Yeah, I wish they wouldn’t miss those opportunities, but it doesn’t feel like they’re completely whitewashing what he’s done, either.
And I agree, abuse is abuse, but I think that the motives matter, at least in a story. Rumple’s motives were not to harm Belle or his son, but to protect them. That doesn’t make his methods right, but it does mitigate them slightly.
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Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing