Heart of Stone

"Heart of Stone" is the 5th episode of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

Summary
In flashbacks, Will and Anastasia jump through the looking glass to enter Wonderland, against her mother's wishes, since she disapproves of Will. They both soon realize that life in Wonderland isn't exactly what they had both imagined. After being humiliated while attending a ball at the palace, Ana convinces Will to steal the crown jewels in order to get them out of poverty, but in an instant, Ana is caught red-handed by the King, who makes her a proposition she can't refuse: to marry him and be his Queen to avoid prosecution. Meanwhile, in current Wonderland, the Red Queen convinces Alice to help her acquire magic dust in exchange for information about Cyrus, who in turn has managed to skillfully escape Jafar's castle, leaving the White Rabbit in a compromising situation.

Plot
"No one believed Alice when she spoke of her adventures in Wonderland..."

Alice, as a little girl, runs home to her father. We then see the Caterpillar, atop his giant magic mushroom and smoking from his hookah. Alice, after shrinking, gets flung into the base of the royal hedges when a guard runs by. "So the Knave of Hearts and I brought her back to search for her true love..."

We see Alice being moved through an asylum, her hands behind her back, being escorted by two orderlies. We then see her and Will Scarlet, otherwise known as the Knave of Hearts, jump through the White Rabbit's portal together, headed for Wonderland. Alice, having been shrunk, steps into Cyrus' bottle. We then see the two of them standing on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the boiling sea. They kiss. We are then shown Cyrus, sitting in a giant birdcage in Jafar's dungeon, and Alice tells the Knave, far away: "He's here! I can feel it..." "There are those that will try and stop her!"

Jafar flies away from the Red Queen's palace on his magic carpet. We are then shown Alice being restrained by the Red Queen's guard, followed by a shot of the Queen, standing on her balcony. Jafar is then seen talking to her and stating that what they want cannot be accomplished until Alice makes all her wises. We again see Alice standing before the portal, followed by a close-up of her hands, holding three shiny red gems in them - her wishes. "But Alice's greatest adventure had just begun..."

- White Rabbit

Alice, Will and the White Rabbit are seen trekking through Wonderland, on their way to find and rescue Cyrus. "Previously in Wonderland..."

The Red Queen stands opposite Will, who's in a cell in her palace dungeon. He tells her that, although she may have fooled all these people, he knows who she really is. The Queen soon tearfully tells him that people want him dead. Jafar uses his magic to engulf a confused Will in grey smoke, causing him to turn to stone (but remain alive). The Red Queen is shocked by this. In the Enchanted Forest of the past, Will Scarlet rides home to his true love, Anastasia. The two of them hug happily, him having retrieved a Looking Glass, and inside, they use said item to open a portal on the floor. They hold hands, ready to jump through and end up in Wonderland.

Teaser
Will Scarlet and Anastasia are still holding hands, smiling, ready to jump through the portal that currently rests at their feet and end up in Wonderland. Suddenly, the door to the small house opens, and a surprised noblewoman enters. She looks at the two of them, and at the portal, and slowly closes the door, asking what they're doing. Anastasia, who recognizes this woman as her mother, addresses her with contempt, and Will asks his true love's parent if she followed them there. "Damn right I did," says Anastasia's mother, bitterly, who seems very unhappy that her daughter's about to run off with "this loser". Ana says that it's none of her mother's business, but the woman reminds her daughter that she birthed her, so it most certainly is her business if she's going to ruin her life. Anastasia argues that she's not ruining anything as she found Will, and her mother says she knows, declaring this a tragedy, which offends the former Merry Man. Ana's mother continues, saying that she wanted a queen for a daughter but instead she got a failure; her daughter then turns to her and exclaims that she's happy, finally. "With him?!" her mother questions, turning to Will, "I did not spend my entire life working my fingers to the bone so that you could move up, only to have you toss it all away! Obviously you're not princess material, but I thought you could at least land a nobleman. Not him. Will Scarlet: the thief." Will argues that he's not a thief, not anymore, and Ana's mother asks what kind of life he's going to give her. Anastasia, annoyed, states that he doesn't need to give her anything as she loves him, but her mother tells her that she cannot live on love, and when she learns that the hard way she will be right back there where she started; "But when you come back, bring a bucket. Because the only way you'll be coming back inside my house is to empty my chamber pot." Anastasia is shocked, and her mother bids her farewell, saying that at least she has her sisters, and the young woman is tearful. Will tells his lover not to listen to her mother and assures her that he'll build them a life, brick by brick if he has to. "I love you for who you truly are, not for who I want you to be," he declares, and Anastasia says goodbye to her parent before taking Will's outstretched hand. The two of them then jump through the portal together. ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND

Trivia

 * The title card of this episode features the Red Queen's horse-drawn carriage riding along in the background.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.