It looks like Rumple (Robert Carlyle) might be teaching Emma (Jennifer Morrison) how to embrace her darkness in season 5 of ABC's Once Upon a Time.

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A new photo from the season 5 premiere of Once Upon a Time shows a hooded Emma looking wide-eyed in the forest with Rumple creeping in the background. The photo was reported by Entertainment Weekly.

The photo doesn't confirm anything in particular, though the report makes it seem as though Rumple may be guiding Emma to the dark side.

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"If you're going to be the Dark One, gotta learn from the best," Once Upon a Time executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis said in the report. After all, Rumple was the Dark One for a long time and now that Emma has succumbed to darkness, she has to learn all the tricks of the trade.

For those slightly perplexed by the image (consider Mr. Gold was in a coma by the end of season 4), Carlyle previously said that there is a difference between the two identities.

"Rumple's not in a coma. Gold's in a coma," he said. "Gold's got a white heart, Rumple doesn't. It's a different thing."

Entertainment Weekly commenters are speculating that Rumple's presence in the photo might just be a hallucination of sorts for Emma as she goes down the path of darkness. Either way, this will surely be an interesting dynamic to watch unfold.

Once Upon a Time season 5 premieres Sunday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Tags: Once Upon A Time television ABC