History Recap / OnceUponATimeS1E8DesperateSouls

{{FLASHBACK}}! In the Enchanted Forest, a fourteen year old girl is taken to be drafted into the army, as the Duke has lowered the minimum drafting age to acquire more troops to fight in the Ogre Wars. The soldiers who have come to collect her are backed up by the Dark One, a powerful but mysterious sorcerer. Rumplestiltskin watches this happen and promises his son Baelfire that he will find a way to stop him being drafted by his fourteenth birthday in three days.

* FaceHeelTurn: This was Rumpelstiltskin's, going from a kind-hearted but cowardly spinner to the manifestation of UltimateEvil he eventually becomes, all by choosing to steal the Dark One's dagger and then, instead of using it to control him, killing him with it so he could have the power to save his son himself. Probably best encapsulated in the moment when he proclaims he is no longer scared of anything (and gives a very wicked, unhinged grin), and when after slaughtering Hordor and his men he tries to claim he's still the same man, but asking his son "Do you feel safe now?" just causes Bae to back away, pale and silently shaking his head before denying it.

* ArcWords: "All magic comes with a price," which turns out to have come from the previous Dark One.

{{FLASHBACK}}! In the Enchanted Forest, a fourteen year old girl is taken to be drafted into the army, as the Duke has lowered the minimum drafting age to acquire more troops to fight in the Ogre Wars. The soldiers who have come to collect her are backed up by the Dark One, a powerful but mysterious sorcerer. Rumplestiltskin watches this happen and promises is son Baelfire that he will find a way to stop him being drafted by his fourteenth birthday in three days.

Regina goes the the pawn shop to chew out Mr. Gold, since she knows he helped Emma with the town charter. He's unfazed, and perfectly willing to oppose Regina in favor of Emma.

As the citizens of Storybrooke continue mourning Sheriff Graham's death, Emma Swan makes her decision to run for Sheriff against Daily Mirror chief editor Sidney Glass and Regina engages in dirty politics with Mr. Gold. Meanwhile in the fairy tale land that was, Rumpelstiltskin's backstory is revealed along with his attempt to track down the ultimate power source in order to help his young son, Baelfire, avert the horrors of the meaningless Ogre Wars.

* StartOfDarkness: For Rump, exploring how he became the heartless, cruel, deal-making, baby-stealing monster he was at the start of the show, both by revealing the nature of his powers (the Dark One, the dagger) and what drove him to claim them.

* VillainBall: Hordor had Zoso under his control, yet it does not occur to him that he could just send him to end the Ogres War. Instead he uses Zoso to bully helpless villagers into letting them draft children into the war. If Rumpelstiltskin could end the war single-handedly post-corruption, it really says something about Hordor, huh?

* FreezeFrameBonus: [[invoked]] When Gold gives Emma Graham's things, one of the items in the box is an award that reveals his Storybrooke surname to have been Humbert. [[MeaningfulName This was also]] [[AllThereInTheScript the official name of the Huntsman]] in Disney's ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs''.

* MoralityPet: Bae acts as this to Rumple once he becomes the Dark One, helping to keep his dark powers under control so he can retain some sense of goodness.

* BatmanGambit: Mr. Gold knows for Emma to win against Sidney, she would need to do more than just stand up to Regina. She needs to stand up to him. So, he talks with her, leaving in view a rope which would later be found at the scene of the fire, coated with the same smelly lanolin he'd been using to preserve books when she came to visit. Circumstantial evidence, but during the debate, Emma states this evidence and Mr. Gold walks out. She won and Mr. Gold explained it all to her after the fact.

* ChildSoldier: In the flashbacks, the character of Morraine appears, a teenage veteran of a local war with ogres. She's one of the few children drafted to survive and her experiences in the war mean she's willing to talk to Baelfire, the son of the dark wizard who's currently terrorizing the countryside after ending the war to stop his son from being drafted.

* OnlyFriend: Morraine to Baelfire. She's the only child willing to talk to him after his father becomes the Dark One.

* StealthPun: When he makes his opening statement in the debate, Sidney makes one of these to his Enchanted Forest identity, saying he will "reflect" the values needed to keep Storybrooke safe and secure.

* VillainBall: Hordor had Zoso under his control, yet it does not occur to him that he could just send him to end the Ogres War. Instead he uses Zoso to bully helpless villagers into letting them draft children into the war. If Rumpelstiltskin could end the war single-handedly post-corruption, it really says something about Hordor, huh?
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Morraine's time as a soldier seems to have matured her very quickly, allowing her to offer some wisdom to Rumplestiltskin's son.

* FaceHeelTurn: This was Rumpelstiltskin's, going from a kind-hearted but cowardly spinner to the manifestation of UltimateEvil he eventually becomes, all by choosing to steal the Dark One's dagger and then, instead of using it to control him, killing him with it so he could have the power to save his son himself. Probably best encapsulated in the moment when he proclaims he is no longer scared of anything (and gives a very wicked, unhinged grin), and when after slaughtering Hordor and his men he tries to claim he's still the same man, but asking his son "Do you feel safe now?" just causes Bae to back away, pale and silently shaking his head.

* VillainBall: Hordor had Zoso under his control, yet it does not occur to him that he could just send him to end the Ogres War. Instead he uses Zoso to bully helpless villagers into letting them draft children into the war. If Rumpelstiltskin could end the war single-handedly post-corruption, it really says something about Hodor, huh?

* BatmanGambit: Mr. Gold knows for Emma to win against Sidney, she would need to do more than just stand up to Regina. She needs to stand up to him. So, he talks with her, leaving in view a sack which would later be found at the scene of the fire. Circumstantial evidence, but during the debate, Emma states this evidence and Mr. Gold walks out. She won and Mr. Gold explained it all to her after the fact.