@rumplegoldfan wrote:
On the other hand, Rumple put Belle on a pedestal (literally put her on a pedestal via the teacup) and maybe we have too. The writers have always shown us unexpected and surprising sides of the fairy tale characters we thought we knew, so maybe they will surprise us with Belle too and show us a side of her we aren’t expecting. Maybe she will be so mad at Regina for tricking her and locking her up in both FTL and SB that she will “take Rumple’s side” in their power struggle and won’t have a problem with how he handles things.
I noticed a bit of venom in her voice when she told Gold that Regina had locked her up. I suspect that Belle is not the same person she was before she was imprisoned. I would imagine that being unjustly locked up for at least 28 years (plus however long she was imprisoned in FTL before the curse) would change a person. And while I don’t think she has transformed into evil Belle, she is in the perfect position to become the axis of righteous rage (similar to the Count of Monte Cristo) in the storyline.