Lacey

“When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.” - William Arthur Ward

 ** All photos posted here are chosen for a reason **

Once you remember who you are, it will all become clear

This is such a wonderful episode. I found it interesting that Mr. Gold has a dream about Henry blowing out candles on a birthday cake in his shop. Also there is Neal, Emma, Mary Margaret and David; this is a family gathering.

 

In this dream happy Mr. Gold tells Henry "And now my boy, for your present. Pick one object from the shop- anything you like."  Henry picks a royal blue handle magic wand from a large selection of collected wands. Henry is warned by Neal to be careful "Wands are powerful."  Henry swings the wand around toward Mr. Gold, to which Mr. Gold cautiously backs up from its path, and shows Henry how it works.

He swirls the wand over Henry's head and it magically glimmers with gold sparkles. Then in an instant, Mr. Gold turns the boy into an un-real boy, of sorts.

He transformed Henry because of the Seer's prophecy declaring "...the boy would be my un-doing, so I have no choice... I must be his."  Gold uses his gold handled cane/walking stick to break this "Henry" apart. Mr. Gold, wearing royal blue pajamas, bolts awake from this dream.

Although we see Mr. Gold/Rumple's driven intent to be the boy, Henry's, undoing, I can't help but recall that the Seer never said which young boy would be Rumples undoing, or what regard "undoing" even means. I'm not saying the young boy who leads Rumple to his son isn't Henry, or that Henry is indeed the one the Seer saw, but we know how it's all in the details and the picture of the future is jumbled and you have to figure out how the pieces all fit together properly.  Perhaps it means the boy (Henry) will "Un-Do" Rumple's hardened dark side. Is it possible the Seer is speaking of another boy altogether.  Yes, it's true, Henry is a boy- but so is Pinocchio/August.  August was trying to warn Emma and the town about someone/something dangerous.

Mr. Gold was the person to procure little Henry, but from where and whom did he procure him from? Mr. Gold, claiming no knowledge of the genealogy of Henry, feels it was fate that he procured Henry. Regina's had not been exposed to the news of Henry being the son of Neal and Emma until now.  This, of course, makes the gang all related... family.  Gold is on his best behavior because of his son, he doesn't want him to know who he really is. And playing the part of the loving grandfather might be the path Gold is taking, but Regina feels he always chooses darkness- "Your dark heart and it always wins out." She wonders if his own son couldn't bring out the good in him then who will. That person is Belle.

Yin- Yang

Belle brings out the best of Rumple/Gold's heart, while Lacey triggers darkness from him.  We know all of the residents are "both" their Storybrooke identities and their fairytale identities- and they are all light and dark. Each person is trying to find out who they themselves truly are. Mr. Gold's feelings for amnesiac Belle are true. Belle and Gold will help each other remember who each is. In some way they're all helping each other. Emma even advises Regina "...Instead of worry about everyone else you start focusing on trying to be the person Henry wants you to be before you lose him for good."

We learn that Belle is constantly crying while she is locked up as "the monster" Rumple's servant. She agreed to this sacrificial self-imprisonment as a means to save her Kingdom and her family. She sees the dark side of this Dark One, but also can see a spark of light in him too.

But it is the kind hearted Belle who frees the shackled and tortured prisoner, Robin Hood, who stole a magic wand from Rumple. Angry Rumple thinks, "People who steal magic never have good intentions!"  But Belle feels "No! No! You can't know what's in a person's heart until you truly know them."  Pissed off Rumple is going to shoot an arrow straight through Robin Hoods heart- with Robin's own bow.

When the angry Rumple/Dark One demands Belle witness his revenge on the thief Robin Hood, things take a turn... They see that Robin Hood did not steal the magic wand for selfish reasons; he did so to save the life of his pregnant lady, Marion. Rumple is stopped in his tracks when Belle states Rumple's not the kind of man to leave a child fatherless. Rumple's shoots the arrow at the couple, but he misses his target on purpose, claiming the magic arrow's magic must have worn off.

"You been locked up long enough," Mr. Gold tells Belle, as he puts plans in motion to get her out of Storybrooke hospital. But this metaphoric statement isn't just for the Belle/Lacey situation- it is also for Rumple/the Dark One/Mr. Gold.

Crafty Regina pays a visit to chatty Belle and uses magic for her own gain by "conjuring up memories" in Belle by using a trigger- a matchbook from The Rabbit Hole.  This trigger makes Belle think she remembers who she is. Her altered ego is called Lacey; a scantily clad barfly, hustling pool player, all around fun chick. But this is information of a false life- of a life the residents of Storybrooke never lived.

Regina and Mr. Gold know these aren't Belle's memories and agree these are from the curse. "You see, all I did was jog things back in place," Regina tells Mr. Gold.  She claims she can't bring her back, as when Belle crossed the town line, "Her old self is gone. These curse memories she has are now real. Lacey's here to stay."  Gold knows that any curse can be broken, especially with True Love's Kiss.

When we met Belle she was locked away in Regina's secret underground ward beneath the hospital, where she had no memories then either. That begs the question... At what point did Belle become Regina's secret imprisoned amnesia patient?  Sure, I understand "David Nolan" had no memories either, but I guess Regina felt the need to still implant memories of a false life for anyone and everyone, whether they woke up or came to, or not.

Losties, check out the menu!

In Storybrooke Mr. Gold seeks relationship/romance/love advice from David, who was in a similar situation with Kathryn.  The Prince shared about the "real us" being inside of them and to show Lacey/Belle the man she fell in love with. He takes the Princes' advice and tries to woo his love back by taking her on a date to Granny's.  Even as "Lacey", Belle can still see a good man in Mr. Gold.  The date doesn't go well, as Lacey sneaked off to the alley to make out with the "Fairy Tale Land" sheriff of Nottingham. But frustrated Gold sees that somewhere in Lacey's mind she can recall Belle's heartfelt sentiments to the Dark One/Rumple.
They can find their way back to each other.

Where I can run just as fast as I can- to the middle of nowhere

Mary Margaret and David bring Emma out to the see the secret cloaked magic bean field that Anton and the Dwarfs have been tending to and nurturing. Mother Superior is the one who cloaked the field. Then Emma's parents share that the goal is to use the magic beans to make a portal go back to the Enchanted Forest. Restoring their land is the best way to mend Mary Margaret's/their heart. They want their whole family to go back and maybe Emma can have her "happy ending."

When Neal brings sleeping Henry back to Emma at the apartment, Emma asks him if he's ever thought about going back home- where they're from. But Neal's spends most of his life trying to forget that place. "I didn't exactly have a fairy-tale childhood. You know what I mean," Neal shares. Neal also shares his feelings about August being a lot cooler as a kid, "Steals less of my money."  As far as August's warning, Neal feels August always had a knack for being cryptic. He also knows Emma will figure it out because she doesn't stop until she finds what she's looking for.

Since Regina is always suspicious of people hiding things and information from her, she watches the Dwarfs, Tiny, Mary Margaret and David  drive up to Granny's, where she is able to use magic to follow the path they took- the path that leads to the hidden bean field.

Keeping a huge secret from Neal, Greg and Tamara discuss their big plan. Greg shows Tamara a map of all the places he's seen it.  He feels "This town's lousy with magic."  Greg warns "If Neal suspects anything it's gonna make everything that we have to do that much harder."  Tamara assures him he won't.  Greg hasn't had any luck finding his dad, but he's sure he's there. Greg and Tamara will find him, but it seems there's another, more important thing to do; involving Tamara getting "the package" there. And yeah, it's stable.

The package is revealed to be Captain Hook, gaged and bound in the back of a trailer that's being towed by Tamara's vehicle.  They can always count on a Pirate to do your dirty work.
Are Greg and Tamara there to simply mock Storybrooke's incompetence with magic or are they there to steal magic?


You can have anything you want- but you better not take it from me

Rumpelstiltskin shares a common thread with LOST's Sawyer, as they both are attached to their "things." They become very protective of their stuff.  It doesn't matter if it is things they already possess or things they acquire, it becomes things that provide both men with power over people and situations, intimidation, control and they love to make deals.  Yet, once their hearts start to open, they are willing to share and give.

Things to Note...Questions to Ask...

๑  Henry is a little boy- but so is Pinocchio/August
๑  Greg is trying to find his father, the father he left behind in Storybrooke when he was a boy
๑  Reboot
๑ (Gold) Arrow. Bow
๑  Royal Blue
๑  There was a sheriff (of Nottingham) in Storybrooke already, but he wasn't Storybrooke's sheriff.  Lacey tells this sheriff that he's not her type.
๑ Dark-Light couples: Greg and Tamara. Neal and Tamara.
๑ Red picket fence. Neal and Henry fence/sword fight with wooden swords just like Henry and his grandfather, Prince Charming did in Lady of the Lake
๑ Birth. Wake up. Death
๑ Sleep. Dream
๑ Tranquilize 
๑ Head filled with false memories
๑ Eye. See. Look
๑ Line
๑ Landscaping/plant/harvest
๑ Mr. Gold isn't a fan of The Rabbit Hole
๑ Mr. Tom Clark/Sneezy thinks Lacey should be called "Fast Eddie/Eddy". Sneezy also lost his memory when he crossed the town line in We Are Both
๑ 10 bowls of chili, no beans
๑ Rumple will owe David/Prince Charming, a favor
๑ Rumple removes the sheriff's tongue
๑ Episode: Skin Deep- Valentine's Day. Ladies night at the bar. 

The episode, Lacey.

Vocabulary and Research...

๑  "Panama" by Van Halen off the album 1984
๑  "Love is Alive" by Gary Wright (1976) from the album Dream Weaver
๑  Patsy Cline
๑  "The Day That Never Comes" by Metallica from the album Death Magnetic
๑  Robin Hood (spelled Robyn Hode in older manuscripts) is an heroic outlaw in English folklore, a highly skilled archer and swordsman. Although not part of his original character, he has become known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor",assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men." Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes. He is usually portrayed as living in Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire. Early ballads are also quite clear on Robin Hood's social status: he is a yeoman. As well as ballads, the legend was also transmitted by "Robin Hood games" or plays that were an important part of the late medieval and early modern May Day festivities. It is commonly stated as fact that Maid Marian and a jolly friar (at least partly identifiable with Friar Tuck) entered the legend through the May Games.
๑ Charm- Charming: To charm is to use power or magic

 ✔ Golden LOST Thread Woven into the Tapestry of this Tale

✈ Reboot
✈ Arrow
✈ Eyes
✈ Bamboo. Island/Bamboo forest
✈ Line
✈ Torture
✈ Suffering
✈ Plant a seed, a garden
✈ Noble
✈ Tranquilize
✈ Darts
✈ Patsy Cline
✈ Tom Friendly tells Kate she's not his type
✈ Dark- Light couple -Rose and Bernard
✈ In He's Our You  12 year old Benjamin Linus brings prisoner Sayid a Chicken Salad Sandwich
and in The Long Con Gordy orders a chicken salad sandwich
✈ In the episode we find that The Package is Desmond. He is supposed to be a "failsafe."
✈ Desmond and Penny, and Sun and Jin found their way back to each other
✈ In Some Like it HOTH, Miles is given the task to deliver a dark package/corpse
✈ "The middle of nowhere" (or hint/implication of "nowhere"):

• Numbers
• Tabula Rasa
• Orientation
• S.O.S 
• Everybody Loves Hugo
• The End : "There is no 'now' here" - N O W H E R E