we all know it has nothing to do with what he deserves… no one deserves to have a father like Pan or to have his 14 year old son threatened to have no choice but to sell his soul to the devil in order to protect his son. or to be controlled by a wicked witch
no one deserves such a fate and certainly not someone so full of love as Gold, but his fate is cruel. so if it’s the witch who saves him, that’s not such a bad thing, as long as he IS saved