When I first saw that illustration of Regina’s happy ending (meeting Robin) was taken out if the book, my first thought was that that sounded like something Cora would do. She would never want her daughter to fall in love with Robin.
At one point I also speculated that both Pinocchio and the book’s paper might have been made from the same enchanted tree and somehow there’s a connection. I don’t think that anymore. I think he just wants to become fully human.
I thought it was really compelling that Rumple used those drops to control August in slightly the same way Zelena used the dagger to control Rumple. To me this gave insight into why Rumple seemed so vicious in that scene. Plus, Rumple’s happy ending is fading fast and he’s become desperate.