This week, I am writing more about my thoughts and suspicions about identities, rather than a breakdown of the show.
A while back, in my post Dual Personalities, I mused about how old Baelfire would have been if he hadn't been sent into our world. I based my assumptions on the fact that Rumplestiltskin had already become The Dark One before Cora and Henry were married (and by the way, I suspect she might have put a spell on Henry to get him to marry her), so since Baelfire fell into our world shortly after Rumplestiltskin became The Dark One, many years had passed from the time Bae fell into our world and the time it is now. So many years in fact, that Regina hadn't been born yet, and neither had Snow or any of the other main characters. Obviously, The Dark One doesn't age, so his age is arbitrary. But anyway, if you think about the ages of the characters and where they fall onto the storyline, how old would Bae be now, if he hadn't fallen into our world? I think Bae would have been old by now, and therefore, so would Morraine. I think Granny is actually Morraine. No one ever calls Granny anything other than Granny, so we don't know what her name actually is. Morraine had several brothers who fought in the giant wars and Granny had brothers who fought in the giant wars who were killed at some point by the Wolf. I could be wrong, but these are my suspicions.
We don't really know about how time and space work between Fairy Tale and Storybrooke, but I don't think it's necessarily the same time when you travel between worlds. Or perhaps there are other factors to consider. I wonder about this because if Baelfire fell into our world over 30 years before the Curse was enacted, and the residents of Storybrooke spent 28 years in limbo, Bae would have fallen into our world at least 58 years ago. So I wonder if he fell into another world where time is different (Neverland perhaps?), then transported into our world, or if he came into our world much later than he fell out of Fairy Tale. Yes, I wonder about this stuff, and more often than you might think! Details, details!
I still think that Neal is Baelfire. When we first saw Neal in "Broken," I suspected that he was Bae, and for a long time, I also have thought that Bae was Henry's father. And after the last two episodes, I am even more sure of him being Bae.
Just a small clue was when Emma stole the car. Neal was wearing a brown hoodie, which looks much like the cloak Bae wore as a kid. When August asked Neal if he believed in magic, Neal had a strange look on his face, which I read not as "are you crazy," but more like he did believe but wondered why August was asking that question. When August showed Neal whatever was in the box, Neal believed what August was telling him, without question. The box was the same box which later held the typewriter, but the typewriter might not have been inside when he met Neal. Or it could have been, but also held something else... But what? I suppose at some point we'll discover what August showed Neal, and I know I will wonder until we know. What could August have showed Neal? Was it a page from the storybook? Because Neal believed without question, he has to be from Fairy Tale. He has to be.
When Gold gave Henry the pendant/potion, he said there was no charge since it was for Henry. I've always suspected that Rumplestiltskin knows that Henry is his own grandson. Gold isn't really nice to anyone, but he has seemed, from the beginning, to have a soft spot for Henry. I fully believe that Neal and Baelfire are the same person.
In "Tallahassee," when Aurora and Snow were talking about nightmares and the sleeping curse, Aurora asked Snow if the nightmares ever went away, and Snow said they had, but she looked down, as if she were lying. I think Snow still has nightmares but didn't want to alarm Aurora. I don't suppose they ever do go away.
When Neal gave August the cash, did August keep it? It would seem so, given his history of giving in to temptation. And where is August now anyway? The last we saw of him in Storybrooke was when he began to awaken, and then he was gone. Did he leave Storybrooke? Did he go to find Neal? If he did leave, did he forget his true identity? Since he came to Storybrooke from outside the curse, he might be able to leave. What if he did go to find Neal, and then couldn't remember who he was or where he was going?
When Belle told Ruby that she was "sort of an expert at rehabilitation," what does that mean? Who did she rehabilitate? One would think Mr. Gold, but could it be someone else from her past? Or Belle herself?
I spend way too much time thinking about the whys and wherefores of life in Storybrooke and Fairy Tale.
Happy Thanksgiving!
