Pardon if this is rehashing old territory, but has anyone spent much time pondering Rumplestiltskin’s “sliding scale of makeup” as an indicator of the curse’s hold on him (and as an informer on the timeline)? I started noticing that the amount of makeup Carlyle dons as the Dark One changes quite a lot from episode to episode. In general from what I’ve seen about special effects makeup, makeup teams generally come up with a template to follow for a character to help streamline the process and help it look consistent from shoot to shoot- but the differences in the makeup seem very pronounced which leads me to believe that it as a conscious effort to show the effects of the curse at a given time.
For example, right after receiving the curse from Zozo, Rumplestiltskin looks fairly normal. There is a definite dark influence over him- but it’s like a shadow. His eyes have been shadowed, his skin is sallow and he appears to be wearing contacts. Even in “The Return”, there are some scenes where it’s almost possible to miss the Dark One makeup (like the daytime scene in the forest with Bae, the lighting through the trees hides the SFX makeup). This makes plenty of sense because at that point Rumple is concerned with using his powers for overall good. he wants to protect his son. He wanted to bring an end to the fighting in the Ogres War. He’s not very judicious about how he uses his powers, but he’s not really out to prove anything or accomplish anything other than bettering the life of his son. The curse definitely has a hold on him, but I don’t think he realizes it. He still believes he controlls the curse, not the other way around.
In other episodes, he is positively green and covered in what looks like glitter- there is a visible textural difference to his skin. (I think the makeup also ends up making the lines on Carlyle’s face more pronounced, which adds a sinister quality and makes many of his expressions seem much more over the top. It’s almost like a mask.) Even at the end of the FTL sequence in “The Return” he seems noticeably more “made up”. There is a shine to his face and the curse’s influence is more evident.
This may also just be the makeup department using its skills to influence the viewer, of course. Rumplestiltskin’s makeup in “Skin Deep” is fairly minimal, likely to help the audience sympathize with the character the way Belle is starting to. Most of that episode, it looks like he just has a bit of a muddied foundation on- that is until the last scene in the dungeon, where it looks like the glitter is back. By the very end of the episode when Regina comes in to gloat, his skin is practically grey and we see more of the “textured” makeup on his face. (He’s also put his ‘crocodile’ coat back on, another layer of defense against the cruel world. He’s back to playing the over the top villain as a means of protecting himself- rather than having his defenses down as he did while wearing more casual clothing around Belle) This could just be me, or the lighting, or whatever, but it’s interesting to think about. As I rewatch the series, I’ll probably be paying a bit more attention to the makeup, less as a timestamp (because I think the curse’s control fluctuates and is often at odds with Rumplestiltskin’s own willpower) but more as an idea of what his state at any given time might be.
"Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him."
