At PaleyFest, you guys teased that we’ll meet Belle’s (Emilie de Ravin) alter ego in an upcoming episode called “Lacey.” What can you tell us about that episode?
Kitsis: The most important thing in that episode is that Gold is faced with a very tough choice. He knows that Henry is his undoing. We know that the only person whose life has ever been a great influence on him is Belle, so what happens when that is taken away?
UHHHHHHHH. Why is Lacey so far away??
That’s exactly right. But really what she was saying in that moment is that when she looked at Regina and she looked at Rumple, two people she could’ve loved, she realized she spent a lifetime choosing power over love.
Could have loved. Could have. Ok, I’m going to maintain that Cora did not know what love was until Regina put her heart back into her body and she saw her daughter, truly saw her, for the first time and then what she thought she felt for Rumple pales in comparison to what she feels for Regina, which is real love.