So many of us were keeping the secret of Dr. Whale’s Fairytale Land identity on Once Upon a Time, not wanting to ruin the surprise. Too late. The promo for next Sunday’s The Doctor gave it away. Or as David Anders tweeted: “Hello Fans all over the globe & Bulgaria! Tune in next week 2 #OnceuponaTime 4 ‘The Doctor’ The promo ruined it but watch it anyway. Oy vey.”
In late July, an insider let slip Dr. Whale’s Fairytale Land identity to a friend of mine when she was on set in Steveston during the filming of the season two premiere and six weeks later in early September, I was one of the privileged few (along with half-a-dozen visiting Evil Regal fans from all over the U.S.) allowed to watch the filming of Lana Parrilla as a young woman in a tent deep in the woods of Robert Burnaby Park with David Anders as his Fairytale Land character apparently trying to re-animate a male corpse (played by a dummy when I was there).
A week earlier, fans in Steveston as Storybrooke had witnessed the ghostly appearance of Regina’s lost love Daniel in a rainstorm. A Daniel stunt double bore the brunt of the deluge but some are convinced they saw Noah Bean on set that night too.
If you still haven’t figured out Dr. Whale’s Fairytale Land identity and really don’t want to know, please stop reading now.
SPOILER: Dr. Whale is a Dr. Frankenstein who creates some kind of Daniel monster, an apt storyline for Once Upon a Time’s Halloween episode. Showrunners planted a clue to this Fairytale Land identity early on in the saga. Guess who directed the 1931 classic horror movie Frankenstein? James Whale of course. Credit goes to a savvy fan for making the link.