Board Thread:Spoilers!/@comment-27060727-20170106065555/@comment-25926288-20170107225622

The Gideon thing could be simple. If anyone's a fan of Kingdom Hearts, then I think it could be handled by the Realm of Sleep. The Realm of Sleep had worlds that were captured in a period of time. So, a character they might have met before wouldn't recognize them because it would be that character's past self. So, even though the present form was elsewhere, that one was simply trapped by the wonky fiunctions of that Realm.

So, Belle and Rumple might enter this realm and see young Gideon and might be able to spark a change in Adult Gideon.