Sir Maurice, currently known as Moe French, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the twelfth episode of the first season and is portrayed by guest star Eric Keenleyside.
Maurice is based on the merchant from the fairy tale of "Beauty and the Beast," Beauty's real father from the Villeneuve version of the fairy tale, and on the character of the same name from the Disney film, Beauty and the Beast.
History
Sir Maurice marries a woman named Colette and they have a daughter, Belle. They live together in a castle in an unnamed kingdom, which Maurice rules over. ("Family Business")
Years later, after Belle has become a young woman, Maurice grows concerned over the frequent ogre skirmishes in the kingdom, as many soldiers have lost their lives in these battles. As a possible solution, he can get troops from Lord LeGume's kingdom, but for this to work, his daughter must marry LeGume's eldest son Gaston. He tells his wife Colette about the idea, and she agrees with it. Maurice tries to encourage Belle to at least meet Gaston, whom she believes is a vain womanizer as the rumors say. When Gaston shows up for the rendezvous, he realizes that Belle is unhappy with the set-up and even offers to leave to ease her discomfort. She then gives him a chance and agrees to go on a walk with him. In the woods, they find a young ogre trapped in a pit. Suspecting ogres are using their young to spy on them, Gaston suggests bringing the fledgling to Maurice's castle, but Belle objects, afraid the men will torture the ogre. Eventually, Belle fetches the mirror of souls, hoping to use it on the ogre to learn if it's evil or not. After getting the mirror, she goes with her father to find Gaston, who claims the ogre attacked him and escaped. Maurice decides the ogre is too dangerous, and after telling Belle to go home, he and Gaston head off with knights to hunt the ogre. The party corner the ogre, but Belle stops Gaston's arrow by shielding the ogre with the mirror. Only then, she notices the ogre has fresh wounds on its back, and that Gaston's reflection in the mirror has demonic eyes. Realizing Gaston tortured the ogre in her absence, she later allows the creature to escape unharmed. Sometime later, Maurice learns the ogres have breached the eastern region and that war is inevitable. He accuses Belle of causing the current dilemma because of her behavior earlier, while she implies humans are to blame for the war because of how they've been treating ogres. Letting the topic go, Maurice instead brings up her betrothal with Gaston, which must happen if he is to gain LeGume's army to protect their kingdom. For her people's sake, she agrees to marry Gaston. ("Her Handsome Hero")
One day, the ogres breach the castle walls, causing Maurice and everyone inside to evacuate. Belle and Colette become trapped within the library, hiding under a table, when an ogre storms into the room. When more ogres show up, Colette holds them off while a guard pulls Belle to safety. Shortly after, Colette dies. Belle, having passed out, is put on bed rest. Grieving for his wife, Maurice prepares a funeral casket and holds a vigil for her. Belle eventually awakens, with no recollection of Colette's sacrifice, and asks him for her mother's whereabouts only to see the ongoing wake. Later, he checks up on Belle. Desperate to remember what happened to her mother, she expresses an interest in tracking down rock trolls, beings who can restore memories, but Maurice doesn't want her to pay the price of magic. When she argues against his opinion, he forbids Belle from leaving the room until the doctors agree her health has improved. Defying his wishes, Belle vanishes to Arendelle, but she returns empty-handed. Realizing he cannot hide the truth any longer, Maurice admits the nature of Colette's death. He mentions the ogres have gotten stronger, to which Belle tells him about a wizard, Rumplestiltskin, who can help them. Despite that there will be a price of magic, Belle asserts she is willing in order to be as brave as her mother was. ("Family Business")
During the war, the ogres ravage the lands, with nearby towns in Maurice's kingdom being destroyed. After the town of Avonlea falls, he desperately waits to hear back from the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin, whom he contacted for help. While chaos reigns outside the castle walls, Maurice, Belle, Gaston and his knights are sheltered in a room. They fear the worst when there is pounding at the door, but instead of a horde of ogres bursting in, Rumplestiltskin magically appears. The Dark One agrees to protect Maurice's kingdom from the ogres if Belle becomes his eternal servant. Shocked at the request, Maurice refuses, but Belle consents to going so her father and kingdom's people will be safe. Months later, Belle and Rumplestiltskin grow to have mutual feelings for each other, but due to a misunderstanding, he suspects she is trying to strip him of his Dark One powers. Choosing his powers over her, he throws Belle out of his castle for good. Sometime after her departure, Belle is kidnapped by the Evil Queen and imprisoned in a palace. The Queen then pays a visit to Rumplestiltskin, claiming that his former maid returned home, where she received cruel treatment from her father because of her association with the Dark One. She tells him Belle had a tragic end after Maurice locked his daughter in a tower and had priests perform exorcisms on her, which ultimately resulted in the girl's death. ("Skin Deep," "Queen of Hearts")
Following many endless days as a prisoner, Belle meets Hook after he breaks into her cell to warn her that Maurice's life is in danger because of Rumplestiltskin. He urges her to tell him where Rumplestiltskin's greatest weakness, the Dark One's dagger is, so he can save her father. A bewildered Belle admits she doesn't know anything about a dagger and insists she can persuade Rumplestiltskin to let her father go. Hook, having made up the lie about Maurice in order to find the dagger, decides Belle is no longer useful and knocks her unconscious. ("Queen of Hearts")With the imminent appearance of Charon, who is about to come to Storybrooke to drag all marked souls to the Underworld, this prompts Mr. Gold to encourage Belle to leave town. After giving his wife the keys to his car and a potion that will allow her to cross the town line with no side effects, Mr. Gold suggests she say goodbye to Moe and then leave for the land without magic. Unaware of the danger everyone in Storybrooke is exposed to, Belle meets with her father, warmly gives him a hug, before entering Mr. Gold's car and driving away. Before she leaves town for good, however, she learns the truth from Henry via a phone call and returns home to Mr. Gold. ("Swan Song")
As Moe tends to flowers in his shop, Mr. Gold arrives to request help with a cursed Belle, who needs true love's kiss. He figures out that Mr. Gold's attempt at true love's kiss didn't work, but he refuses to help his daughter on the latter's behalf. Mr. Gold criticizes Moe for not aiding Belle in order to get back at him, to which Moe spitefully agrees that Belle should stay asleep forever until Mr. Gold is gone from her life permanently. When Mr. Gold tries to threaten him with another cane beating, much like the one he gave him in the past, Moe vows that he'd rather die than give into his demands. Mr. Gold then slams the cane down onto the table, prepared to make good on his promise, but Emma intervenes, shooing Moe out of the room so she can talk to Mr. Gold alone. ("Last Rites")Family
MauriceMoe French | Colette † | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gaston † | Belle † | Rumplestiltskin †Mr. Gold †Weaver † | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gideon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes:
- Solid lines denote parent-child blood relationships
- Dashed lines denote marriage and engagement relationships that result in offspring
- † denotes the deceased
- Gaston and Belle were formerly betrothed
Trivia
Etymology
- The name "Moe" is of English origin and a diminished form of the name "Maurice,"[1] which is the name of Moe's original counterpart.
- Moe's last name, French, is a nod to the French origin of the fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast."
Disney
- Maurice is a reference to the character of the same name from the Disney film Beauty and the Beast. However, he does not share the same occupation as the Disney adaptation of the character, who is an inventor.
Fairy Tales and Folklore
- In the fairy tale of "Beauty and the Beast," Beauty's father is a merchant. However, in the original version of the story by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, it is revealed that Beauty is actually a princess; her real father is a king who lives in a castle. On Once Upon a Time, Beauty's father is the lord of a castle and the ruler of an unnamed kingdom.
Popular Culture
- Moe' flower company is called "Game of Thorns," a reference to the television series Game of Thrones, which Jane Espenson wrote one episode for.[2] ("Skin Deep," "The Crocodile," "Last Rites")
Appearances
Once Upon a Time: Season One | ||||||||||
"Pilot": | "The Thing You Love Most": | "Snow Falls": | "The Price of Gold": | "That Still Small Voice": | "The Shepherd": | "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter": | "Desperate Souls": | "True North": | "7:15 A.M.": | "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Skin Deep": | "What Happened to Frederick": | "Dreamy": | "Red-Handed": | "Heart of Darkness": | "Hat Trick": | "The Stable Boy": | "The Return": | "The Stranger": | "An Apple Red as Blood": | "A Land Without Magic": |
Appears | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Once Upon a Time: Season Two | ||||||||||
"Broken": | "We Are Both": | "Lady of the Lake": | "The Crocodile": | "The Doctor": | "Tallahassee": | "Child of the Moon": | "Into the Deep": | "Queen of Hearts": | "The Cricket Game": | "The Outsider": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent |
"In the Name of the Brother": | "Tiny": | "Manhattan": | "The Queen Is Dead": | "The Miller's Daughter": | "Welcome to Storybrooke": | "Selfless, Brave and True": | "Lacey": | "The Evil Queen": | "Second Star to the Right": | "And Straight On 'Til Morning": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Once Upon a Time: Season Three | ||||||||||
"The Heart of the Truest Believer": | "Lost Girl": | "Quite a Common Fairy": | "Nasty Habits": | "Good Form": | "Ariel": | "Dark Hollow": | "Think Lovely Thoughts": | "Save Henry": | "The New Neverland": | "Going Home": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"New York City Serenade": | "Witch Hunt": | "The Tower": | "Quiet Minds": | "It's Not Easy Being Green": | "The Jolly Roger": | "Bleeding Through": | "A Curious Thing": | "Kansas": | "Snow Drifts": | "There's No Place Like Home": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Season Four | ||||||||||
"A Tale of Two Sisters": |
"White Out": |
"Rocky Road": |
"The Apprentice": |
"Breaking Glass": |
"Family Business": | "The Snow Queen": |
"Smash the Mirror": |
"Fall": | "Shattered Sight": |
"Heroes and Villains": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Darkness on the Edge of Town": |
"Unforgiven": | "Enter the Dragon": | "Poor Unfortunate Soul": |
"Best Laid Plans": | "Heart of Gold": | "Sympathy for the De Vil": |
"Lily": | "Mother": | "Operation Mongoose Part 1": |
"Operation Mongoose Part 2": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Once Upon a Time: Season Five | |||||||||||
"The Dark Swan": | "The Price": | "Siege Perilous": | "The Broken Kingdom": | "Dreamcatcher": | "The Bear and the Bow": | "Nimue": | "Birth": | "The Bear King": | "Broken Heart": | "Swan Song": | |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | |
"Souls of the Departed": | "Labor of Love": | "Devil's Due": | "The Brothers Jones": | "Our Decay": | "Her Handsome Hero": | "Ruby Slippers": | "Sisters": | "Firebird": | "Last Rites": | "Only You": | "An Untold Story": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | Mentioned | Absent | Mentioned | Appears | Mentioned | Absent |
Once Upon a Time: Season Seven | ||||||||||
"Hyperion Heights": | "A Pirate's Life": | "The Garden of Forking Paths": | "Beauty": | "Greenbacks": | "Wake Up Call": | "Eloise Gardener": | "Pretty in Blue": | "One Little Tear": | "The Eighth Witch": | "Secret Garden": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Archive | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"A Taste of the Heights": | "Knightfall": | "The Girl in the Tower": | "Sisterhood": | "Breadcrumbs": | "Chosen": | "The Guardian": | "Flower Child": | "Is This Henry Mills?": | "Homecoming": | "Leaving Storybrooke": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Archive |
Once Upon a Time: Comics | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
|
Once Upon a Time: Specials | ||||||||||
"Magic is Coming": |
"The Price of Magic": | "Journey to Neverland": | "Wicked is Coming": | "Storybrooke Has Frozen Over": | ||||||
Archive | Archive | Absent | Archive | Archive | ||||||
"Secrets of Storybrooke": | "Dark Swan Rises": | "Evil Reigns Once More": | "The Final Battle Begins": | |||||||
Archive | Archive | Absent | Archive |
Other Appearances | ||||||||||
|
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.
See also
References
- ↑ Maurice. Behind the Name. Retrieved on July 31, 2020. "Diminutives Mo, Moe (English)"
- ↑ Jane Espenson's Season One Blu-ray/DVD Audio Commentary for "Skin Deep"