@Midnight Dreary wrote:
As viewers, we tend to throw out human values and standards and immerse ourselves into the world of make-believe.
Totally. In real life, I wouldn’t have been all “Awwww, how romantic” if I knew someone who was sneaking around behind his wife to have romantic picnics in the woods with his mistress. But though I was a tad conflicted when I saw it on the show, ultimately, “Those two crazy kids are so meant to be,” won out in my mind, because we’re not dealing with the real world here.
I can see where the Stockholm Syndrome folks get their dislike of Rumbelle. Personally, I see their relationship differently.
I see them less as prisoner and captor and more as equals. She wasn’t afraid to challenge him and believed in him from the beginning, despite his appearance. She saw through the Dark One persona to the good man within and wanted to help him find his way back.
Of course, if you’re someone who’s never seen goodness in Rumple, then you won’t be able to interpret their story like that.