Monday Recap - Tallahassee SPOILERS

Trying to give myself a comprehensive recap format. Let me know what you think!

WHO did we meet: Neil Cassidy, The Last Giant

WHAT did we learn/do we know: A lot! We learned the identity of our Mystery Man from the premiere. We can safely assume that Neil is Henry's father.(It is never safe to assume ANYTHING.) We learn how long August has been tracking Emma, albeit with a very well funded vacation somewhere in between. We can see more of the fact that Hook is one of the few characters we've seen who actually seems fairly knowledgable about realm-jumping. The others are Jefferson (who seems to understand the rules that govern his hat), Rumplestiltskin (who has a compelling reason to learn all he can about realm jumping, but can't seem to do it himself?), and The Blue Fairy (who seems to have some knowledge of ways and means - but, like Rumplestiltskin, can't seem to manage it with her own magic.).

WHERE did we go: Enchanted Forest, Up the Beanstalk, Storybrooke, Portland, OR

WHEN did the events take place: Present Day, 11 years ago

WHY does this matter: Tallahassee. Title of the episode, and yet it's someplace we never go. We know Emma spent two years there. We have an idea why. We also know that Mr. Gold orchestrated Regina's adoption of Henry, and we can assume Emma went there after giving birth/getting out of jail.

Connections: Henry and Aurora had the same dream? Both were recently affected by/awakened from the Sleeping Curse.

 Remaining Questions: The big questions are obvious - what did August show to Neil to get him to listen, and what's up with the dream? Smaller question - why didn't August just go to Emma once he had found her? I would think it'd be easier to convince an 18 year old drifter/thief that she's got an epic destiny than a 28 year old cynical bounty-hunter. Is Neil Cassady's name an homage or a clue?

Best line: "The victors get to tell the story" - The Last Giant. I think this is an important sentiment, and something I've been harping on since last season. Why are they called Fairy Tales anyway??

Really OUAT?: We couldn't do something to modify Jorge Garcia's voice to make it sound more...menacing? Giantlike? Supernatural?

Educated Guesses: We will see this windowless, doorless room with the bloodred curtains on fire later in the season.

Don't trust: Hook. Clearly we're setting up some romantic conflict here, but I don't trust him. He may believe in "good form", but he's an opportunist. And I think we're missing something important in the fact that Hook and Smee have been separated. Regardless of what Smee was after, I doubt Hook would have let him live (and become first mate!) if he hadn't seem that Smee would be useful. So somewhere between Neverland/The Enchanted Forest/Storybrook, the ONLY pirate (besides Milah) that Hook had use for somehow wound up in Storybrooke, which is exactly where he's trying to get to now?  Doubt that's a coincident. However honorable the captain may be deep down, I think his only real motivation right now is revenge.

Crackpot Theory: I think we're due for a sacrifice this season, and I think August is going to be it. Last we saw him (in the present day), he was alive, but had turned back into wood. The same wood, if you remember that was enchanted and fashioned into a wardrobe that functioned as a portal. The same wood whose ASHES are currently believed to be able to still transport between realms. In this episode, we're "introduced" to August, who has been trying to be a good boy - looking for Emma, destiny, etc. But still can't resist temptation - takes off for Phuket with a WAD OF CASH. This is a constant with August. A fallible human being who has serious consequences when he gives in to temptation. Characters like that always seem to wind up being lambs to the slaughter. I suspect present-day August has sought out the Blue Fairy (shady bitch) to entreat her to turn him back into a real boy. Without wands or dust, she has no way to channel the magic, and I think she'll leave him to suffer his wooden fate. I think August will wind up sacrificing himself as a form of redemption.