White Rabbit

"Dig your hole, rabbit."

- Alice

The White Rabbit is one of the main characters of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. A magical, fascinating creature, the White Rabbit has the ability to open portals between realms, and to travel wherever he wants. He is pure at heart, but circumstances find him playing a major part in the nefarious plans of two powerful villains, Jafar and the Red Queen, who resort to the Rabbit to bring Alice to Wonderland... and to explore her heart and her weaknesses, so that they may get what they want from her. Thusly, the poor Rabbit is forced to act against his will and bring harm upon the life of the girl who once followed him down his rabbit hole.

Early Life
"Proof? You want proof? Come here, I'll give you proof!"

The White Rabbit leads a very young Alice to the magical land of Wonderland, leading everyone to believe she's gone insane when she returns home, namely her father. She then vows to herself that she will prove that Wonderland is real. Many years later, Alice stays true to her word and returns to Wonderland in order to gain proof that the strange land exists. She manages to track down the White Rabbit and she captures him, keeping him locked in a leather bag that she carries on her back. She steals a piece of the magical mushroom that the Caterpillar sits on, and then she heads deeper into Wonderland, carrying the White Rabbit with her. They find themselves on the run from the Queen of Hearts' royal guards in her maze, so she and the rabbit eat a piece of the mushroom which shrinks them, allowing them to hide under the hedges. They come across a bottle and Alice climbs inside, shocked to discover a genie named Cyrus inside. The two get talking and he asks why Alice came to Wonderland, she explains that she wanted proof. She shows him the White Rabbit, who is not happy about being held captive. She states nobody can deny a talking rabbit in a suit is real, amusing Cyrus, who tells her that much is certain.

After emerging from the bottle, Alice, the White Rabbit and Cyrus turn back to human size and then the genie tells Alice to open her hand after casting a small spell on it. Confused, she opens it to discover three ruby diamonds, which Cyrus explains are her wishes. Alice then releases the White Rabbit from the bag she had him kept in, asking if there’s any hard feelings. He assures her its fine, stating he shouldn’t have ever led her to Wonderland as it’s been nothing but trouble for her. However, she tells him that he didn’t lead her, as she followed. He then tells Alice that she always was a curious girl. He then leaves Alice and Cyrus as he walks away, exiting the maze. Later on, after Alice and Cyrus have fallen in love, they decide on burying the bottle in a hole in the ground near a lion topiary in the middle of a field near a windmill. The White Rabbit is innocently behind the lion topiary as he overhears them assuring each other of their love. They then proceed to bury the bottle in the ground and the Rabbit comments on them, calling them crazy kids. He then notices the time and runs into the field’s long grasses, calling out to his “honey”, apologizing for being late.

Season 1
"''You're late, what a surprise."

The White Rabbit arrives in Storybrooke via portal to collect Will, so together they can rescue Alice, who needs her help. He claims to have seen Cyrus alive, so Will agrees to help. They travel to Alice's realm, where they rescue Alice from an Asylum before they can perform a dangerous procedure on her. They fight the guards to break Alice out and before the escape into the streets of London, the White Rabbit shows himself to Dr. Lydgate, the man who classed Alice as insane. The rabbit creates a portal and then they all use it to enter Wonderland. The rabbit lands just beside a mallowmarsh, but unfortunately, Will and Alice land in it when they arrive. Before noticing any danger, the rabbit confesses to not actually seeing Cyrus, but instead claims the dormouse saw him at the Mad Hatter's house. They soon notice that they're sinking in the mallowmarsh, so the rabbit run's to get help. However, he runs into the Red Queen, someone who visibly terrifies him. She takes him back to her palace and it is revealed that the rabbit brought the duo to Wonderland under instruction of the Red Queen. She then instructs him to report to her everything that Alice says, does and thinks, under a death threat. The rabbit later meets up with Alice and Will at the Mad Hatter's house, where the former is disappointed to not have found Cyrus. However, she soon discovers his necklace which is glowing red, causing her to believe he is alive. The trio then continue their journey to save Cyrus, but the rabbit remains the queen's slave.

As Alice and Will discuss their plans to collect the bottle in order to save Cyrus, the White Rabbit pretends to be asleep in order to hear their conversation and get left behind, as he is seen to slow them down. He visits the Red Queen’s castle soon after and explains that the duo left to get the bottle. She asks if he knows where it is, but when he hesitates to tell, she threatens him once more. This convinces the White Rabbit to confess to knowing the bottle’s location, pleasing the queen. The White Rabbit then goes on his own mini quest to get the bottle from a hole that Cyrus and Alice hid it in a long time ago. After returning with the bottle, the Red Queen taunts Jafar about having it in her possession. When she returns from this meeting, the White Rabbit asks if everything went well and she confirms that they did. He then dares to tell the queen that he has fulfilled his obligations, stating he went above and beyond the call of duty. She seems grateful and agrees that he did, but when he reminds her that she promised to set him free, she tells him that promises are made to be broken, as are the bones of “bunnies” who forget what they have at stake. She tells him that when she gets what she wants, he will get what he wants, questioning why that is such a difficult concept to grasp. Curious, the queen wonders how the Rabbit knew of the bottle’s location, so he explains that he saw Alice and Cyrus bury it. ("Trust Me"/"Forget Me Not")

The White Rabbit is kidnapped by Tweedledee and brought to Jafar for questioning. A confused Rabbit asks the sorcerer what he wants, so Jafar explains that he's intrigued by him as he wonders why someone who's known Alice for so long would betray her. He notes that the rabbit has a problem with the Red Queen and offers to help with it in return for some information. He demands to know everyone who Alice has ever loved and when he asks if they have a deal, the White Rabbit cowers. The rabbit stalls by giving information such as Alice enjoying tea parties, but Jafar grows tired and demands information. He points out that Alice has a weakness, the fact she cares about people, and then he asks who else in Wonderland matters to her. The rabbit attempts to stall again, but Jafar grows impatient and cuts off his foot with his staff. The rabbit groans in pain as Jafar holds it. When Jafar asks again, the rabbit reveals that there is someone she cares about, but adds that they're not in Wonderland. Jafar smiles at this news. The rabbit is given his foot back and then Jafar asks to be taken to the place the person is at. However, the rabbit runs away from the sorcerer. As he escapes, he runs into Cyrus, who is also escaping. In order to let the genie escape, the rabbit returns to Jafar and then reluctantly opens up a portal.

Jafar and the White Rabbit travel through the portal and arrive in Alice's Victorian England realm. Their portal causes an explosion in the ground and when they emerge, they're met by a painter. The confused painter wonders what's going on and who the rabbit is, but Jafar simply asks where the Bethlem Asylum is. When the painter reveals its location, Jafar presumably kills him and steals his suit. Dressed in his new suit, Jafar heads over to the Asylum, carrying the White Rabbit in a large leather bag. Once there, Jafar pretends to be a doctor and questions Lydgate about an old patient... Alice. Clearly scarred by the mention of this name, Lydgate acts as if he doesn't know her. However, Jafar points out that he couldn't forget the girl who escaped the Asylum with the help of a talking rabbit. He then shows Lydgate the rabbit in a bag, horrifying him even further. He begs Jafar to close it, which he does. The sorcerer then asks to know everything about Alice there is to know. Once learning the necessary information, Jafar heads over to Alice's house with the rabbit in the bag and he finds Edwin, Alice's father. He claims to know where Alice is and offers to take him to her.

Jafar continues to deceive Edwin into believing he's a doctor from the asylum Alice was sent to. When Edwin asks where Alice went, Jafar explains that its better if he shows him. He then opens his large leather bag and the White Rabbit emerges. He greets Edwin, but the father is left in shock. The White Rabbit comments that everyone is always shocked at first and then confirms who he is. The rabbit comments that Alice and her father don't have a strong resemblance before opening a portal inside the house. He, Jafar and a confused Edwin then travel to Wonderland. When they arrive in Wonderland, the White Rabbit and Jafar land perfectly, but Edwin falls out of the portal and falls to the floor. The rabbit tells Edwin that the first landing is always rough. Jafar then shoos the rabbit, but he asks if he should just stay. Jafar angrily repeats what he said and tells the rabbit to leave. A worried rabbit agrees and before walking away, he tells Jafar that he knows where to find him...unfortunately. The White Rabbit then leaves Jafar and Edwin alone, allowing the sorcerer to perform his next plan of action in order to defeat Alice.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills used to promote the character.