[Warning: Spoilers ahead from "Lost Girl."]
Is Emma finding more in common with Peter Pan than her own family?
Once Upon a Time addressed that question in Sunday's episode, which heavily focused on Charming and Snow's daughter coming to grips with the fact that she identifies more with being an orphan -- putting her on similar footing with Peter Pan and the dangerous Lost Boys. Will she be able to move on from her revelation? Will Charming, facing impending death, be cured before Snow finds out? Will Rumpelstiltskin be able to put his past to bed?
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THR compiled some of co-creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz's teases following the second episode of season three.
1. Will Camelot be seen in the future? "No," Kitsis said. (Excalibur was prominently featured in Sunday's episode.) "For us, that was just a fun way for Charming to deceive Snow." But Horowitz was less sure, adding that they've introduced aspects of that world through characters like Lancelot. "It's a world that's part of the Once Upon a Time universe. [We have] no immediate plans to delve deep into it," he said. "It's not a world we see off limits."
2. How serious are Rumpelstiltskin's father issues? "We've hinted in the past that his father is a coward and that his father's name was something that haunted him and that his father left him," Kitsis said. His partner-in-crime Horowitz added: "We see those issues have played themselves out in his relationship with his son [Baelfire]. Whatever happened to Rumpelstiltskin in his past is really creating the problems he's getting today." Episode four, "Nasty Habits," will directly deal with Rumple's backstory. "This is a man who wants to break the cycle of his past," Kitsis said. "He wants to be a good father, but it's like that quote, 'I can resist anything but temptation.' That's also his weakness."
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3. Will Storybrooke characters be seen via hallucinations? Rumpelstiltskin/Gold saw Belle (Emilie De Ravin) appear before his eyes in Neverland in the second episode, but rest assured, characters who are still in Storybrooke won't solely be seen via flashbacks or hallucinations. "No," the producers quickly replied. "In this first half of this season, it will not be limited to flashbacks or how we saw Belle in this second episode."
4. Will Rufio make a cameo? Don't expect it to happen. "Rufio, to be honest, I don't think we can show because it's property of Columbia but we thought it was fun to drop his name," Kitsis said. "It became a [writers'] room joke that became a screen joke." Added Horowitz: "There's a fondness for that character in [1991's] Hook movie, but we wanted to do a little shout-out to that. But we're not doing a Rufio backstory."
5. What's going on with Neal? With Neal working alongside Aurora, Phillip and Mulan, producers promise that next week's episode will show more of what's going on in their side of things, hinting that there's a wrinkle to their story. (Tinker Bell, meanwhile, will be introduced in that episode.)
6. Will the Darlings come back? The producers haven't abandoned the Darling family and their ties to Peter Pan. They "are so integral to Peter Pan's story," Horowitz said, promising that they haven't forgotten about them.
7. How does Regina cope with working with people she despises? Things aren't going to be easy for the Evil Queen to deal with. Horowitz said that Regina getting stuck with Emma, Hook, Snow and Charming in Neverland isn't easy for her to come to grips with, promising that the third episode will deal with the repercussions.
Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
E-mail: Philiana.Ng@THR.com
Twitter: @insidethetube
