521 Title Revealed – "Last Rites"

Last Rites usually are prayers administered by a priest to a dying person. So, that makes me wonder who, if anyone, is dying (or perhaps staying dead, as the case may be)?

The last rites are the last prayers and ministrations given to many Catholics when possible shortly before death. The last rites go by various names and include various practices in different Catholic traditions. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortally injured, or terminally ill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_rites Next episode may be titled ashes to dust.

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That really would make sense given the arc we’re in.

5×22: Ashes to Ashes

5×23: Dust to Dust

Crack theory: The underworld has the same rules as the hat: same number, same number out aka keeping the balance. Whilst the heroes are too busy preventing the likes of Pan and Cruella escaping, next season’s villain escapes unnoticed. When the heroes come to leave, they find out that one of them has to stay behind in order to keep the balnce. Rumple makes sure it’s not going to be him and then comes the massive dilemma. Snowing, OutlawQueen and Emma are all parents, they’ve got kids, Hook hasn’t. Yet they came all that way to save Hook. So who stays?

On a side note if that scenario does play out then it makes Emma look completely awful. Either she intended to sacrifice Rumple and thus destroy Belle’s life and deprive the potential RumBelle baby of it’s father just so she could selfishly get Hook back OR she has to decide whether to leave Hook in the Underworld which is unlikely because she went all that way to save him OR she has to choose one of the others to stay behind and deprive another child of their paent because she’s too selfish not to let Hook go.

Crack theory: The underworld has the same rules as the hat: same number, same number out aka keeping the balance. Whilst the heroes are too busy preventing the likes of Pan and Cruella escaping, next season’s villain escapes unnoticed. When the heroes come to leave, they find out that one of them has to stay behind in order to keep the balnce. Rumple makes sure it’s not going to be him and then comes the massive dilemma. Snowing, OutlawQueen and Emma are all parents, they’ve got kids, Hook hasn’t. Yet they came all that way to save Hook. So who stays? On a side note if that scenario does play out then it makes Emma look completely awful. Either she intended to sacrifice Rumple and thus destroy Belle’s life and deprive the potential RumBelle baby of it’s father just so she could selfishly get Hook back OR she has to decide whether to leave Hook in the Underworld which is unlikely because she went all that way to save him OR she has to choose one of the others to stay behind and deprive another child of their paent because she’s too selfish not to let Hook go.

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I can see something like that. I’m also still thinking that something about Rumple now being in possession of the former DOs “soul bundle” might come into play when it comes time to figure out who does and who does not come out of UW, and how to trade souls.

I also agree with your analysis: if the hypothetical Rumbelle baby isn’t pure speculation, then it would make Hook the only character who doesn’t have children “on the other side.” Therefore, were Emma to propose trading him for any of the accompanying (parent) characters, the act would be entirely indefensible. Similarly, were Hook to go along with this, I think his character would have to give up on any aspirations to the “hero” status. This makes me think that even if this is one way in which they try to solve the problem, it won’t work (after the announced heart-splitting plan inevitably flops).

The broader problem is that except for Emma, no one really has any connection to Hook — no one in the group is a parent, a sibling, or a close friend. Hook’s only connection is to Emma. So if they went that route, a sacrifice for Hook would have to be either extremely OOC, or a matter of tricking or strong-arming someone.

Alternatively, for everyone to come back, they might have to either trick Hades, or somehow get a bigger, meaner bully involved (Zeus, presumably)?

Rites could pun on magic, too, which might mean the end of someone’s magical abilities?