For his adoptive father, see King George. For the New Enchanted Forest character, see Robert (Greenbacks). |
Robert is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the twelfth episode of the sixth season and is portrayed by guest star David Cubitt.
Robert is based on the pauper's father from The Prince and the Pauper, and King Hamlet/the Ghost from the play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
History
Robert gets married to Ruth, with whom he has twin sons, named David and James, however, their livelihood on the farm is crushed by poverty. When the twins become sick, Robert goes to buy medicine for them, only to return home empty-handed because neither he or Ruth have enough money for it. Seeing the couple's situation as an opportunity, a wizard named Rumplestiltskin appears to them, offering to provide them with riches if they forfeit one of their children to a barren king and queen. Ruth proclaims that their sons are not for sale, but when Rumplestiltskin suggests that rejecting the deal means both children won't survive the winter, Robert reluctantly concedes. Since the parents are unable to choose which child to give up, Rumplestiltskin has Robert flip a coin: if it is heads, David will be taken away, but if it is tails, James will be chosen. James is taken away by Rumplestiltskin after the coin lands on the tails side, with both parents devastated over the loss. ("The Shepherd," "Murder Most Foul")
Some years later, Robert's drinking problems cause frequent arguments between him and Ruth, which a six-year old David often overhears. One day while Robert is at the tavern having a drink, King George arrives to ask the patrons for help finding his son James, who has been kidnapped. Robert informs his wife about his plans to track down their son and bring him back to live with them. When Ruth expresses skepticism that James would like a dying farm and a drunk for a father, Robert vows to change for David's sake in order to fix their broken family and fix himself in the process. He tells David that he is going away on a two week supply run, and by the end of it, he promises to be sober. Before Robert leaves, David wraps a coin around his father's wrist as a good-luck charm. Robert has nothing to offer Rumplestiltskin for helping to find James, although he persuades the man into aiding him by professing that he'd do anything for his son. With a crystal ball, Rumplestiltskin discovers James ran away from home and then gives Robert a ticket to the location, Pleasure Island, before taking a strand of Robert's hairs as part of the deal exchange. On the island, Robert is led to James from Pinocchio, a talking wooden puppet. He calms down James by suggesting he can return to his farm with him and grow up with a brother. Upon running into King George, Robert revealing himself as James' birth father and refusing to give the boy up again, to which King George commands his guards to execute Robert and stage the death as an accident. After gaining gold from the king as payment, the men dump alcohol over Robert to make it appear he died while drunk, but before they can kill him, they are taken out by Hook. Robert mistakenly believes Hook saved his life, however, the latter is only interested in the gold and doesn't want the risk of Robert telling the king. Despite Robert insisting that he won't say anything and just wants to go home, Hook stabs him through the chest, killing him and later dumping his body in a ravine. Somehow, the coin around his wrist ends up in Rumplestiltskin's hands later on. Ruth and David receive word of Robert's death, but they are told he got drunk at a tavern and fell into a ravine on his journey home. ("White Out", "A Bitter Draught", "The Other Shoe", "Murder Most Foul")
Years later, David shares his father's history with Joan. ("White Out")
Eventually, James dies and Rumplestiltskin persuades David to replace his twin. Surprised to learn he had a brother, the shepherd is told by his mother Ruth that his father regretted giving the baby up immediately after the decision was made. ("The Shepherd")Having retrieved from Mr. Gold the coin David once had given his father Robert, the Evil Queen meets with David and suggests that his father's death might have not been an accident. ("A Bitter Draught")
Making a deal with Mr. Gold, David gains an information card about the true nature of his father's death. He later shares this revelation with Snow, in that the man did not die in an accident, but, rather, was stabbed by someone. Snow encourages her husband to leave the past behind by accepting that his father did not betray him by succumbing again to drinking. David agrees to burn the card and leave things be, but ultimately changes his mind, unbeknownst to Snow. ("The Other Shoe")
One night, Robert's spirit appears before David, who is resentful over the haunting because he doesn't feel he owes his drunk of a father anything. Robert insists his son has to know the truth about what happened, and this leads David into using magic to discover that, prior to his death, his father was actually looking for James instead of getting drunk at a tavern. Through this, David also learns King George was the one who ordered Robert's execution, and he attempts to exact revenge by killing Albert. Hook talks David out of giving in to his dark side by reminding him of Robert's sobriety and how far he went for his son's sake even though he still died in the end. Later, David tosses the coin away into the dock water, with Robert's spirit to vanishing shortly after. Upon receiving missing storybook pages from August, Hook is stunned to see a drawing of David's father, whom he recognizes as a man he killed long ago. ("Murder Most Foul")Family
Notes:
- Solid lines denote blood parent-child relationships
- Dashed lines denote marriage, engagement and adoption relationships, and relationships that result in offspring
- † denotes the deceased
- Both Prince James and Prince Charming were adopted by King George
- Emma and Neal have never been married
Trivia
Props Notes
- Mr. Gold's information card about Robert's good luck charm, reads:[1]
DESCRIPTION: Antique round coin with
a center hole, cast in tin.
CONDITION: Well worn
PROVENANCE: The coin was taken offthe body of a dead man, a shepherd in
the wreckage of a cart. The man had
been stabbed, and was evidently dead
before the cart went off the cliff.
("The Other Shoe")
Appearances
Once Upon a Time: Season One | ||||||||||
"Pilot": | "The Thing You Love Most": | "Snow Falls": | "The Price of Gold": | "That Still Small Voice": | "The Shepherd": | "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter": | "Desperate Souls": | "True North": | "7:15 A.M.": | "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Skin Deep": | "What Happened to Frederick": | "Dreamy": | "Red-Handed": | "Heart of Darkness": | "Hat Trick": | "The Stable Boy": | "The Return": | "The Stranger": | "An Apple Red as Blood": | "A Land Without Magic": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Once Upon a Time: Season Two | ||||||||||
"Broken": | "We Are Both": | "Lady of the Lake": | "The Crocodile": | "The Doctor": | "Tallahassee": | "Child of the Moon": | "Into the Deep": | "Queen of Hearts": | "The Cricket Game": | "The Outsider": |
Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"In the Name of the Brother": | "Tiny": | "Manhattan": | "The Queen Is Dead": | "The Miller's Daughter": | "Welcome to Storybrooke": | "Selfless, Brave and True": | "Lacey": | "The Evil Queen": | "Second Star to the Right": | "And Straight On 'Til Morning": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Once Upon a Time: Season Four | ||||||||||
"A Tale of Two Sisters": |
"White Out": |
"Rocky Road": |
"The Apprentice": |
"Breaking Glass": |
"Family Business": | "The Snow Queen": |
"Smash the Mirror": |
"Fall": | "Shattered Sight": |
"Heroes and Villains": |
Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Darkness on the Edge of Town": |
"Unforgiven": | "Enter the Dragon": | "Poor Unfortunate Soul": |
"Best Laid Plans": | "Heart of Gold": | "Sympathy for the De Vil": |
"Lily": | "Mother": | "Operation Mongoose Part 1": |
"Operation Mongoose Part 2": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Once Upon a Time: Season Five | |||||||||||
"The Dark Swan": | "The Price": | "Siege Perilous": | "The Broken Kingdom": | "Dreamcatcher": | "The Bear and the Bow": | "Nimue": | "Birth": | "The Bear King": | "Broken Heart": | "Swan Song": | |
Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | |
"Souls of the Departed": | "Labor of Love": | "Devil's Due": | "The Brothers Jones": | "Our Decay": | "Her Handsome Hero": | "Ruby Slippers": | "Sisters": | "Firebird": | "Last Rites": | "Only You": | "An Untold Story": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Once Upon a Time: Season Six | ||||||||||
"The Savior": | "A Bitter Draught": | "The Other Shoe": | "Strange Case": | "Street Rats": | "Dark Waters": | "Heartless": | "I'll Be Your Mirror": | "Changelings": | "Wish You Were Here": | "Tougher Than the Rest": |
Absent | Mentioned | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Murder Most Foul": | "Ill-Boding Patterns": | "Page 23": | "A Wondrous Place": | "Mother's Little Helper": | "Awake": | "Where Bluebirds Fly": | "The Black Fairy": | "The Song in Your Heart": | "The Final Battle Part 1": | "The Final Battle Part 2": |
Appears | Absent | Archive | Mentioned | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Other Appearances | ||||||||||
Centric Listing | ||||||||||
|
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.