Who is Dr. Whale?

[17jeda]

What if he is Arthur from King Arthur?
or maybe Jack from Jack and the beanstalk?
what about Peter from peter and the wolf?
I like the wizard of oz idea though

[Anne_Anli]

My theory is totally far fetched and not really based on anything, but we were talking opposites and how characters seem to not be the same in Storybrooke and Enchanted Forrest. So I thought, wouldn't it be totally funny if Dr. Whale is Tom Thumb. Instead of a monstrous big animal he's as big as a thumb.
That would be soooooooo funny.
Annemarie

[obisgirl]

I'm listening to the episode now and I had a thought. Maybe he is a werewolf like Red but he's also the one that helped Red learn how to control the wolf since he managed to tame his inner wolf.

[Vampirefan12]

For some reason, I really want Dr. Whale to be Daniel's brother and the day Regina/Daniel was supposed to run off together, his brother Daniel asked him to look after Regina if he ever died and to protect her from Cora or anybody else that would hurt her.

[DanielJLewis]

Vampire, that is a unique theory! I'm not sure that I could see that happening, though. What about Regina's brother? Not what I actually think, but just an idea.

[tcyoder]

I definitely like the theories that point to Dr. Whale being Dr. Frankenstein.

I really don't think he's Peter Pan Because I think Peter Pan is Baelfire (but I'll discuss that on his forum page).

[Surayya]

Im going for Puss in Boots - Just because it's out there & it kinda fits -

"Puss in Boots", is a French literary fairy tale about a cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for his penniless and low-born master- Whom is the Millers youngest child!

He appears in the third act pas de caractère of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Sleeping Beauty.

& Whale is a term used for a gambler who has the capacity to win and lose large bets or takes great risks.

Or just as random -
Cetus
large fish, whale, or sea monster

My other way out there thought is he could be Rhiwallon -

In the 12th century a young man fell in love with a woman who emerged from the magic lake – Llyn y Fan Fach, in the hills above the village of Myddfai. He was allowed to marry her providing he was faithful, didn't give her three needless blows, nor touch her with iron. She came with a dowry of goats, cattle, sheep and horses. They were very happy and she bore him three sons.

Unfortunately he struck his wife once when she laughed during a funeral, once when she cried at a wedding, and then (to cap it all) he accidently touched her with the metal bit of a bridle as she helped him to harness a horse.

She cried,“You have struck me the last blow. Farewell!” Turning her back on him, she called to the animals to follow her, and disappeared into the lake. The distraught husband drowned in the deep waters of the lake in his frantic search for her.

The lady’s three sons often went to the lake, and one day she re-emerged and told Rhiwallon, the eldest, that he must become a man of medicine and be "a benefactor to mankind by giving relief from pain and misery through healing all manner of diseases".

[AndreaLiesel]

I quite like the idea of him being Regina's brother, though from "The Stable Boy" I don't there was much indication to her having any siblings. However, if you combine that theory with the one of him also being the Wizard of Oz, the relationship between them (he who has no magic but pretends to, and she who does, perhaps from her/their mother) becomes more complex. Presumeably he was overlooked by their mother, Regina getting all the magic, so he escapes to Oz where he is the one everyone adores for having "magic." She could even be the wicked witch of the west in his story. That would explain not only why we have yet to see him in the Enchanted Forest (being in Oz) but also his bedgrudging (because really, he seems more obligated than willing in his relationship with Regina) obedience of Regina in Storybrooke.

[Reveal] Spoiler:

Also it could explain why, in the clip from the premiere, he is at the forefront of the mob going to confront Regina at her house!

[Loudinaquietworld]

I think dr. Whale is Daniels brother. And he promised Daniel if anything were to happen to him he'd protect regina

[MysteryKat25]

I was pondering out loud yesterday about Dr. Whale's identity and thought maybe it comes from a Welsh fairy tale (saying Whale's outloud = Wales), so I glanced around and found one called "Lady of the Lake." The title immediately jumped out at me because it seems perfectly made for a crossover in OUAT with something from Arthurian legends and we've already seen Lake Nostos with a siren in it, etc etc.

When I was skimming the first version of it I came across, I was beginning to lose hope until I got to the end...the lady of the lake's 3 sons became physicians! In some versions they mention the lady of the lake having FAIRY blood in her, and it always ends with her 3 sons and their descendants becoming doctors as she was a master healer and taught them all she knew.

So I'm wondering, since the writers of OUAT love to crisscross all kinds of fairy tales (including some more obscure ones), if they somehow combined this idea of a fairy tale healer who is the son of the lady in the lake, and perhaps crossed it with something from King Arthur and / or a fairy. That got me thinking about the scene from the finale when Dr. Whale was reacting to having his memories returned and the Blue Fairy (Mother Superior) goes to comfort him. Perhaps "Mother Superior" is a fitting title for her more than just being the head of the fairies?

I know it's a wild and crazy thought but since we haven't been able to come up with some big name character we should recognize (like when we figured out Pinocchio), maybe he's not a famous character that will "knock our socks off" (as the actor has teased) but rather, WHO the character is related to will shock us! (ie: the lady of the lake or the blue fairy, etc). Just a thought!

I thought he was the wolf at the beginning of the season so now I'm grasping for straws. Can't wait til we know for sure!