I usually found class kinda boring, but Magic 101 was fun, thanks weebeastie. 😉
@purrlisse wrote:
1. Why did Rumpelstiltskin give Regina the Dark Curse in the First Place
He needed it cast and couldn’t do it himself.
This curse, IMO, IS about love, not hate. I think that this curse was created because he needed an antidote for the Dark One curse. He didn’t believe that a curse as strong as the one inflicted on him could possibly be broken. Then along came Belle, and if he’d have let it happen, their love WOULD have broken the curse.
So he needed love, which it turns out, IS indeed the greatest magic of all, it’s not just lovey dovey words, it’s actually fact, and was the only thing that could save him. Problem was, he couldn’t use his and Belle’s love, because he now believed her to be dead. And he couldn’t use his and Bae’s love, because that was lost centuries ago.
So he needed some other loved up couple to provide the vital ingredient for this spell, which is what he used Snow and Charming for.
Next problem he faced was that love was also needed to ENACT the curse. The sacrifice of love was needed for this. Both of the loves he had had in his life were gone, so he couldn’t enact it himself. There was no one’s heart he could toss into a fire. So he needed someone with the desire for the power this spell would weild. Someone who would sacrifice ANYTHING to have it. Lucky for him, he knew Regina. Power hungry, seethingly vengeful Regina, who would even sacrifice her own father, the only love she had left in the world.
So he got her to take it, he got her to enact it, but he made sure to build in an antidote: Emma, born of that same true love that was the spell’s vital ingredient that made it so powerful. Once Emma breaks the curse, Mr Gold will be free of magic, which had become such a terrible burden on him. And he’ll get the final victory over Regina when all the power she had in Storybrooke comes crashing down around her and she’s left with nothing.
2. How was he protected to remember the previous life? does this mean he is in fact stronger than Regina?
As the maker of the curse, he surely would have included a clause to ensure he got perks, like retaining all his memories. He probably didn’t even really NEED to ask Regina for the perks he wanted like comfort and luxury, he was probably gonna get that anyway. Asking for that stuff was just part of the act, so that she felt like SHE was the one in control of the situation. Poor, misguided Regina. She wasn’t even expecting him to remember their conversation, so what harm would it do to agree to his request? At least it’d get him to stop blabbing away and get on with telling her how to enact the freaking curse.
What did she get out of that pointless (in her eyes) favour? Nothing. What did RUMPLE get out of it? Power over Regina whenever he wanted, as long as he said the magic word: please. He totally manipulated her into giving up some of her future power, because he knew she was too blinded by the big picture to pay attention to the details. He totally snowed her. Always read the fine print before you agree to anything, Regina!!
@Midnight Dreary wrote:
Rumpel would never give that much power to anyone, especially not Regina. So, I have a feeling Rumpel will reveal that Regina cast the wrong curse in the finale.
I think she cast the right curse, it’s just that she didn’t really know the truth about the curse she was casting. 😉 Rumple led her to believe it was one thing, when really its purpose was different. Like you say, there’s no way he’d give her that much power, so there must be something else to his plan. Her ego let her believe that she’d surpassed him, and he’d conceeded to give her the ultimate power.
Really, it helped his cause to be in jail when she came to see him, because it made her feel even more like she had the upper hand because she was free and he was a prisoner. Maybe that’s why he signed Cinderella’s contract, even though he seemed to know that something was bogus about it. He didn’t seem all that upset when he was entrapped, which I’ve always thought was odd. But if he wanted to appear powerless to Regina right before she cast the curse, so he’d be able to sweet talk her into his final requests, being captured was the perfect position for him to be in.
“Perception is everything, Miss Swan, not just in the courtroom but also in life.” Indeed, Mr Gold, IN-DEED!