Alright after having a night to sleep on it I’m still upset but I know that Rumple really isn’t dead. That would be suicide for the show and it’s supposed to be about happy endings – him saying “villains don’t get happy endings” should be a clue/foreshadowing that he’s not really dead, because this show is about proving the exact opposite of that. And how can there be a happy ending for Belle if her true love is dead?
and this is why I agree that there could be a way for Belle to rescue him from whatever fate he’s in (assuming he isn’t dead) because HE IS NOT A VILLIAN
Once someone forsakes their own life in order to save the lives of others, I’d say it’s safe to officially de-classify them as a villain from here on in. So if he’s no longer really a villain, then even if it were true that villains don’t get happy endings, it wouldn’t apply to him.