A major thing that I think this ship has going for it is that now we’ve seen that Robin’s mind wasn’t altered by Regina casting the Curse. We’ve been there and done that with Regina having a relationship with a guy whose mind she had assumed control over, and that relationship wasn’t genuine or healthy. But Robin’s never been under her influence like that, and I think that’s vital for anyone she’s gonna be able to have a genuine relationship with.
It bugged me a bit when they had Robin saying that he owed Rumple for having spared his life, as opposed to Belle, but I think it might have been a little device they’re using to set him up as someone who is open minded enough to not hold someone’s bad actions against them for forever. Perhaps Robin was referring to how Rumple didn’t just straight up kill him when he caught him stealing? But even if so, the guy was still tied up and tortured a bit, yet he doesn’t seem to hold a lifelong grudge about it, instead he can see the positive side that at least he didn’t get killed. Having that in his character would make him a great match for Regina, who needs to learn a little something about not holding lifelong grudges. At some point she’s gonna have to let go of the vendetta against Snow if she ever wants to be truly happy, and Robin could show her that it’s possible. And that comes back to Daniel’s final words to her to love again. He wanted her to let go of the intense hate and sadness, and move on, and let love in again. And now here’s Robin to help her honour Daniel’s final wish for her.
I’m not an EvilRegal, but the potential for this ship gives me the warm fuzzies for Regina, which really says something about what a strong storyline it could be.