Moe French

This article focuses on Moe French's Storybrooke persona. For his Enchanted Forest counterpart, see
Maurice.

You will destroy Belle like you destroy everything else.

—Moe French to Mr. Gold^src

Moe French is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the twelfth episode of the first season. He is portrayed by guest star Eric Keenleyside, and is the Storybrooke counterpart of Maurice.

History

For events occurring before the casting of the first curse, see Maurice.

During First Curse

After the casting of the Dark Curse, Sir Maurice becomes a florist named Moe French who runs a flower business, Game of Thorns. On the day prior to Valentine's Day, he is unloading flowers from his truck when his landlord, Mr. Gold, asks him to pay up on his late loan fees. Since he doesn't have the requested money, Mr. Gold takes his truck for time being. Moe attempts to stop the man's henchman from possessing the vehicle, but he is forced to jump out of the way as the truck is driven away. This heartless act angers Moe greatly, and Regina, having witnessed the entire spectacle, subtly suggests robbing Mr. Gold as revenge. He follows through with the scheme and steals various valuables from Mr. Gold's home. Unknown to Moe, Regina is setting him up to take the fall when she herself snatches a precious belonging from Mr. Gold. Sheriff Emma is able to retrieve all the stolen items except one, to which Mr. Gold takes matters into his own hands by kidnapping Moe to an abandoned cabin. While gagged and bound, Moe is continuously questioned by Mr. Gold about the missing item is, but when given the chance to speak, he protests that it wasn't his fault. This one sentence drives Mr. Gold into a rage as he starts beating Moe with a cane as he blames him for causing pain towards "her". Emma bursts into the room to stop the assault, and while Moe is sent to the hospital, she arrests Mr. Gold for physical battery charges. Later, at the hospital, Moe receives a full-body cast for his injuries. ("Skin Deep")

After First Curse

Upon remembering his true identity after the Dark Curse is broken, Moe searches for his daughter Belle. He has no success until Mr. Gold comes to his flower shop saying he is looking for Belle, who has just gone missing, and just wants to know she is okay. Moe rebukes Mr. Gold, and at some point, hires William Smee to find his missing daughter. Smee succeeds in doing so, to which daughter and father are tearfully reunited. When Moe demands that his daughter to leave Mr. Gold permanently, Belle refuses, saying that she is her own person and her father cannot tell her what to do. However, Moe believes he knows what is best for her. Sadly, he orders Smee to take Belle underground to the mines and across the town line so she will lost her Enchanted Forest memories. Later, David and Mr. Gold return to question him about Belle's disappearance after Ruby tracks the girl's scent to the flower shop. When pushed by Mr. Gold, Moe confesses he had Smee take Belle across the town boundary. With Moe in tow, everyone runs to the mines, where Mr. Gold uses magic to pull Belle back to safety. In addition to being angry with Mr. Gold, Belle tells Moe that she never wants to see him again for what he attempted to do to her. ("The Crocodile")

After Second Curse

Moe finally reconciles with his daughter, Belle, when she informs him of her plans to marry Mr. Gold after he proposed. Letting go his past feud with Mr. Gold, he agrees to give his blessing to the union. During an evening ceremony, Moe walks alongside Belle and leads her to a waiting Mr. Gold. With Archie acting as pastor, the couple exchange heartfelt vows and seal the marriage with a kiss as Moe looks on. ("There's No Place Like Home")

After Third Curse

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

Moe French

Colette †

Belle French

Mr. Gold

Gideon

Notes:

Solid lines denote blood parent-child relationships

Dashed lines denote marriage relationships that result in offspring

Trivia

Etymology

Moe's last name, French, is a nod to the French origin of the fairytale, Beauty and the Beast.

Production Notes

His flower company is called "Game of Thorns", a reference to the television series Game of Thrones, which Jane Espenson wrote one episode for.

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	Absent	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	Absent	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 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	Absent	Mentioned	Absent	Mentioned	Appears	Mentioned	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Specials
"Magic is Coming":	"The Price of Magic":	"Journey to Neverland":	"Wicked is Coming":	"Storybrooke Has Frozen Over":
Archive	Absent	Absent	Absent	Archive
"Secrets of Storybrooke":	"Dark Swan Rises":	"Evil Reigns Once More":	"The Final Battle Begins":
Archive	Absent	Absent	Absent

Other Appearances
Moe French is featured in Once Upon a Time's Season One novelization, Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale.

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.