Reply To: Your True Love Is Power

[Slurpeez]

Belle absolutely had to do what she did to save everyone. Can you imagine an all powerful dark one without accountability? As terrible a personal sacrifice it was for Belle, I was actually mightily impressed with her inner strength. Finally, she stood up for herself! She wasn’t just an enabler of Rumple’s addiction to power.  While I didn’t love that Rumple drove her to that point, she was adamant in sticking up for herself and for the rest of the town. She was a true hero, even though it was so painful, but she knew she had to do it. Rumple was both a threat to the town, to her, and even to himself, because unlimited magic without any sort of price would be disastrous for them. Unlimited power would’ve absolutely corrupted Rumple to the point of no return, and he would’ve driven Belle away from him, or else, held her against her will.

Do I think Rumple can come back from this? Do I think Belle will ever forgive him? I think a lot of things would have to happen before that would ever happen. Namely, Rumple would have to choose Belle over power, by which I let her kiss break his dark one’s curse once and for all. So far, the reason Belle’s kiss hasn’t yet freed him from his curse is because he doesn’t want to lose his magic. Power is his true love, as Belle said. But how Rumple would choose Belle while currently headed down this dark path would take a miracle.

As for what Rumple was actually planning to do in NYC if he’d actually succeeded in being free of the dagger while keeping his power, I haven’t a blessed clue.  As we saw, he still ended up in NYC on a bus. We know that is where Neal’s apartment was so maybe Rumple is living there? What Rumple is doing there now, I’m not sure. What he was planning originally may have changed, but it seemed like Ursula was (bizarrely) working there at an aquarium. (How did she get there?)  So now it seems like he will team up with her to find Cruella and Mal, and then track down the author.