@charming wrote:
He only became the Dark One to save his boy. He deserted the Ogre Wars like anyone one who was drafted to any war would. Who wants to be forced to go to war? He is evil but nevertheless because of his need to save his boy he felt aquiring power was the only way to do it. He was tricked by Zoso, the former Dark One to take his life and his place. He takes first borns because first borns go to war. Going on that theory if he takes all of FTL’s first borns no one will go to war for the ones seeking the first borns but go to Rumple and strike a deal for them.
I love this theory, but I’m not sure I can totally agree with it. I have only seen (please correct me if I’m wrong) 3 children exchanges (or attempts thereof): Charming’s twin brother, Henry and Cinderella/Ashley’s daughter.
Both Charming’s brother and Henry were obtained at the request of other people. Rumple didn’t just go out and demand them own his own. Charming’s brother was procured at the request of the king. As prince of the realm, he was most likely trained in battle at an early age. If there was a war, he would probably be in the front lines, leading his men into battle. Henry was procured at the request of Regina.
Cinderella’s child, on the other hand, he did demand own his own. There is, IMHO, two reasons for this. First has to do with how magic works. The higher someone’s demand, the higher the price. A balance must be maintained. Cinderella didn’t just want a night out on the town, she wanted freedom from her “wretched” life. So, he gave her the keys to the kingdom, so to speak. And I must admit, I feel little sympathy for her. If she’d actually read the contract, she’d have known the terms upfront. But, instead, she was too wrapped up in getting what she wanted right now, the easy way, that she didn’t bother to consider the repercussions.
You know, I just had a thought. I think that’s another reason why Rumple’s prices are so high. When people come to him, they are looking for an easy way out. They no longer want to deal or take responsibility for their own problems. So, if he’s going to make their problem just “go poof!” and disappear, then they’re going to have to pay for it.
Which leads me to another thought, if the prince fell in love with her because of a magical casting, is it really love? Perhaps that is another reason he asked for the child. He knows the child is born out of a lie and he doesn’t think Cinderella deserves to be a mother. Just a thought…
Anyway, back to my original theory. The second reason (is one that’s already been theorized) Rumple asked for the child is that he wanted to get captured, so that he could appear to be in a desperate state, so that he could make the fateful Dark Curse deal.