Board Thread:Wiki-Related Discussion/@comment-1916997-20160712145426/@comment-25758988-20160713150617

I think that both CoolDudeAl and Eskaver make excellent points.

We have two different characters playing a part of a different single character, i.e Ariel and Ursula both play parts of the same character of The Little Mermaid and we have Aurora and Briar Rose both playing a part of the character of Sleeping Beauty which would explain where CoolDudeAl was coming from, so his theory has a precedent. However there are counter arguements  too. I mean the show does not have many characters except the ones mentioned above, but there are plenty of the opposite, i.e a single character plaing different characters like Rumple being the Beast, the Crocodile and himself or Peter Pan playing him and Pied Piper etc. We dont see Prince Charming and Captain Hook both play versions of Peter Pan etc. I mean really its a rare thing if the writers mix characters up in that way. Which explains why Charming plays the role of Rapunzel's Prince who rescues her and we don't see Captain Hook being the one to come in and kill the "Witch" and therefore by two Rapunzel's princes.

So we have a character Philip who is a "beast" at one point, so I guess he has that in common with the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, he does get rescued by the Beauty from Beauty and the Beast so he has that in common, and actually the more I think about it thats about it. Philips and Belles interactions both as Philip as the Beast and as a human showed nothing about the reationship Belle has with the Beast, I mean we did not even know Philip's beast was a human at all. There was nothing to show him as a human before and nothing to show him as a human during his transformation. As far as Belle was concerned this was a beast she was going to hunt and kill. Oh yes he did get transformed into a Beast in sort of the same fashion but I guess the method, reasons for it and the person doing it differ greatly.

Now I am not saying I think Phillip should just be thought of as only Prince Philip because there are similarlities but I think he should be known as a Beast or even as a PreBeast as he is the one who forces Belle to try and return and save her actual Beast, she realises Rumple was worth saving and seeing wht this PreBeast has gone through and will go through to protect the woman he loves gives her hope that Rumple loves her enough to do whatever he needs to do to live happily ever after. (I know what a idiot but still lol)