Re: Does Rumple’s Dagger Wield Any Power in Storybrooke?

@Mich7 wrote:

The only way Rumple became immortal was through the curse of the dagger…if he is still immortal or immortal again I would think that the curse was reactivated through the bringing of magic to our world. He’s still the Dark One…he’s just been able to make better decisions with Belle’s help imo.

Rumple is still the Dark One in SB, since he said to the wraith, “The dark one summons you,” in 2×1. That being said, however, we’ve heard it repeated that magic is different in SB than it is in the Enchanted Forest. Mr. Gold brought magic derived from true love to SB, which could mean dark magic doesn’t have full sway there. Even as the dark one, Rumple said in 1×16 that true love is the greatest magic. Daniel repeated this same line in 1×18. True love being the greatest magic of all is a major recurring theme in this series. Cora, who taught Regina that love is weakness, learned from Emma, the product of true love, that love is actually strength in 2×9.

So, true love magic seems to be greater than dark magic, and magic derived from true love is what permeates SB. That could be why the dark one curse has less power in SB, why Rumple isn’t greenish-gold in color, and why Mr. Gold still has his limp and needs a cane. The presence of true love magic could’ve already diminished the strength of the dark one curse so significantly that Belle’s true love kiss didn’t have much more to “undo” in terms of Rumpel’s curse in SB.

Phee wrote:

As for Belle’s true love’s kiss…one of the big mysteries of OUaT for me personally…it’s supposed to be able to break any curse and yet Rumple resisted when she first kissed him…I’m beginning to wonder if the one who is cursed is unwilling to give up their curse that even true loves kiss might not be able to break it. If that were true, Belle kissing him might not matter…either that or he has perfected a way to resist.

That sounds like a reasonable explanation, that one has to be willing to give up the curse for the kiss to work. The other time we saw a kiss not work was with Snowing, when she didn’t remember. The kiss did work when he almost sacrificed his life for her, so it’s fair to say that she was willing to give it up when that happened and they kissed again.

So perhaps Rumple just isn’t willing to let his curse go yet, and no amount of kissing can change that. Only glitch with that is that when he kissed her in the hospital, I got the sense that in that moment, he would have given it all up to bring her back. But it didn’t appear to affect him.

I like the idea that Mr. Gold has to be willing to release his curse before it can be completely removed through true love’s kiss. I don’t think it’s a glitch that when Mr. Gold kissed Belle in the hospital, his curse wasn’t lifted. Rather, I think that kiss didn’t result in a rainbow beam because Belle doesn’t remember who she or Rumple is, and so she can’t love him. So, in order for the dark one curse to be lifted, the stars have to align perfectly such that Mr. Gold has to want to give up his curse and Belle has to fall in love again with him. Voila, rainbows! 🙂