I agree RG. Rumples overall plan to separate himself from the dagger isn’t evil in itself. It’s the methods he was using that weren’t above board. They really needed to show Rumple’s motivation in show for why he was doing what he did. It actually makes him more sympathetic when you know WHY he was trying to separate himself from the dagger NOW. Unfortunately a lot of Rumple’s kinder human moments got cut so Rumple came across quite power mad this season.