'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' Pilot Recap

A small explosion in the dirt, and a young Alice emerges. She is home. She races down the lane, calling for her father. She bangs on the door, and when he answers, begins to tell him of her adventures.

He is dumbstruck. He informs her she has been gone a very long time.

She listens as her father speaks to a man. The man swears he can cure her of her lying. Alice tells herself she can prove she's not a liar.

A man walks down a night street in present day. He goes toward a diner that is closing, but the employees (characters from "Once Upon a Time?" Are we doing an overlap here?) tell him it's locked up and that with the storm coming he'd better go somewhere dry. He says he'll get on that, and uses his key to get into the closed diner.

He pours himself some coffee, and the entire diner begins to shake and rattle. A hole explodes in the floor, and the white rabbit comes though. He tells the man they're late for someone... Alice. And he's the Knave of Hearts - Alice needs him.

An asylum in England. It could not be more gloomy.

A line of doctors talk to Alice, asking her to tell them what she saw, but she claims to not remember. She's been there a year now. The doctors note that her father brought her when he was at his wit's end, after she used to disappear searching for proof of her adventures. The doctor asks if she still believes it to be true.

Flashback to Wonderland. A caterpillar smokes on a mushroom. Alice crouches underneath, and takes off running. She races, guards following, into the Queen's maze. She takes a bite of the mushroom piece she pilfered and shrinks.

The doctor yells at Alice until she returns to reality. She admits she made it all up.

Tiny Alice searches for a place to hide. She sees a bottle that has been hiding in the bushes, pulls the cork out and goes in.

A man asks her why she is in his bottle. She threatens to make herself big again if he turns her in, but he's not alarmed. His name is Cyrus, and she is welcome.

The doctors ask where she really was when she claimed to be in Wonderland. She says with a friend.

Alice speaks with Cryus. He asks if she'll go home soon, and she says she may - she has proof. She pulls out the white rabbit from her bag. He fishes to find out if she's married, but she tells him the proof is for her father. Cyrus tells her that if you really love someone you don't need proof. He asks for her three wishes.

The doctors continue to grill Alice, about the genie she claims she set free, and how they went from world to world having adventures. And they fell in love. The doctor tells her she has to admit that was a lie as well.

Cyrus and Alice stand on a ledge, looking at the boiling sea. Cyrus tells her that he only had one wish all his time in the bottle... to not be a prisoner again. Only, now he has another. He bends on his knee, but before he can give his speech Alice agrees to marry him. The jewel on his necklace lights up - he tells her their hearts are together now, and they will know when one or the other is near.

They hear footsteps marching behind them. Cyrus tells Alice to run.

The doctors tell her that when she was found, she was inconsolable, saying that her love had been murdered. She claims to not believe it anymore, but the doctor tells her every night she cries out for Cyrus.

The Red Queen has them cornered. A fight ensues. Cyrus and Alice are captured. Cryus breaks free and gets to her, but with a wave of her hand, the queen magically knocks him off the cliff into the boiling sea.

The doctors tell her there is a procedure that can take away her pain and make her forget. Alice asks if it hurts, and the doctor admits it hurts a little. They push a pen toward her and ask her to sign. Crying, she does.

They tell her to go get sleep. Tomorrow her life begins anew.

Alice sleeps, whispering for Cyrus. The doctor prepares his intruments. Alice wakes. The door opens, and she is shocked to see the Knave. He tells her they have to go. She refuses, insisting he is not real. The nurses come back in and grab the Knave, pulling him out of the room, but he yells to Alice that Cyrus is alive; the rabbit saw him.

Alice begins to fight her way out.

The rabbit is waiting for them. The doctor sees them, and pleads with her to stop. Then he sees the rabbit...

The three burst into the street and run. They get cornered, and the rabbit makes a portal. He jumps, but the Knave refuses to go. He didn't leave on good terms. She tells him once she helped him get back his heart, and now it's his turn to help her get back hers. The two jump through the portal.

They land in the Mallow Marsh. Alice asks the rabbit to tell her about Cyrus. Rabbit admits he didn't see Cyrus, but one of his friends did, at the Mad Hatter's old place (he's long-gone... back in Storybrooke, it would seem) in the Tulgey Woods. Unfortunately, as they talk, Knave and Alice get stuck in the marshmallow of the pond and have to escape by toasting it with a dragonfly (get it, it's a real dragon).

The Knave wants to go home. They're going off a hunch, and it's dangerous for him to be there. People want him dead. Alice says she will pay him... she takes three red gems from her shoe: wishes. She warns him there's usually a string attached. He agrees to help.

Rabbit runs down the road, but the queen catches him. She tells him he is late, and he apologizes.

She meets with Rabbit. He tells her yes, he told Alice Cyrus is alive. Is he? She refuses to answer, but tells him he must report back to her on everything Alice does. He leaves crying.

Knave and Alice head through the woods toward the Mad Hatter's house.

A dark man asks the queen if it's working. The queen tells Jafar that she is back in Wonderland. They need the bottle, and Alice to use her wishes. Jafar threatens her and tells her he is through with her. He begins to choke her, but she asks him if he knows where she is. He releases her. Their deal is still on... he wants her wishes, and she... what does she want?

In the swamp, Knave finds a "Wanted" poster for himself. Alice asks what he did after she left, but he won't answer. Alice decides to climb a tree to see the Hatter's house. She takes off her shoes, and the Knave grabs them up. Alice sees the Hatter's house, but looks down and realizes Knave is gone. A low growling in the tree distracts her - the giant Cheshire Cat appears. Alice tries to escape. The cat continues to growl. She notes that he looks different, and he says they are strangers now, and the woods are no longer full of food. He pounces at her, and she falls out of the tree. He pins her, and says the Red Queen promised he'd be the sweetest meat he'd ever taste.

Knave jumps on his tail, and the cat turns. Knave throws a piece of mushroom in the cat's mouth, and it shrinks back down to normal size. Alice demands her wishes back and reminds him he can't steal them, they have to be granted.

They find the Hatter's house and Alice runs in. It appears to be empty. The rabbit comes in behind them, claiming he was looking for them. Knave tells Rabbit to dig a new hole... there's no Cyrus, and he wants to go home.

Alice goes outside to cry, as Knave berates Rabbit for making Alice lose Cyrus twice. Alice calls them outside... she found the necklace with the gem, glowing. Rabbit says nothing can survive the Boiling Sea, but if the necklace did, then perhaps Cyrus did.

Knave points out the necklace is magic. Alice insists he is alive, and she is going to stay and find him. Reluctantly, Knave agrees to stay and help.

Cyrus whispers Alice's name, waking up in his cage. Flashback to falling off the cliff... when he fell into the mist, Jafar's magic carpet caught him. Now, however, he's stuck in a cage in a tall tower, prisoner as Alice and Knave go off in search.