What a season finale! Neverland, attempting to blow Storybrooke, Henry’s disappearance and so much more! Join us aboard the Jolly Roger as we delve into the depths of this episode!

Kitsis and Horowitz already have plans for season 3 and possibly season 4.

Neverland

We think the episode takes place soon after Milah’s death, give or take a few months. He is still heartbroken when looking at that picture. Felix also mentions to Hook multiple times that Hook is “new” to the land.

The Lost Ones mention He/Him and seem to refer to the shadow until the end, when they mention Peter Pan by name.

Several times in the episode, they’ve mentioned “the Curse of the Mermaids.” Will Ariel be in Neverland? Will she be bad?

Hook and Baelfire didn’t instantly recognize each other because Bae was much younger,

Hook seemed to be willing to be a father figure to Bae. (It’s a pirates life for you!)

Hook and his father boarded a ship “with plans to travel the realms”—maybe different worlds? Was Hook’s father possibly Robin Hood? or Davy Jones?

Bae just “spills the beans” to Hook about the dagger and the dark one’s powers

… Peter Pan reminded me of Gecko Moria from the manga “One Piece.” Moria has power over shadows, allowing him to separate his own shadow and to control it. He can also take somebody else’s shadow by cutting it off using scissors. … Well this could be coincidental, because I think the creator of “One Piece” was inspiried by Peter Pan when he created this power. But it would also make sense if Peter Pan’s power might be similar. … Clessidor

Once Upon a Time has combined characters (Red and the Wolf) before so this is definitely possible!

We think Bae considers the Darlings to be his real family because they took him in.

Maybe Hook could leave because he never touched Neverland ground.

Since Bae lived because he’s not Henry, is it for sure that Henry will die.

Felix: “It may take time, but Peter Pan never fails”. We think this gives us a good time reference for Neverland. Can Neverland move through time?

Did the dark magic come from Neverland?

… How does Peter know the future? I would think he knew something from the future, and that is why Bae was released or else Henry would never have existed. I hope the new focus on Henry means we’ll get to see how Rumple got him for Regina. I am so interested in that for some reason. I also am wondering if Peter Pan wrote the book now. -Melissa

Maybe Peter let Bae go so that Henry would exist. We believe that Peter may be manipulating pieces more than even Rumple!

I have a little theory about Nealfire. We haven’t seen how he gets out of Neverland, but we know he obviously does. My theory is that since it is Henry that Peter Pan is after, he lets Baelfire go one day, because Peter knows Baelfire will be Henry’s father. He realizes the boy he is after won’t even be born unless he lets Bae go. Rebecca Hailey

I agree with Jenny’s idea that Henry may have been kidnapped by Peter Pan’s forces for his powers…Perhaps he is like Anakin from “Star Wars.” Bear with me, I know it sounds nuts, but he is not all that he seems, he’s extraordinary, and he has been exposed to both light and dark magic. Henry could possibly be used or brainwashed by Peter to act as a vessel to cleanse the world of those he deems “unholy” (i.e anyone who’s in the way of his plan). I found it interesting that even the Dark One was intimidated by this new “Big Bad.” Emma

Henry could bring balance to the force! Maybe we saw a glimpse of that when we saw Emma and Regina combine forces to defeat the trigger.

Could it be that because Neverland’s time runs much differently than all the other magical and non-magical realms so that anyone who enters Neverland can exit at other points in time? Could this explain how Henry’s picture existed 300 years in the past? Could “Peter Pan” really be someone we’ve already met but has somehow traveled through time? HuskyDwarf

Did the same person who drew Henry’s picture also draw Milah’s picture?

My theory is that whoever drew the picture of Henry and the picture of Milah are most likely the same person. Both drawings were on similar paper and both looked similar as well. I believe that Rumple was the one who drew both. Considering he can see the future, we can assume he knew which “boy” would be his undoing and so he drew a picture of him and asked Peter Pan to kill him. Also, this might be why he “procured” the boy (Henry) for Regina, so that he could be closer to him and possibly kill him when the time came. I absolutely love the podcast! Thank you so much for bringing it to us fans each week. Can’t wait for season 3! Saskia

Hook said, “maybe it was providence that brought Bae into Neverland.” Is Peter Pan or the shadow playing the puppet master?

Thank you for supporting us!

David Neuland (subscriber)

Jed Anderson

Chris Ziegler (subscriber)

“GLaDOS”

You can sponsor an episode or more of ONCE podcast, too!

Super-short Present-Day Enchanted Forest

Neal appears on the beach (for the second time of his life) and is found by Aurora, Philip and Mulan! Guess we’ll have to wait until next season how Philip’s soul was rescued by the wraith.

(Jamie Chung was not actually Mulan in this episode)

I have a theory for S3. I think Aurora and Henry are going to commuicate through their dreams again, which will let Neal know what’s going on and where Henry is being held captive, which will launch Neal on a quest of finding a portal to Neverland. He will reunite with Emma and the gang …who all search for Henry in NL. David

Now with the introduction on Neverland, we have multiple realms and story settings: Past/Present Enchanted Forest, Present Storybrooke, and Past/Present Neverland.

Storybrooke

First scene we see: Henry swinging next to jagged rocks. WHO would put a swing next to jagged rocks?

While Granny was guarding Henry with a crossbow, she got up, looking in the opposite direction of Gold. Did Gold distract her?

Once Emma, Mary Margaret and David tell Gold about Neal’s death, he immediately assumes responsibility. Also, Gold says he made his peace with dying.

Gold has had a rough life. Belle always gets kidnapped while his son always falls down bean holes.

Tamara is really passionate about her cause, which seems religious, due to the terms she used: “unholy”, “sacredness”, “faith”, etc.

Greg and Tamara do not know who they are working for, but are willing to do anything to get rid of everyone from Storybrooke. When asking Hook if he was willing to die, they were asking more to see if Hook was ready to die, not because they were expecting to die themselves.

Greg was using his phone as a kind of GPS device to lead him through the mines.

The Home Office tells Greg and Tamara how to activate the trigger. Greg chooses Happy’s pickax. Maybe Greg was happy to finally destroy Storybrooke.

Regina tells Henry that he was born in our world and would therefore live. But, is this true considering he’s the son of two magical people?

David seems to like punching.

The episode emphasizes that Hook likes to think for himself. He says that he values his life more than revenge. Is there something more that motivates him?

Regina really felt she would die, so she gave a heartfelt apology to Henry. They exchanged I Love Yous.

Dwarfs are taking back their things from Gold’s shop, just like in Belle’s dream.

“Don’t let her die as Lacey.” – Leroy. It was nice to see them connecting Grumpy and Belle again.

Check out the Oncer Project video:

Belle got her memory back without true love’s kiss, possibly to allow Sneezy to get his memory back too.

Emma can feel magic being sucked out of Storybrooke. Regina can’t feel magic around her. Maybe she can’t because she was not born of magic.

Emma and Regina have a good moment. Regina admitted everything was her fault and chooses to die as Regina.

Lacey used Bae’s shawl to wipe up the McCutcheon, which triggered Gold to want to help her.

Jenny: What’s up with HAIRS? Why does everything need HAIR?

Archie was back and gives a moving speech. Where was Ruby?!

Our interview with Raphael Sbarge

Emma says, “I don’t want Henry to grow up like I did, ” to Mary Margaret and David. Emma finally called them “Mom and Dad”! Josh Dallas (who plays David) tweeted while the episode aired, “Mom and Dad… Finally she calls Mom and Dad! # CharmAttacked”

Trees were coming up all around Storybrooke just like the purple smoke LAST season. What will eat Storybrooke in coming seasons?

What magic comes with a price? Is it only BAD magic that comes with a price? Blue Fairy never says that magic comes with a price.

Greg and Tamara were fast in taking Henry. Why did Greg and Tamara throw the bean in water? Does the bean have to be thrown in water to get to Neverland?

Greg says, “We found something more important, something that changed everything—you.” This seems to lead us to believe that Peter Pan is the leader of the Home Office.

Tamara tells Henry that blowing up Storybrooke was never the point. We think this was just a ruse to ultimately collect Henry.

Where is the Home Office? Was it started by the Darling family?

Here is a theory I read that is very real, as far as linking the Home Office with Tamara and Greg. Perhaps the shadow is how she communicates with “HIM” in Neverland. That might explain the quick nature in which she received answers and instructions. “Him” is the person they are taking orders from, who could be Peter Pan, but I think it is someone else. – Onceabeliver

The shadow has traveled between worlds. Could the Shadow be the one in charge of the home office?

This was the first time we’ve seen Greg and Tamara use magic (unless the taser was actually magical.)

Tamara talks about magic and their “sacred cause” almost like one might talk about the Crusades. What if this holy war against magic has merely been a ruse to try to find Henry? Once Greg and Tamara grabbed Henry, destroying the town suddenly became a low priority…What if Peter Pan sent the Lost Ones to our world not only to act as an intermediary, but to help recruit people to find Henry under the guise of destroying magic? [Peter Pan perhaps?] sdcurtis

Did Tamara possibly come from Neverland? Greg may have been picked up by the Lost Ones and trained by them.

ErinJ suggested that destroying Storybrooke would force Henry to be alone, thus allowing them to capture Henry.

It was established that there exists a curse of the mermaids in NL. My theory is that perhaps all of NL is cursed as well. Time seems to be frozen there, just as it was in Storybrooke for 28 years. Peter and the Lost Boys sound sinister. In the end, I’d prefer it if Peter Pan were actually a little boy afflicted with a curse. Peter may be a villain, but only in the way that Rumplestiltskin is one. We know pre-Dark Rumple was a well-meaning, desperate father who wanted to save his son. Well, perhaps Peter is just a little boy who wanted to remain a child forever but made a deal he didn’t understand. Perhaps a bad fairy (Tinker Bell perhaps) tricked Peter into coming to Neverland, where he became accursed to remain a parentless, lonely child forever. I hope Peter has been searching for Henry, because he knows Henry is somehow destined to break Neverland’s curse. As the Savior’s son, it could be Henry’s meant to break the curse that save darkened Neverland. Slurpeez108

Felix told Bae that he would live because he was not the boy from the picture. Could that mean Henry might need to die to be a savior?

Mothers save the day on Mother’s day!

Several characters had a change of heart in this episode, including Mr. Gold. Gold decides that even though Henry is his undoing, he must save his only grandson.

Belle reminds us that the future isn’t always what it seems

Belle being on her own gives her a chance to develop as a character. Also, Rumple being without Belle will require him to develop his own moral compass to save Henry. Trixie

Will Rumple’s skin turn gold again?! How will Emma react?

In “In The Name Of The Brother,” the magical globe was activated by Rumple’s blood, yet why weren’t there two points on the map to indicate both Baelfire AND Henry? And now we know Henry is in Neverland, yet there was no indication on the globe of Baelfire being alive in the EF. Celia

Maybe the blood just gives him to power to see who he’s looking for, or it’s looking for a blood relative.

Gold seems concerned to go back to Neverland. Could that be where his dark-one powers come from? Gold says that Greg and Tamara are “merely pawns manipulated by forces far greater than they can conceive. They have no idea who they’re truly working for. … Someone we all should fear.”

Since Tamara and Greg really don’t know who they’re working for, their boss could be anyone. Who asks people to lay down their lives for a “sacred”cause without telling them who she or he is? And since Rumple mentioned that those two are being manipulated by forces that they don’t understand, I still think that their boss would turn out to be someone not even Greg and Tamara would’ve expected, mainly a magical person. Dorothy

My theory is that Peter Pan and Rumple have a relationship from before. It seems like anyone that Rumple regards as a “threat” is usually someone he’s taken under his wing: Cora, Regina and Dr. Whale when he thought science might be a rival to magic. … It seems like there are quite a few similarities between Peter and Rumple. While Rumple rips hearts, Peter Pan rips shadows, and in both circumstances, it’s painful. Both are immortal, both are “dark” (The Dark One, Peter Pan has his band of evil Lost Boys and the Shadow). Also, both have turned worlds inside out looking for a boy. Rumple changed the fate of the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke essentially, looking for Bae, and Peter is using the Lost Boys to look for Henry, and possibly collecting boys until he finds who he is looking for, changing the meaning of Neverland so the boys can never leave. Michele

Rumpelstiltskin clearly knows Peter Pan, because he said, “Greg and Tamara are merely pawns working for forces far greater than they can conceive. They have no idea who they are truly working for.” To which Emma replied, “Who is that?”and Rumble said, “Someone we should all fear.” I wonder if Peter Pan was looking for Henry, because he knew of the seer’s prophesy and is an old enemy of Rumple. Peter could then use Henry to be Rumple’s undoing. One theory about how Peter Pan and Rumple could know each other is that Rumple may have gone to Peter to made a deal with him in which he offered to separate Peter from his shadow if he would in return look through lands for Bae since he finds lost boys. In the end, maybe the deal went sour and they became enemies or power rivals. Kylie

Announcements

OUAT Roundtable 3 on Wednesday, May 22 at 9pm (EDT/GMT-4) on Google+.

Forums will have a major revamp in the middle of June to early July.

Our podcast schedule will change over summer and potentially be different for when season 3 returns.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

Yes, we will be podcasting about the new Wonderland spinoff! Check out the amazing trailer from ABC.

Thank you for the iTunes reviews!

ButterflySeeker

QuaziJoe from Canada

lilysmom64

huck49

Kelz0r7

Your reviews encourage us and help others find the podcast!

Please rate and especially write a review for us in iTunes.

Preorder season-two DVD/Blu-ray set!

You can now preorder the complete second season of Once Upon a Time on Amazon.com! For a limited time, save $10 off the DVD set and $15 off the Blu-ray set!

Preorder the second season today!

[ndlmx_special] What did you think? Email Feedback@ONCEpodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Call (903) 231-2221

Comment on the shownotes

Post in the forums

Visit any page on ONCEpodcast.com and click the "Send a voice message" link to record and send a message right from your computer. Help us out! Share this post in your social networks

Subscribe and leave a rating and review in iTunes

Shop using our Amazon.com affiliate link

Sponsor an episode Follow us On Facebook:

On Twitter: echo do_shortcode('[twitter follow="ONCEpodcast"]'); ?>

Daniel J. Lewis: echo do_shortcode('[twitter follow="theDanielJLewis"]'); ?>

Jeremy Laughlin: echo do_shortcode('[twitter follow="phlegon"]'); ?>

ErinJ: echo do_shortcode('[twitter follow="erinjcruz"]'); ?>

Hunter Hathaway: echo do_shortcode('[twitter follow="travelingpixie"]'); ?>

Jacquelyn / RumplesGirl: echo do_shortcode('[twitter follow="punk_bunny_87"]'); ?>

Find and follow all the Once Upon a Time cast and crew on Twitter. echo do_shortcode('[ndlmx_shows]');