Why Jefferson Should be Baelfire….

[lady of the lake]

Why Jefferson Should be Baelfire….

And just for fun: 20 or so reasons why Jefferson SHOULD be Baelfire. Most of this list is ‘like father, like son’. From the first time Jefferson appeared on screen in Hat Trick my thought was ‘OMG, its Rumple, Jr.’ Then came The Return, and we found out exactly what happened to Bae, and wheels have been turning in my head since then… (And yes, I realize Jefferson’s eyes are a different color than Bae’s. They changed when he started portal-jumping, or something. Just work with me here. Other than that the actors are not a bad match, looks-wise.)

When we first meet Jefferson, he is nearly ‘hit’ by a car and ‘hurts’ his leg. The accident turns out to be staged; however, his limp immediately calls to mind a certain prominent Storybrooke character who walks with a cane. More significantly, the next time we see Baelfire, in The Return, he is nearly hit by a cart, and hurts his leg.

Jefferson and Mr. Gold are both wealthy men in Storybrooke. The Hatter and Rumplestiltskin are both men with special powers in Fairy Tale Land. (The first time I watched Hat Trick I was already making a mental list of parallels between the characters, and it was about at this point that I turned to my daughter and said “Apparently men with magical powers in Fairy Tale Land are required to look good in leather pants. Not that I’m complaining or anything.”) Both men have their memories unaffected by the curse.

Both Rumplestiltskin and Jefferson are single fathers. When we first see Jefferson in Fairy Tale Land he has given up using his power to protect his child, exactly what Bae begged his father to do in The Return. In Hat Trick, Jefferson asks Grace to wait in the woods while he talks to the Evil Queen. In The Return Rumple asks Bae to wait in the woods while he deals with some ‘business’. Both men make promises to their children that they will end up breaking, causing them to lose the child they love. (There is a bit of similar dialogue in both scenes too, right before the promises are made. Jefferson: I have to for you to have what you need. Grace: All I need is you, Papa; Rumplestiltskin: Name it. What do you want? Baelfire: I want my father.) Both men would do anything to get their child back, even if it means diving into morally questionable territory. And incidentally, not that it is an uncommon nickname, but both children call their father Papa.

When Baelfire was a child Rumplestiltskin earned a living spinning wool into yarn. It appears that after giving up portal-jumping, Jefferson may be supplementing his mushroom gathering income working with yarn. At any rate, he has a basket full of balls of undyed yarn in the house he shares with Grace, and skeins of colored yarn hanging from the ceiling next to an un-strung loom. On a perhaps related note, both Jefferson and Mr. Gold have stringed instruments among the objects in their Storybrooke mansions.

Both men are associated with tea. Long before Belle and her chipped cup, pre Dark One Rumple was offering Milah a cup of tea when he brought her home from the tavern. An offer she refused by the way, which is a good thing to do if Jefferson offers you tea, given his penchant for drugging it.

In Storybrooke, Mr. Gold wears nothing but impeccably tailored suits (even when digging in the woods): jacket, vest, tie, all in dark colors. Jefferson is also rarely seen without his jacket, and vest, and ascot, all in dark colors. In Fairy Tale Land, in addition to the (yummy) leather pants, both men are often seen in waistcoats with structured collars. And speaking of ascots, Bae is wearing one in The Return. Bae’s outfit has color parallels with that worn by Fairy Tale Jefferson in Hat Trick. Bae’s ascot is lavender, Jefferson’s has purple on it. Bae is wearing red pants, Jefferson is wearing a red shirt. Jefferson’s waistcoat and Bae’s tunic are also similar in color, and Bae’s cloak echoes the color of Jefferson’s ridiculously long frock coat.

And last but not least: When we last see Bae he is being sucked through a portal. What is Jefferson’s special ability? *ding, ding, ding* 😮 😮

And that is why Jefferson SHOULD be Bae. Whether he COULD be Bae is a whole ‘nother story….

[melliemd]

Interesting comparison… Except that he and Rumpel have a relationship in Fairytale Past where Jefferson is helping Rumpel FIND Bae as we see in The Doctor.

I’m more in favour of Rumpel having taken a magically-inclined Jefferson as a BABY in a deal with another mother, and raising him. So they do have similarities and do have a father/son connection, but not through blood.

[crest1994]

I love your theory!!! It’s so true, so much I haven’t noticed before. And Bae/Jefferson could just not be revealing himself to Rumple as he wants to see how Rumple acts or make him work for the right to see Bae again. Not just giving him an easy ride saying, Papa I’m back, but actually observing him.

[melliemd]

Bae wouldn’t help Rumpel corrupt Regina, though. That goes against pretty much everything he stood for.

[Killian Jones]

@MellieMD wrote:

Bae wouldn’t help Rumpel corrupt Regina, though. That goes against pretty much everything he stood for.

I agree that doesn’t follow with what we know about Bae

[frumpybutsupersmart]

I’m in favour of Jefferson being Regina’s brother. If Cora is the miller’s daughter in the traditional Rumpelstiltskin tale (as they keep talking about in the podcast), then she could have made a deal with him to give away her first born to Rumpel. Then Jefferson would have grown up with magic and probably been given the hat by Rumpel; and it explains why they have a pre-existing relationship in The Doctor.

[gypsy]

In the original Rumplestiltskin tale, the miller’s daughter guess his name and doesn’t have to give up her first born.

[frumpybutsupersmart]

Yeah, but if they changed the story a bit for the show, like they’ve done with pretty much every other story, it could still work.

[Author]

Posts