First episode of season two will be "Broken"

[a chipped cup]

Rumpel is just a plot device? Uh…no. Just…no. Rumpel is a main character, has had plenty of character centric episodes and development, and has had not only his backstory revealed, but his loves, desires, fears, and addictions revealed to us as well. A plot device does not have a backstory. A plot device does not have a personality or any real character devlopment. A plot device is just there and then gone. We don’t know them. We don’t connect to them. And they defintiely don’t get a ton of screentime or much of the plot dedicated to them. And they MOST DEFINITELY don’t get there own promotional poster with their face plaster on it. 😆 Personally, I think Rumpel is one of the more well developed characters on the show.

Just my two cents. 😀

[Slurpeez]

hjbau wrote: Yes, but all of his episodes are back story and everything he does in an episode is plot device stuff like explain about the love potion or give Snow a bow so she can try to kill the queen or give Charming the ring so he can find Snow or help Cinderella get to the ball. I mean he never does anything. He just does the in between stuff or explains something to the audience so we know what is going on.

Rumpel never does anything?! 😮 All he did was create the Curse to end all curses to find his son Baelfire, who was his reason for living before he met Belle. All he did was bring magic to SB in an effort possibly to locate Bae and defeat Regina once and for all. If it weren’t for Rumpel, there would never have been an OUAT story to tell at all, because there never would have been a curse to defeat. Regina and Snow’s present-day story in SB completely depended on Rumpel’s actions since Regina needed Rumple’s curse to get even with Snow.

He plays a role in pretty much everyone’s story. Let’s review what Rumple accomplished in S1: creating the dark curse in the first place, telling Regina how to enact it, revealing how to break the curse to SW, giving PC the ring to find SW, helping Emma defeat Regina (twice), making Cinderella’s dress and carriage ultimately to make Emma owe him a favor, likely (though not certainly) giving Granny a magic red cape for Red, acquiring Henry for Regina, making a bottle of true love to bring magic to SB and make Emma the savior in the first place, prompting Jimminy to make Geppetto’s parents into puppets and probably making Cora into more than just a miller’s daughter. Those plots don’t even mention Rumpel’s own main plots in episodes 1×8, 1×12, and 1×19. Even though Rumpel’s story is “backstory” so is every other fairytale characters’ – because everything in FTL is a flashback. His story just came first chronologically and set off every other domino. Rumpel’s not just a central character, but he’s central to the entire show.

The real “plot device” in OUAT would be the bottle of true love that Rumpel creates — not Rumpel himself. We’re introduced to this idea in 1×16 – well into the series and only see it again in 1×22. It’s main function was to act as a “safety-vaulve” to make Emma the savior and then to bring magic to SB. The wishing well is another good example.

A better example of a character who served as a plot device in OUAT’s first season is August. He appeared about half-way into the season and served the main purpose of helping Emma to believe but mostly to keep us fans guessing about his identity. In then end, he served his purpose of a “red herring” in the plot.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

[Phee]

@slurpeez108 wrote:

If it weren’t for Rumpel, there would never have been an OUAT story to tell at all, because there never would have been a curse to defeat.

Yeah, that. More than any other character, this show is Rumple’s story IMO. His history, which motivated him to create the curse, and how he used everyone else to set it in motion so that eventually he can achieve his ultimate goal. Without all of that, there’d be no need for us to be seeing ANY of their stories, so without his own personal story, there’d be no show.

[elle]

None of the characters on the show seem to really be plot devices because they are all developed–we see their personalities, their fears, the people they love, what they are capable of when angered or desperate, and the things they regret. Even though August was only in a few stories, we get his backstory in a full episode.

That said, Snow white, Evil Queen, Rumpelstiltskin, Prince Charming, Emma, and Henry seem to be the main focus of the series. I know the writers said Snow White, Prince Charming and Rumpelstiltskin were the true heart, but there is so much development given to Emma and Henry, that I can’t help but include them. All of these characters are where the story is at–Rumpelstiltskin created the curse to find Bae, Regina enacted the curse for her revenge, Snow White and Prince Charming were mortal enemies of the queen and tried to keep their kingdom safe. Emma is the savior–she is the one to bring back the happy endings. And even though the curse is broken, she will continue to do so. And Henry is the one that convinced Emma to believe, along with providing Emma with support and knowledge of the curse.

But all the other characters like Pinocchio, Belle, Mad Hatter, Red Riding Hood, Jiminy, and Cinderella and etc are just as important because their stories are effected or effect the main cast. They make deals, or are double-crossed, or aid the main characters, and we learn in their centric episodes why they do what they do, or how they came to be who they are.

[Author]

Posts