Spoiler Discussion: The apple was poisoned?!

[YaddaYadda]

Guess Hook has been hanging out at places that are neither the Rabbit Hole or Granny's.  Is he going to pay with doubloons?

 

Also, Emma knowing DQ when she was a teenager doesn't seem to fit.  I think we'll know about Emma and DQ during DQ's backstory since Emma doesn't remember her even if there was something familiar.

Edited October 16, 2014 by YaddaYadda

[HeimrArnadalr]

Can Anna even open the box without the dagger?

It would be a rather pointless box if it could only be opened with one specific and hard-to-acquire weapon. More likely it just requires some form of magic to open.

 

While we're on the subject of the box, I'll note that I've seen a lot about the Sorcerer's Apprentice. But do we know who the Sorcerer is, or even if he will show up? In the Fantasia clip he was the one who really knew how to use magic, while the Apprentice bumbled about and made a mess of things. 

 

Zoso is supposed to be in this episode, right? If the Sorcerer is Zoso, then it would make sense that the box could be only opened with the Dark One's dagger...

[pezgirl7]

Here's a fan video of Hook punching Will, with his left hand.

http://emmafoundtallahassee.tumblr.com/post/100103192656

Will be interesting to see if the hand is really cursed, has bad-Hook mojo left in it, or is all in Hook's head. Also, if Hook is walking by himself at night, and ends up sleeping on the docks, the date probably doesn't end well. Although if Emma's parents were waiting up for her, I wonder what she was doing all that time.

[HoodlumSheep]

I'm anxious to see what happens with Zoso. I'm actually hoping that this sorcerer's apprentice thing doesn't involve The Dark One's origins because then it messes with my one of my headcanons/greatest wishes i want to see come true on this show (that will never happen anyways).

I think I like Zoso more as the Dark One than Rumple. He was just so.....enigmatic.

[oliverwendell]

 

Oh man, evil magical ice cream truck could top extortionate warlord Bo Peep as my favorite thing this season.

 

Oh, I don't think anything can top extortionate warlord Bo Peep for me.  But evil magical ice cream truck could be a close second.

 

My guess is that Hook's lopped-off hand is "the hand of a villain," and the villainous hand wants what the villainous hand wants.  Which, apparently, is to punch the Knave in the face. 

 

Actually, I've been wondering if the show would remember that Hook started out as a villain.  If so, does that mean that his happy ending is in jeopardy the way Regina believes hers to be, because of the mysterious storybook author's apparent anti-villain bigotry? 

Edited October 16, 2014 by fourteenwords

[retrograde]

(Google) translation from a French site that was at the filming in Steveston the other day. Nothing super dramatic, but more context than I've seen elsewhere:

 

Stage # 1: Emma and Elsa out of the shop Mr Gold holding Anna necklace
Stage # 2: Emma and Elsa are within the library Storybrooke,
Scene # 3: Emma, ​​Elsa, Anna and Kristoff flock to the restaurant Granny,
Scene # 4: Gold and Mr Hook fall within the restaurant Granny holding a blue pointy hat night
Scene # 5: Mr. Gold and Belle talk to the store, Belle gives him a subject we know well (the dagger), they hug before parting. When she returned to the store, Gold will cast a spell and then hook gave him something (the round box that we saw in episode 4x01?)
Scene # 6: tour the docks, and it involves Gold Hook but was completely inaccessible.

 

 

They also took quite a bit of footage. (My only takeaway from this is that Anna and Kristoff seem to be seeing Storybrooke for the first time, but they also seem to be in a hurry to go somewhere. And also that Hook and Rumple seem to be working together.)

[Jean]

Zoso is supposed to be in this episode, right? If the Sorcerer is Zoso

I was thinking that the sorcerer cursed Zoso and thus the origin of the Dark Curse is revealed but him being the sorcerer works too. Someone a few pages back said the guy playing the apprentice was also listed for the Snow Queen ep on imdb right? Is he the same guy that was trying to lure the 3 little kids with a kite that we heard about from a set report? If the 3 girls is the DQ and her sisters then the DQ also knows the apprentice. She could be the key to the hat.

[RadioGirl27]

And also that Hook and Rumple seem to be working together.)

I've been thinking about this. If the hat is really a powerful trap for people with magic, maybe Rumple needs someone without magic to use it. For obvious reasons, he is not going to use Belle, so Hook is the better option, because, even if something goes wrong and Hook dies or is cursed, for Gold is also a victory. And if Hook thinks he is protecting Emma, he would help Rumple willingly.

[kili]

My only takeaway from this is that Anna and Kristoff seem to be seeing Storybrooke for the first time, but they also seem to be in a hurry to go somewhere.

 

I'm happy that Anna and Kristoff are re-united. I was worried that Kristoff would end up being an old man. I didn't think Disney would let them have an unhappy ending, but you never know.

 

Anna looks a little shell-shocked there. I wonder if that is shortly after she is revived. Kristoff, on the other hand, looks like he's been in Storybrooke all his life (except for the clothes) as he strides around.

 

If Hook thinks his hand has been cursed by Rumple because it's making him lash out and become more villainous, but in the end it's actually not cursed - it's just infused with Hook's old personality, then that could be an interesting moment where Hook realizes he wants to shed (or: literally chop) that old personality once and for all.

 

That's actually kind of biblical.  "And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire."

[sharky]

Also, Emma knowing DQ when she was a teenager doesn't seem to fit.  I think we'll know about Emma and DQ during DQ's backstory since Emma doesn't remember her even if there was something familiar.

But then how does DQ recognize Emma? Seems like it would be kind of strange for her to immediately and so deeply recognize someone she hasn't seen since that person was only a small child. The grown up version of a teenage Emma, however, would be recognizable. Not sure why Emma wouldn't recognize her then. If we are in a land without magic, DQ couldn't use a memory eraser spell or anything on her.

[YaddaYadda]

But then how does DQ recognize Emma? Seems like it would be kind of strange for her to immediately and so deeply recognize someone she hasn't seen since that person was only a small child. The grown up version of a teenage Emma, however, would be recognizable. Not sure why Emma wouldn't recognize her then. If we are in a land without magic, DQ couldn't use a memory eraser spell or anything on her.

 

 

DQ knows Emma is in town, she might've even seen her around Storybrooke, she might have kept tabs on her all those years as well.  She knows who her parents are, she knows she's the sheriff, I mean it's like David said, most people in town know who Emma is because of her various statuses.  We don't know when she came to Storybrooke or why she even came in the first place. 

 

I know from my personal experience, my earliest memory is my aunt's wedding when I was 3 years old.  It was a pretty big affair.  And the memories are just flashes of things, they're fragmented, some things I remember accurately enough, others not so much.

 

From what we saw in the finale last year, Emma was in an orphanage and she remembers one of the workers there really well, the one who tells her she'll find a home.  I'd think that if DQ was working there, a frequent visitor or whatever, Emma would definitely remember her.  And like you said, Land without Magic...would she be able to brew a memory potion?  She seems to be someone who relies on her innate powers to do her thing, but I could be completely wrong about that.

[kili]

And like you said, Land without Magic...would she be able to brew a memory potion?

 

Brewing memory potions seems to be an option available in the Land without Magic. Regina brewed one when she wanted to forget that baby Henry was related to Snow/Charming's daughter (when she found out that Emma had been found on the side of the highway at the same time the cast was curse).

[Jean]

She wouldn't even need a potion. She can mind wipe Emma. If she's inherently magical and I think she is, she would still have her powers even in LWM. It's interesting though that she doesn't want Emma to remember as she discussed with Rumple. While she told Elsa they knew each other, she didn't bother explaining the aunt part so there's a chunk of the story that she doesn't want Elsa to remember either.

[Shanna Marie]

Actually, I've been wondering if the show would remember that Hook started out as a villain.

Well, not precisely. In the present day, yes, but chronologically, he started as a very upright and noble naval officer. That's why I have a few quibbles about the idea that the evil hand is making him be bad because it was a hand that belonged to a villain. It was also a hand that belonged to young Lt. Jones, who was all about the Good Form. Pre-Hook pirate Killian was a jerk and a pirate, but he didn't seem to go into full-on evil villain mode until he became obsessed with revenge after he lost his hand. It's really "Captain Hook" who was the villain. Was young pirate Killian so outright evil that his hand would cause all kinds of problems?

[Serena]

Yeah, it makes no sense. The hook is a lot more "infused" by evil than the hand ever was. If anything, the hand should start making him act like a fratboy. Which could be entertaining.

[YaddaYadda]

But the hook is an inanimate object?

 

Even then, they keep emphasizing that magic comes with a price and we really don't know what Rumple has done to the hand as in cursed it as he reattached it.  He doesn't need to say some incantation outloud for that to happen.  He could after all destroy an ice wall with a thought as he put it.

[pezgirl7]

I think I'm excited for Hook and Rumple to work together, even if it causes Captain Swan angst. I'm hoping that Hook's under a spell or something, but he's probably just being stupid, thinking he's helping Emma and doing the right thing.

 

Regarding Hook's ugly shirt, I saw this on tumblr and it me laugh.

[Curio]

The hook is a lot more "infused" by evil than the hand ever was. If anything, the hand should start making him act like a fratboy. Which could be entertaining.

I guess you could argue that being a fratboy bully who kicks people in the street and teases their appearance is a tiny bit evil. But if Hook gets angry and grabs Will after he spills a drink on Emma and punches him in the street, that actually does seem like fratboy behavior.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Curio

[NotBothered]

I could see an argument that when the hand was cut off Hook was filled with rage, and it was that rage that's been simmering in the hand for 300 years.  So Hook doesn't have to be inherently evil for the hand to still be problematic. 

[Rumsy4]

I'm wondering how many times Hook ends up punching Will. Is it twice--once at the Restaurant, and again, when he catches him trying to break into the library? Because twice seems excessive. If it's just once, then the CS date was probably not "ruined". It will be horrible if the date turns into a complete disaster after all the effort both Hook and Emma seem to have gone into.

[YaddaYadda]

But if Hook gets angry and grabs Will after he spills a drink on Emma and punches him in the street, that actually does seem like fratboy behavior.

 

The article does say that he is actually a bit taken aback by his own outburst, so I guess the hand could exacerbate whatever his instincts are that he might not act on.  

 

ETA - 

I'm wondering how many times Hook ends up punching Will. Is it twice--once at the Restaurant, and again, when he catches him trying to break into the library? Because twice seems excessive. If it's just once, then the CS date was probably not "ruined". It will be horrible if the date turns into a complete disaster after all the effort both Hook and Emma seem to have gone into.

 

I think it's just the once at the library.  I think he lets him go and I'm sure Emma must intervene as well.  I'm also going by what the actors are saying.  If they're saying it's an awesome date, I doubt someone getting their clock cleaned during said date would qualify it as awesome.  I get the impression that there might be more going on between Hook and Will if he keeps it in mind to find him and punches him out even though the drink incident happened earlier in the night.

Edited October 16, 2014 by YaddaYadda

[Mari]

Even then, they keep emphasizing that magic comes with a price and we really don't know what Rumple has done to the hand as in cursed it as he reattached it. 

Also, Rumple seems to have kept it around as an especially creeptastic souvenir.  Spending three hundred years basking in Rumple's presence could infuse something with evil.  (After all, look what happened to Belle's moral compass, and she's only spent about five, total.)

[RadioGirl27]

The article does say that he is actually a bit taken aback by his own outburst, so I guess the hand could exacerbate whatever his instincts are that he might not act on.  

 

ETA - 

I think it's just the once at the library.  I think he lets him go and I'm sure Emma must intervene as well.  I'm also going by what the actors are saying.  If they're saying it's an awesome date, I doubt someone getting their clock cleaned during said date would qualify it as awesome.  I get the impression that there might be more going on between Hook and Will if he keeps it in mind to find him and punches him out even though the drink incident happened earlier in the night.

My idea right now it's that the date goes well, except for the Will incident, but Hook is probably worried about the hand and in a bad mood. So, after he lefts Emma at home, he finds Will trying to go into the library and it's then when he punches him. He later goes to the docks, where Rumple finds him.

ETA-

It seems I'm right in some of this. From Access Hollywood:

"On the date, they bump into Will Scarlet and he knocks a glass of wine over on Emma," Colin said.

But don't worry "Once" fans, Will may not ruin things. Colin promised another Emma/Hook lip lock.

"We have a bit of a cheeky smooch at the end," he (Colin) told reporters.

Edited October 16, 2014 by RadioGirl27

[Serena]

My idea right now it's that the date goes well, except for the Will incident, but Hook is probably worried about the hand and in a bad mood. So, after he lefts Emma at home, he finds Will trying to go into the library and it's then when he punches him. He later goes to the docks, where Rumple finds him.

I hope so. I want Emma to be happy about the date. It would be terrible if the first real date she has in forever - maybe ever, if we consider that she and Neal probably didn't have "dates", then she only had ONS, then she had monkeyWalsh - goes to shit.

Also, where is my sneak peek, ABC?

Edited October 16, 2014 by Serena

[HoodlumSheep]

Also, Rumple seems to have kept it around as an especially creeptastic souvenir. Spending three hundred years basking in Rumple's presence could infuse something with evil. (After all, look what happened to Belle's moral compass, and she's only spent about five, total.)

This made me chuckle :). I don't know if I'd be more okay with the hand being not cursed but filled with frat boy evilness or the hand being actually cursed. Maybe it's just brimming with rage from being cooped up in a jar for 300 years? It could all be in Killy's head, but then rumple put some different kind of curse on it that makes Hook his temporary helper? I don't know. In the interview Colin makes it sound like it's just Killian thinking his hand is cursed, but then Bobby's all like "he dun goofed." So it's sort of contradicting statements?

As for Belle, if she does find out about Killy getting his hand back, I'm sure Rumple will just tell her that he gave it back to make amends to Killy and did it all from the goodness of his heart. He and Killy are bffs now.

[Shanna Marie]

Y'all, I feel like I should warn you that I've realized that according to the laws of television, this episode is likely to suck. You see, I'll be visiting my parents this weekend, and although they have two TVs and I can easily go to the back room to "watch my stories" (as my grandmother used to put it), there's a good chance that either my dad will play martyr and say he can give up the end of the football game or whatever else he usually watches so I can watch my show in the living room, or my mom will join me in the other room. And I have found that whenever someone who doesn't usually watch a show I like joins me in watching a show, it will be the worst episode ever that makes no sense and that leaves them wondering why I bother watching it. I suppose I could salvage the episode by waiting to watch it OnDemand when I get home, but I'm not sure I'm willing to make that sacrifice.

 

And now I can see myself trying to explain it to my mom, who quit watching in season one -- Yes, that's Captain Hook. No, he doesn't have the long curls. Or a hook. The no-hook thing is new. Yes, he's kind of a good guy now. Not dressing like a pirate is also new. The chick in the sparkly blue dress is from Frozen, you know that thing I joke about my kindergarteners being obsessed with. In the movie, she sang that song that Arthur Darvill did that funny spoof of that you liked. Yes, we all miss Rory on Doctor Who. Yeah, the girl with Rumpelstiltskin is Belle, like in Beauty and the Beast. No, I don't get it either. The other guy in black leather with an accent is the Knave of Hearts from the spinoff you didn't watch. He's also Will Scarlet, like in Robin Hood. I'm not even going to try explaining Robin Hood and what's up with him.

[Serena]

Okay, I bring you a new article and a conspiracy theory at the same time.

 

Here's the article. 

And here's the conspiracy theory: originally, after the part about where it says "On the date, they bump into Will Scarlet and he knocks a glass of wine over on Emma," Colin said." it also said this:

 

But don’t worry “Once” fans, Will may not ruin things. Colin promised another Emma/Hook lip lock.

"We have a bit of a cheeky smooch at the end," he told reporters.”

However, it got edited out, if you check the article now. Why? I'm going with the positive version and saying that it's probably because it was too spoilery. So, it means the date definitely ends well!

Edited October 16, 2014 by Serena

[pezgirl7]

Hmm, a cheeky smooch? I wonder what that means. I hope they're not making out right outside Snow's doorway, and Snow and Charming open the door, are all wahhh hay!! I don't really care though, as long as we get another kiss. Five episodes in a row with a kiss! I remember when us Captain Swan fans would get excited over Hook giving Emma a coconut.

[RadioGirl27]

Okay, I bring you a new article and a conspiracy theory at the same time.

 

Here's the article. 

And here's the conspiracy theory: originally, after the part about where it says "On the date, they bump into Will Scarlet and he knocks a glass of wine over on Emma," Colin said." it also said this:

 

However, it got edited out, if you check the article now. Why? I'm going with the positive version and saying that it's probably because it was too spoilery. So, it means the date definitely ends well!

 

I'm a bit more negative and I think that, maybe, they have cut the kiss, because the want to go a more angsty route and Colin did't know when talking with the journalist. Anyway, with kiss or without it, it seems the date goes well.

[kili]

However, it got edited out, if you check the article now. Why? I'm going with the positive version and saying that it's probably because it was too spoilery

 

I'm going with the RadioGirl27 interpretation. Hook and Emma have kissed or hugged near the end of every episode this season. Them kissing again isn't a spoiler like it was in Neverland or at the end of Season 3. I'm afraid it was cut for angst, but maybe we'll get it in a BTS on the DVD.

 

"We have an episode coming up [where] there's a little 'Lady and the Tramp' moment. That's coming up. It's very short lived, but it's super cute," she said.

 

I'm going to be watching the background to see the couple eating spaghettti that end up kissing.  Although, it would also be fun to see the two dogs (either ducking into the back alley or being served food in the alley).

 

Is Will trying to break into the library because he really wants to read the Harry Potter novels he missed while in Wonderland or because he wants to have tea with Malificient?

 

Having fingers instead of a steel hook will come in handy as the pair are heading out for an Italian meal.

 

Why do you need two hands specifically for Italian food? Seems like one of the easier cuisines to eat one-handed.

 

They're just that couple who like to fight monsters. Some people like to go skiing," Colin said.

 

Sometimes  fighting monsters is safer than skiing...Colin.

[Emma]

If they cut the kiss that better be the deleted scene airing the next day on GMA.

[kili]

TVLine:

 

Trust me when I say that I am holding the Dark One’s dagger and command you to give us something on Once Upon a Time‘s Rumplestiltskin that isn’t Belle-related! –Christina
Right, as if the dagger would… OK, here you go! During our visit to the Once set this week, Robert Carlyle teased Rumple’s ties to Elizabeth Mitchell’s Snow Queen, saying, “A lot of these magical characters, Rumple has either trained or helped in some way. He hasn’t exactly trained her, but he’s helped her along the way. So there’s deep, deep history there, but it’s a really strange relationship. They’re very, very dangerous to each other [and] both slightly afraid of each other, I think.”

Will Once Upon a Time’s Elsa get out of that blue dress and into new clothes? –Lindsay
I’m betting on no. For one, Georgina Haig was in said costume when we saw her on set. And two, I could imagine Disney having an issue with Once drastically altering the appearance of a current movie franchise character/golden goose.

 

[KingOfHearts]

 

They’re very, very dangerous to each other [and] both slightly afraid of each other, I think.

 

So, the Snow Queen is a threat to the Dark One? I'll take a scoop of that. I love the idea of Rumple having an equal. It's too bad she's Elsa's aunt because I pictured her as an ancient immortal being like him.

Edited October 16, 2014 by KingOfHearts

[HoodlumSheep]

It'll be interesting to see what Rumple's and the Dq's relationship is like. If she knows Emma and managed to be in the real world outside of a cursed storybrooke, they obviously had some crazy deal made in the past. It also gives more insight into how much Rumple knew about the future.

I'm getting confused at this point. The DQ knew Emma which means she would of been sent to the real world outside of a cursed storybrooke. Did rumple send her there or did she get there on her own? I rumple sent her, why didn't he go himself and find baelfire? Unless he knew he needed a way or place (storybrooke) where he could regain magic in order to locate baelfire easily. But then again, did the DQ have her powers outside of storybrooke? When did she get to storybrooke? The 2nd curse or did she just move there from wherever?

Sorry for the confused rambling. I'm sure everyone's probably already discussed this.

[angelwoody]

TVLine:

It's too bad Rumple is stuck with Belle.  I like Elizabeth Mitchell and what's she's doing so far with the SQ character.  I could get behind a romance between the two of them - especially if they are evenly matched as far as magic.

[Rumsy4]

It's too bad Rumple is stuck with Belle.  I like Elizabeth Mitchell and what's she's doing so far with the SQ character.  I could get behind a romance between the two of them - especially if they are evenly matched as far as magic.

 

I SHIP IT!!! Golden Snow? Frozen Crocodile? Snow Lizard?

 

ETA: The kiss spoiler is back in the article. I guess someone accidentally edited it out, and put it back later. This is the first time we see Emma on a date that's not fake, so I'm guessing  we will get the kiss.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Rumsy4

[angelwoody]

I SHIP IT!!! Golden Snow? Frozen Crocodile? Snow Lizard?

 

ETA: The kiss spoiler is back in the article. I guess someone accidentally edited it out, and put it back later. This is the first time we see Emma on a date that's not fake, so I'm guessing  we will get the kiss.

FroCodile!

Edited October 16, 2014 by angelwoody

[KingOfHearts]

 

I SHIP IT!!! Golden Snow? Frozen Crocodile? Snow Lizard?

Dark Frosty! (You know, because Rumple made that comment about things getting frosty?)

Edited October 16, 2014 by KingOfHearts

[HoodlumSheep]

It's too bad Rumple is stuck with Belle. I like Elizabeth Mitchell and what's she's doing so far with the SQ character. I could get behind a romance between the two of them - especially if they are evenly matched as far as magic.

My question is, is how are they evenly matched? Rumple's the Dark One! I feel like the only people who should be a match for him are probably whoever's responsible for the Dark One's origins, maybe the black fairy if she ever shows up, possibly shady blue? (That one's kind of iffy), and probably emma in the future just because she apparently is the embodiment of the truest of true love magic and good must triumph over evil. Some could possibly argue Peter Pan gave him a run for his money (mainly because of mind games), but we never really saw a magical duel between them. I don't think we've ever seen Rumple go all out before.

It will be very interesting to see. We're also kind of entering the episode numbers where things begin to enter into a bit of a lull, so we'll see how everything goes.

[YaddaYadda]

It's too bad Rumple is stuck with Belle.  I like Elizabeth Mitchell and what's she's doing so far with the SQ character.  I could get behind a romance between the two of them - especially if they are evenly matched as far as magic.

 

So DQ's line to Emma about whether she thought her magic was more powerful, I'm having crazy ideas here.  I know she probably caught her off guard when she blasted her back but sheesh, if Emma's magic becomes as powerful as DQs, then it means that she'd be evenly matched with Rumple as well.

 

Balance of power shifting?

[Serena]

FroCodile!

Between that and Hook-o-dile, I don't know which I ship more.

[HoodlumSheep]

I'd ship it (FroCodile, Golden Snow, so many possibilites).

Although Golden Snow makes me think of Rumple and Snow White, and anything with Lizard in it will remind me of Lizard from Wonderland.

Maybe Frosty Imp? Has that been suggested? FroCodile sounds good though.

Maybe they'll have a magical showdown if we're lucky.

[Crimson Belle]

Dairy Crocodile?  Though RumpleDairy comes off the tongue in an interesting way.

[scenicbyway]

They haven't edited out Colin's remark about the cheeky lip lock.  It's still there.  I wonder if it's cheeky because he walks her home and her parents are waiting in the living room for her.  No privacy?

Edited October 16, 2014 by scenicbyway

[Serena]

They haven't edited out Colin's remark about the cheeky lip lock.  It's still there.  I wonder if it's cheeky because he walks her home and her parents are waiting in the living room for her.  No privacy?

They did edit it out (believe me, I CTRL+F that shit like five times), but they put it back in. So that was a good couple of hours of conspiracy theories for nothing. Maybe just a weird glitch.

[kili]

Although Golden Snow makes me think of Rumple and Snow White

 

Golden Snow makes me think of the kind of snow one shouldn't eat...

[KingOfHearts]

The Dairy One. Called it.

[Jean]

 

My question is, is how are they evenly matched?

Well she was able to get to land of no magic and all she needed was some fancy looking door. Rumple took 3 centuries and an elaborate curse.

 

Also anyone inherently magical i.e. Snow Queen, Elsa, and Emma could take the fight outside of Storybrooke and it'd be child's play after that.

 

My guess is their connection is through the apprentice and the hat.

[Rumsy4]

Maybe Frosty Imp? Has that been suggested?

I like it!!

[snarkastic]

My guess is their connection is through the apprentice and the hat.

 

DQ is supposed to be one of the three little girls hanging out with the Apprentice in her backstory episode. Maybe we'll get a scene where he knew her as a girl and where he first discovered the hat. I like it when the show shows how long Rumpelstiltskin has been around. (Crack!Theory that the apprentice is DQ's father, and Elsa inherited her magic from her Gramps.)

 

Also, about this apprentice episode, maybe Zoso doesn't really appear (since he's dead) and the apprentice just shapeshifts into him when Rumpel confronts him? Or Zoso really is the Sorcerer and the apprentice is just doing his job guarding the hat for the last hundred years or so.