And then there is the Beauty and the Beast element. At the end of the Disney version, the Beast is attacked by a mob and fatally stabbed, but Belle heals him with her tears. Hmmm…I’m thinking dagger to the chest via Regina and True Love causing there to no longer BE a Dark One.
That’s what I was thinking as well. I think the writers will hold onto the Beauty and the Beast element. True love’s kiss in the end will determine Rumpel’s fate. Hopefully, Belle will be close by when his time comes.