We’ll learn more about Alice and about Jafar. More after the jump (slight spoilers)
Bad Blood
Wonderland
When Alice discovers that her father is in Wonderland, they begin healing their broken relationship, which leads to her having to make a difficult decision.
Flashback
Young Jafar is emotionally distraught after his mother dies, and we find out what drove him to become the unforgiving villain he is today.
… on “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland,” THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.
“Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” stars Sophie Lowe as Alice, Michael Socha as Knave of Hearts, Peter Gadiot as Cyrus, Emma Rigby as The Red Queen with Naveen Andrews as Jafar and John Lithgow as the voice of the White Rabbit.
Guest stars
Anthony Keyvan as Young Jafar
Shaun Smyth as Edwin
Matty Finochio as Tweedle #1
Ben Cotton as Tweedle #2
Brian George as Old Prisoner
Bad Blood was written by Jane Espenson and directed by Ciaran Donnelly.
Promo:
Wow, great episode. I was not expecting that reveal at the end of the caged man’s identity — and yet it made so much sense. Also loved the scene with Alice and her (real) father — so touching. And what a good friend the Knave is to Alice.
Just thinking that the villains in both OUAT-Wonderland and OUAT-original are (or were) driven by revenge — Jafar by revenge against his father, and Regina by revenge against Snow — but Jafar’s bitterness makes so much more sense than Regina’s. Snow never intentionally hurt Regina — but the Sultan did and does want to hurt Jafar — so much so that he would even kill himself to accomplish that end. No wonder Jafar is so full of hate.
Why does the Sultan hate Jafar so much? I understand that maybe he didn’t want news to get out that he had a fling with the village healer; however, he hates Jafar so much that he would rather die than claim him as his son. What did Jafar ever do to him? (before the caging)
It seemed that Jafar’s mother had magic as the village healer. The little cloud of magic that was over his mother when she died was over Jafar when he was revived. Maybe the sultan knew he was magic and that’s why he was an outcast?
I thought that originally the Sultan wanted to kill Jafar simply to get rid of him because Jafar’s existence was a potential threat to the royal succession of the Sultan’s “official” son Mizra. Jafar was older than Mizra. Although Jafar was a bastard, he might have some claim to the throne. I thought the Sultan’s attempt to kill him then was more about convenience than hatred.
But in the end, after Jafar first showed that Mizra was a weakling who wouldn’t defend his father, and especially after Jafar killed Mizra, then the Sultan’s feelings solidified into hate — a hatred so intense that the Sultan was willing to kill himself if that’s what it would take to hurt Jafar.
I understand the royal succession issue, but the disdain the sultan had for Jafar was constant. He refused Jafar as his son but also let his “official” son beat him into submission.
The sultan was so kind to Sirus, I thought he was a good guy. Looks like he was nothing but a jerk. Now I don’t feel bad about his imprisonment.
I think the Sultan did always feel disdain. But I don’t think it was until Jafar killed Mizra that the Sultan’s disdain solidified into the kind of rage where he would do anything to hurt Jafar — where he would go so far as to kill himself.
I wonder if the Sultan’s anger might have had more to do with Jafar’s showing Mizra’s weakness than with Jafar killing Mizra. The Sultan had been catering to Mizra for the boy’s whole life … and then the boy turned out not to love his father the way his father had loved him.
The more I think about this episode, the more I like it. All the different storylines worked really well together and reinforced each other. Jane Espenson has a wonderful talent for writing episodes where everything fits together like the pieces of a puzzle.
… But I don’t think it was until Jafar killed Mizra that the Sultan’s disdain solidified into the kind of rage where he would do anything to hurt Jafar..
So violently holding his head under water wasn’t an intent to hurt Jafar?
I think that the Sultan wanted to kill the young Jafar to get him out of the way before he inadvertently revealed to the world again that he was the Sultan’s son. It was a political act to preserve Mizra’s power.
I think that’s different from the Sultan trying to kill HIMSELF for no purpose other than to hurt the adult Jafar emotionally.
The first was about results — it was a killing without torture. The second was about inflicting pain — it was torture without killing.
On the other hand, the Sultan had nothing to lose at the end — he was facing a lifetime spent in a cage — so maybe killing himself wasn’t such a big sacrifice.
Editing to add: You may have misread my comment (and I wasn’t really clear). When I said “where he would do anything to hurt Jafar,” I meant “anything at all without any limits” — i.e., that he would even kill himself if that would hurt Jafar. I don’t think the Sultan would have done that before Jafar killed Mizra. Of course the Sultan hurt young Jafar when he rejected him, tried to kill him, etc. I wasn’t trying to say he didn’t. I just meant that he wouldn’t have gone as far as to kill himself solely for the pleasure of knowing it would hurt Jafar — which is something he was willing to do at the end. So something had changed, pushed the Sultan over the edge even further than he had been before.
But there is also a difference between the Sultan not giving Jafar what he wanted as a child, and not giving him what he wants now. As a child, Jafar was a sweet innocent but the Sultan was horrible. But now the Sultan is a weak old man who won;t give Jafar his love because he sees Jafar as a murderous, vindictive villain. I’m sure the Sultan realises that he helped to bring out the evil in Jafar, but he also knows that Jafar does not deserve his love and recognition now. Jafar, of all people should know that love should come naturally. Forcing it from someone will not work nor be satisfying. The Sultan knows this, which is why he resists. Had Jafar become a successful man in his own right and shown the Sultan that he really was the better one of his sons to be the next ruler, without being a psychopath, then maybe the Sultan would have begged for Jafar’s forgiveness. But Jafar went about it all the wrong way.