The scene where he declared his love in the flashback was so overly dramatic and just comical (not in the good way), and I just couldn’t take him even remotely seriously. The final scene in present day, he dialed it back a bit and came across as being a bit more believeable.
In the flashback, I think he was probably trying super hard to convince her because this was gonna be his one shot at getting his heart kickstarted again, so he had to force the situation and try to make the true love happen. In present day it seems he’s prepared to be more patient, though he still seems pretty convinced that she’s gonna fall for him, which rubs me the wrong way.
If they’d written it a bit differently, with him being less forceful about the whole situation, I’d be more inclined to say that they could actually be a great couple. I mean, considering who each one of them is, and what their issues are, on paper they’re kind of a perfect match. Not the type who’d really have a healthy relationship, but there’s stuff they could bond over. If they’d taken the time to show them actually fall for each other, I could get behind it, but this whole thing with him falling in true love after one bike ride and then deciding that they belong together forever is ridiculous.
That being said, if Zelena falls for him and decides to stay in the Underworld, and it gets her permanently off my screen, then I wouldn’t be overly upset about that.
Why else would he bring her baby to the underworld if it’s not to use as leverage against her, to force her to stay with him forever in Hell.
He doesn’t need Zelena’s baby now that he’s gonna get Rumple’s.