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This article focuses on Jefferson's Enchanted Forest persona. For his Storybrooke counterpart, see
here.


I hate Wonderland.

—Jefferson to the Evil Queen src

Jefferson, also known as the Mad Hatter, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the seventeenth episode of the first season. He is portrayed by guest star Sebastian Stan, and is the Enchanted Forest counterpart of Jefferson.

Jefferson is based on the Mad Hatter from the novel, Alice in Wonderland.

History

Before First Curse

Employed as a thief, Jefferson steals treasures for a living. At some point, he works with a man named William to pull off heists. As his greatest asset, Jefferson has a portal hat, which he uses to jump between worlds. ("Out of the Past")

At Rumplestiltskin's behest, he goes searching for a crystal ball and a pair of slippers. Only finding the crystal ball, Jefferson returns to the Dark One's castle to deliver it, although he wasn't able to acquire the slippers. Prior, he also promised to assist Rumplestiltskin in a scheme to force one of his magic pupils, Regina, to move on from her past. Since she wishes to resurrect her dead lover, Daniel, and stubbornly refuses to give up, Jefferson mentions knowing a wizard from another world who can revive the dead. In return for bringing this man to her, he asks for a royal pass to travel throughout the kingdom without restrictions, which she consents to. After the wizard, Victor, is brought to the Enchanted Forest, he examines Daniel's corpse, which is in suitable condition for the resurrection, and then hand-picks a heart from a vault. As Jefferson and Regina wait outside a tent, Victor attempts the procedure on Daniel and fakes a failed revival. While this leaves Regina heartbroken and left with no choice but to let go of her deceased lover, Rumplestiltskin gives Victor a heart as payment for his services, to which Jefferson then transports the doctor home through the hat. ("The Doctor")

Later, Jefferson arrives to Camelot to steal the king's treasures, only to find another thief, Priscilla, is already there. To elude the real guards, Priscilla takes him with her out a window, before they both escape into the portal hat. After having many thieving adventures together, the pair fall in love, marry and have a daughter, Grace. Two years later, their finances dwindle, but when Jefferson learns from William that the March Hare has the Clock of Evermore, he plans to steal and sell it to provide for his family. However, he is captured by the March Hare, who rewinds time with the clock and forces him to stay for a never ending tea party. With the White Rabbit's help, Priscilla crosses worlds to rescue him, but Jefferson insists on retrieving his hat from the March Hare's house. After reclaiming the hat, he and his wife run from guards, in which Priscilla is fatally injured by an arrow. With her last breaths, she persuades him to go home without her so Grace won't be orphaned. Honoring her wish, Jefferson cradles her body a final time before going into his hat. Regretful that his line of work caused Priscilla's death, he retires the portal hat, opting to live poorly as long as he can be with his daughter. ("Out of the Past")

Making a meager living as a mushroom seller, he and his daughter are playing hide-and-seek in the woods when they spot the Queen's carriage outside their house. Jefferson instructs Grace to wait outside, and he goes into the house where the Queen, Regina, asks for his help retrieving something from another land. Temptingly, she promises him riches so he can lavish his precious daughter. Jefferson refuses her request, which she seemingly accepts with no argument. During a market trip, Grace wants a rabbit doll, though he cannot afford it. He tries bargaining with the vendor, an old woman, but she turns him away. Despite that, Grace is not upset, but Jefferson begins to worry that he cannot give his daughter a happy life. Unseen to them, the old woman is Regina in disguise. Returning home, Jefferson gives Grace an improvised toy rabbit he made for her, and the two enjoy a make-believe tea party. Wishing to give her a better childhood, he decides to take up on the Queen's offer. Jefferson informs Grace of this, which she pleads against, but he promises to be back in time for tea. After sending his daughter off to the neighbors, he and Regina jump into the hat and arrive in a room of portals to other lands. Jefferson warns that if two people enter Wonderland, then only the same amount of people can exit out. In Wonderland, Regina burns a route through a hedge maze and reaches a vault where she snatches a box. After outrunning the Queen of Hearts' guardsmen, Regina reveals the item in the box is her father, and she intends to return home with him. Thus, Jefferson is entrapped by her while the pair leave for the Enchanted Forest. The guards catch up, and then haul Jefferson to the Queen of Hearts, who beheads him, yet he remains alive. Panicked, he admits what happened with Regina and his hat, so the Queen of Hearts orders him to make another one. Following numerous failed attempts to do so, Jefferson manically works on a new hat while the room is already filled with thousands of them. ("Hat Trick") For events occurring after the casting of the first curse, see Jefferson (Storybrooke).

Family

Jefferson
 
 
 
Priscilla
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Grace

Notes:

  • Solid lines denote blood parent-child relationship
  • Dashed lines denote marriage relationship
  • denotes the deceased}

Trivia

Etymology

Character Notes

Production Notes

  • The casting call describes him as "late 20s to Mid 30s, a rakishly handsome, former criminal who in Fairy Tale Land has given up his life of crime and dedicated himself to his daughter, while in Storybrooke he is a dangerous and mysterious figure who knows about the curse and attempts to convince Emma that it is real."[1]
  • Jefferson is inspired by rock star Mick Jagger in the 1960's. According to Edward Kitsis, the famous lead singer of The Rolling Stones had a "weird, sixties, sort of Edwardian feel to him". Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, who are fans of The Rolling Stones, felt that this was who the Mad Hatter should be on their show.[2]

Set Dressing

Appearances

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.

References

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