How is it possible (aka so much for the Golden light)

betsypaige24 wrote: How is it fair or just that he does that and, not only is he still cursed, but he’s being controlled?

Because it’s the one aspect of being the Dark One we haven’t seen. It’s how the DO curse was introduced and it’s the one tiny bit of it they haven’t explored with Rumple. Now it’s about fighting against that curse even though he’s powerless–meaning that he’s being controlled

betsypaige24 wrote: I wonder if the DO curse will ever be broken and how many lives Gold has to give before it IS broken? I thought the golden light when he stabbed himself and Pan was an indication that he was being saved, that his sacrifice earned him a reward, but it seems not. It seems the golden light means nothing and Gold simply continues to suffer as he’s always done.

I think it will be broken by the end of the season. This second half is about him fighting against the Curse, not accepting his villainy and knowing he has to pay a price for it.

Now that I agree with RG and it’s why I want to believe that once this dagger/control thing is resolved, that the curse will be  broken…..because if it’s not, where else can they go with it? I’d LOVE LOVE it if, even over TLK, Gold’s love for Belle proved far greater than the magic of the dagger.

I hope that they spend sufficient time on this. I mean, it’s fine that Regina has a big arc, but this is a huge deal for Gold, so they  need to do the story justice.

Harley, maybe Gold-haters would be upset – or Rumbelle haters.  All the Rumbelle fans I see on Tumblr expected that his stabbing himself would have broken the curse.  We know about Zoso, but he wasn’t the same man as Rumple, as Gold – he wanted to pass the curse on to someone else; he truly was evil.

Below is a post someone made in response to my question: it’s long, but she always gives the best Rumbelle/Belle/Gold analysis:

About his curse: I was never expecting him stabbing himself with the dagger to genuinely kill him or get rid of the curse because I don’t see a logical reason why the Dark curse would work that way, not when before it took another person to do the stabbing. It made sense that that’s what needed to be done because seemingly the curse needs a host and the knife is the only way it would be transferred to a new victim and there was no new victim this time. His still being cursed and so being vulnerable to being controlled by WW with the dagger makes sense to me. There was nowhere for it to go in the 3×11 scenario but he’s supposed to be dead (which would usually meannot protected by his curse?) but if not for the curse itself he really would be dead dead because (even without any other qualities the dagger has) a big knife is still a big knife and a normal human would likely not survive that experience. But maybe they’ll just hand-wave this fact.

He’s going to be under his curse for most of the show, I expect. Mostly because they do like him being the Dark One, and Bobby likes it too, he doesn’t seem to want to be depowered any more than Rumple does, but no-one involved in the show, for some reason, has talked about the idea that his curse and his magical ability could easily be two different things.

Yes, him getting cursed was how he gained powers but we’ve seen others learn and use magic without being cursed. If he’s learned how to call up and use magic that knowledge should still be with him. He’d not be immortal or as powerful but there’s no reason I think he can only be magical while being the Dark One. He’s learned so much about magic over hundreds of years; that can’t be for naught. When the knife is used everything – curse and magic – is transferred, but with True Love’s Kiss it could play out differently. The curse would certainly break but they could decide that the magic could stay. So, Belle could save her guy with TLK at some pivotal moment when that’s both what they want, we get a Beauty and the Beast glowy magical kiss or similar but then he finds out soon after that gets to keep magic. This would mean he doesn’t have to feel vulnerable and powerless and still has the means to protect his family but could also create interesting tension when he wonders if maybe Belle would prefer he not have magic. It’s a win/win scenario and what I’d choose for him. If they like that idea it could be broken a lot sooner than the end of the show but a scenario where he’s completely powerless and a human man is the least likely thing to turn up, I’d say. They need him to still be scary in some way, that’s how this show likes him.
About his sacrifice: Sacrificing yourself doesn’t mean you get anything out of it, it’s done for other people. He wanted to save Belle and Bae, the people he loves, and help out all the other people – who he knows would also have been harmed/tortured by his shit of a father too – into the bargain. He did have a hand in the first curse even though he never cast it so his saving them all could be seen as an apology for that, but trying to make amends doesn’t mean you’re free and clear. Either way he didn’t want people to be hurt by his father so he took him out. That was hard for him, killing his papa, of course it was, and he’ll always want redemption, but there’s no guarantees he’s there yet. He knows that too but he was happy enough to try anyway as long as he got to say goodbye to the two people who matter most to him.
I’m not saying he’s not a good man at heart, he genuinely is, but no-one is owed forgiveness. He’s hurt people and there are people who hurt him too so I’m beyond fine with a scenario where people don’t have to like anyone who did wrong by them, and he often did screw people over, so it’s fine. He can be a good person, continue to prove himself to the people he cares most about, and be seen as their hero, but I don’t expect everyone to feel that way about him.
Yes, it’s frustrating when heroism isn’t acknowledged but he’s not doing it for praise, he did it because he felt he needed to, because Belle and Bae are all that matters and protecting them is a priority, adulation is not at all what he’s about. Basically, while I do want people running the show to admit what he did was a heroic and impressive thing I don’t expect that most of the characters around Rumple will think highly of him or treat him like he’s a changed man after this. In all likelihood they’ll still be butting heads over all sorts of things in the future and usually we’re not supposed to side with people who go against whatever the Charmings plan, those who do are supposed to be the bad guys or are to be seen as being in the wrong at the very least.

He’s a hero, no one can take that from him, but he has a very, very different view of how the world works and how things should be than Snow and Charming do so it’ll be tense and difficult and they’ll disapprove of his methods and yada yada yada THIS FAMILY IS A MESS.
Lastly, when he said he wants to go back to being the man he was, to the best version of him, before the curse and everything, that doesn’t mean he necessarily wants to be ‘normal’ or mortal or whatever, because he was powerless and unhappy when he was that man. He wants to be at his best, a man with a good heart, and to be more like that, who he was, before any of his intentions or actions were twisted/corrupted by the curse, but still not be in a position where he can be attacked and kicked while he’s down etc.
He can be that good person but still make it clear that never again will anyone get to treat him like he’s worthless and nor should he stand for that, either: his oppression left him in a horrible place mentally I think we’d all agree. So yes, I’m all for him having more power than he did then. I don’t want them to say it’s better to be abused like that and just take it rather than get enough power to fight back against those who would humiliate and harm you. Being good does not mean being passive, anyone who tells you different is wrong.
They’ll make him suffer to some degree no matter what; him being controlled by the dagger and likely being made to do awful things is another way to do that. Obviously they’re really fond of scenes where Bobby has to cry, because he does it so well, and we as viewers like some of that too, but honestly I’d just prefer it to be more of the crying because Rumple’s so happy his heart wants to burst out of his chest because Belle variety of scenes rather than the MY LIFE JUST FELL APART FOR THE BILLIONTH TIME PLS MAKE IT STOP scenes because ouch and no thank you.

The subject is Gold and his curse, not Emma…..so whether you think she is the center of the story or not,  she has nothing to do with my post

I also never said you hated anyone…..

Hmm, I would hope not… maybe I’ll ask Adam.  The big deal in that scene was not Pan’s death, it was Gold’s sacrifice and for that gold light to be about Pan would seem odd (no offense intended)   Maybe it was just meant to represent Gold’s love and his ultimate sacrifice/redemption and not that he was going to be saved, because of course, Gold expected to die – which is what makes his act so beautiful and noble.

It is interesting how Rumbelle’s magic is also gold/white light; we see this when Belle casts the cloaking spell, with the sand dollar and when she activates the trap via the chipped cup showing where Pandora’s box is…..