Rumple was always used as a back up villain for when the arc villain got defeated or to support the arc villain because they weren’t “enough” on their own. I expect Rumple to be used in a similar fashion in season 7 (the writers just need to leave RumBelle alone).
But does’t that beg the question can you leave Rumbelle alone and have Rumple fulfill his main role which is to fill in as a villain when the arc villain isn’t enough? Even if Belle’s not there just the idea that Rumple is gonna black hat it up in S7 would put quite a damper on Rumbelle, no?
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"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"