[Keb]

Well, for the months, for parts of it anyway, I was able to use nearby known dates. We know what day 1 of the curse was, for example, and by extension we know Emma’s birthday (Oct. 22). We’ve got a birthday for Baelfire, though we don’t know if it’s accurate–but if it is, that tells us dates for everything that happened around his 14th birthday.

But I ran into a big problem when it came to season two, because they’ve got things so tightly woven and almost every episode clearly starts the day after the episode before it (or the same day) with few exceptions. There aren’t as many clear dates for “present” action in season two, but there are places where it seems like there should be more time passing (like the beans, wth), and the clothes and Snow’s birthday definitely place at least part of the season in winter despite the fact that only about 2 months could pass the whole season since the curse broke if you use the show’s own statements about when stuff’s happening. So I’m still struggling to find a way I’m happy with to represent season 2. Every time I think I find a place where a week or two could pass, I run into, “She tried to kill us–YESTERDAY.” or “Not bad for my third day as a dad.” Which makes perfect sense in the show but gives me no wiggle room to have the season last more than two months past the curse breaking…and that doesn’t get us back to winter at all. So…yeah. Fighting with that part.

And there’s lots of stuff that’s in January because I don’t have any diagetic clues to go by for dates, like birthdates. Hopefully as the show continues, some of that will be easier to place.

Thanks for the feedback on Aurora…I think I’d forgotten in my initial timelining that Aurora was only 16 in the Disney movie, and they may be using that framework as a guideline. Not sure. (They don’t always…but it’s a good argument for her to be younger than the 21 I’d given her.)

[Keb]

I haven’t updated mine yet (lots of changes) cuz I’m fighting with some math on some of the dates that I shifted around, but I’ve got the site’s timeline completed through season 2. More or less. I’ll tinker, I’m sure, and if people notice important things that are missing or wrong, I’d love to hear about it so I can fix stuff. It’s much less detailed than my timeline for a number of reasons, and with the “current time” stuff I’ve been trying to sum up the episodes in as few events as possible since that’s all very linear compared to the flashbacks. Still, it’s a much friendlier format for most people than a spreadsheet (*pets spreadsheet lovingly*) and I hope I’ve done it justice with my updating.

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

That’s gonna be my end goal, actually. Though I’m still fighting with my current timeline. I’ve got some specific dates now–a handful of birthdays and a couple of other events–and making things work with them and the actual flow of the show is hard as is! But it’s a fun puzzle all the same.

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

Yeah, I’ll be timelining it. Ehehehehe.

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

Was reading some rumbelle analysis and an interesting contrast hit me re Rumple’s treatment of Belle, even from the beginning of their relationship.

“It’s just a cup.”

This is a guy who is extremely possessive, who collects objects and values them highly (if as nothing else, tools for getting what he wants). He tells Belle he loves his things, and the evidence that he does is pretty strong. In fact, once he comes to associate the chipped cup with her, he seems to value it even unconsciously (before it becomes his most cherished object).

And yet he tells her it’s just a cup. I think despite the fact that he intentionally teases her and tries to persuade her he’s evil while she’s at the Dark Castle, her distress genuinely distresses him. We see that when she’s crying and, like most guys in the face of a crying woman, he looks for a moment like he’s at a complete loss for what to do. (Seriously. I’m an emotional girl and I’ve seen this probably way more than I should admit.) Thus the pillow. I think if someone had pilfered the cup or intentionally damaged it–even before it had any significance to him–he wouldn’t have been so dismissive. But because she’s distressed about it, he dismisses it.

And now the rumbelle feels hit. Cuz awww.

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

Adam said Blue didn’t have her memories, and yeah, that squished a lot of theories. The only indication of Rumple’s origin story being in the book is the fact that Bae IS in the book. Of course, I wonder when Rumple found out about the book; I assume he might know about it at this point, but did he know during the curse? (Probably. Man knows everything.)

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

A lot of people got to keep their most important artifacts. Snow had her ring. Gretel had her compass. I suspect that Blue’s wand was in the abbey somewhere.

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

…that sounds more convoluted than Once usually gets. I mean, yes, they sometimes go fascinating places, but they don’t usually do something that contradictory (without clarifying it fairly immediately, as when people get Cora’d).

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

I’d love to see them delve more into the we are both issue with Belle/Lacey. I think that her differences aren’t as blatant as they might be, though she is more extreme than some of the other characters; the drinking in excess is something that Belle was prone to in FTL and also did a bit with the iced tea when she discovered it–mainly when she was without her TL, of course, as one example. But we’ve gotten so little of the characters dealing with their inner counterparts so far.

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

HappyEndings: In biological terms, he was seven when he came through the tree. (It says so in the newspaper articles they show.) But who knows how long he was a wooden boy before then? And the original story does have him traveling to Pleasure Island; portals DO exist in the EF and some people use them regularly (like Rumple and Regina, who use Jefferson a lot). The problem is that such portals don’t go to places without magic. NL seems to have magic.

Jefferson knew a lot–partly because he spent time working for Rumple and Regina back in his portal jumping days. Although, yes, he had the whole curse to work out the Belle thing, I think he knew about Belle before the curse–and I daresay that she was Regina’s best-kept secret (she would have to be), and not exactly something that Rumple blabbed about a whole lot (though he did tell Regina about his promising maid and David that he’d been in love once and she was dead). It’s plausible that Hook found out about her through Jefferson, actually. With his travels, he could have learned quite a bit.

Though he didn’t know why Rumple wanted to go to a land without magic (why would anyone want that?), he did know that Rumple was seeking a path.

What isn’t yet clear, but what will surely be made clear next season, is why Rumple didn’t go to NL to get Bae if there is magic there. (Or why he didn’t succeed if he tried.)

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Author]

Posts