And They Lived...

"And They Lived..." is the thirteenth episode and series finale of the Once Upon a Time spin-off series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. Written by Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, and Zack Estrin, and directed by Kari Skogland, it premiered on ABC in the United States on April 3, 2014. A week prior to this episode's release, it was announced by ABC Studios that the series was canceled.[2]

"And They Lived..."
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 13
Directed byKari Skogland
Written byEdward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz & Zack Estrin[1]
Production code113
Original air dateApril 3, 2014 (2014-04-03)
Guest appearance(s)

In this final episode, Jafar and Amara becomes the two most powerful sorcerers in all the realms, resulting in a conflict between the two and a final battle with Jafar incurs.

Upon airing, the finale was watched by 3.38 million American viewers and attained an 18-49 rating of 0.9, marking an increase in viewers from the previous episode, but a slight decrease in 18-49 ratings.[3][4] Commentators also gave the finale generally positive reviews.

Plot

Opening sequence

The White Rabbit is seen in the forest.

In Wonderland

Jafar and Amara successfully breaks the laws of magic, becoming the two most powerful sorcerers in all the realms. However, despite this, Jafar refuses to share the title with Amara and tries to kill her as Amara attempts to heal Cyrus. Jafar is interrupted by his father, who wants nothing but the madness to end. Wanting to get the love he never got from his father, Jafar uses his magic on his father to love him and then coldly kills him. Amara and Alice uses this commotion to flee the castle with Cyrus on a magic carpet. They seek refuge at the White Rabbit's home, where Amara heals Cyrus. Alice hatches a plan with Cyrus, Amara, and the White Rabbit to defeat Jafar and they part ways in two teams; Alice and the White Rabbit to find people to help fight Jafar while Amara and Cyrus heads to the Well of Wonders to return the magical waters to Nyx to undo Jafar's spell. Jafar raises the dead and commands them to hunt down and kill Alice, Cyrus, and Amara. He also resurrects Anastasia, who is under the impression that she is Jafar's lover.

Alice and the White Rabbit, once gathered some men and women, fights against Jafar's undead army, and Alice is promptly captured and taken to the castle. Jafar interrogates Alice to learn Amara's whereabouts and learns about their plan involving Nyx and the Well of Wonders. With Anastasia's help, Jafar heads over to eliminate Amara. Upon reaching the doorway to the Well of Wonders, Amara and Cyrus is ambushed by the undead army. Using her magic, Amara kills them and proceeds to sacrifice herself to Nyx as Jafar confronts them. In the mid of this, Alice and the White Rabbit ambushes Jafar. As Amara slowly condensers into water, Jafar steals the water before it could be fully returned to Nyx. Believing that he defeated Alice and Cyrus, Nyx, angered that he stole her waters without her permission, curses Jafar into a genie and his genie bottle is scattered to another realm. Once Jafar is defeated, his wrongdoings are undone; Will, Taj, and Rafi is freed from their genie imprisonment, and Anastasia remains dead. However, Nyx believes that while the Red Queen was meant to move on, Anastasia's path lives on and instead she gifts Alice and Cyrus her waters to awake Anastasia. Will, upon Anastasia dying again, griefs her death once again. When Alice and Cyrus returns to the castle, they gives Nyx's waters to Anastasia which awakens her. She reunites with Will as Cyrus reunites with his brothers. With nothing left to lose, Alice suggests that they return to Victorian England for their marriage. With the White Rabbit's help, Alice and Cyrus returns home.

In Victorian England

After sometime after returning home, Alice prepares to wed Cyrus. On her wedding day, her father Edwin apologies for never believing in her tales of Wonderland. He walks her down the aisle while their guests: Sarah, Millie, Anastasia, Will, Taj, Rafi, Mrs. Rabbit, and Tweedledum looks on. After reaching the end of the aisle, as Alice and Cyrus is together, the White Rabbit officiates the wedding by talking about how Alice and Cyrus have stayed by each other through thick and thin and officially pronounce them as husband and wife. After the ceremony, Alice and Cyrus bids farewell to their friends as the White Rabbit sends everyone back home via his portal.

Many years later, while having tea with Cyrus in the garden of their home, Alice tells her tales of Wonderland to her daughter, noting that Anastasia and Will had become the White Queen and King of Wonderland as the White Rabbit looks on the happy family.

Production

Executive producers and creators of the series Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis, and Zack Estrin wrote this episode; while Kari Skogland directed it.[1]

On 28 March 2014 — a week prior to the episode's release — it was revealed that the series would be ending.[2]

Despite the show's cancellation, Edward Kitsis said prior to the show's premiere "We really want to tell the story without having to worry about how to stretch it for five years. This is not meant to be a 22-episode season. Whatever it ends up being, we'll have told a complete story ..."[5] It was revealed in August 2013 at the TCA Summer Press Tour that, contrary to previous reports that more than 13 episodes were ordered straight out the gate, only the usual amount of 13 episodes had been ordered. Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz commented "However many we wind up doing this season, what we're planning to do is tell a kind of complete tale with a beginning, middle and end" and added "If it does well [and] people like it, hopefully we'll come back and tell another adventure with this cast."[6]

Prior to and after the show's cancellation, questions rose about whether the characters would be featured in the parent series, with the ABC president Paul Lee suggesting that Horowitz and Kitsis will "weave storylines across their assets."[7]

Reception

Ratings

The finale was watched by 3.38 million American viewers, and received an 18-49 rating/share of 0.9/3.[3] Though the viewership improved slightly from the previous episode,[4] the 18-49 rating decreased.[3] The show placed third in its timeslot and fourteenth for the night.[3]

Critical reception

The finale received generally positive reviews from critics.

Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave the episode an 8.9 out of 10, saying "The series finale was emotionally satisfying and worthy of the characters and their stories. Though there is always room for improvement, it delivered what it needed to. It's unfortunate we won’t get more time with these characters in this setting."[8]

Christine Orlando of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.4 out of 5, signaling positive reviews.[9]

Lily Sparks of TV.com gave the episode (and the season) a mixed review, saying "Thanks to this finale, Wonderland's future fans will have an emotionally satisfying, classic happy ending to look forward to at the end of the rusty laser-tag game that was the season—an ending so complete and composed that I’m sure the production team had a big heads-up they wouldn't be getting a second season well before they wrote the finale script. No storylines were left unsewn, there was no signature Kitsis & Horowitz cliffhanger; instead, we saw a very All’s Well That End’s Well, every-character-reunited wedding, presided over by a CGI rabbit, no less."[10]

References
  1. "Listings - ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND on ABC". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  2. Kondolojy, Amanda (28 March 2014). "'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' Canceled by ABC After One Season". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  3. Bibel, Sara (4 April 2014). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Scandal' & 'Hell's Kitchen' Adjusted Up; 'American Idol', 'The Millers', 'The Crazy Ones' & 'Elementary' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  4. Kondolojy, Amanda (28 March 2014). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Hell's Kitchen', 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland', 'The Vampire Diaries' & 'Grey's Anatomy' Adjusted Up + Final NCAA Basketball Ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  5. Hibberd, James (28 June 2013). "'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' getting more episodes -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  6. Ford Sullivan, Brian (4 August 2013). "ABC at TCA: Lee on Split Seasons, Episode Orders". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  7. Martin, Rebecca (28 March 2014). "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Cancelled — Will the Characters Move to OUAT?". Wetpaint. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  8. Ratcliffe, Amy (3 April 2014). "ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND: "AND THEY LIVED..." REVIEW". IGN. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  9. Orlando, Christine (3 April 2014). "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Review: A Happy Consequence". TV Fanatic. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  10. Sparks, Lily (4 April 2014). "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Series Finale Review: And They Lived... On, in Once Upon a Time, If They Possibly Could". TV.com. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
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