‘Once Upon a Time in Wonderland’ Recap: ‘Home’

There was a lot of betrayal going on in this episode of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland,' which is why it was so surprising to see the hour end with an unexpected alliance between Alice and the Red Queen. But we're getting ahead of ourselves; first, let's talk about the oh-so-romantic flashback that kicked things off.

We're treated to a sweet scene at the start of the episode between Alice and Cyrus. They're sitting by a fire, cuddling and watching the stars literally fall all around them. They can do that because ... magic! But their lovely little date under the stars is soon interrupted by a group of baddies looking to kidnap Cyrus and exploit his magical Genie powers. This seems to be a recurring event: Alice and Cyrus are having a great time hanging out and falling in love at some magical locale, and suddenly some jerks appear brandishing swords and wanting to kidnap Cyrus. Alice has to help her love fight off his would-be captors, and they escape by the skin of their teeth.

It seems everybody in Wonderland wants to have their very own Genie, and even though Alice and Cyrus are able to keep the baddies at bay, Cyrus knows he and Alice can't keep running and hiding for the rest of their lives. This is most apparent after Alice is wounded during a skirmish, and the White Rabbit warns Cyrus that his life on the run might one day get her killed. Hoping to keep Alice safe, Cyrus decides it's time for them to settle down in a cute, hidden little cottage of their own. They'll be safe there because it's protected by cloaking magic, but Cyrus had to part with something very important to him to get the cottage, a magic compass his mother gave him. The compass has the power to lead anyone to any item they've lost in their lives. Cyrus trades it to The Caterpillar in order to get the cottage, and he and Alice live their happily ever after. Oh, wait ... no they don't.

Back in the present day, Alice and Knave travel to the cottage hoping to find Cyrus there waiting for them. But before getting there, they make a pit stop the the Rabbit's house to find out why he betrayed them. We know the Rabbit has been reluctantly working for the Queen all season, and we finally find out why: She has kidnapped his family and threatened. He's forced to do her bidding to keep them safe. Luckily, Alice and Knave are able to rescue Rabbit's wife and their cute little baby bunnies from the Queen's secret hiding place, which is the trailer where she and Knave used to live before she left him.

Alice and Knave finally make it to the cloaked cottage only to find it abandoned. Alice is bummed, and it looks like she's about to give up ... until she sees Cyrus running to the cottage! As promised in the previews to this episode, Alice and Cyrus are finally reunited, and the reunion is sweet and rewarding -- for a minute, anyway. Alice learns that the Queen is the one who has brought Cyrus back to her, which makes no sense. Everyone is wondering why the Queen, who kidnapped Cyrus and handed him to Jafar in the first place, would now help him reunite with Alice. Why would she betray Jafar? Well, it turns out she did it all for love! Who would've guessed?

Apparently, handing Cyrus over to Jafar would allow the laws of magic to be changed, which means the Queen could go back in time and change everything that happened on the day she left Knave. Her secret wish is to be with Knave again and to make him love her, but she can only do that by erasing the pain she caused him in the past. Sound complicated? It is, sorta. Why didn't the Queen choose the easier route and just tell Knave something like, "Hey, I made a mistake, I totally love you, so let's get back together?" We honestly have no idea. At any rate, she tries to make things right with Knave after saving Cyrus, but he still doesn't trust her. And while everyone is arguing over whether or not the Queen should be trusted, Jafar sends a killer cloud (yes, a killer cloud) to, well, kill everyone.

The cloud's lightening strikes, and Knave takes the hit that was meant for the Queen. It seems he still does have feelings for her after all. But the impact also hurts Alice, since her fate is tied to Knave's because of a wish she made a few episodes ago. It seems like Alice and Knave have earned a one-way trip to Hades until Cyrus hands Knave a wish, and he wishes for Alice's suffering to end. And just like that, she's back on her feet and Cyrus is set free. He's no longer a Genie, he's a human being, which means his life of running and hiding is over. The only catch is ... Knave is now a Genie, and he's trapped inside Cyrus' bottle. And it gets worse, because the bottle somehow got tossed in a river and no one knows where it is.

So Alice and Cyrus are finally together, Rabbit got his family back, and the Queen finally saw the light, but as usual, Knave got screwed again! He's totally the whipping boy of 'Wonderland.' Here's hoping he gets a break when the show returns in January.