Does anyone have a theory about how the characters don't seem to age? I mean, Henry obviously has and so has Emma, but what about everyone else? They've been in SB for 28 years, but yet Hansel and Gretel are still kids, and all the other characters are the same age (or roughly the same) as when we saw them in their backstory.
Henry was born outside of FTL, so that could explain his aging, but Emma was born in FTL, but yet she aged 28 years. Why hasn't anyone else? Is that part of being caught up in the curse, that they remain the same as they did when they were torn out of FTL? That seems to make the most sense. Does Emma age because she was saved from the curse by being transported in the box Gepetto made?
And, if Baelfire is somewhere in our world, is he still 12 years old or has he aged 28 years? Since he didn't leave FTL because of a curse, does that mean he would age naturally?
We watched last Sunday's episode with my parents, who are visiting. They have never seen OUAT, but my mom loved it. They were very confused, though, and seemed to be stuck on the aging thing, which really got me thinking about it. Funny, because up until their visit I never really thought about it. I've been more focused on who the stranger is!
And, btw, I really hope he is not Pinocchio. That's a good theory and it makes a lot of sense based on the clues given, but I want him to be someone really surprising. I think the clues pointing towards Pinocchio are a little obvious, which is disappointing to me. I'm really hoping the writers are sending us in the wrong direction and that his real identity will shock the daylights out of everyone. I want to have that jaw dropping moment where I get goosebumps when his identity is revealed, the same way I did when I heard Mr. Gold say his name was Rumple. I'm trying to keep my expectations low, so I'm not too disappointed, but it's hard! I learned my lesson with that during the last season of Lost!