Board Thread:Fanon: Season 8 & Beyond/@comment-25375217-20180529030357/@comment-25375217-20180608171512

 ONCE ANSWERS ITS BIGGEST MYSTERY 

No, we're not talking about Prince Phillip's post-Wraith revival or how exactly Hook killed Rufio or even who Lily Page's father is (in case you missed it, it's -- and yes, Zorro is a dragon). No, this mystery is even bigger than all of those combined: who is Doctor Sage?

In the fifth episode of the recent eighth season, titled "", we journey back to the time of Mother Gothel's time-traveling Dark Curse in Seattle. The episode focuses on Henry's daughter Lucy, just turning nine and already going through an emo phase (hey, the Mills ladies have always been overachievers) when Sabine, the cursed counterpart of Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, gifts her a very special novel. As Lucy begins to realize that the events told by the book are true and that she and her entire family are trapped under a curse, her wicked step-grandmother works to squash her blossoming belief. More importantly, in the process, she pays a visit to The Bakery @ Hyperion Heights, owned by the Blind Witch from "Hansel and Gretel" (and Lucy's reaction when she realizes this is all of us, honestly). While she's there, Doctor Sage stops by for her daily teacake and Lucy immediately recognizes her as none other than... wait for it... the Duchess from Wonderland.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to see her in action. "It's a story I want to tell," producer DatNuttyKid says, "but it won't be this year. The rest of the season is already jam-packed with content, there just wasn't time for the Coven of the Eight." It's unfortunate, but at least we're one step closer to getting the answers we so desperately crave (bakery pun intended).

As for the rest of the episode, it was a joy to see Gabrielle Anwar return for the second time this year. "I wanted to set up a sort of comparison between Lucy and her mother," DatNuttyKid explains. "In episode three, we see Cinderella as a child growing up with Lady Tremaine and we see her running away and finding hope, thanks to the Apprentice. And now, in episode five, we see Lucy dealing with Tremaine herself and receiving hope in a different form. The book." There was also a nod to "Going Home" when Lucy is first given the book: she sees Sabine dressed as Tiana, just as Henry saw Mary Margaret dressed as Snow White. "I think it was pretty much mandatory to do that scene. It's classic and it shows how much this book changes Henry and Lucy's perspectives."

Season Eight of Once Upon a Time will premiere on September 28th, 2018.