Mr. Gold

"Magic... is power."

- Mr. Gold

Mr. Gold is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the first episode of the first season. He is portrayed by starring cast member Robert Carlyle, and is the Storybrooke counterpart of Rumplestiltskin.

During the Curse
After the curse is cast, Mr. Gold becomes a pawnshop dealer and rent collector in the town of Storybrooke. Regina walks down the street to get a glimpse of the other residents' lives in the new land, and sees Mr. Gold hobbling down the opposite street with a noticeable limp and carrying a cane to support himself (and sometimes as a weapon).

Several days after the euphoria of Regina's new life begins to wear off for her, she visits Mr. Gold in his shop. She states she is not happy, and Mr. Gold inquisitively points her in the direction of Dr. Hopper's psychiatric office. Instead, Regina says she wants to speak to Mr. Gold about the deal they made in the previous land, and how it's not what she wanted. Puzzled, Mr. Gold gives her a blank look and apologetically says he has no idea what she is talking about. Regina realizes Mr. Gold does not remember anything from his previous life. She paces the shop, and murmurs that she was supposed to be happy here. Mr. Gold reminds her she is the most powerful woman in town as mayor, and doesn't understand what is there to be unhappy about. Frustrated, Regina talks about everyone in town submitting to her will and doing as she likes, but they do it because they must and not because they want to. Again, Mr. Gold has no inkling of what Regina is looking for, and she leaves dejected.

Mr. Gold goes to the local bed and breakfast to collect the monthly rent from the owner, Granny, when he happens upon a new visitor to town, Emma Swan. Upon hearing her name, Mr. Gold's memories of his life as Rumplestiltskin return to him. He comments that it is a beautiful name and wishes Emma an enjoyable stay. When he leaves, Granny's granddaughter, Ruby informs Emma that Mr. Gold is the man who "owns" Storybrooke.

Mr. Gold is in the mayor's backyard the night after Emma decides to stay in Storybrooke. He congratulates her for being in high spirits for banishing Emma, to which Regina replies that she has triumphed, while Mr. Gold tells her not to get ahead of herself, because he saw Emma and Henry together. He then says that he would have been able to help her for a price.

He and Regina quickly get into an argument over Emma Swan, but Mr. Gold asks her to let him go by saying "please"—this invokes a deal that was made between them in the Enchanted Forest, which he isn't supposed to remember. Regina lets him go, stunned.

A few nights later, Mr. Gold is locking up his shop. After he is gone, Ashley Boyd breaks in to steal a document from his safe. Mr. Gold catches her in the act and confronts her, but she pepper sprays him, knocking him out, and takes his keys to the safe. He then asks Emma Swan to help him find her. She agrees feeling guilty about her role in the incident, having earlier advised Ashley to take her fate into her own hands.

She later finds Ashley's car on the side of the road and sees the girl ready to give birth. She is rushed to the hospital and delivers a healthy baby girl. Mr. Gold comes and asks to see Ashley, because he wants the baby for himself, having earlier made a deal with Ashley for the baby. Emma intervenes and, after a brief discussion, Mr. Gold agrees to leave Ashley in peace. In return, Emma would owe him a favor.

Mr. Gold gives David Nolan directions to the Toll Bridge after he gets lost following Regina's instructions. David goes over to Emma's mobile from the Enchanted Forest, but then takes notice of a windmill. David stares at it, transfixed, and seems to gain some recollection of the windmill having belonged to him in the past. Mr. Gold smirks as David remembers his previous life pre-coma in the hospital as opposed to being Prince Charming.

Sheriff Graham finds Mr. Gold in the forest as he is searching for the wolf that haunts his dreams. When asked what he is doing in the forest, Mr. Gold claims that he is gardening. Mr. Gold then asks the same of Graham and is told about the wolf and the sheriff's dreams. Mr. Gold smiles and tells Graham that some believed that dreams were memories of a former life, which does nothing to calm the sheriff's nerves.

After the sheriff's death, he offers Emma some of Graham's old things, which Emma declines. After Mr. Gold learns that the mayor fired her from her position as deputy, he comes into Mary Margaret's apartment and shows Emma the town charter. This helps her realize that she could contest Regina's decision to fire her by running against her nomination for Storybrooke's new Sheriff--Sidney Glass. Mr. Gold offers his assistance to Emma by becoming her benefactor.

Emma confronts Regina the next night about a slanderous article published in the Storybrooke Daily Mirror about her. During this encounter the office mysteriously catches on fire. Emma saves them both with a fire extinguisher, and they both are able to exit the building safely. However, it is revealed that Mr. Gold set up the whole thing. Later at the debate which would determine the winner for the public office, Emma publicly exposes him. Mr. Gold gets up and leaves the town hall. Despite her misgivings, she wins and is elected sheriff.

Mr. Gold visits the station the next day and congratulates her on the victory he planned. He had to give her a higher form of bravery: the townspeople needed to see her stand up to him, so that they would believe that Emma could not only stand up to the mayor, but to Mr. Gold, too. Emma is shocked to learn that he had somehow managed to plan the whole event.

When Emma is trying to help out two orphans, Ava and Nicholas Zimmer, from becoming a part of the foster system in Boston, she goes to his pawnshop in hopes that he would know who bought one of the orphans' belongings. Mr. Gold, although able to remember the item, needs to looks up the name of the purchaser - their father - in order to tell Emma. However, the paper he pretends to read is blank.

Later, Mr. Gold collects the rent of Moe French and, when he fails to pay the money, takes Moe's flower shop truck. He is confronted by Regina, but he dodges her attempts at a conversation with a well-placed "please." Later in the day, he returns home to see that his house has been robbed.

Emma appears at Mr. Gold's house since the robbery had been reported earlier. Mr. Gold tells Emma who he suspects the thief was Moe French given the day's earlier events. She attempts to allay him saying that she will find him. Mr. Gold replies begins to say "not if I find him first" but stops himself thinking better of it. She manages to recover nearly everything that was stolen, but Mr. Gold remains agitated insisting that something was missing. Emma reassures him that she will retrieve the item when she finds Moe French. Mr. Gold leaves the station after unreservedly saying, "Not if I find him first" this time, which worries Emma.

He buys duct tape and rope, has a brief chat with David Nolan, in which he tells him that, "Love is like a delicate flame. Once it's gone, it's gone forever", and then leaves the store. He then kidnaps Moe French and takes him to an abandoned wooden cabin, where he proceeds to interrogate him about the missing item - a chipped tea cup. He becomes emotional, beating Moe French while yelling about Moe being "her" father, having "her" love and that, "she's gone forever". Emma intervenes before Mr. Gold "breaks anything he needs", and promptly arrests him.

While in jail, Regina arrives with Henry as a bribe for Emma leaving her alone with Mr. Gold for thirty minutes. Emma and Henry go off to the ice cream parlor and Regina sits down in front of Mr. Gold at his request. She reveals that she convinced Moe to rob him and that she has the item he had been searching for so desperately. He asks her what she wants in return for his lost item, and she tells him that she wants his name.

At first, he answers that his name is Mr. Gold. He tries to dodge the question by saying that he does not know what she is talking about (when she asks him for his real name) and that his name has always been Mr. Gold. After being further pressed, he gives in saying, "Rumplestiltskin". This is proof that he remembers everything about the Enchanted Forest, its inhabitants, and the dark curse. In return, Regina gives him the chipped teacup and walks away.

A few days later, he manages to get out of jail. Shortly after, Mr. Gold is led out onto the docks by Leroy in an attempt to sell his boat in exchange for $5000 or the waiving of one month's rent for the nun of Storybrooke. Mr. Gold is first unimpressed by Leroy's insistence of $5000, claiming $3000 is more reasonable. When Leroy requests the waiving of rental payment for the nuns, Mr. Gold becomes angry. Once he realizes that the money will go to the nuns, he says that he finds them distasteful tenants and that he would be glad to be rid of them and refuses to make any deal to Leroy's disappointment.

When Mary Margaret is arrested for the suspected murder of Kathryn Nolan, Mr. Gold offers to be her attorney. Emma is skeptical of his motives and advises Mary Margaret not to trust him. Mary Margaret knows that she will need all the help that she can get and accepts his help regardless. When she tells him that she will be able to pay him, Mr. Gold says that he does not want her money and simply claims that he is "invested in her future".

Later, Emma goes to Mr. Gold for help, because she believes that Regina is framing Mary Margaret for Kathryn's murder. When Emma claims that she is not only willing to do anything but also go further, Mr. Gold agrees to help her and concedes that fighting Regina and winning will be tough—but he also adds that he believes Emma is more powerful than she realizes.

The morning of Mary Margaret's arraignment, Regina goes to the Sheriff's station and, to her astonishment, finds her still in her jail cell. She pulls aside Mr. Gold and asks him why Mary Margaret still there to which he states it was all thanks to Emma's resourcefulness.

Regina says that the only reason she made a deal with Mr. Gold was to "get results" - he assures her that she will, as Mary Margaret is still a murder suspect. It is later revealed that the deal they made consists of Regina getting the District Attorney to drop all charges against Mr. Gold (for abducting and beating Moe French) in exchange for him organizing something horrible happening to Kathryn which could be blamed on Mary Margaret. He makes this deal as he does not "relish the thought of spending anymore time in a cage".

In order to make the deal, Mr. Gold convinces Regina that Mary Margaret need never be placed on trial. In such a case there would always be a chance that she was found innocent. Instead they plot to have her escape her cell using one of Regina's skeleton keys (placed under the bed of her jail cell). Once she flees and tries to leave Storybrooke, she will inevitably suffer something terrible.

Later on, after a failed attempt at gaining the District Attorney's sympathy, Mary Margaret is carried away to the trial and Emma blames Mr. Gold for not trying harder to defend her, to which he replies to not lose faith as it was time for him to "work a little magic." Immediately afterwards Kathryn is found unconscious behind Granny's Diner by a terrified Ruby.

Using Henry as a distraction, August Booth tries to infiltrate Mr. Gold's office in the pawn shop looking for something. Once he is caught he feigns innocence but Mr. Gold gets suspicious. Later, a panicked Regina visits him and, seeing that all evidence points to her as the cause of the mess around Kathryn's disappearance, she blames Gold for not keeping his end of the deal.

He replies that he only broke one single deal in his life and that "it sadly wasn't this one". As the terms of their deal, it only mentions that something "tragic" was to happen to Kathryn, not necessarily death as Regina meant by such a euphemism, abduction qualified just as well.

During Mary Margaret's "Welcome Home" party, Emma asks Mr. Gold if he had anything to do with Kathryn's abduction and he asks her if she thinks that he is working with or against Regina. He asks about August to which she does not say much, other than him being a writer.

After leaving the party, Mr. Gold proceeds to break into August's room at Granny's Bed and Breakfast to find an accurate drawing of the magic dagger, which shocks him. Later, he finds the Mother Superior talking with August, and once he leaves he threatens her into telling him what they spoke of. She says he sought advice and counsel on how to approach his estranged father, whom he had not seen or spoken to in years.

Afterwards, it is Mr. Gold himself who seeks advice with Dr. Hopper and asks how to approach the man he now believes to be his son Baelfire. The doctor replies that, despite everything that may have happened between them, honesty is his best solution. Mr. Gold resignedly agrees.

Later August and Mr. Gold meet in the woods; Mr. Gold apologizes, August forgives him, and they both embrace each other. August asks about the dagger, the only proof he had that his father had not changed. Mr. Gold tells him he buried it in the woods shortly after Emma arrived to avoid Regina finding it, as "things were changing."

Once they dig it out, August tries to control him with it, but fails. Mr. Gold immediately realizes he cannot be Baelfire, as his son would never try to control him and much less with a dagger that he knew to be useless in a world where it could not harness magic. Mr. Gold threatens August and finds out he was trying to control him so that Rumplestiltskin's magic could cure him from an unmentioned disease which he is dying from.

A "little fairy" told him that getting Rumplestiltskin's magic was one of his two hopes for survival – his only other option was to get the savior to believe in the fairy tales behind Storybrooke, but he did not think he was going to live long enough to see that happen. Mr. Gold lets him go, as he is going to die either way and as such, if August succeeds in making Emma believe, Mr. Gold will "get something out of it."

Later, Regina goes to Mr. Gold for advice on how to get rid of Emma. He does not tell her anything, but she decides to use the sleeping curse on her to get rid of Emma permanently without breaking the dark curse. Mr. Gold is surprised and wonders where she got it. Regina believes through this plan she will finally win and have Henry all to herself. However, the plan backfires, and Henry eats the poisoned apple turnover instead.

Emma believes in the curse after this and decides to team up with Regina. They go to Mr. Gold for help, and he says that he had a bottle of true love stored in the belly of a beast. Emma eventually winds up fighting Maleficent in her dragon form.

When Emma defeats the dragon, Mr. Gold tricks her into giving him the true love potion. He goes back to his shop to hide it, and a customer stumbles inside. He tells her that the shop is closed, but stops when he sees who the customer is. She is Belle, whom Gold believed to have died in the Enchanted Forest. She tells him that Regina locked her up, and Gold promises to protect her.

He takes Belle to Storybrooke's wishing well, where on the way she remembers her old life. She tells him, "I remember... I love you" and to which he says he also loves her but that "there would be time for that later" and that he had something to do first. They proceed to the wishing well and he pours the true love potion down it. Suddenly, purple clouds start erupting from the well, and when she asks him what he is doing, he replies that he is bringing magic to Storybrooke. When Belle asks him why, he replies, "Because magic is power."

After the Curse
After the breaking of the curse, Belle pressures Mr. Gold to renounce vengeance on Regina Mills and others who have wronged him. He promises, "I will not kill Regina." His animosity, however, cannot be contained, and he marks Regina with a medallion, which he then uses to summon a wraith to hunt her down. When confronted by Belle, he insists that this keeps his promise, since he will not kill Regina, but the wraith will. Angered at his word games, Belle leaves, insisting she never wants to see him again. The wraith fails to suck out Regina's soul after a portal is opened with Jefferson's hat through which the creature is sucked into another world. Afterwards, Belle returns later, concluding that she needs to be a civilizing influence in his life.

Afterwards, Mr. Gold is seen in his shop when Regina storms in, looking through books and papers in the room. Regina tells him that she needs "the book" and Mr. Gold chuckles, stating "You need your Mommy's help." Mr. Gold refuses at first, stating that for Regina to regain her magic is "not in his best interest," but when Regina threatens to tell the truth of what happened to the Enchanted Forest, Mr. Gold uses magic, making the book appear and gives it to her, saying that the spells could be "rough on the system." As Regina storms out, he says that the way Regina is, holding the book, he can now see the resemblance to her mother. Later, David Nolan enters the shop, causing Mr. Gold to bemoan the wasted money of a closed sign. David asks for help using the hat to find its owner, which Mr. Gold agrees to, providing that he will be left alone. He agrees, asking for the same courtesy. Mr. Gold inquires about the commotion outside and David reveals that if anyone tries to leave Storybrooke they will lose all memories of their true selves, remembering only their Storybrooke identities. After David leaves, Mr. Gold reacts in a fit of anger, smashing the glass of his counters and displays. Mr. Gold then drives to the edge of Storybrooke and stares out at the border that binds him to Storybrooke.

Mr. Gold has not given up his goal to find his son and continues to practice magic. Belle discovers this and she asks him to explain what he is seeking to do. Mr. Gold only restates that "Magic is Power." Belle leaves the room and later leaves the house. Mr. Gold enlists the help of David Nolan to find Belle, however the people of Storybrooke are less than willing to help the man who has caused such misery. With the help of Ruby's skills in tracking, they follow Belle's trail to the flower shop owned by Moe French. Moe has kidnapped his daughter and arranged to have her cross the barrier so that she will forget about her true love and be safe from Mr. Gold's power. Mr. Gold uses magic to pull Belle back from the town border, but Belle has not changed her mind about his cowardice and tells Gold she does not ever want to see him again. Later, Mr. Gold sends Belle the key to the library and tells her she is welcome to stay in the caretaker's apartment upstairs. Belle says this will not cause her to change her mind, but Mr. Gold only says that he wants her to know the truth and explains the story of the loss of his son and that power has become a crutch that he cannot live without. He admits that he is a coward and has always been so. He says that he has lost so much that he loved, he could not bear to lose Belle without her knowing the truth. After saying goodbye to Belle, he turns to leave. Belle stops him, suggesting that they have a hamburger sometime. Later, Mr. Gold enters his basement where he has tied Smee up and asks him where his captain is. He learns that Jones escaped the curse and asks again where he is.

Mr. Gold is in his shop, polishing his items when Dr. Whale enters, carrying a cooler, which contains his severed arm. Placing the container in front of Mr. Gold, Mr. Gold quips that "charging an arm and a leg" is only a figure of speech. Dr. Whale asks Mr. Gold to restore his arm. Before Mr. Gold does, he questions Whale's purpose in bringing Daniel back. Dr. Whale comments only that he hoped if he brought Daniel back, perhaps she would be able to return Whale to his home. Mr. Gold shrugs at the futility of Dr. Whale's plan. Dr. Whale again asks Mr. Gold to fix his arm, but Mr. Gold first tells him to "Say it", meaning he wants Whale to admit that he needs magic. Once Dr. Whale has done so, Mr. Gold restores his arm.

Regina calls Mr. Gold to Mary Margaret's apartment to help Henry Mills as he is tortured by dreams where he is in a room on fire. Mr. Gold chastises Regina for knowing so very little about a curse she cast. Fiddling with various bottles in his case, he pours one bottle into a pendant. Handing it to Henry, he explains that the sleeping curse puts the sleeper in a place between life and death until they are woken. However, the potion will allow Henry some control over the dream and he will be able to come and go at will. As he hands it to Henry, Regina asks the price. Mr. Gold smiles wryly and says that she could never afford such a house call; however, he is doing this for Henry on his own.

Mr. Gold and Belle are enjoying a hamburger at Granny's Diner. Granny begins to insult him but he does not seem to mind very much so she walks away. They continue talking when Regina walks in. Granny gets worried about the two of them, but Regina assures her that they will be civil. Mr. Gold does not wish to speak to her, but she tells him that Cora is coming back to town and he tenses up. Belle asks who Cora is and Mr. Gold replies she will never have to meet her. Mr. Gold states to Regina that he can handle Cora, and Regina tells him that Cora tells it otherwise. She then tells Mr. Gold that the last time Cora and him went at it, Mr. Gold had nothing to protect. Now, she indicates that he has Belle.

Mr. Gold joins David, Regina, and Henry in the back of his pawn shop. He tells the group that there is a way to stop Cora, and that Henry will have to communicate this in the dream world to Aurora. He then sits next to Henry and tells him that the power that sealed the Dark One was not within the Quill that Cinderella used to trick him, but in the ink that comes from a squid that can only be found at the depths of the ocean, only reachable either by a mermaid or the Dark One. He tells Henry that in order to stop Cora, Emma and Mary Margaret must return to the palace ruins, go to his old cell, and retrieve the jar of ink. With that, Henry falls asleep.

Henry wakes up and reveals to the adults that he has been burned on his arm. A distraught Regina and David round on Mr. Gold, who informs them that the longer and deeper a person is in the dream world, the more effect it will have on that person in the real world. David and Regina refuse to let Henry go back into the dream world, and Mr. Gold asks then what their plan is to get the information across the dream world to Emma and Mary Margaret. David then volunteers to be placed under a sleeping curse. Mr. Gold rebukes him, saying that there is no way of knowing if he will ever wake up if he does this. David states he has faith in Mary Margaret, and that he knows a way will be found. Regina then brews up a Sleeping Curse and per Mr. Gold's instructions dips a spinning needle into the curse, causing the needle to become enchanted. Mr. Gold then puts it on his spinning wheel, and wishes David good luck before David pricks his finger on it, causing him to fall asleep.

During the time David is asleep, Mr. Gold speaks with Regina as to what may happen if Cora should come through the portal. Not believing that Emma and Mary Margaret will defeat Cora, he convinces Regina that they should take steps to ensure Cora will not be able to make it through. They travel to the mines where the magic diamonds have been found. Mr. Gold uses the wand of the Fairy Godmother to siphon off the magic within the diamonds. Then, he and Regina travel to the well in Storybrooke, certain that the portal will open from here. Using magic, the well is magically protected to kill whoever enters through it. However, Regina proceeds to undo the magic when Henry convinces her to trust in Mary Margaret, Emma and him.

Emma and Mary Margaret make it through and return to Mr. Gold's shop where Mary Margaret awakens David. Emma speaks to Mr. Gold about his writing her name within the cell he had been imprisoned in, stating that he had been pulling the strings from the beginning. Mr. Gold, however, states that he did not create her, he only made use of who and what Emma was: the product of True Love. When Emma reveals that Cora could not remove her heart, Mr. Gold states that it was because of magic that is within her, not because of his involvement.

In the aftermath of what seems to be the murder of Archie Hopper, Belle and Mr. Gold are at the shop and about to share lunch when Emma, Mary Margaret and David come in to try to see if Regina is truly to blame for the death. Mr. Gold denies any involvement but states that it is possible to discover the truth. Using a dream catcher, Mr. Gold instructs Emma on how to extract the memory of what happened in Archie's office from Pongo, Archie's dog. In Pongo's memory, Emma sees that Regina is there.

Mr. Gold drags William Smee to the town line in an attempt to see if his latest potion will allow for him to cross over. When he sees the potion successfully prevents Smee from losing his memory, Mr. Gold returns to Belle the news, but that he only has enough for one person to cross the line. While Mr. Gold is preparing to leave, Belle calls him in a panic, although the connection is not a good one since she is hiding inside an elevator. When Mr. Gold arrives, he learns that Hook is in Storybrooke and he leads Belle back to the shop. When they enter, the shop is destroyed and the shawl that belongs to Baelfire is missing. Mr. Gold realizes that Hook has tricked him and has taken the shawl to prevent him from leaving. Instructing Belle on how to use a gun to protect herself, he leaves to seek out Smee and learn where Hook is hiding. Smee reveals that Hook did not tell him where he was hiding and Mr. Gold states that it is because Hook knows him to be a rat. Mr. Gold then turns Smee into a rat, but does not kill him.

At the harbor, Mr. Gold finds that Belle has located Hook's ship. Furious that Hook attempted to kill Belle, he begins to beat Hook. It is only when Belle begs him to not give in and be the monster that Mr. Gold stops and leaves with Belle. They travel to the town line and Mr. Gold succeeds in crossing over. Belle promises to wait for Mr. Gold to return with his son. But Hook appears, shooting Belle and causing her to fall over the town line and lose her memories. Mr. Gold is prepared to destroy Hook with a magical fireball when a car appears. Mr. Gold rolls himself and Belle away while Hook collides with the crashing vehicle.

Mr. Gold is concerned by Belle's injuries and uses his magic to heal her injuries. This further confuses an already terrified Belle. When she is admitted to the hospital, Mr. Gold tries to use true love's kiss to return her memories. She wakes up screaming and still does not remember anything. Mr. Gold is saddened it did not work and leaves her room.

Due to the injuries the outsider has sustained, he is bleeding internally. Dr. Whale asks Mr. Gold to use his magic to heal the outsider's wounds. Mr. Gold tells him that he does not owe him anything and he wants the outsider to die, fearing the outsider will expose magic. Later on, Mr. Gold is in his shop looking at the chipped cup. A box then appears, and he soon realizes that Cora has entered his shop. She offers him the contents of the box, a magical globe that he can use to find Baelfire. She informs him of her plan to reunite with Regina; the two make a truce and seal it with a kiss.

Mr. Gold enchants the chipped cup, in order for Belle to remember. He goes to her hospital room and gives it to her, he is unsuccessful, as Belle throws the cup at the wall and breaks it. He is heartbroken and leaves her room. He is seen using the globe given to him by Cora. He pricks his finger on the end of it and this blood forms a map on the globe. A dark area on the map is the location of Baelfire. He shows up at Mary Margaret's apartment and reminds Emma of the favor she owes him. He warns them that if Belle is hurt while he is gone, he will kill them. He makes Emma leave with him at noon to find Baelfire.

Mr. Gold returns to the apartment to collect Emma and learns that Henry will also be going. Mr. Gold does not like this, but Emma says that she will not leave Henry with Cora in Storybrooke. David asks Mr. Gold to please protect his family and Mr. Gold agrees. They drive out of town and the scarf around Gold's neck works to protect his memories. They drive to Logan International Airport in Boston. While going through security, Henry asks Mr. Gold if he has ever been out of Storybrooke. When Mr. Gold says no, Henry muses that it must be difficult for him to be without magic. Security tells Mr. Gold to put his cane and scarf on the belt to go through the scanner. Mr. Gold objects to this, fearing that he will lose his memory. Emma tells him that she will not let that happen. Mr. Gold removes the scarf and begins to feel his memories slip. He passes through security and Emma returns the scarf. Mr. Gold has kept his memories.

As they wait at their departure gate, Mr. Gold goes to the restroom and, in a fit of rage, pounds a toilet roll dispenser. He cuts his knuckles but is not able to heal his hand. Mr. Gold boards the plane with Emma and Henry. He continues to act nervous and Emma assures him they will find his son.

Mr. Gold, Emma, and Henry step out of a Manhattan yellow cab onto the pavement in front of an apartment complex. Mr. Gold states with an uncomfortable expression on his face that this is definitely the place where his son is, and Emma picks up this means his son is not expecting him. They go inside where they see a list of the apartment resident room numbers and names, and call buttons for each. Henry asks if any of the names mean anything to him, but Mr. Gold doesn't have any idea which one is Baelfire. Emma takes notice of one apartment room numbers, 407, that has no name listed on it, and promptly pushes the button with the firm belief that person might be his son. The intercom switches on, and Emma pretends to have a UPS package for the person. Very abruptly, the intercom goes dead, and Henry wonders if she should have said she is from Fed-Ex. They hear a shuffling noise from above, and hurry outside in time to see a hooded man making his way down the fire escape, jump down and run away in the opposite direction away from them. Mr. Gold pleas for Emma to chase down him as he himself cannot due to the limp in his leg, and to use the favor she owes him—to make his son talk to him. Emma takes off after the man.

Mr. Gold and Henry decide to wait outside the apartment complex for Emma to come back. Henry believes Emma will catch him because she is good at finding people. Mr. Gold notes his son has been running for a long time, and it's just as well he is running this time. Henry states at least they found him, to which Mr. Gold agrees with. Henry thanks Mr. Gold for buying him the hot dog, and in turn Mr. Gold gives him his gratitude for bringing Emma to Storybrooke. He explains to Henry that had Emma never come to Storybrooke and broke the curse, he might have never had the opportunity to leave the town to find his son. He praises Henry as a remarkable young man. Henry goes on to say he forgave Emma for giving him up, and he is sure his own son will forgive him, too. Mr. Gold is unsure since the two scenarios are not the same circumstances. Henry stays positive and tells Mr. Gold all that matters is he is here, and wants his son back.

They go back inside the apartment lobby. Henry notices Mr. Gold is nervous about meeting his son, and talks about how excited he was to meet Emma. Mr. Gold says he has more life experience than Henry, and things often do not work out the way someone wants them to. Henry recalls the information in his story book shows Rumplestiltskin can see the future, and wonders why doesn't he just see into the future to see what is going to happen. Mr. Gold tells Henry that seeing the inevitable can be a terrible price; the future is like a puzzle with missing pieces—difficult to read and never what a person assumes it to be. Emma returns, and regretfully reports his son got away from her, though she is lying. She did catch up with Mr. Gold's son only to find out he is her ex-boyfriend, Neal Cassidy. She lies to Mr. Gold because it is Neal's wish not to be found by his father, and also because she is torn on whether to tell Henry about Neal being his actual biological father.

Mr. Gold feels frustrated with the lack of progress in finding his son, and doesn't want to give up. He random pushes all the call buttons in the apartment call sheet, and somehow one of the residents buzz open the door for him. Emma does not want him breaking into someone else's apartment room, but Mr. Gold ignores her and hobbles up to room 407. She tries to dissuade him by saying his son might not even come back to the apartment. He doesn't care and pick locks into the apartment. Mr. Gold explores the apartment for clues. Reluctantly, Emma goes in with Henry. She sees the dream catcher she and Neal found in that hotel room all those years ago, and takes it down from the window to examine. Mr. Gold asks if she has found anything, and in a dazed, she says it's nothing. But, Mr. Gold notices the odd look on her face and thinks she knows something she is not telling him. Though she tries her best to deny it, Mr. Gold is getting angry at whatever she is holding back. She tells Henry to wait in the bathroom when things a little tense, and Emma and Mr. Gold proceed to have a heated argument. Things begin to get out of hand when he makes threats against her, and breaks a chair, but Neal bursts through the apartment door commanding him to stop.

Shocked at his son's sudden appearance, Mr. Gold falls against a wall for support. Still unable to believe it, Mr. Gold asks if he is Baelfire, and Neal gives an affirmative nod. He wants to know if Neal came back for him, but he says he only did to make sure Mr. Gold did not harm Emma. Mr. Gold hopes to talk, though Neal is quick to ask Mr. Gold to get out of the apartment. Emma intervenes, but Neal refuses to relent. Hearing his son call Emma by her name, he realizes the two know each other. Before either of them can explain, Henry wanders back in the room calling for his mother, Emma. Henry looks to Emma for answers, and asks if the man is Baelfire. Neal looks shocked that Emma has a child, and questions who he is. Emma states he is her son, and as she takes Henry back to the bathroom, Neal demands to know how old he is. Henry shouts back that he is eleven; clearly confused why everyone is yelling. Neal puts the pieces together and figures out Henry is his son. Henry, still not understanding, recounts the story Emma told him about his father being a firefighter. Caught in the lie, Emma admits to Henry Neal is indeed his father. In shock, Henry climbs out to the fire escape, and Emma follows behind.

Mr. Gold and Neal are left alone. Again, Mr. Gold asks for a chance to speak. Neal wants nothing to do with his father, but Mr. Gold insists because Emma's deal with him is not fulfilled until Neal talks to him. He gives Mr. Gold three minutes. Mr. Gold tries to explain himself to Neal who is less than receptive. Mr. Gold starts off by telling him there is no worse pain than regret and Neal responds that abandonment is worse. Mr. Gold wants to make it up to Neal and that if he returns with him to Storybrooke, he could return Neal to fourteen years of age and they can make up for lost him. Neal is disturbed by the idea, but Mr. Gold says he only wants another chance and that Neal loved him once. Neal tells him that was because Mr. Gold was once a good man. Mr. Gold claims he wants to be that man again and asks for another chance. In frustration, Neal recalls how it felt when his father let him go into that portal alone, and for years that's the one thing he could never forget. Mr. Gold let him go all those years ago, and Neal states he is letting go of him now. He tries to apologize, but Neal will not hear it. Coldly, he says his time is up.

Emma comes back from the fire escape, and says Henry wants to meet him. Neal goes to Henry, and as the two chat, Mr. Gold looks out the window at both of them. His expression is unreadable.

Neal and Henry walk on the streets of New York City with Emma and Mr. Gold trailing behind them. They listen to Neal and Henry have a very animated discussion about New York style pizza. Emma and Mr. Gold wait outside as the twosome go inside a pizza store. Mr. Gold wants Emma to try and convince Neal to come back to Storybrooke, but she says she already fulfilled her one favor to him. He attempts to make her see it could be a sticky situation considering Henry once left Storybrooke just to find Emma, and who is to say he won't do the same just to see Neal. Emma firmly says she lied to protect Henry, but Mr. Gold compares her likeness to Regina. Neal and Henry come back out of the store carrying some pizza. Henry asks Emma if they can go back to the apartment to get his camera to take pictures at a museum Neal knows of. She agrees to it, and asks him how the pizza is. To her shock, he says within earshot not only herself, but Neal and Mr. Gold, that it is "delicious, cheesy and doesn't lie".

Once again, Emma and Mr. Gold are left behind to wait when they all reach the apartment as Neal and Henry go back up to the apartment to retrieve the camera. Out of nowhere, Hook enters into the lobby and throws Emma to the side. He pins Mr. Gold against the lobby gate and stabs him with his hook. Mr. Gold can do nothing but lay there in extreme pain and surprise. Hook is gleeful of getting his revenge, and spews his hatred at him for taking away his happiness—Milah—and now he will exact vengeance by taking Mr. Gold's life. As Hook moves to bury the hook into Mr. Gold's chest again, Emma knocks him out. Emma hurries to look at Mr. Gold's wound just as Neal and Henry run back down to see what the commotion is about. Neal recognizes Hook, and is aghast at Mr. Gold's injury. Mr. Gold knows the poison is incurable, and Emma proposes the only way to save him is to get back to Storybrooke, where magic exists, as soon as possible. Mr. Gold says the quickest vehicle to use would be Hook's ship. Neal agrees to steer it.

Mr. Gold is taken aboard the Jolly Roger and lays in a quickly deteriorating state while Neal and Henry steer the ship towards Storybrooke's dock. Concerned, Emma checks up on him, and asks him about the power of his dagger and the means Cora and Regina have in controlling him with it so he will kill everyone. He affirms it is possible, and concedes Emma's hopes are now pinned on him bleeding to death to prevent the latter from happening. She justifies because they are now family—via Henry and Neal's father and son connection—she will save him, which Mr. Gold highly doubts won't have much success.

Making it into the dock's port, David, Mary Margaret and Ruby hurry forward to help the hobbling and weakened Mr. Gold onto David's truck. David is worried Cora is controlling him with the dagger right at this moment, but Mr. Gold gives assurance if that was the case, everyone would likely already be dead. He urgently requests they take him to his shop, which they do, and Mr. Gold is guided to the very back of the shop where he rests lying down.

Since he is unable to be physically mobile in his current state, Mr. Gold gives directions to Emma to find a glass jar. She comes back with it, but is puzzled there is nothing inside, or at least she thinks so, until shaking the jar and hearing something clink inside. Emma reaches into the jar and pulls out something invisible. Mr. Gold informs her it is invisible chalk, and she must use it to draw a line by the front door, and also heeds for David and Mary Margaret to make preparations for battle with Cora and Regina. As Mary Margaret turns to walk out of the room, Mr. Gold pleas for a warmer blanket. She fishes through a cabinet to grab a blanket, but halts when she sees at the very top of the shelf is a familiar looking candle. Disturbed, Mary Margaret asks why he has it. Mr. Gold glances at her with a knowing look; as he intentionally meant for her to find the candle, and replies he was keeping it for a rainy day.

Mr. Gold reasons the candle can save his life, but Mary Margaret thinks it's far-fetched she could use the candle to help him when she never went through with harnessing the candle to keep her mother from dying. He points out she is no longer a young child, and for once, their interests align—they both want Cora dead. Mary Margaret is still hesitant and afraid of the repercussions of murder, though Mr. Gold heeds if Cora is dead, she'll never come back, either. This seems to open her mind to the idea a little, and she asks how it'd work since the victim's name has to be said while the candle is held over the intended victim. He says an alternative is whispering the name over the person's heart, which fits perfectly with Cora's situation since her heart is stored in Regina's vault and not inside her chest. Mr. Gold advises she curse the heart, place it back in Cora's chest and death will take Cora away. Even so, Mary Margaret toys with the idea of taking Cora's heart and turning the situation into her own favor rather than Mr. Gold's by manipulating Cora via her heart and instructing her to kill Mr. Gold so both issues will be resolved. Mr. Gold plays the final card in his hand to sway Mary Margaret's will by disclosing Henry would not like it if his grandfather died, especially at the hands of his grandmother, Mary Margaret.

Emma promptly returns to notify Mr. Gold she's done what he has asked while Mary Margaret exits the room. He commands Emma to cast a protection spell, which she has no idea how to do. After persuading her to try, Emma closes her eyes and attempts it, but an impatient Mr. Gold states casting a spell is not about intellect, but emotions. He counsels Emma to concentrate her mind on the reason why she casting the spell and who benefits in protection by her actions. She follows his line of words, and successfully puts up a barrier outside the shop.

A fight breaks out in the shop when Cora and Regina tear down the barrier with their combined powers. In a moment of distraction for Cora, Emma pushes Regina into her sending both of them toppling into the glass displays. Emma and Neal hurry into the back room where she puts up another barrier to keep the mother daughter duo. Neal and Emma wait on guard to protect Mr. Gold as the barrier is slowly chipped away by Cora. Mr. Gold is beginning to accept he will die, and perhaps it's for the best. Neal says he won't die, but Mr. Gold is already giving up, and asks for the phone so he can speak with Belle one last time. Belle picks up in her hospital room, and once more attests she can't remember who he is. Despite that, Mr. Gold admits to her he is dying, and in a moving moment, gives his last words to Belle. He tells her the person inside her that he knew; a hero who helped her people, a beautiful woman who loved an ugly man, and a person who sees good in people even those without good. Mr. Gold knows she doesn't remember who she is, but asks her to look in the mirror, and see the person he just described is her, and then abruptly hangs up.

Neal is astonished Mr. Gold could be so emotional and loving, while he states love has always been in him; hence the reason why he spent centuries searching for Neal. Neal is still disappointed his father went back on their deal. Mr. Gold fully admits he made the wrong choice, and reaches his hand out to him in reconciliation. Though he is still angry about the past, Neal grabs his hand tightly and the bond between Mr. Gold and his son is strengthened in a time of despair and uncertainty.

The barrier finally crumbles, and Cora saunters in with the purpose to kill Mr. Gold with his dagger. Neal and Emma ready themselves to stand in her way, but with a wave of her hand, she teleports them away to a road by the forest. With no more obstructions, she approaches a dying Mr. Gold. Just breaths away from death, Mr. Gold asks Cora the question he has always pondered—did she truly ever love him. For a brief flicker of a moment, Cora lets down her guard and tenderly caresses his face as she acknowledges that, yes, he was the only man she ever loved, and that's why she had to take out her own heart because he is her weakness. Cora gets up to stand over him and raises the dagger to plunge into his chest, but is interrupted by Regina pushing the heart back into her mother's chest.

Cora drops the dagger on the floor, and Mr. Gold is shocked to see his disappearing name on it begin to sliver back into existence. Regina and Cora share a short happy moment until a wound appears in Cora's chest. Mr. Gold checks his own chest wound and sees it's completely healed. He realizes Mary Margaret did indeed cast the candle curse, and with his strength renewed, picks up his dagger as Cora dies in Regina's arms. Hysterical, Regina asks what is happening, but Mr. Gold remarks her mother did her no favors. She begins to blame Mr. Gold for killing her mother, but suddenly, Mary Margaret bursts in shouting for her not to put the heart back in, and Regina concludes who the real murder is.

Mr. Gold comes to Regina's mausoleum to pay his respects at Cora's coffin. Regina is extremely upset and asks him to leave thinking he has come to mock her, but instead he says Cora has a place in his heart, too. She doesn't believe his words and accuses him of exchanging her mother's life to save his own. The actual person Regina blames is Mary Margaret, and swears to make her pay. Mr. Gold has doubts she will go through with it as the price of her vengeance is Henry, and suggests she give up on this thirst for revenge because anything that comes out of it will not be happiness. Regina stubbornly insists it will, but Mr. Gold calls attention to the fact not even the curse made her happy, and left a hole in her heart. He speaks of Cora, who understood that both love and power were not two things that could co-exist if she wanted one more than the other, and if Regina desires revenge, she will lose Henry for good.

Mr. Gold decides to warn David and Emma about Regina's plans to destroy Mary Margaret. Due to David's insistence that he owes his life to Mary Margaret, Mr. Gold agrees to help them to put a stop to Regina. He and David reenter Regina's mausoleum and discover the mess strewn all over the room while Regina was busy searching for something. Mr. Gold notes these are Cora's belongings, and more suspicious is certain spell ingredients are missing.

They go back to the apartment where Mr. Gold concludes Regina is gathering ingredients to cast the curse of the empty-hearted, which will give her exactly what she wants. The curse will make Regina think she is loved, and her intended target to use it on is Henry so he will be forced to love her. Incidentally, the curse's main prerequisites include the heart of the person the caster hates the most, which makes Mary Margaret the first choice. Mr. Gold claims giving them this information has fulfilled his end of the bargain in helping them, but David and Emma believe otherwise as both Mary Margaret and Henry's lives are at stake. Mr. Gold proposes an end to a bloody feud must come by shedding more blood, which David and Emma agree with, but Henry objects to the idea of them killing his mother. Upset, he runs out of the apartment, and Emma follows while telling David they need to keep Henry as far away from Regina as possible. Mr. Gold assents that Cora was known to be dangerous for not having a heart, but Regina is more of a menace for actually having a heart.

Regina breaks into the apartment and prepares to rip out Mary Margaret's heart, but is shortly stopped by Mr. Gold. With no way around the situation, she is forced to leave, though she warns Mary Margaret he can't guard her forever. Later, he receives a phone call notifying him Regina destroyed the curse herself, so Mary Margaret is no longer in danger. On his way out, Mary Margaret asks how he is able to live with himself despite all the evil things he's done. Mr. Gold says it's best to keep clinging onto the belief he did the right thing, and to keep thinking so until the mantra becomes reality.

Mr. Gold has a dream of Henry blowing out candles out on his birthday cake in his shop, and Emma, Neal, Mary Margaret, David as well as himself being present for the celebration. Then, Mr. Gold kindly allows Henry to pick one object from the shop that will be his birthday present. Henry spies a rack of wands, and picks the one he likes the most. Because he doesn't know how to use it, Mr. Gold demonstrates for him with a whisk of the wand that makes it glow and emit sparks. As Henry is completely entranced in watching the movement of the wand, Mr. Gold suddenly uses the wand on the boy turning him into a lifelike statue. Emma, Neal, Mary Margaret and David are shocked, and when asked why he would do such a thing, Mr. Gold states he has no choice as the boy will be his undoing. Then, he takes his cane and smashed the Henry statue to bits, and only then does he awaken from the nightmare.

The next day, Mr. Gold watches from a distance as Neal and Henry play with wooden swords and spar each other in the park. Regina comes by, and he wonders what she is doing here. She turns her line of inquiry to why her son is with his son. Wryly, Mr. Gold purposely lets it slip Neal is Henry's biological father. Regina is stunned to learn this, and that Mr. Gold has a blood relation to her son. She is quite upset, and follows as he walks away; demanding an explanation and is not buying that he did not know and that it's all just a coincidence. Mr. Gold wistfully replies there is no such thing as coincidences; only fate. Regina takes satisfaction in knowing he won't ever be accepted by others—not even his own son—because he always chooses the darkness in his heart.

Mr. Gold surprises Belle at the hospital. She is happy and relieved to see he is alive and well. He professes his love for her is real, and she believes him. Belle thinks whatever past she did have he was also a part of it. She brings his attention her recollection of him healing her shoulder wound; something Mr. Gold is not keen on openly discussing yet since her memories have not yet returned, so he just tells her it will make more sense once she regains her memory. Mr. Gold makes it known he desperately needs her because she is the person who brought out the good in him, so for his and her sake, he will help her remember herself.

Belle begins to pack up her things while Mr. Gold goes to make sure she can be discharged from the hospital. When he returns to her room, she is gone. In a state of frantic panic, he calls over the nurse, who has no idea where she could have gone. Upon further inspection of the empty bed, Mr. Gold finds a matchstick card with a picture of the town bar, The Rabbit Hole, on it.

He visits the bar, and at the counter, describes the exact description of Belle to the bartender. The bartender is puzzled, and says who he just described fits not Belle, but a woman named "Lacey". Mr. Gold inquiries who that is, and the man points in the direction if the pool table where "Lacey" is playing billiards. Anxious and confused, Mr. Gold goes to the pool table where the person he knew as Belle introduces herself to him as Lacey. She recalls he is the man who visited her at the hospital, and gleefully says she remembers who she is now.

Unable to process all this, he goes to the person he knows is responsible for Belle's false memories—Regina. She declares she can do nothing about Lacey's current state, so Mr. Gold promises to have Belle back by winning her heart. Regina finds that's not likely, and makes him further enraged by wishing him good luck with Lacey.

To win back Belle, who has taken on the persona of Lacey, Mr. Gold seeks advice from David at the diner. He wants to know how David overcame his false memories, and still won the heart of Mary Margaret. David advises him to show Belle the person she fell in love with. They go back to the bar and walk in to see a man, Keith, trying to flirt with Lacey at the counter. David sits nearby to listen in as Mr. Gold tries to converse with Lacey, who gets up to change the bar music. David pushes him to just ask her out. Mustering up his courage, Mr. Gold approaches Lacey and explains he wants to get to know her better, so they should go out on a date. Lacey is unsure as she's heard some bad things about him, but he implores to be given a chance, so she accepts. They agree to meet up at the diner.

Mr. Gold and Lacey are seated at a table booth and looking at the menus to order dinner. Mr. Gold nearly drops his menu in nervousness, though when Lacey queries if he's nervous, he denies it. Granny drops by to take their orders, and is surprised to see Lacey dressed as if she raided Ruby's closet. Mr. Gold avoids the topic by ordering from the menu two hamburgers, though Lacey changes her order afterwards; later stating she's never been much of a hamburger person. While they are waiting for their food, Lacey admits he is not what he expected, and doesn't understand why people in town are so afraid of him as he doesn't seem like he would hurt anyone, which pleases Mr. Gold. She goes on to say no one can truly know what's in a person's heart until you truly know him. Mr. Gold is shocked as she once said those exact words in the past a long time ago, and accidentally spills wine on Lacey's dress, which she hurries to the bathroom to clean up.

After some time, Lacey is still not back. Mr. Gold goes to check up on her, but does not find her in the bathroom. He heads out into the alley, and thinks he sees Keith trying to assault Lacey. He shoves him off her, and angrily deters him away. Mr. Gold checks to see if Lacey is okay, and realizes she intentionally came here to be with Keith. She admits to it, and that the date was not going well despite Mr. Gold thinking otherwise. Lacey explains she only agreed to the date because she felt sorry for him, but this is not her style and they wouldn't work together because he is still thinking about Belle.

A brokenhearted Mr. Gold wanders the alley, and gets frustrated and annoyed when Keith comes back to apologize. Darkly, Mr. Gold remarks he has been trying so hard to be good—for Lacey's sake—but now there's no merit in playing this part. He uses magic to rip out Keith's tongue, and bashes him to the floor with his cane. Lacey hears the commotion and comes from around the corner to investigate. When Mr. Gold notices her standing there, Lacey comments he really is as dark as people say. He doesn't try to hide what he's doing, and bitterly remarks he can be darker. Lacey expresses relief he is not who she thought he was, and is glad because of it. Sensing she is accepting the darkness in him, Mr. Gold turns back to Keith and continues with the beating while Lacey watches from behind with a mischievous smile.

That same night, after Mr. Gold is done with Keith, he and Lacey stroll out into the parking lot side by side while chatting animatedly.

Mr. Gold gets a potion from Leroy that was made by Mother Superior to help Belle regain her memories and they are later seen sharing a kiss before he along with Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Regina and Hook leave for Neverland to rescue Henry from Greg and Tamara.

Trivia

 * His name, Mr. Gold, is a reference to both the original fairytale and Mr. Gold's Enchanted Forest persona, in both, Rumplestiltskin is able to spin straw into gold.
 * He has been called an imp, which is a reference to the Rumplestiltskin fairytale.
 * Like Rumplestiltskin, Mr. Gold treats names as important. In many cultures and some beliefs about magic, to know someone or something's "true name" gives you power over that person or thing.
 * The surname "Gold" is of Old English origin derived from the word "gold" that was often used as an endearment or show of affection.
 * On Twitter, episode writer Jane Espenson stated a first name has never been established for Mr. Gold.
 * Henry Mills did not at first know what who his counterpart was.
 * He has a noticeable limp and walks with a cane, much like he did before he was cursed with the Dark One's abilities—being in a world without magic, Mr. Gold is unable to use his powers to placate his disability.
 * He has a few gold teeth.
 * He greatly dislikes nuns.
 * He owns and operates a pawn shop where he holds a number of objects from the Enchanted Forest.
 * Mr. Gold is a licensed attorney, a quality which allows him to broker many of his Storybrooke deals, and alludes to having enough legal experience to represent Mary Margaret in a criminal trial.

Appearances

 * Mr. Gold's name appears on the list Tamara has in "The Evil Queen".