Neal obviously did NOT consider that the price might be his life. He also firmly believed that his father was stronger than the witch and capable of remaining outside of her control. Yes, he dismissed the costs when he shouldn’t have, but he was still in partial ignorance when he used the key. That shifts more of the blame to Zelena in my opinion, and obviously Rumple agrees–because that is what he yells at her when she shows up. And she responds with “Oops,” in a clear admission that she is partially at fault. I’d put it at 60% Zelena, 10% Lumiere, and 30% Neal. But on my spreadsheet you basically get chalked up 1 per death you’re involved in. Which is why right now I’ve got Rumple and Snow each taking a hit for Cora’s death (but not Regina–hmm, what was my thinking then? Actually, similar to now–she didn’t KNOW that’s what she was doing, just as Neal didn’t know he was killing himself).
Regina was given her mother’s heart by Snow White, a person who has done nothing to warrant mistrust on Regina’s part, since there was no history of Snow ever A) tricking someone into killing someone else B) using dark magic, before this incident. Neal, on the other hand, knew that the Wicked Witch was an enemy, and never should have trusted that all was as simple as it seemed. And just because he didn’t consider it doesn’t mean he’s off the hook. He should have considered that there was a reason the Witch wasn’t turning the key herself. His failure to stop and think (or listen to Belle) is what led to his death. He allowed his arrogance and impatience to override his common sense.
Rumple ‘agrees’ because the writers have made it so. Plus, of course he wants to blame Zelena; he’s not going to blame his son for his own death just before it happens. And “Oops” is not a clear admission, but even if it was it’s only because the writers need Zelena to be the big-bad this series.
What I mean is that I’m looking at this situation by separating my attachment to the characters and disregarding the way the writers want us to see these events, and am just looking at the actual events which took place. By doing this I’ve concluded that Neal is more at fault than anyone else in this situation. Try doing this yourself to make sure your attachment to Neal isn’t clouding your judgement;
Daniel and his friend Maria are told by a magic lamp that his father, Colin, can be resurrected by using a hidden key in the door of a hidden vault. Daniel and Maria decide to trust the magic lamp and make plans to depart in the morning in order to find the vault. The next day, after reaching the vault, it comes to light that the whole thing is a trap, cooked up by their enemy, the Wretched Wench. The Wench’s plan is to use Daniel to resurrect his father, so that she may control his father and use him for evil. Upon hearing this Maria is certain that resurrecting Colin is the wrong thing to do and gives Daniel several good reasons why she has come to this conclusion. Daniel, however, dismisses Maria’s concerns stating that he believes his father is strong enough to resist the Wench. “What if he’s not”, asks Maria, “To hell with the costs” replies Daniel. So, despite knowing that the whole thing is a ploy by the Wench, Daniel puts the key in the hole and turns it.
It turns out that the ‘cost’ of doing so is Daniel’s life.
"so there’s this new show….."
"there’s lesbians in it"