August Booth


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 * This article focuses on August Booth's Storybrooke alias. For his Enchanted Forest identity, see Pinocchio.
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"If you need evidence for everything, Emma, you're going to find yourself stuck in one place for a long time."

- August to Emma

August Wayne Booth is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He makes his debut in the ninth episode of the first season. He is portrayed by Eion Bailey, and is the Storybrooke alias of Pinocchio.

History
For events occurring before the casting of the Dark Curse, see Pinocchio.

Before the Curse
August arrives in the Land Without Magic via the Magic Wardrobe constructed by his father, Geppetto, coming through in a tree in a forest. Shortly afterward, the infant Emma Swan arrives as well, and the boy takes the baby to a nearby diner. He gives a false story, claiming he found Emma on the side of the road. The two are put into an orphanage. ("The Stranger")

During the Curse
While in the orphanage, the young August does his best to take care of Emma to keep his promise to his father. One day, as he repairs Emma's crib, the tools he is using are taken away by the man running the orphanage, and August is harshly scolded. Later, another boy approaches August, telling him that he and some other children were able to steal enough money to leave the orphanage. He asks if August wants to go with them. The boy recalls the promise he made to Geppetto about taking care of Emma. However, when the older boy tells him they can't take care of a baby, August breaks his promise and leaves with the group of children, abandoning Emma at the orphanage. ("The Stranger")

Many years later, August catches Neal Cassidy in Portland after Neal and Emma successfully pull off a heist of watches that were stolen by Neal. He tells Neal that if he truly cares for Emma, he will leave her to her destiny and not allow her to be caught up in his life. Neal at first refuses, saying he loves Emma. August states that Neal does not believe him, but tells Neal that he will show him something that will change his mind. August goes to the back of his motorcycle where there is a wooden box. He opens it, showing it to Neal. Whatever is inside shakes Neal to his core, and he listens to August before running off and framing Emma for the theft.

A few months later, August meets up with Neal in Vancouver. Neal is torn over leaving Emma, and wants to know she is all right. August states that she was sentenced to eleven months in jail and is in a minimum security prison in Phoenix. Neal wants to go to her, but August refuses to reveal her location and reminds Neal of his deal. Neal then tells August to at least give Emma the yellow bug and the money he got from the stolen watches. August reluctantly agrees, and when Neal asks for him to let him know if something changes in Emma's life where he can be a part of it, August states he will send him a postcard. August sends Emma the keys to the car while she is still in jail, but the money is not in the envelope; leaving the impression that August took it. ("Tallahassee")

August Booth was in Phuket, Thailand when Emma Swan decided to stay in Storybrooke. Describing it as a "beautiful, amazing island full of pleasures" and the "perfect place to lose oneself," August had apparently been there for quite some time.

At 8:15 P.M. in Storybrooke, the time when time started moving again in town, 8:15 A.M. in Phuket, August was awakened to a shooting pain in his leg, which was when he had began to turn back to wood. He is reminded of his supposed duty of making the savior believe before her 28th birthday so she could break the curse, which he had neglected.

Some time later, August rides into Storybrooke on his motorcycle, where he meets Sheriff Emma and Henry Mills for the first time. He asks them where he can find a place to stay, and Emma Swan directs him to Granny's Bed and Breakfast. Before he drives off, she asks him what he said his name was, to which he replies that he never gave it. ("True North")

The next morning, he is repairing his motorbike in front of the mayor's house, and Henry comes out to talk to him. August deflects most of the boy's questions and drives off, but not before Regina Mills spots him first. She asks Henry who he was, but her son does not answer her.

Later, due to Regina's request to learn more about this "stranger," Emma questions him at Granny's Diner, while he is drinking coffee. They have several minutes of a back and forth banter, in which he taunts her about the wooden box he carries around, but eventually agrees to show her what is inside if she will let him buy her a drink sometime.

She agrees to this, and he opens the box to reveal a typewriter. Upon further inquiry, he reveals that he is a writer and that he came to Storybrooke because it was full of inspiration. As he gets up to leave, Emma asks him about the drink he promised her. He grins and says "sometime," then walks out the door. ("7:15 A.M.")

After Henry's castle is destroyed, August takes the storybook from its hiding place and brings it back to his room at Granny's. ("Fruit of the Poisonous Tree")

Later, he and Emma run into each other at Granny's Diner. August asks Emma out for that drink he promised her and says he knows a good watering hole. At first, she is reluctant, but after some encouragement from Granny and August telling her what his name was, she agrees, and he takes her to a "wishing well" that, according to legend, has magical water that could restore a lost item to a person.

He is later seen "repairing" Henry's storybook, adding the story of Pinocchio to it (although Henry doesn't find this out until later). The next day, Emma finds the storybook as she is brushing leaves off of her car. August is seen watching her from around the corner as she picks it up, hinting that he might have placed it there on purpose. ("What Happened to Frederick")

A few days later, he is talking to Ruby at Granny's Diner, telling her about his adventures while traveling. He tells her about visiting Nepal and how their temples were infested with lemurs. When Ruby inquires about his adventures further, her grandmother calls her over impatiently. August is silent as Ruby confronts her grandmother and quits the diner. ("Red-Handed")

Many days later, after Ruby and her grandmother reconcile, August finds Henry poring over his storybook. They have a quick discussion about Mary Margaret Blanchard's arrest over Kathryn Nolan's disappearance, and August reveals that the storybook's tales just might be true.

This excites Henry, and the mysterious writer says that he has come back to Storybrooke to help Emma believe in Operation Cobra. When Henry tells him that he wants to find proof of Mary Margaret's innocence, August implies that he should look in the book for answers, and leaves the diner. ("Heart of Darkness")

In a deleted scene of the episode, August is seen sitting at Emma's table. He says he would like to ask her out again but knows it is not the best time for her because she was the lead investigator of her roommate's case and Emma agrees with him. He still offers to buy her a drink and Ruby goes to get it for her. He notices that she cannot stop looking at Regina Mills and asks what she plans on doing. Emma wants to give her a piece of her mind but it has not been working out lately. August gives her the advice to try a new approach. She agrees, but the problem is she is the "go over there and give her a piece of my mind" type. August replies that while he loves that about Emma, there are other ways to get what you want. Then he tells her about an advice he got from a toreador he met in Pamplona: "Don't let them see you coming." August gets up and leaves the money to pay for Emma's drink. ("Heart of Darkness")

August is later seen talking to Emma about Kathryn and tells her to go over the case again starting from the point of view she has now, a cover up by Regina. They go back to the scene where Ruby found Kathryn's heart. Emma finds a chipped piece of what seems to be a shovel. Later that night August and Emma, with the help of Henry, enter Mayor Mills' garage.

Emma and August put the chipped shovel piece onto a shovel in Regina's garage and it fits perfectly. Emma tries to confront Regina about it the next day but the shovel had been replaced with a new one. Emma later blames August for telling Regina about the shovel, when he denies her accusation, Emma implies that he is lying. However, after finding a "bug" in a vase left for her by Sidney Glass, Emma finds August and apologizes. They are interrupted by Ruby's scream, who tells them, "She's in the alley." Upon further investigation, they find Kathryn Nolan alive in the alley. ("The Stable Boy")

The next day, August is seen sleeping in his room at Granny's inn. He seems to be in pain when his left leg appears to lock up on him, and he tumbles off the bed and onto the floor. August then drags himself over to the desk and calls someone, stating that "it" is taking too long and they need to accelerate the plan. Soon after, he is talking to Henry outside Mr. Gold's shop and is revealed to be a part of Operation Cobra. He sends Henry into the shop as a decoy while he pokes around in Mr. Gold's office. After a brief search, August is confronted by Mr. Gold, who begins to question who August Booth really is. During the party at Mary Margaret's, August tells Henry that the search was unsuccessful.

After investigating August further, Mr. Gold confronts him under the assumption that August is actually his lost son, Baelfire. Mr. Gold then apologizes to August and confesses that he never should have let him go. He tells August he has been looking for him ever since and asks him for forgiveness. After embracing, August asks about the dagger, leading Mr. Gold to tell him that he buried the dagger so Regina would not find out. After unearthing the dagger, August takes it and points it at Mr. Gold, attempting to use an incantation against him. Realizing that August is not his son, Mr. Gold threatens him with the dagger and demands to know who he really is. August confesses that he is from the Enchanted Forest and that he is "sick" and needs magic for a cure. Believing him to be useful, Mr. Gold allows him to live in order to get Emma Swan to believe in magic. ("The Return")

August tries to get Emma to believe she is the savior by taking her to the place outside of where she was abandoned as a baby. He confesses he was the 7-year-old boy who found her, and he shows her the tree they both came through from the Enchanted Forest. He reveals details about Emma only she herself would know about; such as the blanket she was wrapped in as an infant. When he admits he is Pinocchio, she does not believe him and walks away. He tries to go after her, but his leg has already become wooden and makes it hard for him to walk. He pulls up his pant leg to show her how it looks, but despite the fact she is looking, her denial is not allowing her to actually see that his leg is wooden. They argue. August is upset that Emma does not want to believe, and Emma is frustrated and confused as to why it matters so much that she does believe. He calls her their only hope, but Emma rejects the idea of it. She does not want to be responsible for everyone else's happiness. ("The Stranger")

After Henry falls into a coma from taking a bite of the apple turnover, which Regina poisoned, Emma finally truly believes in the curse. She goes to August's room hoping he can help her cure Henry. August cannot open the door and Emma enters, seeing August lying on the bed, mostly turned to wood. He tells Emma she can succeed without him just before completely turning to wood. ("A Land Without Magic")

After the Curse
After Emma Swan breaks the Dark Curse and magic arrives in Storybrooke, August is seen still laying in his bed at Granny's Bed and Breakfast, and he blinks. Later, Marco is putting up missing posters, believing his son to be lost and still a child. After an uproar in which many citizens, Marco included, nearly leave town and lose their fairytale memories, Henry Mills reveals August's true identity to Marco. Marco visits August's room in Granny's inn, but discovers an empty bed. ("We Are Both") However, Neal Cassidy receives a postcard (delivered by pigeon) from Storybrooke, that simply says "Broken". This was presumably sent by August, as he had promised in Vancouver. ("Tallahassee")

Trivia

 * The name August means "great, magnificent"; Wayne means "wagon builder or driver"; and Booth means "dwelling place". Additionally, Wayne Booth was a literary critic who coined the term "unreliable narrator". An "unreliable narrator" is a narrator, usually in fiction, whose credibility is severely compromised and therefore cannot be trusted on the validity of their story.
 * August claims to be very well-traveled, spending a year abroad, visiting places as far as Nepal and Pamplona, Spain. ("Red-Handed"), ("Heart of Darkness")
 * The pages he added to Henry Mills' book tell Pinocchio's story, which, according to Henry, was not initially in the book.
 * His scenes in "Hat Trick" were cut.
 * He has a wooden hand-carved donkey paper weight, a reference to the story of Pinocchio, in which all boys sent to Pleasure Island are turned into donkeys.
 * The complicated wooden lock he installed on Mary Margaret Blanchard's door hints to skills he learned from his father Geppetto.
 * He seemed unaware Storybrooke is "a land without magic" until Mr. Gold pointed out his foolishness. Most artifacts and items that once retained magic in the Enchanted Forest do not have their power in Storybrooke.
 * His human body may be 35 years old, since he is cited as seven year old when he brought newborn Emma Swan to the diner, who is 28.
 * He is aware of Baelfire's habit of calling Rumplestiltskin "papa".  ("The Return")
 * He sent the postcard to Neal Cassidy. ("Broken")
 * Phuket might be a referance to Treasure Island from the original story of Pinocchio.

Appearances
August Booth August Booth Pinocchio August Booth August Booth