Think Lovely Thoughts

Did You Know?

• Peter Pan is revealed to be Malcolm, Rumpelstiltskin's father, who adopted the name from the corn husk doll his son dropped.
• The shadow tells Pan that Neverland was created when Pan decided to stay, and the hourglass shows how much time he has before he stops being young and dies.
• Gold penetrates Pan's protection spell because he has no shadow, allowing him to enter Skull Rock.
• Henry gives Pan his heart believing he can save magic, causing Henry to collapse barely alive.

Plot

In the Enchanted Forest, years after "The Black Fairy" and years before "Manhattan", a young boy later revealed to be a young Rumplestiltskin begs a man not to hurt his father Malcolm, a three-card monte cheat. Malcolm brings Rumplestiltskin to a cabin and asks women spinning wool to look after him while he seeks a real job, giving his son a corn husk doll. Hours later, the women see Rumplestiltskin has a talent for spinning; when he says he believes Malcolm will return, they tell him his father went back to the tavern and advise him to take a magic bean and leave.

Rumplestiltskin returns to the tavern, sees his father gambling, and coaxes him to make a fresh start. Malcolm recalls the phrase "think lovely thoughts" from his blacksmith apprenticeship, and they use the bean to go to Neverland, holding hands. Landing in Neverland, Malcolm tells his son to imagine a cake, and it appears; he says anyone can fly, but falls because he is a grown-up. Rumplestiltskin weeps when a shoe falls, but Malcolm climbs down and says Neverland is only for children.

The Shadow takes Rumplestiltskin, believing it is the only way Malcolm can believe he is a child. As the shadow takes him, a green spell turns Malcolm into a young boy, and regret flashes across his face as his son disappears.

Production

Marilyn Manson provided the voice of The Shadow in this episode. Stephen Lord, a British actor, was cast as Rumplestiltskin's father Malcolm/Colin, appearing here and in the season's eleventh episode. The cast was forbidden from learning Peter Pan's true identity until the episode aired. Ginnifer Goodwin recalled, "We were so banned. We had to sign our lives away."

Reception

The episode scored a 1.9/5 among 18-49s with 6.67 million viewers, making it the lowest rated episode in the series so far and the only one to post below a 2.0. This was attributed to the debut of FOX's Almost Human, which had 3.1/8 among 18-49s with 9.18 million viewers, marking the first time OUAT was beaten by another scripted program since its 2011 debut, as well as television coverage of the November 17, 2013 tornado outbreak in several Midwestern states shown on ABC.

The episode received generally positive reviews. Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave it an 8.9 out of 10, calling it engaging, touching, and action-packed. Hillary Busis of Entertainment Weekly called the Peter Pan reveal a genuine "oh-my-God, holy-crap, did-they-seriously-just-say-what-I-think-they-said?" ball. Christine Orlando of TV Fanatic rated it 4.5 out of 5, saying the revelation that Peter Pan was Rumpel's father totally floored her. Andrea Reiher of Zap2it noted Marilyn Manson was awesome as the voice of the Shadow.