So whilst Emma's out looking for her she runs (literally) into a stranger out at night, conveniently stood on that particular road, cos hey he knows Emma will be in search of Mary Margaret. He insists he's fine but them comes up with the old limping, injured ankle ploy. Whereupon she must drive said stranger home. She was looking for her dog, 'Spot,' cos that's the nearest to 'Snow' you'll get in terms of being similar.
Emma is impressed by his house, mansion that should read and she's more taken in by his place than she was by Regina's. How was he bale to afford it? Also Emma will think that being in such a house should be enough for him, but it's not about riches where family is concerned. His curse for not having money when he needed it but has plenty here. Hey somebody should have warned Emma, the sheriff, about taking strangers home and then coming in for tea. Said stranger claims to be a cartographer, amongst his many talents before she passes out from said tea, which of course has been laced. Notice the clean, empty cup as it falls to the floor, not to mention it was just full when she sipped from it seconds before. (Hence another reference to drugs as far as the Alice books were concerned.)
Emma wakes to find her jacket removed, surprised that was the only piece of clothing that was off ha! Well when someone faints you're meant to loosen their clothing. She attempts to free herself by breaking said cup and cutting loose her binding.
Back in the other world, we saw Jefferson (Sebastian Stan) running and hiding, but it's only from his daughter, Grace (Ali Skovbye). They search for toadstools to sell at market and arriving home, he finds the carriage of her Majesty awaits him. She wants him to take her somewhere as only he can and in return she'll make sure Grace will want for nothing. Jefferson refuses since family is everything and he won't leave her behind.
Next day at the market Grace wants to buy the white rabbit (as you've already guessed, we're in Alice In Wonderland territory this week) but he can't afford the extortionate price set by Regina in disguise as her future self one day: looking old and haggard, but she'll never look like that, not with magic at her fingertips! He insists he'll only pay her the coppers he has, but she refuses. The Mirror (Giancarlo Esposito) comments on how she should have let Grace have the toy. They drink tea at Grace's tea party and Jefferson decides he needs to make amends for Grace. Give her a better future and agrees to Regina's demands.
He throws the hat upon the floor and spins it round until it opens to reveal another land. "Only two can return," the hat's rule. They come to the maze meeting the Caterpillar and at the maze, Regina uses her powers to burn a path through the maze. Arriving at the crypt she takes the box. Of course it's a box containing her father's heart. So all this talk of family could only mean one thing. She's bringing back her father now. After all this time. How did the Queen of Hearts get hold of his heart since it was Regina who really dispatched him to begin with? She takes him and leaves Jefferson behind to meet his fate.
Jefferson was foolish, shall I say mad, to listen to her, but sooner or later she always gets her own way. He's arrested and taken back to the Queen of Hearts (Jennifer Koenig) who is THE only Queen here as the Knave of Hearts (Paul McGillion) tells him. He doesn't tell them how he got here so it's a case of "Off with his head!" He's advised to make another hat to get him home.
Emma escapes the room to find Jefferson sharpening a pair of scissors. In the next room she finds Mary Margaret, she was kidnapped by him, knowing Emma would come in search of her. In doing so, he saved Mary Margaret's life since no one leaves Storybrook.
He wants Emma to make a hat as she's got magic. Everything changed when she arrived and he shows her Grace through the telescope. She's living with another family and he wants to take her home. But he can't make her live what he's going through. It would be too cruel to tell her the truth. Lots of moments of closeness between Emma and Jefferson especially when they have things in common, like 'losing' their children, and they do have a certain chemistry. Jefferson thinks Emma means Henry, Regina's father, not her own son.
Emma tells him if he means there are two worlds then Mary Margaret is her mother. That should be food for thought especially since Henry has been telling her plenty since day one. Meaning Emma would have real family too, if only she believed.
The hat doesn't work and Emma thinks him insane. That's the way it goes, you either have to remember or if you do you're seen as insane, or making things up. What happened to the snippets of memories David recalled? Emma fights him and notices the scar on his neck where his head was re-attached. Thought his head will fall off for a minute when they were fighting. Mary Margaret throws him out the window, well kicks him out and he lands probably with the use of the hat. He was wearing it, so it must have saved him. He disappears back into his world it seems, but not really.
Emma gives Mary Margaret her car keys, she can leave if she wants but Emma's been running and she knows what it's like. She trusted Emma when she first arrived and made her stay twice over, once for herself and once for Henry and now she wants to return the favour. Emma lets slip about wanting family, no friends or whatever and that Mary Margaret is one of those, or both. They arrive for the arraignment before Regina and she and Gold have struck a deal (what another one?) to ensure Mary Margaret is found guilty. So what's this deal then?
Oh Mary Margaret tells Emma she found the key under her pillow, but actually it was thrown in through her cell window wasn't it. Emma sees Henry at school and also Grace who is now Page. Looking through Henry's book, she sees the Mad Hatter with plenty of hats and with Grace in the woods. Does she change her mind about believing now? We leave with the Mad Hatter crazily making endless number of hats! Thus his name.
Anyway aside from Henry's heart being in Wonderland, how did he get there? Also Wonderland appears to be the woods in Storybrooke, or is it as Jefferson said, that the worlds are so pressed up against one another, you'd be mistaken for thinking they're the same. Case in point was the crypt in Wonderland where the hearts were kept also in a box; so similar to Regina's own crypt where she kept her stolen hearts. The show took the Queen of Hearts reference to its literal meaning since the Queen of Hearts was also keeping these.
Jefferson mentioning Henry's as the Queen's father, I can't recall now but did Emma find out Henry was named so because of him.
Jefferson: "everyone wants a magical solution to their problem and everyone refuses to believe in magic." Which is what Henry has been saying for a while now, that Emma doesn't believe.
Jefferson: "I'm trapped by knowledge. How cruel do you think I am...it's hard enough to live in a land where you don't belong. But knowing it, holding conflicting realities in your head - will drive you mad." Which is what we're meant to think drove him mad, but in actual fact it seems more like his desperate attempts to make the perfect, magical hat to get back to Grace. Could he not steal his back from Regina? What has she done with the hat and also he's been lying low, under the radar, doesn't Regina consider him a threat or will no one believe the meanderings of a mad man? Lots of questions come to mind here.
This happens to be one of the best episodes of the show in my opinion partly due to Sebastian Stan's moving and emotional portrayal of both Jefferson and the Mad Hatter and will it be enough to open Emma's eyes to the real plot. Let's hope so.
The Caterpillar in Wonderland was voiced by an uncredited Roger Daltry of The Who, hence his line of "Who are you?..Who?"
Call me crazy - well don't - but I felt Jefferson was named for Jefferson Airplane, the band. As an allusion to their song, White Rabbit from their Surrealistic Pillow album. Especially since the song uses imagery from Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. There's mention of the Caterpillar, the Red Queen, whom some say refers to the Queen of Hearts. Hey who do you think the Queen of Hearts is? Regina, her twin, her sister? Or just another one of her many foes?
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