Hidden Symbols

[storyteller]

In the midst of re-watching 2×19 “Lacey” when I happened to notice something about the horses on Rumple’s coachman-less coach (say that five times fast). On the browband of their bridles is an emblem of a horse’s head with a an upturned horseshoe identical to the one we see on the horse Neal passes by in Central Park in 2×01 “Broken”

This little coinky-dink got me thinking, so this thread will be devoted to those background elements props etc. that have a measure of symbolic resonance for the characters or are just clever little inserts that may not have been noticed before.

Here’s another I noticed:

When Robin breaks into Rumple’s castle in “Lacey” to steal the wand, on the other two display stands are a sword and chalice (A reference to Excalibur and the Holy Grail?) and a crown. When Neal and Mulan enter the same room in “The Heart of the Truest Believer”  Neal goes over to display stand with a chalice sitting upon it and taste the residue of some liquid. Two chalices in the same room in scenes that involve Robin coincidence? I think not.

 

 

[Slurpeez]

Two chalices in the same room in scenes that involve Robin coincidence? I think not.

So is Robin Hood affiliated with the chalice? Perhaps he, like Lancelot, was once a knight of the round table.

"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

[storyteller]

I’m leaning in the direction of Robin being Wart but that’s just me.

Observation #3

In 2×20 “The Evil Queen” when Regina in disguise comes across the peasants abusing an effigy of her. In the background is a tapestry, with a castle and overhead an angel and a dragon in apparent combat. In the lower right hand corner of the tapestry there appears a small ship and a family of trumpeter swans.  (Perhaps a symbol of good and evil at war within Regina?)

 

Custodian of Graham's darts, Rumple's spindle and Robin's quiver

[Myril]

storyteller wrote:

Two chalices in the same room in scenes that involve Robin coincidence? I think not.

So is Robin Hood affiliated with the chalice? Perhaps he, like Lancelot, was once a knight of the round table.

All for mixing mythologies and characters, but nevertheless first let’s get the originals straight. T.H. White put Robin Hood and Prince Arthur together in his 1938 novel about the youth of Arthur, “The Sword in the Stone”. That novel was the base for the animated feature film by Disney from 1963 with the same title, which probably many here have seen.

The original myths of Arthur and of Robin Hood though are different mythologies, playing in different time periods. While Arthur is set in the late 5th/ early 6th century (very early Middle Ages the time shortly after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire), Robin Hood plays in the late 12th century (time of the Third Crusade 1189-1192, King Richard I the Lionheart 1157-1199, High Middle Ages), so about 700 years later. Robin Hood was never a Knight of the Round Table.

Not saying the chalice can’t be meant as a connection for the scenes of Robin Hood in the castle, and maybe as a reference to the Holy Grail even. In the novel “Ivanhoe” by Sir Walter Scott from 1820 the bad guys in the story are members of the Knights Templar, a certain Robin of Locksley helps the good protagonist Wilfred of Ivanhoe. And the Knights Templar have been named in legends as the keepers, guards of the Holy Grail. In the novel “Ivanhoe” that plays no role, but you can make the connection.

¯\_(?????? ?)_/¯

[TheWatcher]

Dont know if this counts as a symbol, but when Neal was in Golds shop, I forget the episode but I THINK it was the one where Emma did the protection spell, anyway. If you look behind him,there was doll that looks EXACTLY like Glinda the Good Witch of the south behind his shoulder. Foreshadowing? I think so v.v

"I could have the giant duck as my steed!" --Daniel Radcliffe
Keeper Of Tamara's Taser , Jafar's Staff, Kitsis’s Glasses , Ariel’s Tail, Dopey's Hat , Peter Pan’s Shadow, Outfit, & Pied Cloak,Red Queen's Castle, White Rabbit's Power To World Hop, Zelena's BroomStick, & ALL MAGIC

[RumplesGirl]

storyteller wrote: Two chalices in the same room in scenes that involve Robin coincidence? I think not.

So is Robin Hood affiliated with the chalice? Perhaps he, like Lancelot, was once a knight of the round table.

I have this very bizarre headcanon that RH might be Arthur in disguise.

 

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[arnabanarna]

In Season 1 when August’s character is introduced (True North?) and in several episodes following, he is wearing a bandana around his neck. It is the same bandana that Geppetto is wearing in the premiere episode when he is sweeping the jail lamenting to Emma that he was never blessed with children.

Keeper of Regina's blackened sole special.

[arnabanarna]

url” alt=”http://onceuponatimeabc.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Eion-Baily-Once-Upon-a-time.jpg“>

 

Keeper of Regina's blackened sole special.

[storyteller]

Dont know if this counts as a symbol, but when Neal was in Golds shop, I forget the episode but I THINK it was the one where Emma did the protection spell, anyway. If you look behind him,there was doll that looks EXACTLY like Glinda the Good Witch of the south behind his shoulder. Foreshadowing? I think so v.v

I’ve noticed this doll as well (not so sure it’s a Glinda reference)  it appeared in Gold’s shop for the balance of Season 2. Unfortunately I don’t have a close-up image that would give me a clue if it were an analog to one of the characters.  I’ve got a theory forming but I still need a couple more clues before I’ll speculate.

The first instance it appears is in 2×02 “We Are Both” when Regina went hunting for her mother’s spell book. In that episode the doll is sitting on the counter next to Regina. The next most prominent appearance is behind Rumple as he puts the wand away in 2×09 “Queen of Hearts”  and says he’ll be sure not to bet against Emma in the future. The third most prominent appearance is in 2×16 “The Miller’s Daughter” Regina, Cora and Neal are all seen in close proximity to the doll as it sits on a stand upon the counter.

Custodian of Graham's darts, Rumple's spindle and Robin's quiver

[Phee]

All 3 of those eps have significant Cora appearances. Curious.

[Author]

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