Tag Archives: Rumpelstiltskin’s backstory

Should Rumplestiltskin forgive his father?

Young Rumple with his father in Neverland, before his father turned into Peter Pan

Young Rumple with his father in Neverland, before his father turned into Peter Pan

Peter Pan in cave telling Rumple he does care for him

Peter Pan in cave telling Rumple he does care for him

Rumple’s father chose magic over his son — the magic of being able to fly and the freedom he thought that would bring, the magic of becoming a boy again without responsibilities. When Rumple became a father, he also chose magic over his own son — the magic of being the Dark One and the power he thought that would bring, the magic of getting back at those who had humiliated him.

And so the cycle perpetuated itself through the generations, just as cycles of abuse are often handed down from parent to child.

In Think Lovely Thoughts, Pan accused Rumple of being just like him. Rumple denied it, but I think Pan was at least partially right.

In the cave, Pan told Rumple that he never stopped thinking about him and that he cared about him. I think he was telling the truth. Pan had no motive that I can see to lie at that point — Pan had the real Pandora’s box and had nothing to fear from Rumple.

Should Rumple (assuming he escapes from the box) forgive Pan? I understand why he wouldn’t want to — but would Rumple be better off if he could forgive his father? Would he be more at peace, more able to leave the painful past behind him? Would achieving that peace improve Rumple’s relationship with Bae/Neal?

Forgiveness, people say, is good for the soul. Could forgiving his father help Rumple heal himself from the evil acts he committed in his Dark One days?

Or do you think that Pan’s deserting young Rumple is not forgivable? Or is Pan unforgivable in any case because he tricked Henry and intended to kill him?

What do you think? (No spoilers, please.)

Recap 2×16 The Miller’s Daughter

Rumpelstiltskin and Cora at the spinning wheel after she discovers she has turned the straw into gold.  "Don't stop," Rumpel says, "until they are on their knees."

Rumpelstiltskin and Cora at the spinning wheel. She tells Rumpel about her humiliation and thirst for revenge, then discovers she has succeeded in turning the straw into gold. “Don’t stop,” Rumpel says, “until they are on their knees.”

The Miller’s Daughter originally aired March 10, 2013, and will be broadcast again, in an “enhanced rerun” version (with text comments on the bottom of the screen), on April 7, 2013.

Princess Eva, who was so kind and wise in a previous episode, is younger here and surprisingly cruel. She deliberately trips Cora, the miller’s daughter, who is at the palace to deliver flour, a job that Cora’s drunken father was too far gone to do. King Xavier orders Cora to kneel and apologize to Cora — a scene that echoes the Season 1 scene where a sadistic soldier humiliated Rumpelstiltskin by ordering him to kiss his boot.

The pain of humiliation drove Rumpel to become the murderous Dark One. That same kind of pain turns Cora into the murderous heart-crusher that she becomes. For both of them, the anger fuels their magical powers, something Cora learns from Rumpel in an erotically charged scene that mixes their passion for each other with their passion for revenge. (Continued after the jump.) Continue reading

Cora, the Miller’s daughter

Cora

Cora

Tonight, in “The Queen is Dead,” Cora confirmed that she is the Miller’s daughter. (Continued after the jump) Continue reading

Info on Season 2 Episode 4 “The Crocodile”

Episode 4, which will air on October 21, 2012, tells more of the backstory of Rumpelstiltskin and features several new characters. More after the jump (warning: spoilers) ……. Continue reading

Recap 1.19 “The Return”

I’m taking a few steps back in time to start catching up on the recaps that I missed. The Return was the first episode after the spring hiatus. It was a three-point return: the return of the show from its break, the return of Mary Margaret to her normal life after being released from jail, and (for a few moments) the seeming return of Baelfire to his father. Continue reading

Poll and discussion: What did you think of “The Return”?

Once Upon a Time is back!

What did you think?


Last time, we started the discussion in the “poll thread” comments, instead of waiting for the recap. I thought that worked out really well, so maybe we could try it again.

My first-impression comments and questions are after the jump (warning, if you’re in a later time zone and haven’t seen the episode yet — there are total spoilers there): Continue reading