Spoilers Ahead
This week’s episode of Once Upon A Time in Wonderland took an unexpected turn no one expected or wanted. If you’re still recovering from the tearjerker ending, then you’re not alone.
In flashbacks we learned that the throne didn’t exactly suit Ana as she imagined, and the moment she was about to run from it all to reunite with Will, Cora being a few steps ahead of her had already told Will she wasn’t coming and forced him to essentially give up his heart. If she had business cards they’d probably read “Cora Mills: Destroying Relationships 1 Heart at a Time. Call 1 (800) Love is Weakness for more information.” As Anastasia is told he is no longer waiting for her, she decides to follow in Cora’s footsteps and take magic lessons. Cora clearly enjoys ruining love stories for power, doesn’t she? First Regina and Daniel, though that was far crueler, and now Anastasia and Will – the lady needs some serious parenting advice.
It was, however, undoubtedly nice to have Barbara Hershey grace our television screens again as she’s an incredibly phenomenal actress who’s able to make us both love and hate Cora with every fiber of our beings, but let’s be real, the only reason I’m actually able to love her is because of Hershey’s impeccable performance. Momma Mills is a bit crazy.
In modern-day Wonderland, Alice, Cyrus, and the Rabbit venture off to Storybrooke to find Will’s heart, but once they return they’re hounded by Jafar only to be protected by his staff which is in fact Cyrus’ mother. Dun dun dun. The best part of their journey was Cyrus’ and Alice’s discovery of modern-day things such as electricity and the ice machine. It’s always fascinating to watch those who aren’t from our world familiarize themselves with our things – Cyrus continuously turning the lights on and off like a little kid was particularly pleasant to watch.
When Will finally got his heart back and reunited with Ana, she was stabbed – hopefully not to death – by Jafar right in front of him. Where does one even begin reviewing such a heartbreaking scene because all I want to do is key-smash, pout, and cry? The worst part of Anastasia’s apparent death is the number of raw honesty viewers got to see in her character. We were once again reminded of how deep her love for Will runs that even if love with her may be impossible, she still wants him to adore someone eventually. That kind of selfless desire is the depiction of love. It’s the kind of love that forgives the mistakes in the past, present, and future strives to make the other person happy and makes a person better. When Will’s heart was placed back into his body, and Ana told him to look at her, Rigby portrayed that scene with such a beautiful childlike innocence. It’s as though a light had finally reentered her life knowing he’s whole again.
Similarly, Socha was able to simultaneously master pain and relief as he once again felt the heartache of being without her, and the captivation of love by knowing she still longs for him. Thus, their kiss came during an incredibly perfect moment as they were both consumed by a love so deeply rooted, nothing but the two of them mattered. As the episode’s title states, and as cheesy as it sounds, their hearts were surely one at that moment – they were one and mattered most. It was all gorgeous and heartwarming until Jafar and the Jabberwocky decided to remind them they were in fact not alone by stabbing Ana while a locked-up Will watched in agony because of the inability to save her.
Hopefully, death isn’t permanent in Wonderland and a happily-ever-after ending isn’t too far from reach. What are your thoughts on this week’s episode?