Once Upon A Time: How are Alice and Hook related?

After last week’s episode of Once Upon a Time, one thing is clear: Alice and Hook have some kind of connection. Odds are looking good that it’s familial.

It might’ve been difficult to focus on anything except the Rumbelle storyline in the most recent episode of Once Upon A Time, but the writers did give a pretty big nod to Hook’s potential family tree. Friday’s episode “Beauty” wrapped up with Detective Rogers playing a quick game of chess with Tilly, better known as Alice from Wonderland.

Remember, this is actually Wish Realm Hook, who revealed to Emma that he has a daughter. More importantly, he has a daughter who went missing. He carries around a Rook, because playing chess was their thing — it’s kind of his hope totem.

At this point, all we really know about his daughter is that she was held captive by a witch when she was young, and that’s when the chess started.

As the episode finishes, and the camera zooms in on Hook making a move with his Rook, it seems to indicate that Alice is that daughter. As family ties go on this show, this would actually be one of the least complicated.

Magical Logic

It would make sense that Hook “lost” Alice because she followed the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole. She was chasing a rabbit when she and Rumple first met, and it didn’t look much like Wonderland. In true OUAT fashion, that would open the perfect opportunity to have her transported to a different realm thus making her the “cold case” in Hook’s Hyperion Heights memories.

Now, as Entertainment Weekly pointed out, it was indeed Rumplestiltskin that Alice focused on waking up during the episode. Per EW, the reasoning behind that will be explored in the winter finale.

Still, it’s not hard to imagine why Alice would need Rumple awake before anyone else. He has the most power, and as this episode indicated, it’s not easy to wake the residents from this curse. Showing Rumple the chipped cup didn’t work — he literally needed a bullet to the chest — so why would playing chess with Hook work?

More than that, Rumple and Alice have their own connection. It’s possible that, even while awake from the curse, she doesn’t remember that Hook is her father. Of course, there is another option.

Early on in Friday’s episode, it was slyly revealed that Alice had an ex-girlfriend, possibly making her the LGBT character that the writers promised. Could Alice actually have been dating Hook’s daughter?

Either way, Alice has some tie to Hook’s family, and revealing that journey is sure to be an adventure. Once Upon a Time airs on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.