Who is Dr. Whale?

I’m going to say he’s Oz. I don’t have any real evidence for this theory except that Dr. Whale and Oz have the same hair color. 😆

@slurpeez108 wrote:

I’m guessing Dr. Whale is the powerful wizard who gave Granny the enchanted cloak for Red so she wouldn’t phase into a wolf. The main reason is that Dr. Whale is linked to Ruby in SB, so it seems like they’re linked in FTL. Also, a doctor can treat ailments with medicine in our world like a wizard could with magic in FTL.

What slurpeez said. 😀 Only thing I’d add is that the specific wizard would be Merlin.

If you want to discuss other theories people have had, in case no one else sends this one in, (it’s not my theory, but is one of the more interesting ones I’ve seen), there’s also been some discussion about him possibly being Gulliver. There’s a bit on wikipedia about the character having had a history of studying medicine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuel_Gulliver This theory also accounts for the name Whale as a reference to how he would have appeared to be a beached whale to the people of Lilliput when he washed ashore there.

Whoever he is, I doubt they can put off the reveal for much longer, now that everyone will be walking around Storybrooke remembering who they are. Will people still be using their Storybrooke names, or their real names? I can’t really see Charming calling Snow by the name Mary Margaret, (and by the same token, I assume this will be how we’ll find out Charming’s real first name, when someone uses it instead of calling him David), and if real names are being used, it would be out of place for him to still be referred to as Dr Whale. Even if people do still use their Storybrooke names, their actions and allegiances will be influenced by their true identities, so either way, they can’t really show him much without revealing some major hints as to who he is, so I don’t think we’ll have to wait too long to find out.

@Elle wrote:

Also, I know this has already been said, but I doubt he is evil just from how stunned he looked when he remembered everything. And if he were loyal to Regina, he would have followed after her. Though he could have worked for her and just not be loyal. 😆 But something in the way he looked and held himself, he looked just as lost as everyone. And if were truly evil, why would Regina make him forget? He would have been more useful remembering.

When I thought he was one of the bad guys, (which was my opinion of him for the whole first season), I never thought he was a big bad. I likened him to Sidney, the DA, and poor sweet Graham…people who Regina had in her pocket back in FTL, so she kept them close for the same purposes in Storybrooke. None of them remembered who they were, but they were bound to do her bidding.

I think Dr Whale’s apparent anguish when the curse broke is a hint that he wasn’t always a minion of Regina’s though. I think he was having an, “OMG, I’ve been working for that evil WITCH?! That completely betrays the person I truly am!” kind of moment.

If she wasn’t keeping him close in Storybrooke because he’d previously been her minion, her other motivation may have been because he was a rival of hers in FTL. One of those “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” type of situations. I think this could lend credence to the Merlin theory, because someone of Merlin’s stature likely would have been in direct opposition to Regina, and he’d have had powers to match hers and fight back if necessary. Of course she’d want to keep someone like that under her control in Storybrooke.