Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4962906-20151007080647/@comment-24674051-20151007153434

Merlin in a tree is actually straight out of Arthurian legend. I don't recall the entire story, but as I recall, the Lady of the Lake is the one that trapped Merlin in the tree. And yes, I think it was the same Lady of the Lake that is responsible for leading Arthur to Excalibur (at least in some of the legends).

Now, how they are going to twist this on Once remains to be seen. But the story is based in the legends, not just something that the writers made up.

Also, Merlin prophesied that the Savior would rescue him. The question is whether Emma or Regina (or someone else) is the savior at this point.