Maybe Rumple needs to believe that it will work. I think Rumple still may not believe that Belle loves him for him and therefore he doesn’t believe she has true love for him, or maybe Rumple doesn’t believe he is worthy of Belle’s love and therefore true love kiss won’t work.
But does this make sense with what Rumple told Belle a few episodes ago: that she loves the Man AND the Beast, not the Man IN SPITE OF the beast? Rumple knows that Belle loves him, and TLK has worked before. She doesn’t like what power does to him but he knows that she does love him.
I know it’s all PLOT but the rules here are pretty unclear.
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"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"