*DEBUNKED* THEORY: Could Dr. Whale be Pinocchio?

**NOTE: This theory has been debunked. However, feel free to read through and leave any thoughts. I think the arguments are pretty good and I was VERY close to figuring it all out.**

There are a few Storybrooke characters whose FTL identities won't be revealed until later seasons; there simply isn't enough time with the other stories going on. Dr. Whale is one of them. He's been seen at the hospital intermittently throughout the first season, as well as having a date (and then later, a one-night-stand) with Mary Margaret.

Dr. Whale is definitely a mystery. His name, like Mary Margaret Blanchard and Ruby, must be a hint to his FTL identity. But there are no whales in any well-known fairy tales, except for Monstro the Whale, who appears only in the Disney version of Pinocchio. Once Upon A Time seems to be taking a more realistic approach to these tales, as contradictory as that sounds, so I don't think that there are talking whales in FTL or Storybrooke. But a whale has been seen on Once already, and I think it's the only clue to Dr. Whale's FTL identity.



In episode 1, during the War Council, look what Pinocchio is holding:

Hello, Monstro...

There is an obvious contradiction that, at first glance, would seem to shoot down my theory: Pinocchio was still a boy when Regina cast the Curse, meaning he wouldn't have aged in the time he was in Storybrooke. So how could he be Dr. Whale?

Pinocchio, you've been a naughty boy.


A major theme of Pinocchio is his struggle to be a good boy, and not make bad decisions. The best example of this is when Pinocchio goes to Pleasure Island and begns to turn into a donkey:

You've been a naughty boy, Pinocchio...

Pinocchio, along with the rest of the naughty boys-turned-donkeys, are sold to the salt mines by the Coachman. Pinocchio later escapes, rescues Gepetto from Monstro's belly, and goes home to be turned into a real boy by the Blue Fairy. And that was the end of the movie...but not the end of the story.

The possible scenario


Remember that Pinocchio was helping Geppetto build the wardrobe to save Snow White and Emma from the Curse:

The blurry kid.

Did you also notice that the wardrobe wasn't ready until Snow White was literally having Emma? I'm not sure how long before then that the Blue Fairy gave them the tree, but you would think Geppetto could have finished it faster...unless he was delayed by his helper.

Pinocchio, you've been a bad boy.

We all know how Once turns our favorite stories on their heads. A lot of times, it's because of Regina and her habit of showing up in places least expected (i.e. sending Hansel and Gretel to retrieve the famous apple from the Blind Witch, then burning her; holding Belle hostage). It's also within the realm of possibility to think that after Pinocchio became a real boy, he might have struggled to behave himself, and made a decision that spared himself from the Curse at the expense of everyone else in FTL.

Pinocchio may have met Regina one day, and she found out about the plan to smuggle Snow and Emma through the wardrobe to safety. Knowing that Pinocchio would be helping Geppetto make it, she promised him the chance to grow up outside the curse, turning from a real boy to a real man, and in exchange he would delay the building of the wardrobe as best he could. Given her history with Hansel and Gretel (and the other children who didn't escape the Blind Witch), we know she has problem manipulating children.

(While I don't necessarily think this is exactly what happened, the point is to illustrate that there are many possibilities.)

Paging Dr. Pinocchio

Another mystery about him is whose side he's on. In the episode "Snow Falls," he called Mayor Regina to inform her that David was showing signs of waking up. (This happened after Mary Margaret read their own story to him from Henry's book.) Whether he is a genuine villain like Mr. Gold, or endebted to Regina for another reason, remains to be seen. However, if he did make a deal with Regina that spared him from the Curse, then the phone call he made to Regina would be an indicator that he does owe her for something, whether he remembers it or not.

Marco


Geppetto's Storybrooke counterpart Marco does not remember having a child. Yet Pinocchio was a real boy, working on the wardrobe with his father, and therefore was likely in the castle when the Curse completed. While it makes sense that Geppetto's unhappy ending would be to have no children, the question still remains: where is Pinocchio's counterpart, if not with Marco?