Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26443838-20150910175157/@comment-4839682-20170420024129

Nightlily wrote: The whole point of Regina casting the curse was to separate everyone from their loved ones, so that the only happy ending would be hers. The wolf was the Huntsman's beloved companion, so it makes sense that he (the wolf) was brought to SB. Although that doesn't explain why the wolf still has his memories. Emma. That whole period of S1 explores how Emma's presence is wearing down the Dark Curse. The mine starts collapsing. Archie (and Sidney, to an extent) start defying Regina. The wolf is part of this, imo. Follow me on this:

Emma is weakening the Curse just by being in Storybrooke. She and Graham work together, so that Savior magic wears on him, weakening the barriers on his memory. Graham doesn't start seeing that specific wolf until after kissing Emma early in the episode. (And Gold claims there are no wolves in Storybrooke). Maybe the wolf is real, and Graham's weakening memory/Emma's presence calls him to Graham. He's the lodestone that bring further flashes of memory. Or maybe it's just a vision, one that is shared with Emma, because she's the savior.

I see him more as a shared vision, but either makes sense to me.