I think the mistake they made with Rumple in 4A is that they never showed his more humanising moments (they all ended up as deleted scenes) and they never explained his motivation for doing what he said so he came across as power-mad for the sake of it. Rumple clings to his power and magic, not because he’s power-hungry, but because he’s afraid that without it, he’d go back to being what he was: a helpless victim. Rumple is caught in an addiction that he can’t seem to break free of but rather than explore that issue, the writers have his actions pinned as “for the evulz”.
I do actually wonder if Rumple’s black heart isn’t the result of what he’s done but as a consequence of being the dark one. He’s been the dark one a lot longer than most people are dark ones so what if it is just the effect of being the dark one for such a long time? Rumple likens not being able to feel any kind of love as a type of death, wouldn’t it be somewhat fitting if Rumple’s power was killing him, much like drugs do to a drug user?
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of Felix