This thread should probably be in a spoiler section. 😉 Hopefully anyone who sees the title and doesn’t read spoilers won’t click on it.
@TheGoldenKey wrote:
Would it surprise anyone to know that J.M. Barrie based the name Neverland on a play that came out in 1902 called The Never Never Land, written by Wilson Barrett.
Which wouldn’t be that far removed from how they chose Whale’s name.
I’ve entertained the idea that Ethan Embry could be several different people, and can’t wait to see who he’ll end up being. GoldenKey, those are certainly some good points, and a good argument for him being Peter Pan, (and you know I’m also Team PeterisBae).
One thing I can’t seem to shake about his character is that I’m sure that Barrett will have a connection to Neal, who I’m now pretty positive has to be Bae. I’ve said several times that I love the potential for Hook’s Neverland nemesis to have been the son of the Crocodile, and also that I love the idea that the boy who famously couldn’t grow up, ended up being the father of the only boy in SB who did grow up. And I’ve also said that my whole idea of Bae going to Neverland was because when he went into the beanhole alone, his needs changed, and he no longer had to go to a land where his father’s magic was void, he was now an orphan, so he went to the land where orphaned boys went.
A couple of those points could still stand if Bae didn’t necessarily become Peter Pan, but did become one of the Lost Boys. The major sacrifice of my theory would be that it would no longer be the Crocodile’s son who became Hook’s Neverland nemesis, which is a bit of a bummer, because I think that would be fun for them to do.
However, now I’m thinking of this new possible theory, I could get on board with the idea that Barrett was Peter and Bae was just a Lost Boy. When Emma and Hook were on the beanstalk, he seemed to mention the Lost Boys with some sort of fondness, (which I know is one of the arguments people use for Hook being Peter), which could work if Bae was a Lost Boy and he and Hook had actually had a good relationship in Neverland. Much as I think it’d be fun to see Hook and Bae as enemies, I could also like the opposite, if Hook found Milah’s son and they were able to be friends, (which couldn’t have happened if Bae was Peter). The more I think about it, the more I like the potential of Bae having been a Lost Boy who Hook got along with. Imagine Rumple’s reaction if his son comes to town and treats Hook like a long lost friend. Yowza! Or even if Hook and Bae had had a falling out and were no longer friends, it’d still rile Rumple right up that they had ever had a friendly relationship in the past.
If Barrett was Peter, and he and at least one of the Lost Boys (Bae) got stuck in our world, remained friends as they grew up, but always with Peter being the one in charge in the relationship, that could explain why Barrett would come to SB first, while Neal hasn’t come anywhere near town yet. Perhaps it’s a case of the “big brother” coming to suss things out, instead of letting his “little brother” go walking unprepared, straight into a firestorm of angst that is the town with his former lover and his cursed father.
That’s assuming that Barrett and Neal do know each other, which may be completely off base of course, but like I said, I can’t shake the feeling that they’ll be connected.