- “All magic comes with a price.”
- ―Rumplestiltskin's iconic catchphrase
Rumplestiltskin, known as Mr. Gold and Weaver after the Dark Curses, is the son of Malcolm and Fiona, the ex-husband of Milah, the husband of Belle, the father of Baelfire/Neal Cassidy and Gideon, the paternal grandfather of Henry Mills, and the paternal great-grandfather of Lucy. He is a main character on ABC's Once Upon a Time and he debuts in the first episode of the first season. Rumplestiltskin is the most powerful magician in all the realms, with a penchant for making deals but in the course of the series proved to have a tragic past and to be the mastermind behind the events of the lives of most of the characters.
Quick Answers
How did Mr. Gold become the Dark One in OUAT?
What is Mr. Gold's relationship with Belle in Once Upon a Time?
How does Mr. Gold's magic influence Storybrooke?
What role does Rumplestiltskin play in Henry Mills' life?
Background[]
Creation[]
Rumplestiltskin is based on a character of the same name from the fairy tale "Rumpelstiltskin". He also takes the place of the Beast from the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" and the Crocodile from "Peter and Wendy".
The role of Rumplestiltskin was given to Robert Carlyle; it was written with Carlyle in mind, though the writers initially thought he would never accept the part. Horowitz recalled Carlyle's prison sequence, which was the actor's first day on the set as "mind-blowing...You could see Ginny actually jump, the first time he did that character. It was fantastic!"
Robert Carlyle revealed in an interview that it takes approximately two hours to dress him in Rumplestiltskin's costume, twenty minutes of which is spent on his boots. He also revealed that it takes about one hour to remove the costume. Robert's youngest son, Pearce, gave him the idea of how to do Rumplestiltskin's voice.
Personality[]
Originally, Rumplestiltskin is a quiet and humble man who despite having had some success in life he had to live in the shadow of his father's cowardice. Rumplestiltskin proves to be scared, but brave as he saw the opportunity to emerge from the shadow of his father, Rumplestiltskin willingly went to war, however, when a seer tells him that he will die, leaving his unborn child to suffer the fate of growing up without a father, Rumplestiltskin has second thoughts and returns home committing an act of self-harm.
Rumplestiltskin's love towards his son, and his family in general, is one of the most important traits of his personality and the largest, if not the sole motivation of his life. When he thinks that the pirate Killian Jones took Milah prisoner, Rumplestiltskin tried to intercede for the life of his wife, mainly due to the fact that he believes Baelfire needs his mother. Being lame, Rumplestiltskin has only two options: die at the hands of Captain Jones and his band of pirates, leaving Baelfire orphaned or go back, once again branded as a coward, but secure in the fact that his son is left alone.
When a new war of the ogres arises, the army of the Duke begins to send the children of age fourteen into battle. Ignoring the official propaganda that it is noble and brave to give his life for the country, Rumplestiltskin understands that to fight is to die, and there is no honor in sacrificing children to war. At this point in his life, Rumplestiltskin is scared and desperate, but willing to do what is necessary to save Baelfire and, following this instinct, Rumplestiltskin, alone, attacked the duke's castle and steals a magical dagger that allows him to kill the Dark One and gain his powers.
The Dark One[]
During the early days of the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin is quite consistent with his original personality but soon changes, showing others the cruelty that he himself has suffered, using his power with arrogance and pride Even so, he ended the Ogres War to save the conscripted children like he said to Bae. He says all he really wants is happiness and security for his son but when Baelfire got a magic bean that can take them to an alternate world free of the curse of the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin is unable to abandon his powers and accidentally leaves Baelfire in another world, an action he greatly regrets most.
After the departure of Baelfire, Rumplestiltskin gets incredibly ruthless, lonely, and vindictive while searching for ways back to him. In this period, he continues to amass wealth and property in an attempt to get away from his old life. However, Rumplestiltskin still regretted his actions against Baelfire and this regret got louder until it becomes an obsession that leads him to extreme acts in order to reunite with him. Over the years, Rumplestiltskin acquires a fearsome reputation as one that is inevitable agreements, without worrying too much about the consequences they have on others but more selfishly worrying to get what he wants. Although ruthless in its agreements, Rumplestiltskin warns anyone who wants to make a deal to be cautious, because there is no way out. His notable moments of mercy are when children are concerned; refusing to leave any of them fatherless like his had and he did Baelfire.
Rumplestiltskin is patient, willing to wait until he has everything he needs to create and to break the curse. He knew that eventually, his plans and machinations will come into fruition, having acquired the power to glimpse the future during the course of his long life granted by his immortality. But Rumplestiltskin is still alone, turning to his spinning wheel for comfort, a recluse in a huge castle, until Belle enters his life. He acquired her as part of a deal to save her kingdom from Ogres that he agreed to enact on the condition that Belle becomes his maid. After meeting her even though her brain reminds him that he is essentially unlovable, dark soul, a beast, his heart still yearns for love. What happened next was something that not even he, with all his infinite cunning and powers of foresight could ever have foreseen; Belle's innocence and belief that there is still good in him, began to wane down his defenses, giving him the opportunity to love another again. Unfortunately, his prized apprentice, Regina, with whom Rumple has a rather strained relationship, learned of the growing affection between Rumple and Belle and formulated a plan to strip the sorcerer of his powers by having Belle give him True Love's Kiss. Of course, Belle's intention was to bring Rumplestiltskin back into the man he once was, but he saw otherwise, believing her to have conspired together with Regina to rob him of his powers, despite Belle arguing that her love for him is real. And even as he casts Belle from his house, believing that one day she will despise him, he mourns his loss. After the departure of Belle (and presumed death), Rumplestiltskin puts his plan in motion, and it is in this period, which encourages Rumplestiltskin Blue, making offers to buy the ingredients of true love from him and Snow White.
Storybrooke Counterpart[]
In Storybrooke, his counterpart, Mr. Gold has an influence that seems to know no bounds. From real estate to politics and even in the personal lives of his neighbors, the knowledge and involvement of Gold is virtually endless and the citizens of Storybrooke actually appear to be more intimidated by him than they are to the Queen. Always fresh and dressed with a touch of sartorial cosmopolitan, Mr. Gold exudes the kind of confidence that only comes from knowing you are the master of your domain. Mr. Gold also owns and operates the local pawnshop, where numerous objects of the Enchanted Forest, and where he spends most of his days taking care of the various items he has collected over the years and do business with the inhabitants.
He walks assisted by a cane, a remnant of his self-injury, a reminder of why he beat the curse, and the goal of his life. Mr. Gold, however, is still afraid of his impotence and sends Emma to recover the true love potion so he can unleash the most powerful magic of all of Storybrooke through the enchanted well and regain his powers. Over time, Mr. Gold is changed from his family and his relationship with Belle. His only constant is that he will do anything for his family; he is fiercely loyal, but also slow to forget the injustices done to him. All he wanted his whole life is family and the love and the tragedy of Rumplestiltskin is essential that he has not been able to get any of these for a long time.
Mr. Gold has a give and take relationship with Regina Mills, and he helps her by planting the idea in her head that tries to destroy Mary Margaret as she poses as a murderess. He found Henry for Regina to take, but he is not always on her side. After Emma arrives, just as he had predicted, he helps her to gain acceptance as the sheriff in town and he refuses to help Regina when she goes to him for help in getting rid of Emma and preserving the curse as it would disrupt his plans in reuniting with his son.
Even though he's often at odds with the heroes following Baelfire's death and how he initially treated him coldly, he doesn't directly harm Henry, Baelfire's son, showing that he is considerate of his grandson to some extent. He merely cast him asleep when taking back the stolen Olympian Crystal and showed vulnerability when he saw Henry was being put in an ambulance. In addition to him avoiding harm on Henry if he could when he is against the heroes, when the Snow Queen is about to cast her curse, Gold ensured that Henry would be spared and be allowed to leave with him. He indirectly tells an adult and amnesiac Henry that the reason he grew fond of him was his determination in fighting for what he believed.
Physical appearance[]
Rumplestiltskin as the Dark One in the Enchanted Forest (left); and as Mr. Gold in Storybrooke (right).
As a child, Rumplestiltskin, had a round face with soft, features, light-brown hair that appears blond to light, a bulbous nose, hazel eyes, and a slender build. As an adult, in his middle age, Rumplestiltskin, has a slender build, but not as weak as may seem his hair becomes darker and lose the blonde highlights, his features became more pronounced as well as his nose, his eyes appear sunken in the orbits and show the hairs typical of an adult. His overall appearance as an adult can be described as "skinny."
Appearance as a Dark One[]
As the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin preserves the appearance that he had as an adult human being, but as a result of the power he acquired his skin takes on a golden reflection that according to the brightness may appear as green or gray, his eyes dilate and become amber, his teeth rotten appearing yellow, his hair take on a reddish tinge and is disheveled, and finally, his nails become black. After the Dark Curse, Mr. Gold is restored to his human form and the only differences are evident in his hair, which become partly gray, and his teeth, which appear much more carefully than they were before. In the sixth season, Mr. Gold cuts his hair short, giving it a silvery look.
Storybrooke Counterpart[]
While under the first curse in Storybrooke, Rumple is known as Mr. Gold and is the owner of a pawnshop. Upon meeting Emma Swan, he appears as a kind middle aged man. He has shoulder length grey hair and is often seen wearing a suit. He is always seen using a cane to help him walk and can appear scary to some of the residents.
Hyperion Heights Counterpart[]
Rumplestiltskin as Weaver in Hyperion Heights.
In Hyperion Heights, Rumple is known as Weaver, a detective on the Hyperion Heights police force. He, along with his new partner, Detective Rogers (who is actually a wish realm version of Killian Jones) is enlisted by Victoria Belfrey to help her get rid of Henry Mills, as Henry has become a nuisance in the town. When he is later "woken up" by Tilly, his assistant in both this world and the New Enchanted Forest, he remembers he's Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold and that Belle is now dead. Shortly after Gideon's first birthday, Gold took his family to see the world, including other realms, and in that time, he decided to renounce his immortality to enjoy life with Belle. To his disappointment, he could not get rid of the Dark One powers; he learned a Guardian is to take them from him. Belle tricked him into having them live their lives out in The Edge of Realms, where she continued to age and eventually died; if Gold held onto the love they shared, he could meet his Guardian and be killed and reunited with her. In the present day, an imprisoned Victoria brokers a deal with him: information of the Guardian's identity in exchange for being released from prison and helped in locating the original storybook to wake her daughter Anastasia. However, the sinister Gothel reveals that in order for Anastasia to be awakened, someone's belief must be sacrificed. A horrified Weaver learns that Belfrey intends to do this with the belief of her step-granddaughter Lucy, his great-granddaughter. When it seems the revived Anastasia is the Guardian, he tests her so she can take lift his curse after she cures Lucy. However, after she is taken hostage by Gothel for a period of time before leaving to the New Enchanted Forest with her Drizella, he has hope that another Guardian will appear.
Powers and abilities[]
Powers[]
- Magic of the Dark One: Rumplestiltskin was originally a simple human being without any kind of magical power, however, after killing the previous Dark One, Zoso, the name of Rumplestiltskin took his place on the Dark One's Dagger and Rumplestiltskin has earned all of his powers. His powers seem to increase when he is in possession of a magical tool, like his dagger or wand of a fairy. He was stripped of his powers when the darkness was removed from his heart and given to Emma. He has since regained all his powers and possesses the combined power of every Dark One who has ever lived, making him even more powerful and dangerous than ever before.
- Darkness Generation and Control: As the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin can freely create, control, and manipulate pure darkness and shadows to his will. He is the pure human embodiment of all evil, chaos, and darkness in the world.
- Immortality: Rumplestiltskin has stopped aging when gained his powers and has proven immune to disease and other forms of human death (However, may be minor damage such as being cut by a sword, and will have to use his powers to heal). Apparently he doesn't feel the pain of his wounds, or at least has a great tolerance to it, as when he was stabbed he didn't have any kind of reaction.
- Regeneration: Rumplestiltskin, if injured without the Dark Dagger being used, will automatically regenerate from any injuries. When he uses his healing abilities, Rumplestiltskin's hand will glow with purple light and after approaching the wound, it will heal completely, leaving no visible sign. However, Rumplestiltskin does not seem to be able to treat some types of poisons, such as Dreamshade.
- Resurrection: If a Dark One kills himself, there is no successor, so the power has nowhere to go. To avoid dissipating, the magic transports the Dark One to the Vault of the Dark One, where he can be resurrected with the sacrifice of another life.
- Teleportation: Rumplestiltskin can move from one place to another at will, disappearing into what looks like a purple smoke formation or red, however, he can also appear without creating the smoke effect.
- Age Manipulation: Rumplestiltskin was able to manipulate, accelerate or reverse the aging process or a pregnancy.
- Telekinesis: Rumplestiltskin is capable of manipulating objects or people without physically touching them. He mainly uses this power to harm others and when he uses this power, the individual does it with a hand movement that mimics the action he wants to perform.
- Energy Blasts: He's shown the ability to create magical blasts to harm the enemies and the objects in the most effective way.
- Pyrokinesis: Rumplestiltskin is able to create and manipulate fire, often in the form of a fireball, effectively using it as a weapon against his enemies.
- Magical Immobilization: Rumplestiltskin can freeze people with just a thought.
- Transfiguration/Shapeshifting: Rumplestiltskin is able to turning human beings into animals or changing the physical aspect of himself or others.
- Superhuman Strength and Speed: Rumplestiltskin has proven to be incredibly fast and strong in melee combat. When faced soldiers who wanted to take his son in his first moments as the Dark One, he was able to break a neck with one hand, and moved so fast that the soldiers were not aware of the situation and failed to react. While devoid of magic, Mr. Gold, proved to have great physical strength for a man of his age and size.
- Potioncraft: He has showcased the ability to create liquid substances for various purposes by combining a set of ingredients.
- Arcane Knowledge: Rumplestiltskin has an almost infinite knowledge and understanding of spells, potions, and other topics related to magic, allowing him to do impossible things for common wizards. After the curse, Mr. Gold has an equally extensive knowledge in the field of law and legal.
- Mirror Enchantments: He has the ability to see through mirrors and travel through them.
- Summoning: Rumplestiltskin is able to summon objects or beings through the magic, often materializing it in one hand via a purple smoke (It is not known if he actually creates objects or transporting them from another place, but it is possible that both options are true depending on the circumstances).
- Heart Extraction: Rumplestiltskin can remove the hearts of other living beings without killing them and use them to control the owner or kill them by crushing the heart.
- Supernatural Perception/Sensing: He seems to be able to sense when someone calls his name or when someone close to him.
- Tethering Spell: Rumplestiltskin can tether a person or magic to an object, e.g. the Dark one dagger.
- Protection Charm: Rumplestiltskin can protect a place or an object by creating a magic barrier.
- Resurrection: If Rumplestiltskin dies without having passed the title of Dark One to another being, he can be resurrected by the Dark One Vault, if another person decides to open it, giving up his life as a result.
- Technopathy: Rumplestiltskin's magic also allows him to manipulate technology being capable of changing the security footage in jail from when he killed Zelena.
- Alchemy: Rumplestiltskin is able to turn straw into gold, it's one of his more signature and iconic abilities.
- Locator Spells: He can cast a spell that will aid in finding something or someone.
- Enchanting: Rumple was able to give objects magical properties, e.g. when he gave Prince Charming a ring and enchanted it so that it would get brighter the closer he was to Snow White.
- Seer Magic: After absorbing this power from the seer at the point of death, Rumplestiltskin has become able to see fragments of the future. However, these visions are not accurate because they show a range of possible future and it is difficult to see what will actually happen.
- Blood Magic: Rumplestilskin can use his own or another's blood for various and more advanced spells that can only be broken by someone of the same bloodline.
- Protection Spells: The ability to cast a magical seal that can only be broken by someone of the same bloodline.
Abilities[]
- Master Planner/Manipulator: Rumplestiltskin is incredibly intelligent in all of its forms. As a human being was capable of processing a plan that allowed him to destroy a castle with only limited help of his son. As the Dark One, was able to manipulate the lives of many people of the enchanted forest so that the sequence of events would lead to the Dark Curse. After the curse as Mr. Gold, he remains as manipulate and capable of elaborate and carry on complicated plans to achieve any goal.
- Expert Swordsman: Rumplestiltskin has proved adept in the use of the sword, managing to overpower Captain Hook and Prince Charming, albeit assisted by his magical powers.
- The Dark Curse: Like all people affected by the curse, Mr. Gold, earn all the knowledge that a man in his position would possess and has not aged for 28 years in which the curse was in effect. In addition, because of a previous agreement, if he asks for something in Regina saying "please" she will be forced to obey (After the curse was broken, Mr. Gold loses these abilities except for his knowledge and memories of the modern world).
- Knowledge of Magic: Rumplestiltskin has been shown to be extremely knowledgeable on the topic of magic, rivaling that of Merlin and Hades, and surpassing that of his students (Cora, Regina, and Zelena). He is also the most knowledgeable practitioner on Dark Magic surpassing that of than any other sorcerer (with the possible exception of his mother, the Black Fairy), having instantly become a master of dark magic through the power so of the Dark One and furthering his magical expertise over his two centuries of living.
Weaknesses[]
- Dark One's Dagger: Anyone who owns his dagger will be able to kill Rumplestiltskin, causing him to lose its status as the Dark One and the chance to rise again. In addition, anyone who owns the dagger also has full control over the actions of Rumplestiltskin who is unable to disobey orders if not for a very short time.
- Laws of Magic: Like any magician or sorcerer, Rumplestiltskin is subject to the laws of magic, as a result he is unable to raise the dead, create love and time travel (Despite this, he has broken the first rule when it was resurrected by his son and bottled true love, however, he took advantage of having bottled something that already existed and it remains unknown whether it is a violation).
- True Love's Kiss: Like all curses, Rumplestiltskin's curse of being the Dark One can be broken with a kiss of true love. Though since he rejected it the first time, this no longer applies to him.
- Land Without Magic: If Mr. Gold leaves Storybrooke and enters the Land Without Magic, he is stripped of his powers and is rendered mortal. He created a talisman to avoid losing his memories as a result of crossing the town line after the first curse broke. It has been shown that removing the talisman causes disorientation and dizziness.
- Enchanted Cuffs: As shown (on-screen) cuffs that are enchanted to block magic have the same effect on him as anyone else.
Former Weaknesses[]
- Squid Ink: Like all magical beings, Rumplestiltskin can be immobilized with squid ink. However, since he now possesses the combined powers of every Dark One who has ever lived, it no longer has any effect on him.
Deals[]
Rumplestiltskin offers a deal to Cora.
Throughout the realms, Rumplestiltskin became known as a being of great power and was feared because of his ability to grant a person's deepest wishes and darkest desires with magical deals that proved to be worse than he would initially proclaim. These deals appear to transcend into the Storybrooke reality as well, with Rumplestiltskin's counterpart Mr. Gold retaining a similar disposition for swindling people in desperate situations. In either reality, it appears that Rumplestiltskin always benefits in the long term through his deals, despite short term set-backs brought about by certain individuals.
| Deal made with | Offers | Desires | Reason | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baelfire | The Dark One's magic | Baelfire's happiness | Rumplestiltskin's love for his son | Broken by Rumplestiltskin |
| William Smee | Smee's youth | A magic bean | To find Baelfire | Never made |
| Seer | Take the Seer's power | Knowledge on how to find his son | To find Baelfire | Completed |
| Milah and Hook's life | A magic bean | To find Baelfire | Never made; killed Milah and cut off Hook's hand, leaving without the bean. | |
| Jiminy | Marionette transforming potion | The potion's victims | Unknown | Completed |
| Cora Mills | Teach her how to use magic | Cora's firstborn | The child will cast the Dark Curse | Revised |
| Cora | Teach her how to use magic | "Rumplestiltskin's child" | He loves Cora | Completed (did not get first-born child as result of a revised deal) |
| Ruth | Prosperity on her family's farm | One of her sons (Prince James) | To give to King George | Completed |
| Queen Regina | Magic lessons | A favor | She will cast the Dark Curse | Completed |
| Victor Frankenstein | Gold | Knowledge of how to bring back the dead | Regina's heartbreak | Unknown |
| Mad Hatter | A royal passport | Transport and introduce Victor Frankenstein to Queen Regina | To cause Regina's heartbreak | Completed (obtained passport from Regina) |
| Mad Hatter | Gold | Slippers and crystal ball | To find Baelfire | Completed (obtained only the crystal ball) |
| Dr. Victor Frankenstein | An enchanted heart | Regina's heartbreak | Regina's willingness to learn magic | Completed (obtained enchanted heart from Regina) |
| Sir Maurice | Protection from ogres | Belle's eternal servitude | "He needs a maid" | Never made (Belle made deal instead) |
| Belle | Protection from ogres | Belle's eternal servitude | "He needs a maid" | Completed |
| Sheriff of Nottingham | His tongue | To learn the location of Robin Hood | To kill Robin Hood for stealing from him | Completed |
| Queen Regina | To perform a shapeshifting spell on her | Regina to cutoff all trade with King George's realm | Needs King George's kingdom bankrupt | Completed |
| King George | Prince Charming | The Fairy Godmother's location | He wants herwand | Completed |
| Belle | Belle returning from town with straw | Rumplestiltskin telling her how he lost his son | Rumplestiltskin falling in love with Belle | Completed in Storybrooke |
| Snow White | Forgetfulness potion | A lock of Snow's hair | To make a true love potion | Completed |
| Snow White | A bow and a map to kill the Evil Queen | Nothing | Being invested in her future; he knows her daughter will break the Dark Curse. | Completed |
| Prince Charming | Snow's location | Charming's cloak, which has a fews strands of his hair. | To make a true love potion from a strand of Charming's hair | Completed |
| Prince Charming | An enchanted ring | Placing the potion inside Maleficent | Bringing magic to Storybrooke | Completed |
| Prince Charming | A weapon to help Snow White to believe she was able to defeat the Evil Queen | Nothing | Rumplestiltskin had no interest in helping him | Never made (Prince Charming lied) |
| Cinderella | A night at the ball | Cinderella's firstborn | To get a favor from Emma. | Nullified |
| Snow White | An enchantment that will prove if Regina can change | Nothing | Regina will cast the Dark Curse out of desperation | Completed |
| Snow White | Information about the Dark Curse | Emma's name | To bring back his memories | Completed |
| Queen Regina | How to cast the Dark Curse | Comfort and favors | To maintain his power | Completed |
| Regina Mills | Finding a child for Regina to adopt (Henry) | Unknown | Needed Henry to find and bring Emma to Storybrooke | Completed |
| Ashley Boyd | A large sum of money | Her unborn child, Alexandra | Deal carried over | Nullified |
| Emma Swan | Ashley's debt forgiveness | A favor | Her help finding and getting his son to talk to him | Completed |
| Emma Swan | Good publicity | The sheriff's loyalty | Political power | Completed |
| Emma Swan | The person who bought the compass | Tolerance in burning Regina's house | To avoid trouble | Completed |
| Regina Mills | A plot of land | $50,000 | To ruin Emma | Completed |
| Moe French | A car loan | Money | Financial influence | Completed |
| Regina Mills | Mr. Gold revealing his real name | Belle's teacup | His love and memory of Belle | Completed |
| Regina Mills | Mary Margaret Blanchard's guilt | Dropping the assault charges | Obtaining a clean slate | Completed |
| Mary Margaret Blanchard | Being her lawyer for the murder case | Nothing | Being invested in her future | Completed |
| David Nolan | A tracking potion | Peace | Keeping trouble away | Still Stands |
| Regina Mills | Cora's spell book | Regina's keeping silent about the Enchanted Forest's continued existence. | It's in his best interest | Broken; Regina revealed the truth |
| Belle | Belle coming back from town with straw | Mr. Gold telling her how he lost his son | She wants to know why he needs magic | Completed |
| Dr. Whale | A reattached arm | Whale's admittance that he needs magic | Mr. Gold's ego | Completed |
| Cora | A truce between her and Mr. Gold | The magic globe | To show him the location of his son | Completed |
| Mr. Smee | A talisman to keep his true memories intact once past the town border. | Needed a test subject for the potion that creates the talisman | Revenge for trying to force Belle over Storybrooke's borderline | Completed |
| Emma Swan | To pay back favor | Her help finding and getting his son to talk to him | Wants to find his son | Completed |
| Mary Margaret | Cora's death to protect her family | The life-restoring candle to be lit | The only way to save his life | Completed |
| David Nolan | A favor | Help in making Lacey fall in love with him | Wants to bring back Belle's memories | Completed |
| David Nolan | A potion that will allow Mary Margaret to find Regina | To pay back favor | Always honors his deals | Completed |
| The Healer | His second-born child | A healing potion | To cure Baelfire from a venomous snakebite | Unfinished, deal transferred to Hades |
| Captain Hook | Tell Belle about the dagger | Hook's hand | So Hook can have both hands for his date with Emma | Completed |
History[]
Before the First Curse[]
As a boy, Rumplestiltskin's father Malcolm abandons him with two spinners, from whom he receives a magic bean to create a portal to another world. His father uses the bean to take them to Neverland, though he forces Rumplestiltskin to be returned to the Enchanted Forest, realizing his son is preventing him from becoming a boy again. Rumplestiltskin witnesses as his father transforms into Peter Pan. In his adult years, Rumplestiltskin is a poor spinner who deserts from the Ogre Wars, to the disgust of his wife Milah, who leaves him for the pirate Killian Jones. Rumplestiltskin is then tricked by Zoso and eventually becomes the Dark One. Rumplestiltskin kills Milah and cuts off Killian's hand, making him Captain Hook. He prevents his son Baelfire being forced to join the wars, though Bae wants rid of his powers, creating a portal to transport them to a world without magic.
Rumplestiltskin fears losing his powers, leaving Bae to cross over alone; he vows to find his son. He trains Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West, until she becomes jealous of his continued teaching of her half-sister, the Evil Queen Regina, who he chooses to cast his curse. As part of a deal to save her town, Belle becomes the caretaker of his estate and the two form a romantic bond until Rumplestiltskin forces her to leave forever, mistaking her for working with Regina, who later claims that Belle committed suicide. Soon afterwards, Prince Charming and Snow White use squid ink to immobilize, and placed him into a magical jail. Regina enacts his curse, and he requests that she give him a place of comfort in the "new world" that they will be sent to.
During the First Curse[]
In Storybrooke, he is Mr. Gold, the owner of a pawn shop and the town's wealthiest resident. He remembers his true identity, and owns most of the town. He finds Regina a baby whom she names Henry, only for her to later learn that he is Emma Swan's biological son. He helps Emma become Sheriff, and offers his legal services to Mary Margaret Blanchard.
After the First Curse[]
Emma eventually breaks the curse and Gold is reunited with Belle, bringing magic back to Storybrooke, though he is later enraged when he learns that leaving the town will remove residents' magical memories, as he had planned to search for Baelfire. Gold eventually creates a potion to leave and tracks Bae to Manhattan, learning he is Neal Cassidy, Henry's father. Gold begins to die after he is poisoned by Hook with Dreamshade and the group return to Storybrooke, where Mary Margaret heals him by reluctantly cursing Cora's heart. When his grandson is kidnapped to Neverland, Gold (despite the prophecy) travels with Emma, her parents, Regina and Hook to rescue the boy from getting his heart taken by Peter Pan, Gold's father. Returning to Storybrooke, Pan attempts to kill his loved ones, though Gold uses his dagger to sacrifice both himself and his father, transforming his father back into his adult form in the process. However, Pan's curse is enacted, and when Regina destroys her curse to end Pan's curse, the inhabitants are returned to the Enchanted Forest.
Before the Second Curse[]
Neal and Belle travel to Rumplestiltskin's castle and are located to the Dark One's vault where Neal resurrects Rumplestiltskin but kills himself. Before he dies, Rumplestiltskin merges Neal's body with his own.
During the Second Curse[]
When Snow White and Prince Charming enact a curse to stop Zelena, Mr. Gold is returned to Storybrooke under Zelena's control. Emma later finds him, only to find that Neal is trapped within him, thus causing Gold to lose his mind. Neal asks for Emma to free Gold to defeat Zelena, though he will die; she reluctantly agrees.
After the Second Curse[]
Mr. Gold proposes to Belle, also giving her his dagger. Unknown to her, it is a fake, and Gold uses the original to kill Zelena. He later marries Belle with her father's blessing, secretly returning the real dagger to Belle. Gold soon discovers the Sorcerer Merlin's magical hat in Storybrooke and once again defies Belle to take back the original blade. Attempting to cleave himself from his dagger and have ultimate power and control by killing Hook, Belle stops him and banishes him from the town. Gold finds Ursula and Cruella and enlists them to help in returning to Storybrooke, later teaming with Maleficent to find the Author of Henry's book and retrieve their own happy endings at the expense of Emma who's savior status must be removed. As Mr. Gold's darkened heart affliction worsens, he uses the Author to create an alternate universe in which villains get there happy endings. However, Henry undoes Isaac's work, and Belle finds an unconscious Mr. Gold back in Storybrooke. The Apprentice removes the Dark One's powers from Gold's heart and keeps him in a preservation spell. The darkness is then taken in by Emma, who becomes the new Dark One.
After the Third Curse[]
Six weeks later, Belle works on a potion to awake Mr. Gold from his coma. However, Emma kidnaps Gold and performs the spell herself, using the final ingredient: Hook's sword, an item that touched him before he became the Dark One. Emma demands that Gold be the hero to remove Excalibur from the stone, so that she may unite it with her dagger and snuff out the light for good. In order to turn him into the hero she needs, Emma forces Merida to turn Rumplestiltskin into a fighter, taking the princess' heart so that she has no choice. This task is made extra difficult, due to the fact that Gold is lame once more as he no longer has magic to fix his injury. To be a fighter, he would need to have a good leg, as he fruitlessly tries to point out.
Eventually, Gold uses magic to tether the power of all the Dark Ones to the sword and transfer it into himself. After Emma Swan kills Hook, Rumple becomes the Dark One again.
Upon discovering this fact, Emma used this to blackmail Gold into helping the heroes journey to the Underworld to resurrect Hook. When he arrived, he is tempted by his father, who must live out his soul as Peter Pan, an offer to trade a living soul for his. He was also tempted by Hades to get an easy way to leave only to be betrayed after he was forced to send Milah to a worse place in death just as he and his ex-wife were starting to make peace with the issues in their marriage and abandoning Baelfire. Hades then blackmails him with the contract (that Rumple would give a healer his second child in exchange for Bae's health) to make him do his bidding. When he created a portal for Hades in order to bring Zelena's daughter to the Underworld, the portal also bought Belle as well, and he confessed to her about his reclaimed his role as the Dark One and her pregnancy, explaining that she cannot merely love him for the man she sees inside the beast, since the beast is also a part of him. Upset with Belle going into a sleep to protect their child, Gold decides to resort to using dark magic again, and with the help of Pan to act as a "Loophole," he kidnapped Zelena, as she was responsible for giving Belle the spindle that put her under in the first place. The contract is obscured and Rumple tries to give Belle True Love's kiss, but it doesn't work as she's losing faith in him. He obtains Pandora's Box to make her portable after using trickery to send his father to a worse place. When his father-in-law refuses to wake Belle in order to keep him away from her, he takes drastic measures by using the remnants of the Olympian Crystal to absorb all the magic in Storybrooke. While this is going on, Belle is still under the sleeping curse and gets a vision of her son grown up.
Before and During the Fourth Curse[]
Gold tries to enter Belle's dream world.
With Hades defeated, Gold goes into Belle's dream world hoping to wake her up since she is still under the sleeping curse. Gold learns that the man who has been assisting him is their son, Gideon. Belle is then awakened from the curse but does not reconcile with Rumple as she believes they can't be happy together.
Gold sells the town to Mr. Hyde and Belle remains in the sleeping curse as she is pregnant. Gold traps Belle on the Jolly Roger as a way to protect Belle from Mr. Hyde, which leads to him and the real villain, Hyde's true self, Dr. Jekyll, being killed after Hook saves Belle from being killed. After learning that the "guy under the hood" is Gideon, who is destined to kill Emma Swan, Gold and Belle try to reason with Emma, Hook, David, Henry, Regina, and Snow, that Gideon can be good but he grew up with Rumple's estranged mother, The Black Fairy, which made him the way he is, he wasn't born evil. Gold then takes Gideon and Emma into his dream world where he learns he was destined to be a savior as well as Emma, but his mother becoming evil, stopped this from happening.
Later on while Emma is cursed and the fairytale characters return to the Enchanted Forest, because of The Black Fairy's curse, Rumple is able to kill his mother, ending the curse, returning everyone to Storybrooke and allowing Emma to regain her memories.
After the Fourth Curse[]
Gold and Belle at Gideon's first birthday.
Gold and Belle watch on as Emma later battles Gideon in the final battle, in the main streets of Storybrooke, which leads to the Savior's death, until she is revived by Henry's kiss of true love. Gold and Belle rekindle their relationship and Gideon then returns to Belle and Gold as a baby, allowing them to raise their son in the way they wished. Now with the final battle over, Gold and Belle are able to live at peace along with the rest of the people of Storybrooke.
One year later, Belle and Gold are celebrating their son's first birthday and happy with how their lives turned out, but Gold wants to get rid of the Dark One's Dagger forever, as he has come to terms with his happiness and that he does not need the dagger anymore. However, it does not go away no matter how many times he tries to get rid of it. Belle and Gold go to the edge of realms where he tries to dispose of the weapon, and live out their lives there for many years, where time is different for them. Gideon is raised in the way Gold and Belle wished and leaves home, while time has barely passed for the residents of Storybrooke.
Gold and Belle decide to build their ideal home in this secluded area, where they live the rest of their lives, until Belle dies of old age, but not before telling Rumple he will be reunited with her again. Gold then travels to another realm, where he meets a woman named Alice.
Before the Fifth Curse[]
When Rumple arrives in this new realm, he meets Alice and becomes friendly with her, before reuniting with Regina Mills who is also staying here along with an adult Henry. Gold informs Regina of how he was able to grow old with Belle in a realm where the sun does not set, while time in Storybrooke barely changed. Mother Gothel and Drizella later cast a curse that sends everyone in the Magical Forest to Seattle, Washington.
During the Fifth Curse[]
Rumple's cursed counterpart, Weaver
After Regina casts Drizella's curse to save Henry's life, Rumple is known as Weaver, a detective in the Seattle police department. He takes on Rogers (wish realm's Captain Hook) as his partner, while Drizella, Gothel and Rapunzel Tremaine are all awake. Together they investigate the "Eloise Gardner" case, based on someone who has been missing for years. While Rogers believes "Eloise Gardener" to be an innocent woman, who has been kidnapped by Victoria Belfrey, Weaver does not believe this. Shortly afterward, Weaver wakes up from the curse and is reunited with Regina/Roni, who Drizella recently woke up. Regina realises Gold has woken up and asks him for help breaking the curse as Henry is cursed into believing his family is dead and does not believe in fairytales. However, Gold is not interested as he is so desperate to reunite with Belle, while becoming suspicious of Baron Sandi, who Regina/Roni is dating. The curse is later broken when Henry, who wakes up after calling his younger self, regains his memories and kisses Regina who is seemingly killed by Gothel, who is turned into a tree.
After the Fifth Curse[]
"Weaver" meets wish realm Rumple.
Once the curse is broken, Weaver meets his wish realm counterpart who is far more evil than Gold ever was. With the family reunited, Gold/Weaver ties to find a way to destroy the wish realm version of himself, after learning that Wish Rumple, has trapped Henry's wife and daughter in an unbreakable snow globe, Weaver, Rogers, Alice and Robin try to save them. Weaver has a heartfelt moment with Rogers after they are seperated from Henry and Regina, and find themselves in the wish realm version of Rumple's childhood home. When everyone reunites in Rumplestiltskin's Castle, wish Rumple taunts the heroes while Weaver tries to defeat his evil counterpart once and for all. The group learns that Rumple plans to encase everyone into their own individual storybooks with sad endings while he gets his happy ending, with Wish Henry's help.
Weaver/Gold realises he may never reunite with Belle, but is desperate to destroy his evil half, who easily beats Weaver down. Weaver stands up to wish realm Rumple by saying he never got his happy ending because of hatred, but Weaver/Gold met Belle, which helped him gain light within his heart, despite mostly using the darkness. Seeing that his only true friend, Rogers, is dying, Weaver tears out his own heart, which glows gold, signifying his good intensions and that he could be the savior he was always destined to be. Weaver puts his glowing heart into a dying Rogers, which revives the pirate, but at the cost of Weaver's life. Regina then comes into the castle and finds her old mentor lying lifeless on the ground, learning he saved all the realms with his sacrifice. Regina mourns Gold by thanking him for his final lesson and everything he has done for her over the years. She wishes him peace and tearfully tells him that she hopes he got the ending he deserved, commenting that he deserved happiness more than anyone. While Regina mourns her friend, Rumple reunites with Belle in the afterlife, just as he promised her.
Wish Realm[]
The Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin exists in an alternate world in which Emma Swan was never the savior. He is a powerful Dark One who loves to make deals with a price. After giving the Evil Queen a Dark Curse, he is imprisoned underneath her Dark Palace. One day, he is listed by his long time enemy, Hook, who makes a deal with him for his freedom. Agreeing to the agreement, Rumplestiltskin reveals to Hook the whereabout of Captain Ahab, who possesses an enchanted talisman that Hook requires. Rumplestiltskin is then visited by Hook once again after acquiring the item, ready to deliver his part of the bargain. However, due to Ahab's interruption, Rumplestiltskin remains in his jail cell.
Years after the Dark Curse breaks, Rumplestiltskin is visited by Regina, an alternate version to the Queen who exists in his world. She comes to him in needs saving Emma. Rumplestiltskin shares some encouragement to Regina to bring in fear upon the realm in order to save Emma, in-exchange for his freedom. Regina toughens the bargain by seeking a magic bean from him. Happy with the agreement, Rumplestiltskin is released from his jail cell. He then meets up with Regina and Emma and hands over the magic bean. However, after finding out that Belle died due to starvation, and as he couldn't locate the Wish Realm's Evil Queen, Rumplestiltskin captures Regina, along with Robin Hood, with intention to punish her, but Regina escapes from him with Robin, and later with Emma back to Storybrooke.
Through unknown means, he arrives in Hyperion Heights and murders Mr. Samdi by stabbing him in the back. He then introduces himself to Weaver, prepared to form an alliance with him. Weaver denies any alliance with his wish realm counterpart, as he is now awake and is trying to be good after Belle's death. Wish Rumple later returns to the wish realm and forms an alliance with Wish Henry, garanteeing him the happy ending he deserves as this Henry Mills is filled with vengeance after Regina Mills from Storybrooke killed the wish realm version of Snow White and Prince Charming, Henry's grandparents. Rumplestitskin later traps Jacinda and Lucy, Henry's wife and daughter, in his realm, the wish realm, until Henry promises to write him a happy ending. Refusing, Henry gathers his friends to travel to the wish realm to save his family.
When Weaver, Rogers, Regina, Henry, Alice and Robin find themselves in the wish realm, they learn that wish Rumple is the worst version of Rumplestitskin anyone has ever faced. They learn he has a copy of the Once Upon a Time book for every single fairytale character in existance, and destroy their happiness by trapping them inside their respective books. While in Rumplestiltskin's Castle, Alice is almost sucked into a portal to an unknown location, like the Wish Realm Blue Fairy, until Rogers grabs her hand, despite being cursed if they touch. When Rogers lies seemingly lifeless, Mr. Gold/Weaver, Storybrooke's Rumplestitskin, fights his darker alter ego, but is easily beaten as he shows a kinder heart. Seeing this as an only way to defeat the worst version of himself and a way to see Belle again, Weaver sacrifices his life by giving Rogers his heart, reviving Alice's father, but at the cost of Weaver's life. With Weaver dead, the wish realm Rumple disintegrates into dust, destroying him forever, while Weaver is mourned by his friends, and reunited with Belle in the afterlife.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- According to Robert Carlyle, Rumplestiltskin is three-hundred years old by the time the Dark Curse is cast.
- Since the first curse was cast in 1983 (as established in "Welcome to Storybrooke"), that would mean Rumplestiltskin was born in 1683.
- While the Dark Curse is in effect, Mr. Gold speaks in a softer and more friendly tone. When everyone remembers who they are, he talks in a stern, whispery tone unless he needs to shout to silence those angering him.
- His spoken phrase, "Tick-tock, dearie, tick-tock!" is a reference to the crocodile who swallowed a clock from J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan.
- He spins gold out of straw frequently, though it is of no worth to him. Instead, Rumplestiltskin claims he does it to forget what he lost ("Skin Deep"). Although the Darkness suggested it was a hobby to pass the time, since Dark Ones don't sleep ("The Dark Swan").
- During his lifetime, Rumplestiltskin has had some dogs, and has a fondness for them ("The Cricket Game").
- Before he was imprisoned, Rumplestiltskin fought Cora and won. It is implied Cora came close to winning (as she didn't have any "weaknesses" i.e. loved ones) and could possibly beat now that he had one (Belle) ("Into the Deep").
- Rumplestiltskin once transformed a butcher into a pig ("The Crocodile").
- He once made a deal with Don Juan, which made him a ladies man ("Lacey").
- On Twitter, episode writer Jane Espenson stated a first name has never been established for Mr. Gold.
- He has a noticeable limp and walks with a cane, much like he did before he was cursed with the Dark One's abilities. Being in a Land Without Magic, Mr. Gold is unable to use his powers to placate his disability. However once magic was brought to Storybrooke in "A Land Without Magic", he no longer needed it, but chose to keep using it. It isn't until he returns to Storybrooke from Neverland in "The New Neverland" after saving his grandson that he chose to not use it to promise to Neal that he wasn't going to become the man he was again. He only uses it when outside Storybrooke or without his powers. He no longer needs to use it because Hook, as a Dark One, healed his injury so it wouldn't interfere with their fight in "Broken Heart". He still possesses it, using to threaten his father-in-law in "Last Rites".
- Mr. Gold has a few gold teeth.
- Though the seer's prophecy that his grandson Henry would be his undoing ultimately came to pass in "Homecoming", there are instances it has happened more than once:
- Going back for Henry's camera at Neal's apartment allowed Hook to ambush and poison him ("The Queen Is Dead").
- Peter Pan's interest in Henry as the Truest Believer ultimately ended in Rumplestiltskin having to sacrifice himself to finally kill his father ("Going Home").
- Helping Belle with her things, Henry causes her to discover the magic gauntlet that he traded with the Queens of Darkness for her and eventually foil his plan to sever himself from the Dark One's Dagger's control ("Heroes and Villains").
- Henry becomes the next Author and undoes his predecessor Isaac Heller's work, thus nearly causing his heart to completely blacken ("Operation Mongoose").
- Henry taking the Olympian Crystal that contains all of Storybrooke's magic and temporarily succeeding in destroying all magic, jeopardizing his attempts to awaken Belle ("An Untold Story").
- He greatly dislikes nuns ("Dreamy"). In reality, he hates the fairies (who all become nuns in Storybrooke), because he considers the Blue Fairy to be responsible for him losing his son.
- This hatred turns out to really stems from his mother, the Black Fairy, abandoning him when he was very young.
- Owns and operates a pawn shop where a number of objects from the Enchanted Forest are kept.
- Mr. Gold is a licensed attorney, a quality which allows him to broker many of his Storybrooke deals. He alludes to having enough legal experience to represent Mary Margaret in a criminal trial ("Heart of Darkness").
- In the sixth season, Mr. Gold sports short hair. This is because Robert Carlyle was filming T2 Trainspotting at the time.
- He calls almost everyone "dearie".
- The episode "The Black Fairy" reveals that if his mother hadn't turned dark, Rumple would have been a savior like Emma Swan and Aladdin, but this never came to be, until he sacrifices himself for Rogers, wish realm Captain Hook. This sacrifice allowed Rumple to destroy the darkness forever and learn the title of "Savior" as he saved Rogers' life. Rumple's sacrifice gave him the chance to reunite with Belle in the afterlife and live at peace like he wanted after her death.
See also[]
- Rumpelstiltskin
- Rumplestiltskin (Goldie & Bear)
- Beast
- Beast (musical)
- Beast (Beauty and the Beast 2017)
- Beast (Descendants)
- Tick-Tock the Crocodile
- Crocodile
- Carl Fredricksen
External links[]
Rumplestiltskin on Once Upon a Time Wiki- Rumplestiltskin (Wish Realm) on Once Upon a Time Wiki
Rumplestiltskin (Once Upon a Time) on the Villains Wiki
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