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz had plans to carry Rigby’s Red Queen over to the primary sequence as effectively, however the plans by no means panned out, as Socha exited the sequence following the season’s ending, per DigitalSpy.

Jafar would additional cross over when he was added to Season 6’s character Rolodex. Though Naveen Andrews was unavailable to reprise his position, Oded Fehr‘s tackle the character is identical as Wonderland‘s. When Hook comes throughout Jafar, he is nonetheless trapped within the genie bottle Alice and Cyrus put him in on the finish of the spin-off, and vows revenge on the “people who put me in there.” He does not get very far, nonetheless, as he is foiled by Princess Jasmine (Karen David). Unfortunately for Wonderland viewers, this could be the final cross-over for the exhibits. Alice and Cyrus particularly left the story with Wonderland‘s premature ending.

Why was ‘Once Upon a Time in Wonderland’ Cancelled?

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland had a formidable promoting marketing campaign previous to the sequence premiere. Initially, it was to fill Once‘s winter hiatus. However, after ABC determined to present the present its personal night time and time slot, the sequence failed to usher in the scores for which the community hoped. Once Upon a Time‘s third season, which aired the identical 12 months, averaged 7.08 million viewers an episode with a 2.20 within the coveted 18-49 demographic, per TVSeriesFinale.com. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, nonetheless, averaged simply 3.76 million viewers and a 0.9 within the demo. As the sequence was initially designed as a restricted sequence with the potential to turn into an anthology, ABC determined to cancel the present and finish it with the already close-ended finale.

Related

The 10 Best ‘Once Upon a Time’ Episodes, According to IMDb

“All magic comes with a price.”

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland was not the scores enhance for which ABC had hoped. However, the 13-episode spin-off is a magical manner for viewers to revisit the fantastical realms of the Once Upon a Time universe. From a tight, well-paced story that enables every of its characters to shine, to appearances from favorites of the unique sequence, viewers are in for a larger-than-life and satisfying journey down the rabbit gap.