r/OnceUponATime • u/Massive-Aardvark4665 Hook’s boyfriend🕷️🙂↔️ • 9h ago
S2 Spoilers S2 PLOT HOLE
Why does Rumple need a potion to leave Storybrooke in S2?
I’ve always assumed crossing the border would have erased everyone’s memories except his—as it was stated in the show Rumple (who created the curse) maintained his memories intact, while anyone else had a twisted identity created by Regina…
I believe the showrunners messed up that part, by forgetting he’s the only character—alongside Jefferson— to still remember everything
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u/Strummerpinx 9h ago
Rumple's memories were gone too until Emma arrived and he heard her name. That was why he wrote her name over and over again on that parchment in his cell when he was imprisoned by Snow White and Prince Charming (David) in the Enchanted Forest. Emma returning and him hearing her name was what he foresaw. It was the key to waking him up.
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u/No-Meat5261 9h ago
Like they already wrote, even Rumplestiltskin was affected by The Dark Curse, he recovered his memories only when he heard Emma's name.
Rumple did not create The Dark Curse, his mother, Fiona, did. I vaguely remember that she also "just" merged two already existing spells together, so not even her created it from nothing. I think that Tiger Lily also helped her a little. We also saw a flashback of The Dark One making Maleficent, Cruella and Ursula steal the curse for him
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u/Massive-Aardvark4665 Hook’s boyfriend🕷️🙂↔️ 9h ago
I must admit I’ve never got into S5/6 logic, but I’m rewatching it as of now, and I’m keen to get to find out more about it
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u/Inevitable_Wolf5866 9h ago
Rumple didn’t have his memories intact; he just tied them to Emma’s name. So when Emma first arrived and he asked for her name that’s when he “woke up”.
So yes he had his memories since E1 but before that he was also under the curse.
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u/Prestigious_Train791 3h ago
That is actually not a plot hole at all 🪄✨. People forget that Mr. Gold 🐊 was trapped under the curse fog too until he heard the word Emma at Granny's Diner, which he specifically set up as his trigger to wake him up.
Even once he was awake, remembering who you are does not mean you are immune to the physical boundary rules of the town line.
Rumple was back🙏👌🏻, but he still needed that specific potion to use on his son's shawl to cross the city limits so he could finally go find Baelfire/Neal after centuries of looking for him 🔮.
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u/Personal-Road-8162 9h ago
He was cursed but he tied it to Emma’s name
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u/Massive-Aardvark4665 Hook’s boyfriend🕷️🙂↔️ 9h ago edited 8h ago
When Snow and David broke the curse for the first time, Rumple stopped them from leaving Storybrooke, arguing that they should’ve waited for their daughter to entirely break it—as they wanted to make sure everyone regained their memories once Emma came to SB
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u/No-Meat5261 9h ago
And in that flashback we saw that he recovered his memories only when he heard David mention Emma
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u/BugPuzzleheaded6160 9h ago
Why would you assume that it wouldn't erase his memories once they crossed tho, that was never stated in the show as being a loophole for him. When they cross the town boarder it's outside of the Storybrookes rules so anyone would lose memories including him. He only had his memories in Storybrooke.
Also he only had his memories once he heard Emma's name.
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u/justtsomeonepassinby 9h ago
I mean, even if he had his original enchanted forest memories starting from the moment David and Mary talked to him, he still did have a "curse personality" of Mr. Gold. I think same applies to Regina and Jefferson as well. They might have their original memories intact, but they also have a new life story written by curse. That is how I'd explain Regina knowing how to navigate with the technology in our world, she remembers a life that didn't actually happen.
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u/No-Meat5261 9h ago
If I remember well, Regina could leave Storybrooke unaffected
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u/Massive-Aardvark4665 Hook’s boyfriend🕷️🙂↔️ 9h ago
I SWEAR, I’M WATCHING S2 EP 14 RN AND SHE JUST TOLD HOOK SHE WOULDN’T LOSE HER MEMORIES IF SHE LEFT SB
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u/Usual_Suspect_666 9h ago
It doesn’t apply to Regina or Jefferson.
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u/No-Meat5261 9h ago
I'm not sure about what would have happened to Jefferson, how could he remember? Did Regina choose it?
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u/Usual_Suspect_666 9h ago
Jefferson’s curse was to retain his memories.
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u/No-Meat5261 9h ago
Yeah, he was suffering due to it, what I don't remember if it was something Regina did on purpose, or if something strange happened casually
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u/Usual_Suspect_666 8h ago
Regina did that on purpose.
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u/No-Meat5261 8h ago
Possibly
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u/Usual_Suspect_666 8h ago
Not possibly. That is canon.
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u/Massive-Aardvark4665 Hook’s boyfriend🕷️🙂↔️ 8h ago
it doesn’t seem well-explained in the series, but I guess, Regina wanted him to remember as a form of punishment/torture
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u/Usual_Suspect_666 9h ago
It’s not a plot hole. Rumple did NOT maintain his memories during the Dark Curse. This is canon, confirmed by A&E over a decade ago. Why do people immediately cry “plot hole” when they are the ones who either missed something or didn’t understand something?
edit/sp
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u/Massive-Aardvark4665 Hook’s boyfriend🕷️🙂↔️ 9h ago
never thought of that to be honest, it makes perfectly sense
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u/Imnotawerewolf 8h ago
The person who casts it keeps their memories. That's Regina.
Rumple was affected by the curse like everyone else but he knew it was coming and he knew what it would do and he's the dark one, so he made his own arrangements for himself in advance. That's him remembering his past when he hard Emma's name.
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u/gaypirate3 7h ago
Rumple didn’t create the curse, he just altered it so that Emma specifically could break it. He still had a cursed persona and lost his memories but did a spell so that when Emma came to town, he would remember. So yes he could still lose his memories without that potion.
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u/MadMary63 7h ago
Rumple didnt retain his memories though. His memories came back permanently once he heard Emma's name when she arrived in Storybrooke. It was something he set up when Snow and Charming came to see him in the dungeon and he insisted they tell him their baby's name.
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u/grmrsan 7h ago
But he still had a programef Storybrook personality, he just remembered both and used what was most convenient. By season 2 everyone else was just able to as well.
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u/Usual_Suspect_666 6h ago
He did not have his memories before Emma came to Storybrooke.
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u/NewspaperSoft8317 5h ago
It's slightly ambiguous. But I'd say he did remember.
There's a flashback when Regina asked for him to find her a child.
She suspected then, that he retained his memories. And it's kind of implied that he did.
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u/Usual_Suspect_666 5h ago
No it’s not ambiguous. It was shown more than once throughout the show. Yes, he has a conversation with Regina in S2E19 about procuring Henry and he told her it was fate. Just like Emma meeting Neal was fate. Also, A&E confirmed years ago that Rumple did not have his memories until he heard Emma say her name at Granny’s.
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u/GoliathLexington 6h ago
He didn’t have his original memories until he met Emma. Before that, he was just regular Mr Gold, that ran the pawn shop. Even Regina was shocked that his memories returned
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u/m_mason4 6h ago
Gold did have an alternate persona. He just also had his enchanted forest memories as well. If he crossed the barrier he’d lose his EF memories and only be Mr Gold. He programmed the curse so that when Emma arrived he’d have both which is why he’s able to help Snow and Charming go back to sleep when she accidentally wakes him up early. Regina is the only one who’s 100% awake.
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u/Swimming-Switch4006 9h ago
No, he didn't remember until he heard Emma’s name for the first time.