look, we will never appreciate how far he’s come if we don’t see what the Dark One really is. all the denizens of the land were running to the Dark One for help with all kinds of maladies, from stupid little ones, like going to a ball, to major one’s like someone’s life is in danger (“you’re the Dark One, do something” is a line we hear a lot) this is NOT what the dark one is supposed to be! people should be to terrified to go to the dark one to ask for favors.
the denizens of the land got too used to expecting the dark one to HELP! they got too comfortable with this most evil of evils, the worst DARK curse to ever exist.
(they ask for help, knowing they will be using DARK magic, but dark seems to be almost light. there’s no difference between good magic and dark magic anymore. both gets them what they want and what they want is usually good.)
Gold is just too good to be an evil dark wizard. if we are to appreciate what Gold had to struggle with, we need to see a real dark one. the only way to see a dark one in action is to get rid of gold. so now, weather he is dead or alive, he will have no control over the dark curse, and he will fully be the dark one. (something Belle assured us in a scene in neverland that he wasn’t, that he never really became) now that we will see the full power of evil, we might be able to appreciate when he ever DOES come back to himself, how far he had come to overcome this dark curse
“I’ve come too far for this, for them”