I loved Belle and Rumple’s scene in this episode. Honestly, I didn’t expect Rumple to say the things he said, and I didn’t expect to like what he said.
What he said is definitely controversial, Belle loving him for the beast as well as the man, but there was something that wasn’t said that made me feel good about Rumple’s character development.
While the focus was on why Belle fell in love with Rumple (Rumple accused her of liking the beast, even loving the beast) Rumple’s reasons for falling in love with Belle were never mentioned.
Rumple loves Belle because she isn’t afraid of the beast, and because she’s proven to be able to tame the beast. Rumple believes he’s a better person with Belle in his life, and in his mind, he thinks she keeps the beast in check, which encourages Rumple to use his power more responsibly.
Rumple wants power, but he needs Belle for him to use that power the right way, and he knows it. He knows he can be a hero. I think at this point, he wants to be a hero, but he can’t be trusted with the DO power without Belle there to guide him.
If the Dark One absolutely must exist and there’s no way to break the curse, at this point if we were voting, we would all WANT the DO to be Rumple. He seems to be the best at it, and I think there’s even hope for him to begin using his power for good rather than evil. But he thinks he needs Belle to be good.