Does – and maybe people who have better knowledge of Belle/RumBelle can clarify – know EVERYTHING that Rumple has done as the Dark One. Does she have full understanding of Rumple as the ‘coward’ (another debatable concept but I’ll leave that alone for now), and his motivations for even becoming the Dark One in the first place?
Sadly, none of this has been made clear on screen. What Belle does or does not know, just hasn’t been given to us. We know Belle knows that he killed Milah…but we don’t know if she knows *how* Rumple lost Bae or how he became the Dark One, or what he did in the years before he met her. To be fair, not a lot is known about what Rumple did in the those years. The time from loosing Bae to Cora is a big old blank.
Aside from RumBelle, if I could ask Rumple one thing it would be – what do you think Neal would say if he knew you ‘avenged’ his death?
Neal would be totally and completely disappointed in his father. The last thing Neal knew, his father sacrificed his life for those he loved and acknowledged that he was a villain and maybe he doesn’t get a happy ending because of the things he’s done. And now this. Neal would be so upset. But he’s dead. So I am pissed on his behalf.
One of the most compelling relationships on OUAT is the one between Rumple and his son, for me, and I really hope they don’t shove it aside.
*resits urge to make realllllllly snarky comment about writers*