As much as I love Rumple, I think Belle deserves a backstory in S3; Rumple has already had 2 character-centric episodes (3×4 and 3×8)! While I’d love Rumple to be in the FB or present-day in 3×15, I want to see Belle at the helm this time. It’s been a long time since “The Outsider” and then the disaster of Lacey that ensued. Belle deserves her own story outside of 3×7, which she played a significant role in but didn’t feature in any backstories.
Agreed, we’re definitely due for a Belle-centric. Of course Rumple will play a role in that, but I’m kinda hoping he’s not even in the ep a huge amount. From what we’ve seen, Belle was the only person in the castle with Rumple, (when he didn’t have anyone to torture) so I think Lumiere may end up being someone from Belle’s household, instead of Rumple’s.