Um… isn’t Rumple a “Villain” with a Happy Ending? And The Red Queen…she is a “Villain” with a happy ending too, no? It seems that “villains” are capable of redemption without finding the author of the book
Has Rumple been redeemed though? He did just murder someone last season. The Red Queen..yes. But she owned up to her mistakes and failing. She was even willing to die (and did die) for them.
And the question remains….What does it take for villains to be fully redeemed within the eyes of the good? Because as soon as villains do get on their feet, and try to make a change….they have NO support from the good side. And no support usually means slipping back into nasty habits. Hence, Henry not going after Regina, thus we have what we have.
No matter what the villains do! The Heroes are always there to move the bar and expectations to an inconsiderable height, that makes it near impossible for the villains to match. It’s like the popular club, no matter what the nerds did, they could NEVER get in. The Heroes are very much hypocrites to me….I think they feel their position would be challenged because they know that villains have the potential to become even better Heroes because villains aren’t afraid to get dark and dirty to get the job done. Heroes will just talk themselves out the situation first, or try to compromise….(cough) Charmings (cough). But the villains, oh the villains (Regina, Rumple, Hook) will curse, beat, torture the information out of their foes, thus solving the situation much faster than the heroes can, ala the Neverland Mission.
But even still…no matter what the villains may do or say….they are never deemed good enough to be on the good list. Heroes are nothing special, nor are they perfect, the Charmings have clearly shown that! We still don’t know what makes Emma Swan so dang special that she was deemed the title savior, like there had to be thousands of other newborn babies out there in the Enchanted Forest who were born by the same slightly obsessive true love that the Charmings had! What made Emma so special?
It’s high time villains get their happy ending, redeemed villains though. Even the Villains who had a chance for redemption but were denied it…those villains need a chance to right their wrong. And those that already have righted their wrong, if their still being denied a happy ending….then something is wrong with the Heroes.
And I think Regina’s earned her hero title….does Storybrooke appreciate her for it? Do the Charmings acknowledge it? No! They automatically assume that Emma did it….nothing peeved me off more than when Hook told Emma that “she defeated Zelena”….like really? Any good deeds Regina has done were swept under the rug, concealed from public view….and the ones that the public do see, they give one clap and move on. With that type of support, I can’t blame Regina for regressing back into old habits because after everything she’s done, it’s never enough….and as long as Storybrooke remains “Hero Only, Screw Reforming Or Not Villains,” It never will be.
"If you go as far as you can see...you will then see enough to go even further." - Finn Balor