A HOOKED QUEEN POST

Okay, so this isn’t going to happen, but I thought about it happening and got all excited, because WHAT IF IT FUCKING HAPPENED and then I realized there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of this happening, but WHAT IF and then I thought I better tell you guys about it now, because, like, two nights from now this is all gonna be jossed so bad by canon in the finale, I better share it while it’s still, you know, technically possible for them to go this way, so you can also enjoy the WHAT IF before it becomes a HELL NO.

*cough* Like it says in big letters up there, this IS a Hooked Queen post, so if that ain’t your jive, you should probably keep scrolling :)

So Wish Hook and Hook Hook led identical lives until a point where their lives diverged - and Regina cast the curse in Hook Hook’s world and did not cast it in Wish Hook’s world. Now, we don’t know exactly when the paths diverged, because there’s so much more involved than just “one cast the curse and one didn’t” - it’s likely that one small, seemingly inconsequential change before that point snowballed into a bunch of changes that led to Regina being defeated and banished instead of casting the curse. Similar to what Rumple and Hook Hook mention in the Back to the Future episodes, about how dangerous changing even one small thing can be.

SO! With that taken into account, it’s possible the two paths diverged before Regina drank the infertility potion in the Wish Realm... meaning Wish Realm Regina could be the mother of Hook’s daughter. Perhaps the daughter stayed with Hook when Regina was banished, or perhaps Hook isn’t even the biological father, but he took in Regina and the baby when she was in exile. Or just found the baby. Who knows? Regardless of the background, because there’s a ton of possibilities... What if Wish Realm Regina was the mom???

This would present a very interesting situation for Regina Regina, because the child would technically be her biological child, and if Wish Regina abandoned her or is dead/missing, Regina may end up wanting to step in to fill that void for the girl. This could create a really interesting dynamic with her, the daughter... and Wish Hook.

Again, I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of this being the way the show actually goes... but I thought of it and liked the idea, so I thought I’d share it with the rest of you guys in the Hooked Queen trashcan, because it’s not, uh, blatantly against canon YET.

Yet.

Heh.

My Thoughts

I know, I know, everybody’s got their thoughts and opinions on Season 7 of Once Upon a Time and everybody’s sick of hearing them and nobody needs to hear yet another take on everything.

That said, here’s my take on everything! :D

~ I don’t think the 27-year-old being cast is Henry. Giles Matthey was cast as the adult Gideon Gold this season for a reason. I believe he serves as a bridge between the current show and the reboot. I think Rumbelle will manage to “save” their son and he will be raised by them, but it only makes sense that Giles will retain the role of Gideon as an adult after a time jump. This means that Gideon, Neal and Robin (all roughly the same age) will be in their late twenties. If Henry were the 27-year-old, that would make the three “next generation” characters only 14 years old. I don’t believe the show would do that, as I believe those characters are to be the new mains and this isn’t Nickelodeon, guys.

~ I think the 27-year-old is either Prince Neal or a CS child. Either Emma’s brother or Emma’s son, this character will be the next protagonist of the show, picking up the mantle from Emma and likely being the next Savior, as well.

~ So who’s the ten-year-old girl? Well, I think she’s Henry’s daughter. He’s only 13 presently. Assuming 27 years will have passed, she would have been conceived when Henry was about 30-years-old. Works for me.

~ I think most of the current main cast of the show will be either gone entirely or returning as guests. Some of the cast have made intriguing comments that seem to imply that there are decisions to be made by the showrunners, the studio... and themselves. I believe that some of them will not be asked to return, but others will be given the choice whether or not to stay on as guests. This explains a lot of the ambiguous gossip floating around questioning whether some people want to return or not. Even cast members who wouldn’t think twice about returning as a regular for another season may have reservations about returning as a mere guest star.

~ However... I believe Lana Parilla will remain on the cast as a regular, either as Regina Mills or as The Evil Queen (or even as both). Why? Well, Regina and Hook are, by most accounts, the two most popular characters on the show. Merchandising is usually focused on them, and the General Audience loves them. ABC would be nuts to get rid of either one of them, as “fan favorite” characters are what TV shows are built on. Regina has also been part of the show since Season 1 and her continued presence will be a strong connection back to the first six seasons (as well as a connection to both the Storybrooke of those seasons and the Enchanted Forest 30 years prior). I think she’ll either be frozen in the interim or be using magic to suspend her aging to explain her appearance not changing.

~ But wait! I also said they’d be nuts to get rid of Hook, didn’t I? Of course I did. However, this is where I go off the rails a bit and probably lose some of you. I think we’re not going to only see a OUAT Season 7... I think we’re also going to see a spin-off series focused on Neverland and Captain Hook. I suspect it will be set in the past, during Hook’s 200+ year stint in Neverland with Peter Pan and all the rest, but it also might be set during the time jump at the end of Season 6. Either way, I feel Tiger Lily will be a main cast member, and Robbie Kay doesn’t seem to be doing anything that would prevent his involvement... Incidentally, I also think this is why we’re being introduced to Tiger Lily near the end of Season 6. Another bridge.

~ Why would they turn one floundering show into two shows? Because it makes sense. Every year, networks take chances on new shows - most of them, total shots in the dark. Oh, sure, they do focus groups and try to gauge audience reactions, but they really don’t know how a show will go until it’s on the air and either sinking or swimming. And these days, there’s a lot more sinking than swimming. Instead of seeing it as expanding a failing show, see it as replacing a “shot in the dark” new show with a new show that has a history and a fan favorite main character, giving it a leg-up over any other new show they could try. Also, BOTH shows will be geared towards being accessible to new viewers in a way long-running television shows usually aren’t - meaning they have just as much chance of succeeding as any new show on television, along with an added boost from longtime fans who remain loyal to the franchise, as well as old fans who may have left along the way and decide to give the new version(s) another try.

~ On top of giving ABC two tries at recovering the earlier success of Once Upon a Time and keeping the lucrative Disney property going, it also serves to literally divide a broken fandom into two. The largest rifts in the OUAT fandom exist between Hookers and Evil Regals - and between Captain Swan and Swan Queen shippers. These changes effectively end BOTH ships and serve to allow Hookers and Evil Regals to flail wildly about their fave while wholly ignoring the other if they so choose. As for the General Audience fans, well, they generally appreciate both characters - which will hopefully translate to them tuning in for both shows. Win-win.

~ Ultimately, the studio is going to make a Hail Mary play to try and bring back viewers and retain the show’s status as a solid success. It’s either do something drastic in the hopes of bringing in new viewers or give it one last season to flounder and ultimately disappear. Now, hardcore fans might not want to see these changes, they might prefer the show go out gracefully... but the show’s been too successful for too long for the studio to just put a fork in it. They’re going to try, because from their perspective, they have nothing to lose. One more season is one more season - whether that’s a “goodbye season” or a failed reboot. However, the reboot has a chance at succeeding, while a final goodbye season is just... the end.

hollyethecurious replied to your post: I'm excited for the princess team up!...

SUCKERPUNCH!!!!!!!!!

Actually, I would laugh so hard if Eric was like, “Oh, sorry, Ariel’s busy at the moment, but she said to give you this...” *punch*

Thoughts on Rumbelle

Okay, I’m not in the Rumbelle fandom, nor do I consider myself a part of the Dearies or Beauties fandoms, either (is that what Belle’s fandom is called? Please let me know if it’s something else...). So please forgive me if this is already a well-known fan theory in those fandoms and I’m just repeating other people’s thoughts.

I like Rumbelle. I really do. I think they’re a sweet duo, or they have been, I should say, before this season. Now they’re getting... weird. And unpleasant.

But it struck me today that last season we explored the Dark One mythology and the reality of having that level of darkness inside of you. And we saw how both Emma and Killian were affected by being the Dark One - both of them made choices they may have otherwise not made and both of them certainly said and did things they wouldn’t have otherwise done.

Now we know that Rumple being the Dark One has similarly affected him throughout his life, like when he didn’t go with Bae in the portal and various other decisions he’s made that he probably wouldn’t have made if his mind wasn’t clouded by the immense darkness of being the Dark One. And we also know, after hundreds of years of being the Dark One, he’s learned to adjust and live with that cloud coloring all of his choices, thoughts and feelings.

HOWEVER, he is no longer the Dark One as we’ve know it, and he is no longer the Dark One as we’ve known him. He now holds all the power - and all of the darkness - of every single Dark One that has ever lived. And just as the darkness makes the Dark One tend to make bad decisions and taints their emotions and thoughts with darkness, the darkness of countless dark ones combined is going to do that same thing - countless times over.

I don’t think that Rumple is irredeemable or that Rumbelle is a sinking ship.

I think this season is going to push Rumple to do the same thing every other character has been pushed to do this season - look inside himself and really consider what he’s doing and why. While Regina’s battle between light and darkness is more external, everyone seems to be dealing with the different sides of their personalities and reconciling those sides with each other. And I think when Rumple looks inside, he is going to realize that this new level of Dark One power is something he can’t control and can’t adjust to the way he has done for the last few hundred years when he was just simply the Dark One on his own. He’s going to realize that he is no longer the one wielding the power - but the power and darkness is now wielding him and it’s destroying the people he loves most (Belle and their son) by amplifying the worst parts of him.

I think the show is pushing Rumple to a place where it would be believable that someone as power crazy and in love with magic as he is would give it all up. Because it’s too much now. Because it’s using him. Because he can’t stop hurting the ones he loves. Because it’s no longer worth the damage it does.

And I think before the season’s over, we’ll see him either give up the “curse” of the Dark One or find a way to cleave himself from the excess darkness to go back to the Dark One he used to be. Or maybe he’ll just find a way to embrace light to help him control and manage the darkness inside. Whatever he does... I think when he makes this move, it will be the big change Belle needs to see in him and I think it will help repair Rumbelle - especially if he confesses to her that he can’t handle the darkness inside of him and he needs - and truly wants - her help to ease the load or eradicate it entirely.

Anyway, sorry if this is a long-winded and unwelcome (or worse, totally repetitive) rambling thing... I just feel bad for all the Rumbellers out there and wish to extend hugs and maybe some hope to all of you.

I see a lot of people getting upset about Killian having the scissors. I’m not upset at all, and I’ll tell you why:

I think he rowed out and sent a message of some sort to Captain Nemo, however one does such a thing. He’s likely calling on a favor Nemo owes him, for better or worse, and is going to hide the scissors exactly where he told Emma: somewhere even Poseidon himself can’t find them. That somewhere is 20,000 leagues under the sea, on the Nautilus.

This seems more like the kind of “momentary angst” they end one episode with that gets resolved almost immediately in the next episode but works to segue into a new adventure (think Pan’s whole “Neal’s alive, will you tell Emma or not?” drama in S3; resolved literally immediately, but succeeded in providing between episode drama and set up their next task of saving Neal).

This also explains why Killian made sure to linger on the dock and sent Emma home alone. He’s waiting for Nemo to heed his call.

So the mystery here isn’t “What’s Killian going to do with the scissors?” or “Why is Killian keeping this secret?” it’s “Is Nemo friend or foe?” and “Just how much whump can we expect next week?” and “Will my ovaries survive?”