It is just like those trolls Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz to leave us desperate fans with a huge cliffhanger (and smoke monster) for the first season finale of Once Upon a Time.

Personally, I thought it was a brilliant finale; we got to see Snow and Charming find each other again (I mean, they always will, right?), as well as Emma finally being made to believe in the curse. Whether you totally loved it or totally hated it, I think we can all agree that next season has been set up nicely. With that, I have a few predictions and theories for the next season.

8:15
The biggest cliffhanger was perhaps the moment the clock tower hit 8:15 and got stuck again. Many think that this will mean the curse is reinstated, and everyone will forget who they are again. Although completely valid, I am slightly more optimistic on that front. For one, I think it would be ten times more interesting if all of these fairytale characters are now stuck WITH their memories, and now have to deal with the things they did in our world, as well as in Fairytale Land.

Like Jefferson said, the real curse is having the knowledge of both worlds. Another more solid reason is what a certain Mr. Gold told Belle in his shop: when she claimed she couldn’t remember him, he said, “You will.” I think he knew that the magic he was about to bring (or whatever it is) into Storybrooke would not cause the townspeople to lose their just-regained memories; he wouldn’t do that if he just found Belle again. On the other hand, Regina did say that magic was unpredictable in our world, so Rumpel’s plan might have backfired in his face.

Flashbacks
One of the staples of this show is the presence of flashbacks and re-imaginings of Fairytale Land and its characters. So Snow and Charming found each other…what next? Well, Snow said it best: they are going to take back the Kingdom. With that, I think the underlying plot of the flashbacks next season will be rooted in how Snow and Charming took back their Kingdom from The Evil Queen. Naturally, there will be some more backstories on our favorite characters, including the Little Mermaid, sprinkled throughout.

Enemies
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have been twiddling my thumbs and asking myself, “Where the heck is Baelfire?” Well I think he is going find his way to Storybrooke next season, and I don’t think he is going to be such a nice fellow. Let’s face it, Baelfire was betrayed by his father and sent into a strange new world as a young boy. All alone. Can you say abandonment issues? Whatever plan he may have, or mental games he might play, I think Baelfire is going to show up at some point with a goal, and Rumpelstiltskin is in for a rude awakening.

My personal favorite character that we have seen is Jefferson. What a great backstory and motive for everything he does! But let’s face it, the guy is “mad.” And he hates Regina. In the last episode, he alone manipulated Belle into getting Rumpelstiltskin into revenge mode on Regina. It’s safe to say Jefferson might have some tricks up his hat, and whoever gets in the way of being with his daughter will get the full force of it.

So those are the conclusions I came to after watching the first season. I know there are about a million theories and – knowing these writers – we are probably all wrong. Sound-off in the comments and let us know what you guys come up with!

Editor’s note: Do also check out this post where Hypable readers reacted to the season finale moments after it finished airing.