Where do you think "Skin Deep" fits in the timeline?

[Daniel J. Lewis]

I’m updating our Fairytale Land Timeline and trying to figure out where we should place the events of “Skin Deep.”

As I mentioned in the initial reactions, here are a few indicators of time.

• The Evil Queen is called a queen, but she could have been a queen before marrying King Leopold (Snow’s father).
• Rumpelstiltskin yells into a mirror, knowing that Evil Queen can see him. Possibly placing this after Genie ended up in the mirror, or maybe Evil Queen could always see through mirrors.
• Belle and her father are both in Storybrooke and seem to be the same age as in fairytale land, so “Skin Deep” must be fairly close to the time of the curse.
• Rumpelstiltskin isn’t imprisoned, so this is obviously before Cinderella.
• Rumpelstiltskin has a good life and an estate, so probably not close to when he was in prison and he told Evil Queen he wanted a good life and comfort.
• Rumpelstiltskin is always dressed nicely, not the more rugged, dark clothes he wears in other episodes.

While it can be noted that Belle’s village was suffering from the Ogre Wars, Jane Espenson (writer of this episode) tweeted in reply to a question.

Centuries. He was in FIRST Ogreswar. @catobie R How many years has Rumple been cursed for at this point? #OUAT

https://twitter.com/#!/janeespenson/status/168918154859388928

What are your thoughts? Perhaps before James kills the dragon?

[hjbau]

I think that this is probably after the Queen kill’s Snow’s father because the Queen is wearing black and before that she didn’t.

Also Rumpel had the lamp and i think that Regina could only look through the mirrors after the Genie got trapped, but you are right that we don’t really know that.

I would also say that this is after the Queen tried to kill Snow at least the first time, but i don’t really have a reason for thinking that.

[Daniel J. Lewis]

@hjbau wrote:

I think that this is probably after the Queen kill’s Snow’s father because the Queen is wearing black and before that she didn’t.

Good catch! Unless she wore black before marrying King Leopold.

The Lamp could go either way. Maybe Rumpelstiltskin had it before King Leopold, or maybe after.

Perhaps what caused Evil Queen and Rumpelstiltskin to be such enemies was because of having traded the curse. Or maybe she stole it from Rumpelstiltskin.

[riddleraven]

Yeah, hjbau, good catch. I don’t think she wore all black until after King Leopold died. She put it on for mourning and knew it suited her best so she continued to wear it. She said that much in a previous episode. Someone mentioned that she’s really like a black widow, emphasis on both of those words.

He may have gotten the lamp in a deal with Regina. She had it after Sydney’s wish and it wasn’t any use to her. But it definitely could’ve still been before… but if it was what wishes would he have made if he had it? I was thinking he might’ve wished for the castle but then I thought maybe that castle was the one he attacked to get the dark one’s dagger?

[nonnie]

First Ogre Wars …. seem to date to the DARK AGES in Europe and England…. serf dressed raggedly, over lords who had the right to conscript serfs and ride off with women to be slaves at the army encampments. The type of weapons also seem to date from that time period.

CURRENT WAR: Rumple clothes / furnishing in Beauty seem to date to the late 1600 / early 1700s ….refined china, elaborate furnishings, a library of books, the sword that GASON used….. Probably closer to the time Grimm gathered and wrote the fairy tale books and published them. Regina’s clothes also seem to be from that time line.

(*** Europe was engulfed in many / multiple wars through out the centuries, FTL seems to repeat the same themes, as they are based on folk lore from those times and countries with Chinese and Arabian folk tales thrown in. )

Regina is trying to bargain with Rumple to control a “mermaid/ siren” that she wants to entice PC/JAMES with. (sorry previews) I think this is before Snow is in the glass coffin and the wedding… it is while he is trying to find SNOW … going thru hazzards.

Rumple had time to amass a great fortune if he lived so long. Maybe that is why he has no son. The son grew old and died centuries prior. (Highlander sagas where the Highlander was immortal he out lived his wives and children unless they inherited his immortality.)

Whoever controls the sword and knows the name of the DARK ONE, controls Rumple. I think at this time Rumple has his own sword, hidden away somewhere. He is not thrown into prison until the sword is captured.

Regina, FTL, is trying to find the sword to capture / control Rumple… this is before he is in PRISON/ MINE and the curse is enacted. I think that is her goal in STORYBROOKE.

.

[hjbau]

True. With the lamp it could go either way. And i noticed it was there when Rumpel was with Belle, but then it was gone when the Queen came to visit. It was on the same plinth as the Egyptian looking axe. I still think it is after the Queen killed Snow’s father just because of her behavior and the fact that she was wearing black and that she was wandering the countryside.

[Snickerdoodle]

I am still thinking that we have not seen the EQ use a mirror prior to the genie, so I am still for placing it after the genie enters the mirrors. Of course, if we wait just a little bit maybe we will see an episode with a mermaid which the EQ referred to at the end of “Skin Deep.” If we see who else is involved in that episode — PC, SW, the dwarves, etc… then I suppose we will be better able to place the time of this episode

[Daniel J. Lewis]

Actually, we haven’t seen Evil Queen use any magic before the Genie. Not that she hasn’t used it, just that we haven’t seen it.

[hjbau]

I wonder if the queen always had magic or she gained it somehow. Maybe she did a deal for her magic.

[obisgirl]

@DanielJLewis wrote:

While it can be noted that Belle’s village was suffering from the Ogre Wars, Jane Espenson (writer of this episode) tweeted in reply to a question.

Centuries. He was in FIRST Ogreswar. @catobie R How many years has Rumple been cursed for at this point? #OUAT

https://twitter.com/#!/janeespenson/status/168918154859388928

Hmm, that is very interesting. First Ogre war, which makes me think when this episode takes place, maybe it is during the second Ogre war.

Like in reality (our history), before we had WWII, people referred to WWI as ‘The Great War.’ But then we had WWII and obviously, people couldn’t call that the Great War, part 2. History needed to call it something to help distinguish it from the first war.

I wonder if it’s the same thing in fairytale land.

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