Mad Hatter have a point?

[Faux Pax]

I was rewatching "Apple red as blood" and a thought struck me. Jefferson made it clear that having two realities in your head is not fun. Now that the curse is (at least partially) broken and people have their memories back, how do you think that is going to play out for the people of Storybrook?

[slurpeez108]

That is a very good point you raise. Will everyone be as mad as Jefferson was having two conflicting realities in his head? IMO, the key phrase is conflicting; the thing that drove Jefferson mad wasn't so much remembering his past life, but rather, not being able to share this life with his daughter, Grace. His unhappy ending was having to live with the knowledge that he had abandoned his daughter in FTL in search of material wealth and comfort. That is why Regina mocked him by locking him in a mansion without having anyone to share it with. He went crazy from being alone in his knowledge. He had gained a fortune but lost his only child. When Regina left him in Wonderland, she again taunted him saying, "You never abandon family."

My guess is that now that everyone remembers who they are, the two realities will be manageable, except now they have to contend with an unpredictable magic. Since everyone remembers who they are now, they will at least find comfort in one another, despite being stuck in our world. The Charming family will have each other, Ruby and Granny never lost each other, the 7 dwarves will find each other, and Jefferson will have his daughter.

[Faux Pax]

But for some characters at least there has to be some issues. Take Grace for example. One one hand she has a loving father who left her at the neighbors and didn't come back (not that that was his choice but i doubt she knows that for sure and even after that issue is addressed it will probably still hurt). On the other hand she has two dotting parents who have loved and cared for her for almost three decades, but it was all fake.

I don't see her throwing either family away for the other; she was probably the person (outside of Regina and her pets) closest to having a happy life in storybrook. And what will happen to Jefferson emotionally when Grace can't give it up compleatly and go back to the way things were?

Would he be content with just having her on the weekends and every other wendsday? Or on the flip side of that, how much would it dig at him to finally have her back in his life but still have to go back to the other parents house for the weekends and holidays?

The double memories may not drive people crazy, but they are bound to cause issues for at least some people.

Besides the Grace/Jefferson dynamic, what about the charming family? I mean last thing they remember of their true lives they were sending their newborn daughter away but because of the curse she is about the same age as they are, has a kid of her own, and was their friend. As heartwarming as it all will be there has to be some awkwardness there somewhere.

[mia]

As heartwarming as it all will be there has to be some awkwardness there somewhere.

And that's exactly what will be adressed in season two. At least in mho. They have to and looking back at what we saw in season one, I think it's clear that they want to go there. They make a point of showing us these different relationships. How they used to be, how they are now.
Even before the show aired Kitsis & Horowitz (the creators) said that this show was also about mothers and daughters. So, it seems to me as if they will go deeper into that, now that Snow remembers. Some of the cast members have also hinted at that, but they don't know for sure, so …

[Faux Pax]

From the looks of where the story is going, i don't think it's about "mothers and daughters" as much as "Parents and children."

I really hope they don't brush over that awkwardness in just a few episodes or have the premier take place like six months later and it's all resolved. What i like about this show is how it humanizes that stories by having them have real people reactions to storybook situations. This is not something the writers can blow over without it blowing a big hole in the heart of what makes this show great.

[hjbau]

I think they will spend a portion of the entire season doing the awkwardness between Emma and Snow and Charming.

About Jefferson and Grace. I really think that Jefferson will just get her back and that will be the end of it if that is what he wants. I don't think he is going to be sharing custody with the neighbor family.

[AntBee]

But for some characters at least there has to be some issues. Take Grace for example. One one hand she has a loving father who left her at the neighbors and didn't come back (not that that was his choice but i doubt she knows that for sure and even after that issue is addressed it will probably still hurt). On the other hand she has two dotting parents who have loved and cared for her for almost three decades, but it was all fake.

I don't see her throwing either family away for the other; she was probably the person (outside of Regina and her pets) closest to having a happy life in storybrook. And what will happen to Jefferson emotionally when Grace can't give it up compleatly and go back to the way things were?

Would he be content with just having her on the weekends and every other wendsday? Or on the flip side of that, how much would it dig at him to finally have her back in his life but still have to go back to the other parents house for the weekends and holidays?

The double memories may not drive people crazy, but they are bound to cause issues for at least some people.

Besides the Grace/Jefferson dynamic, what about the charming family? I mean last thing they remember of their true lives they were sending their newborn daughter away but because of the curse she is about the same age as they are, has a kid of her own, and was their friend. As heartwarming as it all will be there has to be some awkwardness there somewhere.

Yes, it's going to be very awkward for a lot of people now that they have both sets of memories. Perhaps this will help integrate Jiminy/Archie more since he wasn't used that much in the first season.

For instance, I'm sure Kathryn will blame Regina for everything that happened, but everytime she sees the Charming family, I imagine it would be awful knowing that she was actually the other woman, even though she slapped Mary Margaret and shamed her in front of the whole town. Or everytime one of the Charmings runs into Dr. Whale or Frederick, it's going to be weird for awhile.

I definitely agree about Grace too especially as one of her last memories of the Enchanted Forest was of her father abandoning her. She doesn't know the whole story, but I'm sure it's going to be very tough just to go live with him and abandon the family that she has now.

I wonder if season 2 will explore it being better for some than others. Like poor Dr. Whale already seemed like remembering his other life is already causing him to flip out, but maybe some characters could use their new memories to create a better life for themselves now. Like Grumpy and Nova could try to start over in this world since she's not a nun and he's not really the town drunk, and she may not have any magical powers anymore especially if they can't go back to the Enchanted Forest or if they could choose to stay here on Earth.

[Clockwatcher]

Yeah, everyone remembers, to the random family Grace was with remembers as well. Hopefully Jefferson will just get Grace back without conflict.