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"Trust Me" is the second episode of ABC's Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. It was written by Rina Mimoun and directed by Romeo Tirone. It premiered on October 17, 2013.
Synopsis
In Wonderland, Alice concocts a plan to find Cyrus and uses his genie bottle as bait to find out who she’s up against and who her real friends are. Meanwhile, the Red Queen and Jafar face off and in flashback, viewers find out how Alice and Cyrus fell in love and how Cyrus ends up in Wonderland.[2]
Recap
Many years ago in Agrabah. Jafar is flying into town on a magic carpet, when he stops by a scarf shop in the marketplace. Once entering the shop, he speculates how it is possible for a man who earns low income can have a well-appointed home, a garden with many vegetables, and own two camels, when most men can barely afford one. The man states he’s been very fortunate, to which Jafar agrees, and states it seems as if he has everything a man could wish for. He probes, questioning the man as to whether or not he has come across someone who can grant wishes. The man, who has grown particularly nervous and uneasy, plays it off, stating his wealth comes from a family investment that is “finally begun to pay off”. When Jafar questions this, a noises indicating that the pan of boiling water is burning goes off. The man excuses himself to the back room to fix it.
When he gets back there, he turns off the stove and immediately retrieves his genie’s lamp, pulling it open. Cyrus appears. The man frantically states that the man Cyrus has told him about has come/ Cyrus explains that it’s not his master he is after, but him. Despite Cyrus trying to convince the man that he can help him, and that he shouldn’t wish him away, the man digresses. The man is frantic to get Cyrus away, and uses his last wish to wish Cyrus far away from Agrabah, as far away as “the earth is to the sun”. Jafar bursts into the room as he utters the last words of the wish, and Cyrus and the bottle is wisked away. Enraged, Jafar suffocates the man and asks where the genie went, to which he states he does not know. Jafar proceeds to kill him. The scenes moves to Cyrus, as he rattles about his bottle as it whisks far away from Agrbah until it lands. Cyrus looks out the window of his bottle to see where he is. The screen pans out to reveal the bottle is under one of the bushes in the maze at the Red Queen’s castle in Wonderland.
In present day, Alice awakes a sleeping Knave with a branch. She is practicing her swordsmanship. They say they need to get moving, as they have been in Wonderland too long already, and their enemies know they are there. Talking, Alice states she has a plan. Though they don’t know where Cyrus is, they know where his bottle is. Her plan is simple, she believes. Find the bottle, and then make three harmless wishes so he will be forcibly brought back to his bottle. The Knave will then rub the bottle; Cyrus will reappear, and be reunited with her. She reveals that she hid the bottle at a place nobody goes. They then proceed on their journey to retrieve the bottle, deciding to leave the still sleeping White Rabbit (who is actually awake and making snoring noises as he listens to their conversation) behind as he has already been through enough.
Cyrus awakens from his sleep in his cage and states Alice’s name as he touches his heart. His urgency causes the olden man in the other cage to ask for his well being. Cyrus doesn’t answer, but looks on nervously, breathing heavily.
At the Red Queen’s castle, the people of Wonderland have come to share their complaints with the Red Queen. Disinterested, she listens to their pleas and tells them that their problems bore her. Before they could respond in full outrage, they are magically paused. The Red Queen inspects this, and smiles as she realizes it means Jafar is there. After telling him to reveal himself, they speak about her listening to the people’s problems. Jafar states it’s a flaw for her to try to earn their respect rather than just take it, to which she replies she took the throne and Wonderland. But Jafar observes that it’s still not enough for her, to which she replies that he too, is not satisfied with the power he has, or else they both would not be messing around with Alice and her genie. They argue about if the other can do what they say they can do. It is here that it is revealed that what the Red Queen wants from Jafar is for him to change the laws of magic. Jafar states he can do that, but only with the bottle, to which she should focus on instead of her people. She disagrees, saying it’s her job as Queen to listen. Jafar “clears her day” by killing all of those he froze, insisting she now proceeds to find the bottle.
Will and Alice are making their way to the bottle’s location. Will questions whether or not Alice has thought about what will happen when she reunited with Cyrus, and asks what she’d do if he was nothing like she thought. She asks him what he means by that, to which he replies that she should protect herself by considering the possibility that things may be different since the last time she saw him. Alice doesn’t like his response, and say Cyrus needs her. Will questions why he hasn’t contacted her if he needs her, since he must know she is there if she knows he is there. She says it must be because he is in trouble, so they need to pick up the pace. Will doesn’t drop the subject, though, and asks what if Cyrus has moved on. Fed up, Alice says what she and Cyrus had, Will would not understand. They are stopped in their journey when their ground ends and they come across a large ocean.
The Red Queen is getting her feet scrubbed when the White Rabbit pays her a visit to tell her that Alice and Cyrus have left to retrieve the bottle. She asks if he knows the location, to which he White Rabbit hesitates. She reminds him of the consequences of lying to her, which gets the White Rabbit to tell her he knows exactly where it is.
The Knave and Alice strategize how to get across the ocean. Alice suggests swimming, but Will reveals he can’t swim, and has a fear of water. Alice, surprised, states they’ll just have to wait for the fairy. Will, however, would prefer to walk around the entire ocean in order to avoid the water. Alice won’t let them take that long of a detour, however, and Will reluctantly agrees to take the fairy. They call the fairy, and a moment later, Silvermist appears. In the middle of her greeting, she gets a good look at Will and slaps him twice, telling him he has balls to show his face in Wonderland with the amount of people looking for him. As they banter, it is clear that Will and Silvermist had some sort of romantic past. Alice, not in the mood for this, asks if she can take them on their way, t which she agrees, as she is a professional who doesn’t let feelings get in her way. Alice tells her where they are going, to which Will gives her a look, and Silvermist proceeds to dash them in fairy dust before leading the way over the ocean to their location.
Cyrus is examining the burns he has on his skin from his bars of his cage. The old man in the other cage questions whether his cage is the only one made of silver to prevent him from escaping, to which Cyrus replies that it is to keep him from even thinking about escaping. Genies and silver don’t mix. The man suggests they get his mind off the pain by continuing their game of chess. It is then revealed that the old man has a makeshift board in his cage, made of cardboard and stones. Cyrus replies he can’t play with him today, and the old man laughs, asking if he has something better to do. Cyrus says yes and sits up in his cage, immediately taking out a piece of parchment from his vest and begins to write a message on it.
The scene moves to a flashback of Cyrus giving Alice her three wishes. She comments that they are pretty, and Cyrus says so is she. The White Rabbit, still stuck in her bag, grumbles to not be forgotten about, and Alice quickly moves to release him. She apologizes and asks if there are no hard feelings. The White Rabbit says no, stating it was his fault for leading her down to Wonderland in the first place, as it has caused nothing but trouble for her. She disagrees, saying he did not lead her, but she followed him. The White Rabbit agrees, stating she always was a curious girl. He wishes her good luck before departing.
Alice turns back to Cyrus, asking what happens now with the wishes. He tells her there are a few restrictions: the laws of magic. He can’t kill anyone. He can’t make anyone fall in love. He can’t change the past. And he can’t bring anyone back from the dead. Alice questions what happens after three wishes are made, and Cyrus replies that he returns to his bottle to await his next master. Alice then picks up his bottle, closing it before holding it in her arms. She wonders what if she wishes for his freedom, but Cyrus states not to, as it has been tried before with no good results for either party. The bigger the wish, the bigger the consequences, he states.
Alice says it all sounds dangerous, and Cyrus replies that he gets the feeling that she likes a little danger. He observes that she is still not sure what to wish for. He suggests that they can take a walk, and he can give her some suggestions. Alice states that she’d like that very much. They then start their walk in the maze, arm in arm.
Back to the present, Alice and Will are still flying above the ocean. Will states he enjoyed the flying bit, and that for what it’s worth, he enjoyed her other “bits” as well. Silvermist stops them in midair, and states that he didn’t enjoy it as much as she enjoys this. She then removes her fairy dust from him, causing him to plummet into the ocean. Alice, shocked, says they need to go for him as he can not swim, but Silvermist says he deserves it. Alice, fed up and dejected, removes the fairy dust from her and falls into the waters to save Will. She swims them to a nearby rock in the middle of the ocean.
Alice, mad, asks what he did to the fairy, and says now thanks to him breaking that fairy’s heart, they are stuck in the middle of nowhere. Will says she shouldn’t have given it to him in the first place, but Alice doesn’t accept this response. She says people can’t help falling in love. Will disagrees, saying all it takes is to retrieve your clothes and keys and proceed to sneak out in the middle of the night without looking back. Alice asks how he got to be this way, and who made him that way. Will says it isn’t about him, and proceeds to question whether or not the good happy memories Alice remembers were just that way for her. Alice says he can’t believe that, otherwise why would he be on the quest with her. But he says he is only in it for the wish, as would all the other people would be who are looking for genies.
Flashback to Cyrus and Alice, who are drinking together. Cyrus keeps looking over his shoulder, which Alice notices and questions him about. Cyrus answers that being a genie is like being a wanted man, and Alice infers that someone is always after him. She questions if he knows who that someone is. Cyrus reveals a man named Jafar, who carries a staff with the head of a serpent, is looking for him. He asks if she has ever seen him. She states she hasn’t. He hopes she never does. She asks what he wants from him. “What everyone wants: whatever they don’t have” is his reply. Worried for his safety, Alice says if he would prefer to stay in his bottle he can return there, rather than stay out of it with her because she wants him to. Cyrus says he’d prefer to be out of it with her, as it is the closest thing he has had to freedom in a long time. Alice says it’s the same for her. Cyrus questions why she would wish to return home if it is such a prison. Alice, sadly, says she has nowhere else to go. Cyrus disagrees, saying she has the whole world at her disposal, and he could show it to her. All she has to do is wish for it. But Alice has more questions first, to which Cyrus happily asks her what they are. Everything is her reply.
Upon her questions, it’s revealed that she has never been comfortable with a sword. Cyrus, who enjoys swordplay, wonders how she has managed to survive without knowing how to work a sword. Alice says there are other ways to fight, and in Wonderland, one only needs to be creative. Cyrus asks “like this” and magically reveals a white paper rose in his hand. He gives it to Alice, who states it is beautiful, and upon further inspection, states it actually smells like a rose. Cyrus explains that it is magic paper, an article he picked up along his travels. At her enthusiasm on his travels, Cyrus tells her he is never in one place for too long, as his masters tend to make their wishes and then move on. Alice says she knows the feeling of being moved on from. Cyrus says he finds it hard to image someone would want to move on from Alice, and then magically makes the rose blossom. Alice asks if she can teach her, to which Cyrus says an origami lesson shall be hers. But she actually means the swordplay, and Cyrus laughs as a response. The rose turns red in Alice’s hand as the scene changes.
Present day, the Red Queen is tending to her red roses when Jafar appears, stating he knows she knows where the bottle is. However, she will not tell him what she knows until she gets proof that he can do what he says he can do. She turns and begins to walk away when Jafar freezes her in her place. Stuck to listen to his words, Jafar states that she what she truly needs is to be quiet and follow orders, and be grateful that he is allowing her to be alive. He claims they are not partners, and she should be happy that he has given her his word, as that is more than most ever receive. Unfreezing her, he demands to know if he has made himself clear. Her silence is her answer. He demands the location of the bottle, and she timidly tells him.
Alice sits miserably on the rock, sadly stating they’ll never make it to the bottle’s location. Will, who is not as miserable as Alice, says they’ll find another way. Alice asks how, and he says to give her some time. Alice, frustrated, stand up and says they don’t have time, and they need to get there today. She angrily stomps on the rock, and it suddenly begins to rumble beneath them before they both fall into the water. Climbing back onto the island, they wonder what kind of island it is before Alice realizes that it is not an island. She tells him to hold on before she flings herself off the island and out of view. Will screams for her before clinging onto one of the rocks. Moments later a large head appears. The island was not an island, but a large turtle. Alice is seated on its neck, and threatens to take off it’s head if it does not take her where she wants to go. It agrees to take her, to which he replies “Good Boy,” and the Knave smiles as he watches the exchange before making himself comfortable.
Back into the past, Cyrus and Alice are engaged in a swordplay lesson. Cyrus states she is quite good with her sword despite not being comfortable with them. She comments she needs to get one of them someday, and upon noticing Cyrus piping up, states that no, that is not a wish. During their training, it is revealed that Alice learned to play the piano because her mother used to, in the hopes of making her father happy. When Cyrus asked if it did, she states it’s hard to make someone happy when they’ve lost someone they loved. The mood turns somber for a moment, to which she apologizes for. Cyrus tells her not to be, and they return to their swordplay. Cyrus disarms her moments later, retrieving her sword. With the swords in hand Alice asks what now. Cyrus tells her she needs to be creative. She tries to escape, but he corners her to a tree with his swords. She sates it’s hard to be creative when her opponent is uncommonly creative too. Cyrus advises that she needs to be smarter than her opponent, so she needs to know who she is up against. She says she’ll remember that.
Cyrus questions what she does now, as he has his swords pinned into the tree on both sides of her, trapping her, and she has no weapons. She says she thinks she knows her opponent’s weakness. He asks her if she really does, and she says she hopes so. She then moves forward and kisses Cyrus. Pulling away after a moment, she smiles at seeing Cyrus’ expression, stating that she was right. Cyrus stares at her before dropping the swords and pulling her in for another kiss. They both laugh and continue to kiss in the sunlight.
Present day Alice has reached the other side of the ocean, and she and the Knave are back on land. The Knave stops, needing a moment to rest. Silvermist reappears, stating she is glad to see Will is alive as she has just learned about the bounty of his head. Will apologizes for what he did to her, but she doesn’t believe it. She says maybe his precious Anastasia used all of his heart up. Alice looks on questionably, as Will reveals he doesn’t feel terrible for what he did to Silvermist, because he doesn’t feel much of anything anymore. He says they should agree that he is a bastard, and go their separate ways. Silvermist questions why she should care about his fate, and he says he shouldn’t care about his fate, but of Alice’s fate, who he explains is a decent person and needs to rescues her love with his help. Silvermist gives it some thought, and decides to let them go on their way. They continue on their way, with Alice wondering who Anastasia is, but Will won’t giver her an answer. She thanks him anyways, for apologizing to the fairy.
Another flashback presents Cyrus and Alice lying under a tree. Alice awakens from her sleep to a smiling Cyrus, who greets her with a good morning. She says all her mornings have been good since she has met him. Cyrus sits up with a sad smile, as Alice wonders what their next adventure would be, suggesting perhaps they go to the Boiling Sea as she has never been there. Cyrus interrupts her, however, saying he thinks it’s time she made her three wishes. Alice, hurt, questions if she did anything wrong. Cyrus tells her she hasn’t, and that he can’t imagine her doing anything wrong, which is the problem. Alice says she doesn’t understand. Cyrus explains that he is falling in love with her. Smiling at the revelation, Alice attempts to speak, but is cut off by Cyrus stating he can’t allow that to happen. He knows that at some point, she’ll make her wishes and move on with her life. And that while he has gotten used to being alone in his bottles for years at a time, the thought spending an eternity in his bottle without her is too much for him to bare.
Alice however, says he won’t go back inside his bottle so long as she doesn’t make her wishes. But Cyrus says everyone makes their wishes. She says she won’t. Cyrus says she’ll say that now, but he’s lived for many lifetimes and not once has no one not made their wishes. Alice contours that she does not need her wishes, as she has everything she could possibly wish for in him. A doubtful Cyrus asks what if she changes her mind, and she says she won’t. But he asks her again the possibilities of what if. She says he’ll just have to trust her. She also offers a deal. She’ll never move on from him if he never moves on from her. Cyrus kisses her in response, and they then decide to burry the bottle.
Jafar appears at the tree in present day, and uses blood scarabs to search for the bottle. Alice and the Knave look on from a distance as Jafar searches. The Knave apologizes and says they are too late, but Alice reveals that the bottle was never where she said it was. The Knave, confused, asks why they were there then, and Alice says she wanted to know who they were up against. The Knave realizes then that that is why she was telling everyone where they were headed, and Alice says that’s the one thing she can count on in Wonderland: that you can’t count on anyone. The Knave compliments her, stating she is clever.
Alice, recognizing the serpent staff, informs the Knave that the man searching the grounds is Jafar. The Knave realizes then that Alice never told him the truth either, and wonders if she trusts him. She states she does now, and now wants him to come with her to where the bottle is really hidden. They arrive at a place with a passage made of peas, a tower of tigers, a windmill, and a dandelion (which is a bush in the shape of a lion that had dandelions growing out of it). Alice moves to where they hid the bottle, only to find that there is a hole in the ground in its exact place, and that the bottle has been found and taken by someone else. Alice, hurt and in disbelief, states that maybe what Will said before is true, and that Cyrus has moved on.
The scene cuts to Cyrus, who bares the pain of sticking his hand outside of his magical cage in order to release an origami message on the magic paper. He tells the origami bird to find Alice, and watches as it flies away. He collapses on the ground of his cage, but Jafar comes in then, angrily yelling at Cyrus to get up. He brings his cage forward and begins to suffocate Cyrus, asking for the location of the bottle. Cyrus says to go along and kill him, but Jafar threatens to instead kill Alice in front of Cyrus unless Cyrus tells him where the bottle was immediately.
The Red Queen appears before Cyrus can say anything, claiming to have the bottle. She says he gave her good advice that morning, that she should take respect instead of earn it. Jafar, surprised and in disbelief, asks if she has to bottle, to which she demands that he stop underestimating her. She then decides to comment on the appearance of his dungeon, and says to remind her to tell him the value of “keeping pretty things around.” She then looks on at Cyrus and makes an approving noise before using him as an example of a pretty thing. Jafar, not up for her commentary, demands for her to tell her where the bottle is, but she suggests they start with changing the game with a new rule: no more talking down to her. She states she had intended on revealing the bottle’s location to him, but decided against it as she does not trust him because their relationship is not mutually beneficial. But now it is as Jafar has the genie, and she has the bottle.
Now dusk, Alice and the Knave are still at the bottle’s location. Alice is contemplating Cyrus moving on from her, stating it is the only thing that makes sense, as only he and her knew where the bottle was. Will suggests maybe they weren’t, but she insists that she never mentioned it’s location to anyone else. She bitterly states that the whole journey was a fool’s earned and that she was the fool. A noise is heard in the distance, and the Knave suggests they find shelter for safety. But Alice states a bitter “who cares?” before walking off, with the Knave calling out to her.
Back at the Red Queen’s castle, the White Rabbit asks if everything went well, to which she says it did. Because it did, the White Rabbit claims that he has fulfilled his obligations, having gone “above and beyond” his call of duty, to which the Red Queen agrees. He says she promised him something, but she interrupts him saying promises were made to be broken, and proceeds to threaten him to know his place, and that he will get what he wants when she gets what she wants. Curious, the Red Queen wants to know how he knew of the true location of the bottle. The White Rabbit reveals that he saw them burry it.
A flashback shows Cyrus and Alice at the place with the dandelion. Cyrus warns that before they burry the bottle, she must know life with him will not be easy, as she will always have to keep one eye over her shoulder, since someone will always be coming. He asks if she truly believes love is powerful enough to give them their freedom, to which she responds she believes theirs is. In a moment of insecurity, she questions if he does as well, and would have proceeded to go on to suggest alternatives if he had not interrupted her then to tell her that he will never leave her. They then proceed to bury the bottle. As they walk away hand-in hand, the White Rabbit can be seen a little ways away from them. He makes the comment “crazy kids” in an endearing way before running off to his wife, apologizing for being late.
In the present, Alice and the Knave have built a fire and have taken to resting against a large stone. Will apologizes for his cynical comments that put the idea that Cyrus moved on in Alice’s head. He says not to listen to him, as he knows nothing about it, but she says she thinks he does, before questioning him about Anastasia again. And again, he refuses to give any direct answers, only saying that it is a “tale of heart-break.” He explains that though he does know something about love, that doesn’t mean he knows about Alice and Cyrus’ love. He questions if she believe Cyrus truly loves her, to which she says she did. Will goes on to say that’s good, because when someone truly loves you, they can never move on.
Alice, however, says sadly that her father did. She explains to a confused Will that her father loved her and then moved on, and now it’s happening again. They go silent for a few moments before Alice looks up to see Cyrus’ paper origami flying towards her. She happily catches it, while Will looks on confused, asking “what the bloody hell is that?” Alice doesn’t reply, but instead opens the origami to read it’s letter. After reading it, she answers with “proof.”
It reads: “My dearest Alice, it took several lifetimes to meet you but only seconds to love you. And it is a love that cannot be broken. Not by a thousand spells or swords. So it is with my heart in your hands that I ask you to grant me one wish. Leave Wonderland. You are not safe here. And you cannot save me. The only thing worse than my own demise would be yours. I beg you to go home. And know that I am with you always. Forever thine. Forever mine. Cyrus.”
As the episode comes to an end, Cyrus’ letter is heard as a voiceover as the show shows the characters current positions. The Red Queen admires her newly acquired genie bottle before locking it away. Jafar angrily retrieves some sort of spell book, bows to it, and skims through it. And a brief flashback of Cyrus signing the letter off is shown.
Cut back to Alice, who is smiling at the letter, she tells the Knave that Cyrus is alive. The Knave, smartly, says he thought when you truly loved someone, you didn’t need any proof. Alice agrees that you don’t, but it’s still nice to have. Alice then flips the paper over to write “I’m coming for you” on it before folding the origami back into a bird and sending it back off to Cyrus.
Cast[2]
Starring
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Guest StarringCo-Starring
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Trivia
Title
- The title card features Silvermist.[3]
- The title of this episode was announced by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on August 9, 2013.[4]
Production Notes
- Sarah Hayward, who plays Townsperson 1, also plays the Villager in the Once Upon a Time episode "Operation Mongoose Part 1", and the Villager in the Once Upon a Time episode "The Broken Kingdom".
- Gerry Rousseau, who plays Townsperson 2, also plays the Miller in the Once Upon a Time episode "The Miller's Daughter".
Event Chronology
- The Agrabah flashbacks occur after "The Serpent" and before Agrabah is trapped inside the diamond in the Once Upon a Time episode "A Wondrous Place". (For more details, see the Agrabah timeline)
- The Wonderland flashbacks occur after Alice meets Cyrus for the first time in "Down the Rabbit Hole" and before "Home".
- The present-day Wonderland events take place after "Down the Rabbit Hole" and before "Forget Me Not". (For more details, see the Wonderland timeline)
Disney
- Agrabah from the 1992 Disney movie Aladdin makes an appearance.
- This episode contains a number of other references to Disney works. See the list of Disney references for more.
Fairytales and Folklore
- This episode is a rendition of the Alice in Wonderland story, focusing on Alice's adventures in Wonderland.
- Also included are the Knave of Hearts, the Mock Turtle and the White Rabbit from the same story.
- Also featured are Tweedledee, Tweedledum and the Red Queen from the story's sequel as well as the genie, the sorcerer and the Sultan from Aladdin story.
- One of the Red Queen's subjects says that her Jubjub ate his Dodo. The jubjub bird is a dangerous creature mentioned in Through the Looking-Glass, while the Dodo is a character from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Popular Culture
- When Alice says they are going to find Cyrus' necklace in Mimsy Meadows under the Tum Tum Tree, Knave mocks the place name as somewhere only a Care Bear might go.
Costume Notes
- Silvermist's hair band was made by Vancouver-based accessories designer Medicina Designs. It was made of fabric from her costume, metal flowers, Swarovski crystal beads, freshwater pearls, metal and cut glass beads.[5]
- The belt Alice is wearing during the present-day events[6] is the same belt Belle wears while on the hunt for the Yaoguai in the Season Two episode "The Outsider".[7]
- Alice dons the same belt in various other Once Upon a Time in Wonderland episodes.[8]
Filming Locations
- The set used for Farzeen Shahmed's shop[9] was later redressed and reused for the interior of the Blacksmith's workshop[10] in "The Serpent", and the interior of Ulima's house[11] in "Bad Blood". The easiest way to spot this is the doorway, which has the same shape in all three locations.
- The scene where Cyrus teaches Alice swordplay, was filmed in Robert Burnaby Park in East Burnaby.[12]
International Titles
| International Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Title | Translation |
| French | "La Confiance" | "The Trust" |
| German | "Vertrauen ist ein großes Wort" | "Trust Is a Big Word" |
| Italian | "Fidati di me" | "Trust Me" |
Videos
