Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1916997-20160314010238/@comment-27257290-20160316023608

To be honest, I was hoping to make better predictions for this season based off Greek mythology, as anyone with knowledge of Arthurian myth would have figured out early on that Nimue was the Dark One who trapped Merlin. But Once is clearly going their own way and not just using the Greek version of the afterlife, since mortal souls don't go to Olympus (hence why Megara couldn't go in Disney's Hercules) and the Underworld is actually for all mortals, with a good part, a medium part and Tartarus (hell). However, I like how they make Hercules a proper demigod and don't bother pretending Hera was his mother and not yet another jealous stepmother.

All changes to Greek myth aside, I can't wait to see Hades' backstory, which I hope will remain the same - helping Zeus defeat the Titans and then being tricked/forced into ruling the Underworld. No doubt Hades is quite comfortable there, but just like the Dark One he'll always want more. So I'm certain he has a plot to become king of the gods, perhaps even involving Cronus (in Once it always comes down to mother or father issues).

Coming back to my comparison between lord of the dead (Hades) and bringer of the dead (DO), let's explore. The Dark One is bound by a dagger with his name upon it, which Merlin did. Now what if Zeus did the same to Hades in some way, and that's how Hades became bound to the Underworld? Hades may have had some kind of plan that Zeus wanted to stop (relating them closer to Nimue and Merlin) and sent him to help dead souls deal with their baggage instead, much as the Dark One might be forced to help other people with their problems. And how does the Dark One release himself from the dagger? With the Sorcerer's Hat, as Rumple tries to do in season 4. And this is acheived by collecting souls and their power.

I think Hades wants to cling onto dead souls because he wants enough to do what Rumple almost did with the hat, but with a god version of a hat. Maybe if enough souls stay in the underworld for a set time, then Hades will become freed. But how many?!!! Well, for Rumple's plan to work the souls in the hat needed to be aligned with the stars in the sky. So perhaps Hades created Storybrooke as a canvas for Rumple and Regina to paint and him to copy, so that when enough people are in the Underworld to match Storybrooke, Hades will somehow be released from the Underworld and into Storybrooke, and go on to Olympus. It is also fun to point out that Rumple's hat plan had to take place in the clock tower, the same clock that ticks whenever a mortal soul leaves the Underworld.

Thinking about it, I don't think this will be how things go (because I haven't predicted most story outcomes on Once and they often ignore rules they used in previous seasons), but oh God I wish it is. But since it looks like next week Hades will want to make a deal with Rumple, I may not be far off. Either way I can't wait for next week!!