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I think they’re in the remanent of the Enchanted Forest, which was mysteriously preserved. I agree that Cora and Hook seem to be in the same location that Mulan and her princess posse were in – just outside of their “safe haven” island (which looks more like a peninsula to me). Also, I think Milha and Hook are hatching a plot that’ll involve the “safe haven” since it just looked too foreboding that Killian Jones was using his telescope to get a closer view of it. My other theory is that the dark curse affected all of the lands, so that the various lands like Wonderland and Neverland might have become mixed in with the remanent of the EF. That would help explain why Captain Hook and Cora (who I think the QoH) ended up there.

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Faux Pax wrote: Was I the only one, though, that kind of thought he was trying a little too hard to match Jack Sparrow’s accent? O’Donohue is great and yummy, but there was no chance anyone could pull that off but Depp.

Only in the sense that Jack Sparrow and Killian Jones both spoke with English accents did I think there was much of a commonality. To be fair to Colin O’Donoghue, Johnny Depp is always going to be a hard-act to follow. I think Colin did a great job making Killian his own man though. Despite being Irish, Colin pulled off a very posh English accent. I think Jack Sparrow’s was much more of a “commoner’s” working-class British accent.

In fact, I think at times Rumpel, far more than Killian, sounded a lot like Jack Sparrow. Robert Carlyle said in a recent interview that he always gives Rumpel a slightly different voice. Carlyle said Rumpel has been around for so long, he often imitates accents of people he admires. Since he’s been around for centuries, he sort of lost his own identity and has taken on other’s identities.

"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

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Mike, you’re probably right about Regina’s last name. I rewatched the ending of 1×2 The Thing You Love Most just to be sure what Henry’s tomb stone said in the Enchanted Forest, just before the dark curse transported everyone to SB. It just read, “Henry, Beloved Father.” It wasn’t until we saw Regina’s family vault in 1×7 The Heart is a Lonely Hunter that we saw Henry’s tombstone read ‘Henry Mills, Beloved Father.” So, it seem like Regina chose her last name based on her family’s miller lineage, but not until after she came to SB.

"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

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Phee wrote: How delightful would that irony be, if in trying to kill him, Hook inadvertently saves his soul.

That would be deliciously ironic. Love it!

"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

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Henry bought the bell for Mary Margaret as a “so-glad-you-didn’t-kill-Mrs-Nolan” present. Yet, I still think the bell is a nod to Tinker Bell, whom we’re supposedly going to meet sometime soon-ish. 🙂

I’ve really come around to loving the Baelfire-is-Peter-Pan-thoery, which I remember Phee posted back before August was revealed to be Pinocchio. I’ve only just found this thread, but I’m loving all of the connections between Baelfire, the Mysterious Man, Peter Pan, and Neal Cassady! Fairy Dust, you continue to dazzle me with all of the layered meanings and possible interwoven connections. I swear you must have planted a bug in Adam and Eddy’s office.

Now that we can assuredly rule out Dr. Whale as a contender for the role of Peter Pan, I’m even more behind Baelfire being our Pan. Captain Hook followed a magic bean to Neverland, so why couldn’t Bae have done the same? I think the fact that Peter Pan is Edward Kitsis’ favorite fairytale is also very telling. I’m even more excited for Baelfire possibly being Henry’s dad, whom we’re first going to meet in Emma’s backstory in 2×6! 🙂

"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

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Surayya wrote: Another facet to his murdering Milha that I thought played a Massive role, was the fact he didn’t once mention what He himself had forced Bae into. I fully believe when he killed Milha, he was punishing her for what he himself did to Bae & simply used the excuse of her leaving him to be with her true love & happy as justification for himself.

Phee wrote: Not unlike that time he beat Moe and was screaming about how he’d hurt Belle. All that anger wasn’t just directed at Moe, Rumple was in large part beating himself up.

Indeed, Rumpel has a lot of self-hatred. He said he wanted Hook to feel what it’s like to have his wife stolen from him and to feel helpless to do anything about it. While he was speaking of revenge on one level, it was a very telling comment about how much Dark Rumpel hated his own cowardice before his curse. Now that he is the Dark One, Rumpel still hates himself for being a coward at his core. A lot of the violence we’ve seen from Dark Rumpel is the result of his curse, but is also rooted in his own self-loathing. That’s also why he told Belle that no one could ever love him, because he really believed it. He felt his own wife and son rejected him, so he had the hardest time believing Belle could ever really love him. It was far easier to believe Regina had commissioned Belle take away his powers than to believe Belle truly loved him, in spite of him being the Dark One.

In the commentary for A Land Without Magic, Adam and Eddy said the fight scene between Rumpel and Charming is a very poignant scene. Robert Carlyle had the astute insight into Rumpel’s psyche in that not only is Rumpel really a fan of true love, but that he wishes he could be brave and heroic like Charming, who always fights for true love. This is again reflected in The Crocodile when Mr. Gold asks David for dating advice. Rumpel wants to make his relationship with Belle work, but is at a loss to know how David and Mary Margaret make it work. David replies “honesty of the heart” and a lot of hard work. We see Mr. Gold put this advice into practice in the library scene.

Phee wrote: This episode did take Rumple to possibly the darkest place we’ve seen him in, killing the mother of his son. But on the flipside, his final scene with Belle in the library did show that he’s finally starting to own up to his faults. He’s been honest with someone for the first time in several hundred years. He’s actually let someone see him as being vulnerable, desperate even. That’s HUGE character development for him, and goes to show how good Belle is for him. Thank you, Belle for being tough on him!

Yes, this was a huge break-through for Mr. Gold/Rumpel. Belle is certainly right in standing up for herself and to him for needing courage to be honest. He fully realizes he’s still a coward and that he collects power to compensate. He acknowledges that he uses power as a crutch, without which he fears he couldn’t walk. (Great metaphor, since he uses an actual cane in SB). Also, now that finally expressing “honesty of he heart” to Belle, will he finally be able to put her and her needs first? He said he needs magic to try and break the new barrier curse, but Belle seemed opposed to him using magic any more. Also, would he dare tell Belle that he killed Baelfire’s mother when he was the Dark One? That might terrify her more than she could handle.

"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

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Doesn’t Snow White have a first and last name? All her friends in the EF just called her Snow, so I assume it’s her first name and White is her surname. Also, Regina’s first name carried over from the EF to SB, so I assume her last name did, too, and it’s Mills. Plus, her father’s tomb stone read “Henry Mills, Beloved Father.” So, it seems like their family name was Mills in the EF, before the curse.

I think the writers intentionally introduced the audience to Killian Jones’s full name, since as theorized in the initial reactions podast, his last name have special significance to his backstory. Killian Jones might be related to the Captain Davy Jones.

"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

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@ RumplesGirl: I also think Baelfire could very well be Peter Pan. It would help explain the rivalry between him and Hook if Bae/Peter blames Hook for taking away his mother. For that reason, I also think that Hook and Baelfire will end up in SB together, towards the end of S2. Yet, I don’t think Bae will forgive Rumpel either, at least not right away.

I’m not so sure that the Crocodile will “win” in the end. If Hook realizes Baelfire/Peter Pan is Rumpel’s son, Hook may try to turn Bae against Rumpel by revealing that Rumpel killed Milha. I imagine Bae is going to have a lot of anger against Rumpel as it is, and discovering that his dad murdered his mom will only serve to deepen that resentment against his dad. I have a sad hunch that Captain Hook will seek to kill Rumpel, and Bae may only forgive his dad right as it’s almost too late. I could even see Captain Hook becoming the next Dark One if he succeeds in his desire for revenge.

"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

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Yes, Baelfire was supposed to journey to a land without magic and Rumple believes our world is the realm to which Baelfire was transported. However, there is a competing theory, which seeks to reconcile these facts with the Peter Pan theory. As I understand it, had Rumpel gone through the bean-portal with Baelfire, it would have transported them both to a land without magic (i.e. our world), where Rumpel’s curse wouldn’t affect him. However, since Rumpel chickened out of the deal he made with his son, Baelfire was instead transported to Neverland, where lost boys end up, and he became Peter Pan. Now that we know Hook used an enchanted legume to travel to Neverland, we know it’s at least possible for Baelfire also to have traveled there via his magical bean.

Also, since time stands still in Neverland, Baelfire may have lived for the 300+ years that Dark Rumpel was searching for a way to find his son. (That’s also why Hook has remained young). Since Peter Pan could fly using pixie dust, he may have found a way to our world. Eventually, he simply stayed in our world, where time exists and he started aging again. A lot of people think Baelfire is Henry’s dad, so it’s possible he decided to stay in our world, because he fell in love with Emma.

"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

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SB is about to get seriously dark (and I thought Regina ripping out Graham’s heart was as dark as it’d get on this show). Based on the US promo, it seems Regina not only preserved Daniel’s body (maybe with magic) in the EF, but also brought it over to SB. I understand her grief pushed Regina over the edge, but she is seriously twisted to have employed Dr. Frankenstein to reanimate her loved one’s corpse.

Here it looks like Regina was keeping Daniel’s corpse in her heart vault in the EF.

Here’s a glimpse of the same empty glass-coffin which enclosed Daniel’s body. It looks like Regina is in modern-day dress, suggesting she brought over Daniel’s body to SB. However, the body is missing. Regina then goes into the basement of the hospital, since she probably suspects Dr. Whale has stolen the body and is up to his old tricks again.

I think history may repeat itself. It seems like Dr. Frankenstein/Dr. Whale reanimated Daniel’s body both in the EF and in SB. Probably, it was a botched experiment the first time he tried. Now that Dr. Whale remembers his identity, he may try again, since we see what appears to be Daniel’s reanimated body again in SB.

Phee wrote: In the traditional story, the monster kills himself, doesn’t he? Though that doesn’t necessarily have any bearing on how it happens on the show, because obviously the real story didn’t end that way. Weren’t there pics of Josh Dallas at the stables? Don’t remember what ep that was meant to be for though, or if I’m completely imagining it.

Yes, in the novel by Mary Shelley, the monster allows himself to die in the arctic as atonement for the murderous rampage he’d gone on after his creator rejected him. Also, yes, there was an image of Josh Dallas visiting the SB stables, where I think we see Daniel confront Regina in the promo.

Here’s Daniel as the monster, strangling Regina in what appears to be the stables in Storybrooke, since Regina is wearing modern attire. The monster seems quite disturbed and violent towards Dr. Whale (and even Regina). Perhaps Daniel remembers the last time this happened to him, and he blames Regina for not letting him rest in peace. Either the monster will end up killing himself (as in the novel), or Regina may have to pull the plug, so to speak. Very morbid.

There appears to be a disembodied arm in the midst of that sheet that Regina finds. I’m guessing that’s Whale’s? Looks like the shirt sleeve has a lavender cuff, and isn’t that the colour shirt he was wearing?

Well spotted. It makes a lot of sense for Dr. Whale to be missing an arm. In the novel, Dr. Frankenstein rejected his monstrous creature, who then retaliated with violence against the doctor’s family. Perhaps Daniel will rip off Dr. Whale’s arm as revenge in SB. There are BTS photos of Dr. Whale walking around SB with one arm missing from his jacket and a cooler (probably with his detached limb in it). The lavander-colored shirt sleeve inside of a doctor’s coat matches the rest of Whale’s outfit. He was also seen with Mr. Gold (presumably for healing, since we saw Rumpel used his powers to heal his wounded face in his duel with Charming and again tried to heal Baelfire’s knee using magic).

Wonder if they’ll make a point of whose heart Daniel ended up with? Or maybe that won’t be significant. But it’d be fun if they made it the heart of someone everyone’s heard of.

Regina probably originally employed Dr. Frankenstein to revive Daniel, but because Cora crushed his heart, they have to use a surrogate’s heart. I like the theory that the heart belonged to another victim of Cora, so that animated corpse behaves like a monster and not as Daniel did. He may have Daniel’s memories, since he seems to recognize Regina in the promo, but he has the heart of a monster.

BTW: Here is a handy link that has stills of the promo, so that you get a pretty clear idea of what happens in each frame. http://storybrookemirror.tumblr.com/post/34085791469/the-doctor-promo-stills-detailed

"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

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