‘Once Upon A Time’ Recasts Gaston, Reminding Viewers Of How Twisted The Rumbelle Romance Is

Once Upon a Time is bringing Gaston back, and Belle’s former betrothed is still going to be a pure paragon of manliness. However, he’s going to look a bit different.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Wes Brown is going to replace Sage Brocklebank as Gaston in an upcoming episode of Once Upon a Time. Brown’s past acting credits include roles in True Blood, Hart of Dixie, and 90201.

Here’s your first look at @OnceABC‘s new Gaston: https://t.co/tx3Zqj6SjK pic.twitter.com/PS0oj00DOn

— Disney (@Disney) January 9, 2016

Gaston’s appearance in season one of Once Upon a Time was so brief that that some viewers might not even remember seeing the handsome but hairy wannabe hero that Beauty and the Beast fans love to hate. Gaston and Belle were actually going to get married in the OUAT reboot of their non-romance, but brave Belle agreed to go live with Rumplestiltskin in exchange for the Dark One’s help in ending the ogre wars. Gaston attempted to save his betrothed from the “beast” by showing up at Rumple’s door with a sword, but Rumple easily bested Belle’s ex by turning him into a rose. He gave the flower to Belle, and she clipped its stem and stuck it in a vase.

@sagebrocklebank wish your character in OUAT survived…but it was nice seeing you in another show pic.twitter.com/Bu1hEFiajj

— Abigail (@AbigailHuns7) October 13, 2014

It could be argued that Gaston wasn’t really killed off — there’s a possibility that the rose he was turned into was of the magical, never-wilting variety. However, Once Upon a Time isn’t going to bring Gaston back as a villain with stump legs who is out to get revenge on Rumple. Instead, the Beauty and the Beast character will appear in a flashback episode focused on Belle. It will harken back to happier times when Belle wasn’t obsessed with molding a beast into boyfriend material.

In the Season 1 episode “Skin Deep,” Once Upon a Time fans were informed that Belle wasn’t a big fan of her burly and brawny betrothed. After Rumple turned Gaston into a centerpiece, he asked Belle how she felt about her thick-necked ex and his perfect chin cleft.

“It was an arranged marriage. Honestly, I never really cared much for Gaston,” Belle said. “To me love is layered; love is a mystery to be uncovered. I could never truly give my heart to someone as superficial as he.”

However, after Belle finds out about what Rumple did in the Once Upon a Time mid-season finale, Gaston might start looking pretty good. Every time Belle gives Rumple a chance to prove that he’s truly changed, he betrays her by choosing magic over love. Rumple went from hero to zero when he revealed that he now possesses the power of every Dark One who has ever lived, and there’s no telling what kind of crazy spell he’ll try to cast on Belle now in order to keep her in his life.

Despite all the terrible things that Rumple has done and will likely continue to do, he’ll likely be rewarded with Belle’s love when OUAT starts handing out happily ever afters. Meanwhile, all poor Gaston ever did was fall for a girl who just wasn’t that into him, and he was rewarded with being de-stemmed after trying to save her. Maybe the upcoming Once Upon a Time flashback episode will attempt to make viewers feel a bit better about Gaston’s fate by showing him being horrible enough to deserve it.

Belle might be ready to head for the hills after she inevitably finds out about Rumple being the Dark One again, but one little plot twist could push Rumbelle to try to work things out. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Once Upon a Time showrunner Edward Kitsis hinted that a Rumbelle baby might be added to Storybrooke’s rapidly-expanding population. Emilie de Ravin is expecting her first child, so many OUAT fans have been speculating that her pregnancy will be written into the show.

“I would say it certainly looked like they re-consummated their marriage, so we’ll just have to wait and see, but I would say you’re definitely on the right clue trail,” Kitsis said when he was asked about the possibility of Belle being pregnant.

If she has a baby boy, of course she and Rumple will name him Chip.

Once Upon a Time returns March 6 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Do you think Rumbelle will survive the rest of the season?

[Image via ABC/Facebook]