Reply To: Hello Giggles 1/12 – Emilie Interview

[Keb]

There have been some serious inconsistencies with the way the writers have portrayed Belle, but I don’t think Emilie’s wrong on this part. Belle wants Rumple in her life, because she loves him and believes in true love, but she also values her dignity and not hurting people and she’s trying to balance her values and desires at this point.

I think what Emilie is expressing is that Belle was never dependent upon Rumple for happiness; she finds her happiness through helping others. Part of why she’s struggled with the relationship with Rumple is that he’s never let her help as much as she wants to–from that moment in Skin Deep where he chose power over love the first time with her. When she’s been happiest with him is when he has accepted, or pretended to accept, that she has a lot to offer him (and, yanno, wasn’t hurting people that she knew about, cuz that matters too)–that is, when he’s treated her as a partner and included her in his plans. That’s what she wants out of their relationship, aside from the love.

I think this explains why she’s been able to leave Rumple when he’s gone too far in the past for her, and also why she’s been willing to go back. She knows she doesn’t need him–but she always wants him, and wants what she, definitely an idealist, believes they could have together.

But of course some of it is just the writers trying to have their cake (drama) and eat it too (Rumbelle magic). That ridiculously fast-paced whiplash OOC breakup-makeup at the end of S5A was totally that, and not even a partial resolution to the issues they created in S4. The caring, daring Belle they crafted in earlier episodes wouldn’t have showed up at the well to break Rumple’s heart; she would’ve shown up at the fight to help her beloved survive, and then explain things there. The confident, fed-up Belle we’ve seen elsewhere wouldn’t have run back into his arms just because he was trying to protect her, but might well have decided to try things again–slowly. But of course there is no time for that.