Baelfire

"All I want is your happiness, Bae."

- Rumplestiltskin

Baelfire is one of the main characters of Once Upon a Time. Son of the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin, Bae was unhappy with his father's evil ways and sought passage to a new land, one without magic. He attempted to travel there alongside his father via magic bean but Rumple cowered out at the last second and Bae was forced into the new land alone. On the other side of the portal, Bae assumed the name Neal Cassidy, a lowlife thief who went on to fall in love with Emma Swan and unknowingly become the father of Henry Mills.

Before the Curse
"You took my son, but I will get him back!"

- Rumplestiltskin

Milah is seen sewing together a baby blanket for her unborn baby when her husband, Rumplestiltskin, walks into their hut to tell her that he has been selected to fight in the Ogres War, much to his excitement. When at war, Rumple encounters a seer who predicts that he shall have a son but that his actions during war shall make his son fatherless. Rumple decides not to believe her, but when one of her more minor predictions comes true, he fears is life for the sake of his unborn son and injures himself in order to be sent him. Rumple arrives home with a limp to find that Milah is holding their baby, he asks his name, and she tells him that it's Baelfire. Rumple is glad that his son has a strong name and Milah states that he'll need one if he's Rumple's son, knowing what he did to be sent home as rumors spread fast from the front line. She accuses her husband of cowardice and says that their son shall be condemned to live in shame throughout his life, but Rumple doesn't accept this. He proceeds holds Baelfire and assures him that his "papa" is there.

Rumplestiltskin, Baelfire's father, comes home to discover that Milah, Baelfire's mother, isn't home. He knows where to look for her and tells Bae to come with him to collect his mother. They arrive at a bar and Rumple tells Bae to stay outside as he goes in and finds Milah having drinks with pirates. One in particular, Captain Hook, ridicules Rumple based on what Milah has told him, based upon him being a coward. Baelfire walks in and sees his mother like his, and Rumple reminds his son that he was meant to stay outside. Milah is shocked to see him there and discretely stands up and leaves the bar with her son, not wanting him to see her as she is. The next day, Milah is "taken" by the pirates and Rumplestiltskin is unable to get her back, he therefore tells Balefire that his mother is dead.

When one of Baelfire's friends, Morraine, turns fourteen she becomes the right age to be forcibly entered into the Ogre Wars using the Dark One's magic. Bae warns his father about this and the two fear for the former's safety, as he will soon be turning fourteen. The two attempt to escape in the night but they're found by the guards who take the children to war. As punishment for abandonment, they threaten to take Baelfire before he is fourteen, but they're stopped when Rumplestiltskin begs and kisses the head guard's boot. An old beggar notices the father and son's issue so he tells them of a dagger that can kill the Dark One, giving the killer his magical powers. After learning the dagger is under possession of the Duke of the Frontlands, Rumple and Bae create a fire that burns down his castle. Before the fire destroys the castle, Rumple steals the dagger and escape with it. He later kills the Dark One, but it turns out that the old beggar was actually the Dark One and he tricked him into saving from living forever. When Baelfire's fourteenth birthday comes, the guards come to collect him, but they're stopped when Rumplestiltskin kills them all. Baelfire is horrified by his father's new magical abilities and evilness.

Baelfire is playing in the village when a donkey cart hits him and he scrapes his knee, he apologizes to the driver who yells at him until he realizes that he is the son of the dark one and frantically apologizes. Rumple walks out to see this and is ready to forgive the donkey cart driver up until he sees Bae's small cut, he then turns the apologetic man into a snail before stepping on him. killing him. Baelfire is very unhappy with this and refuses to allow his father to use magic to heal him, he then goes on to make a deal with his father, stating that if Bae finds a safe way to remove Rumple's powers, he will do it. The next day, Bae talks to Morraine about his troubles and she suggests that he talk to Reul Ghorm, a powerful being that can grant wishes, Baelfire later summons Reul to discover that she is the Blue Fairy, she hears his wish and gives him a magic bean that will take him to a new land with his father, a land without magic where the Dark One will be stripped of his powers. Baelfire, excited about this, tells his father of the bean, but he is unsure. Bae asks him if he's backing out of the deal, but Rumple refuses to. The two of them trek out into the forest and Bae throws the bean on the ground, opening a portal. He begins to jump down it but his father stops him, clinging on, too scared to go through. At this refusal, Baelfire calls his father a coward before falling down the portal without him. Rumple is dreadfully sorry and decides that he will one day make a curse to make it to Bae's new land, assuring himself that he will get his son back.

Bae falls through the portal and into a land without magic, arriving in 19th century London, England. He spends six months roaming the streets until one day he sees a rich family leave their window open and he climbs through the steal some bread. He is caught by a member of the family, Wendy Darling, who allows Bae to have as much as he wants, feeling sorry for him. She then keeps him up in her bedroom and sneaks him food for a while until eventually her parents find out. They are initially upset to have had this secret kept from them but they allow Baelfire to stay with them in their house, refusing to send him back on the streets or to a work house. Wendy is very happy about this and tells Bae of the shadow that comes to their window at night and shows her and her brothers magic, however, upon hearing of this, Bae tells Wendy not to interact with the shadow ever again, professing that magic is dangerous and destroyed his family. Later, the shadow arrives at the window and takes Wendy to Neverland, Bae tries to warn her against it but she seems too overjoyed with the idea, and flies away with the shadow. The next morning, Wendy returns, much to Bae's delight, but she seems less than happy, explaining that he was right and that magic is evil. She further explains that the shadow rejected her from Neverland as it wants a boy, but Bae assures her that it will not get one. They put the house on lockdown that night but the shadow gets inside with ease. He tries to go after Wendy's youngest brother but Baelfire refuses to let it, and so he goes with the shadow himself, after thanking Wendy for allowing him to be part of her family. Bae is flown over London city until Neverland is in view, but Bae scares the shadow with fire and is dropped into the ocean. When there, he is picked up by a pirate ship and introduced to the captain on board - Captain Hook.

Baelfire is taken under the decks where he retains a certain hostility towards pirates as voiced when Captain Hook comes down to talk to him. Bae says that a pirate killed his mother, but Hook reminds him that one also saved his life. He wonders the boy's name, and Baelfire gives it, causing Hook to realize that he's the son of Milah - his true love - and Rumplestiltskin - his sworn enemy. Hook knows that the Lost Boys are looking for Bae but refuses to hand him over. When they search his ship, Baelfire hides up in the ceiling and remains not found, happy to learn that Hook cares for someone else other than himself. As Bae spends more time on the waters, Hook teaches him how to sail and they bond over the bad relationships they share with their fathers. It is not long before Bae discovers a picture of Milah on Hook's desk, and pulls a sword on the pirate for believing him to be the one to have killed his mother. Hook explains that he was in fact in love with the Milah and that he and her had planned to take Bae out to sea with them when he was old enough, and he sees Bae washing up on the ship as fate telling him to make good on those deals. After Bae rejects Hook, he asks to be dropped off on land, however, Hook reveals that Bae has reminded him what he's all about: killing Rumplestiltskin. Baelfire is then kidnapped by the Lost Boys who Hook sold him out to and taken to the main island. When he is found not to be the boy that Peter Pan is looking for, Bae is put with the rest of "the others".

Early life
"You love her, good. That means you have to do right by her."

- August W. Booth

Emma Swan, at age 17, stole her famed yellow car, not realizing that there was a man sleeping in the back seat. The man flirts with her, seemingly not minding the fact that she stole the car at all, and when she fails to pay attention to the road, they are stopped by a police officer. The man, Neal Cassidy, tells the cop that Emma is his girlfriend and he was just teaching her how to drive. The cop lets them go with a warning, and Emma realizes that the car she's stolen had already been stolen by Neal. They then become a couple, and start a life of grifting and shoplifting, which includes Emma posing as an expectant mother whose waters break inside a convenience store once they're caught stealing by a customer. The couple rests in a motel room, where they one day start planning their future together. They eventually settle on the idea of starting anew in Tallahassee. However, Neal is eventually wanted for arrest after he is caught by the security tapes of a jewelry store stealing a case full of expensive wristwatches. He keeps the watches locked up in a safe at a nearby train station, and Emma volunteers to retrieve them so that they can sell the watches and go on with their lives. However, once she does so, successfully, Neal is tracked down by August - none other than the grown-up Pinocchio - who tells him that Emma is destined for a greater future than sharing a life with a robber. August shows Neal something that makes the latter believe in his words, and thus Emma is then set up to take a fall: the police is tipped off about her and she is caught and arrested. Neal then meets with August and feels bad over setting up his own girlfriend, and leaves the car and some money for her when she gets out. August then agrees to send him a postcard once the curse is lifted. In jail, Emma finds out that she is pregnant...

August visits Neal, yet again, in New York City where he tells him that he's turning back into wood, which must mean that Emma is now in Storybrooke. He reveals that he has plans on going there to aid her in breaking the Dark Curse, but Neal fears that when the curse is broken, his father, Rumplestiltskin, will leave town and come searching for him. August tells Neal to look at the bright side, for at least he will be able to see Emma again. Neal ponders this notion as August rides away on his motorcycle. On the street corner, a woman named Tamara is seen watching them with a large cup of to-go coffee in her hands. Once August leaves, she is seen purposefully walking towards Neal so that when he turns around, he bumps into her, and her coffee spills all down her shirt. Neal apologizes but she assures him it isn't his fault, saying that she was in a hurry as she's late for work. Feeling sorry, Neal offers her his scarf as it covers the stain, putting it around her neck. She remarks that it's perfect before leaving, and Neal and Tamara later become engaged.

Season 2
"I was in hiding. I came here to get away from all that crap."

After the Dark Curse is lifted, we are treated to the sight of a chariot horse being petted by his owner/driver, on some street. An unidentified gentleman (Neal) is seen walking past the horse and its owner, wearing a suit and carrying a backpack, listening to some music on his earplugs whilst walking. He crosses the street, and soon afterwards he is seen walking along a sidewalk, and the doves on the sidewalk all fly far from reach as he passes. The man is then seen crossing a road, and later he's seen at an underground train station. Immediately afterwards, he is seen riding the subway, handling his cell phone. The man then gets out of the subway station and heads to his apartment building. He lets himself in, enters the elevators, goes up and then enters his small apartment. Some lights flicker on and off as he closes the door - lights of thunder. He looks out the window to see that it is now pouring outside. The man puts down his backpack, carelessly, and looks none too pleased to see the rain. He walks up to the window to close it down, but it is jammed. Cell phone still in tow, he tries to force the window down, but is unfortunate enough to drop his cell phone into the emergency staircase instead. He looks down as his cell phone falls to the ground below, and gets frustrated. A white pidgeon then shows up on his window pane, with a postcard connected to its paw. The pidgeon walks around to rid itself of the card, and then flies away. The man looks somewhat surprised. He then picks up the card and a single world is written in black on the back of it: "Broken". This word appears to trigger something within the man. He turns the card around to find that it features the message "Greetings from Storybrooke Maine", on top of a drawing of the small town's clock tower.

Emma, Henry and Mr. Gold, otherwise known as Rumplestiltskin, head to New York in search of Baelfire and eventually arrive at his apartment building. Emma soon deciphers that the apartment that's not labeled with a tenant is Bae's as he doesn't want to be found, and presses the buzzer. As soon as she does so, footsteps heard on the fire escape and Baelfire is seen running along the sidewalk. Emma is tasked with chasing him and does so through the streets of the city, eventually tackling him in an alley where she is shocked to discover that Bae is in fact Neal Cassidy, her old flame. He takes her to a bar in order to explain himself to her, saying that August told him that he had to leave her so that she could break the curse. Emma does not care, simply wanting to take Neal back to Gold and fulfill her favor to him, however, Neal tells her that if she let's him go, he'll be out of her life forever, not wanting to see his father. Emma takes this option but Neal soon shows up at his apartment just as Gold is viciously yelling at the blonde, having figured out that she lied. Rumple is happy to see his son but the feeling is far from likewise as Neal merely wanted to make sure Emma was alright, leading Gold to realize that they know each other. When Neal sees Henry, Emma's son, he realizes that it's his son and Henry runs out of the room, having believed his father to be dead. Neal gives Gold three minutes to talk to him so that Emma may fulfill her favor but the reunion goes extremely badly, Neal having no interest in forgiving his father. Later, Neal steps out onto the fire escape and begins to talk and bond to Henry as Mr. Gold watches, the pawnbroker then thinks back to the prophecy that he must kill a young boy, meaning Henry, to finally reunite with his son.

Neal continues to bond and spend more time with his new-found son, Henry, as Gold and Emma continue to commiserate over the strains in their relationships with their respective sons. Gold asks Emma to convince Neal to return to Storybrooke with them, telling her that if she does not, Henry will likely run away to find Neal, much like he did with Emma. The blonde considers this and begins to try and convince Neal to return with them, but he reveals that he has some news of his own. However, before he can share his news, the two of them stand witness to Captain Hook's ambush of Gold as the pirate stabs the pawnbroker in the chest with his hook, before Emma knocks him out, imprisoning him. Neal takes his father upstairs where they are soon met by Emma, who reveals that Hook used his pirate ship to sail there. Gold soon deciphers that the hook used to stab him was laced with poison which is slowly killing him and tells them that they need a fast way to get to Storybrooke in order to use the town's magic to save him. Neal reveals that he can sail them there on Hook's ship, knowing how to do so having learned in Neverland. Neal arranges for them to borrow a car to get them to the ship, and Emma wonders whose car it is. At this, Neal and Emma are approached by a woman named Tamara who reveals herself to be Neal's fiancée. Emma is taken aback.

Neal sails Henry, Emma and a dying Gold back to Storybrooke on Captain Hook's pirate ship in order to find a cure to the poison that currently within Rumple's heart. They soon arrive at the town docks and are met by Mary Margaret and David, who are alongside Ruby. Ruby offers to take Henry out of the crossfire as Neal, Emma, Mary Margaret and David all escort Gold to his pawn shop. Knowing that Cora and Regina are after them with the Dark One's dagger in tow, Gold tells Emma to use the invisible chalk to draw a line across all entrances, which Neal helps her with. The pawnbroker then tells the blonde that she must cast the protection spell herself, which she succeeds at. Neal, David and Emma arm themselves with swords as Regina and Cora break the protection spell with ease, making their way inside the shop. David quickly blocks one of Regina's fireballs, but is flown outside by Cora and knocked out. Neal tries to attack Cora, who disappears and reappears in a flurry of purple smoke. Realizing they cannot win, Emma and Neal run into the back room where Gold is, sealing it off with the chalk so that Cora cannot get through, no longer having Regina's help as the mayor has left to intercept Mary Margaret who's at her vault. As Cora tries to bust in, Gold makes a phone call to Belle, telling her that he's dying and romantically reminding her of who she is. Baelfire comments that he didn't know Gold had it in him, to which Rumple replies that he's sorry he broke his deal with Bae. Cora soon manages to get into the back room, breaking the protection spell, and Neal and Emma aim their swords at her, however, Cora quickly makes them disappear in a swirl of purple smoke, causing them to reappear somewhere in the town woods, where the two of them become confused. Despite this, thanks to Mary Margaret's actions, Cora ends up dying, and Gold is saved.

After Regina poses a threat to the Charming family, Neal meets Henry at Granny's Diner and orders him an ice cream with "extra everything". Henry immediately sees through this as a bribe and Neal admits his agenda, wanting Henry to come back with him to New York as the fighting continues there. Henry initially seems pleased with the offer but soon excuses himself to go to the bathroom. Emma, who's also in the diner, asks Neal how it went and he tells her that Henry agreed to come back with him, however, Emma notices that his backpack is missing. Neal suggests that Henry took it with him but Emma reminds him that Henry went to the bathroom and is his son, leading Neal to deduce that he's running. The two of them and David use Ruby to track Henry down and she leads the three of them down to the old mines to a crate of dynamite, with sticks missing. The presume that Henry took dynamite but it is Neal who realizes why - he wants to blow up the town well as that's where magic originated from within Storybrooke. The three of them go to the well to find Regina with Henry, having stopped the dynamite ploy but still planning to use a curse on him to make him love her. After Henry gives a sad speech on how magic is corrupting his family, Regina burns the curse and Henry goes back with David, Emma and Neal.

Henry and Emma go to see Neal at Granny's Bed & Breakfast so that the former can give him his book of fairytales and hear what life was like in the Enchanted Forest. Neal obliges, but also warns Emma that his fiancée, Tamara, is on her way there. Emma wonders if she knows who Baelfire really is, and Neal reveals that she does not. When Tamara arrives, Henry wonders how her and Neal met, and she explains that they bumped into each other and he spilled coffee down her shirt, offering her his scarf. Henry soon leaves for school with Emma and Neal shows Tamara the story book, telling her that he's from a magical land known as the Enchanted Forest. Tamara refuses to believe his claim because she believes that Emma is after him now that he found out about Henry being his son, but Neal says that he and Emma are the past and Tamara wants him to prove it. Neal later arrives outside the sheriff's station to find a completely wooden August stumbling out. With his dying breathe, he tries to warn Emma of something, but he passes before he can do so. Henry points out that August's last act was honest, brave and unselfish and so Mother Superior turns him back into a little boy again, however, he cannot remember his warning. Tamara soon approaches the scene, "shocked" to see that magic is real, and Neal remains completely unaware that she is in fact that one that killed August. Later, when Neal's in the shower, Tamara visits Greg Mendell in his room and has sex with him, the two of them being part of an ongoing affair.

Neal is seen sword fighting with Henry in the park as part of their father-son bonding as Mr. Gold watches. Regina approaches the latter and wonders what his son is doing with hers, Rumple reveals to her that Baelfire is Henry's father, something which shocks Regina. Later, Emma is at home when Neal drops off an unconscious Henry. She asks if he tranquilized him but Neal jokes that he just gave the kid a couple burbans and that he's a real lightweight, before admitting that Henry's just tuckered out and commending him on how good he's gotten with his wooden swords. Henry is placed on the couch as Neal and Emma sit down to talk, Bae says that August stopped by the park that day and that he and Henry really hit it off. Emma says that it will take her a while to get used to that before going on to say that she wishes Pinocchio would remember the warning he tried to give before he was "rebooted". Neal tells her that August always did have a habit of being cryptic, but assures the blonde that she always finds what she wants, so she has nothing to worry about.

Emma bumps into Tamara at Granny's Diner and sees that she has a list of Storybrooke's residents and their fairytale identities in her purse, and when Tamara states herself trustworthy, Emma uses her "superpower" to determine that she's lying. Due to this, Emma is lead to believe that Tamara's the "she" that August warned them about, and so enlists the help of Henry to stalk his father's betrothed. They start with a stakeout, watching Neal and Tamara as they exit Granny's Diner, but decide to instead search their room at the B&B. Emma breaks in and tells Henry to keep lookout and to hit the door if he sees anyone coming. Neal returns to his room and sees Henry hitting the door, but, as he was the one who taught Emma that signal, he immediately knows that she is inside. He walks in to find Emma inside, investigating a loose floorboard. She tells him her theory of Tamara being August's "she", but Neal doesn't believe her, explaining the list away by saying that he helped Tamara make it, to help her adapt to the magical world. Emma realizes that she looks like a jealous ex, and so tells Neal that if there's nothing under the floorboard, she'll back off. He stipulates to this and helps her lift it, however, there is nothing underneath.

Neal wakes up to Tamara leaving to go and train for her marathon, but before he can go back to sleep, he hears ruckus outside and investigates to discover his father, Lacey in tow, is attempting to harm Dr. Whale. Neal restrains Gold, letting Whale free, and accuses him of being so non-redemptive since he found him, stating that he's only still in town for Henry. Neal returns to the B&B and is later visited by Emma, who thinks that Tamara has had something to do with Regina's disappearance. Neal allows her to search the room and she discovers sand tracked in by Tamara's shoes when she states she had been running in the forest. Neal and Emma walk along the beach where they run into Tamara, who's running there. She makes it appear as though she's training for her marathon, before dashing off, seemingly proving Neal right. Emma begs him not to make it a jealousy thing and as they get to talking more, he apologizes to Emma for letting her go to jail, saying that he wishes it were him. When Emma learns that when Mary Margaret experienced Regina's whereabouts via one of Gold's spells, the place she was in smelled of sardines, her and Neal go and search Storybrooke's town cannery, in hopes of finding the lost mayor. In there, they find David and Mary Margaret investigating also and the two pairs split up. Snow and Charming find Regina being tortured by Greg but set her free, getting her to the aid of Mother Superior as Greg escapes. Meanwhile, Neal is hit over the head and shot by Tamara. She goes to execute her fiance, however, Emma kicks the gun out of her hand. In retaliation, Tamara throws one of the magic beans she stole onto the ground and opens a portal, before running away. Neal, who's still suffering a bullet wound, begins to get dragged down as Emma holds on. He tells her to stay, for Henry, but she points out that he'll die no matter where he goes after having just been shot. The two share a teary goodbye in which they each confess their love for one another, and Emma ends up letting go, allowing Neal to fall down the portal, which soon closes. Emma is left devastated.

After Neal falls through the portal, he ends up in the ocean of the fairytale land that is, and washes up on the shore unconscious, still weak from the bullet wound he received from Tamara. Fairly soon, Prince Phillip discovers him and runs to his aid, wondering who he is. Of the two girls with the prince, Aurora states that she doesn't know, as Mulan remains silent. Phillip flips Neal over to his front and asks if he's alive; Aurora places her hands on his face and neck, feeling Neal's pulse, and says that he is - but barely. She worriedly states that they have to get him some help and Phillip requests that she help him get him inland. The two of them team up to heave him off of the beach and somewhere they're able to heal him. Neal remains unconscious all the while.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the character.