BUT is that not the way LIFE IS? We are often pawns to forces outside ourselves …. some good, some bad… Employers, family and relatives, friends…significant others, the bank that holds the mortgage on your home…the idiot driver on the road …Mundane but true…. I do not think we decide our own fate as much as react to the results of the decisions we make or are thrust upon us by others.
My comment wasn’t about Belle actually deciding her own fate, because nobody is totally in control of that. It was more about the depiction of Belle. In recent times, it seems like her character is totally defined by her relationship with Rumple. We’re seeing less and less of her doing things independently or interacting with other characters. In this latest arc, none of the ‘heroes’ interacted with Belle, unless you count Zelena. They do however, use her to manipulate Rumple. I know Belle has the narrative function of pulling Rumple back from the darkness, but they could do more with her character.