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I need some help puzzling out Rumple and Belle in this episode. I find that I’m really torn over their library scene together.
On the one hand, I think Rumple is spot on with a lot of what he says to Belle about Belle. She did fall in love with the beast and the man, a point she acknowledges in 315 when she tells Nealfire “I love him, even the parts of him that belong to the darkness.”
But on the other hand, she can’t trust him as he is now. He’s lied and manipulated not only the town too many times since 3B but also her, the latest being the omission that he took back the Dark One’s Powers. Rumple claims he can be a better man but not a different one because he loves the dagger (power) as much as he loves her. And this is where I stumble.
Yes, Rumple has always had a thirst for power ever since he became the Dark One and I agree with @ouatrandothoughts that it stems from his need to have control over his life starting with his abandonment by Malcolm. But this idea that Belle has to love him as he is–the drug addicted Dark One–in order for them to be together strikes me as a bizarre stance for the writers to take. He’s a danger to himself (the darkness infects his heart and makes it black) and to others (Rumple is a man who takes what he wants, he can swear not to hurt the peasantry but at this stage why should we–and Belle–trust him?) The show seems to be suggesting that it’s okay, and even good, for Rumple to love his drug and his wife the same amount and that Belle needs to face facts, accept him as he is, or leave him forever. Yes, it’s a way for the show to have its cake and eat it too–keep Rumple the “interesting” dark one and have Rumbelle get their HEA but I find it to be disquieting that the show is encouraging us to root for Belle to accept her lying, drug addicted husband as is and not root for evolution of character and redemption.
Like I said, puzzle this out with me because it’s giving me some fits.
[adrotate group="5"]"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"I think BOTH of them are right, but they’re also at an impasse and they’re both going to have to bend a little to make it work.
Rumple is right that Belle needs to accept him, as is, and stop trying to change him. He’s right that she’s attracted to the beast as much as the man–her time as Lacey (which was manipulated by Regina but still reflected parts of who Belle is/could be, just as the other personalities in Storybrooke do), and the fact that Belle truly loved him when he was at almost his worst in the Enchanted Forest, demonstrate.
But Belle is also right that she cannot condone his worst behaviors, no matter how much she loves him. Her principles are perfectly valid. She doesn’t want to have to compete with power for his affection, a contest she’s lost more than once, and she doesn’t want to be an enabler for murder or slightly lesser cruelties. She may find the darkness and power attractive (I think Rumple was absolutely right about that), but it is also at odds with her principles about heroism and, yanno, helping people instead of hurting them.
I think they could come to a reasonably healthy middle ground though. Rumple is going to have to acknowledge that Belle’s (as were Baelfire’s) concerns about him abusing his powers and hurting people are completely valid, and demonstrate that he is capable of using the darkness for good (as Emma and Merlin suggest someone could) without harming innocents. You know, like babies that he’s brought to the Underworld…
Belle, meanwhile, is going to have to accept the things she’s been denying–like that when Rumple was trying his hardest to be good, even as herself and not as Lacey, she was actually more willing to reject him. (With fair reason, but still–she seems to want the Dark One too, however much she denies it.) We know from the mirror scene in 4A that she has a lot of insecurities and denial issues, conflicts between what she sees/knows and what she believes/wants to believe. She’s an idealist, and that makes her harder on both herself and Rumple. She is going to have to give up some of her idealism, not all of it, and learn to accept Rumple as a whole person, and accept within herself that she’s done that over and over again in the past.
She does NOT have to accept his continuing to hurt people to do this. She never did, except as Lacey, and that is OKAY. She may have to accept not being his sole top priority (she was willing to accept that his child came first, actually, so she is capable of that). But likewise he will have to demonstrate that he no longer WILL hurt innocent people.
But I’m thinking of the Tale as Old as Time song now. “Then somebody bends, unexpectedly.” If they both do, there’s hope. If Rumple sticks to his line of “This is who I am,” Belle will never be able to accept that, as it includes deceit, murder, and kidnapping babies for potentially nefarious purposes. And as much as I love both of them and love them together, I can’t wish for Belle to compromise her deepest principles–they are what make her wonderful. Rumple needs to accept that, too.
Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing
She may have to accept not being his sole top priority (she was willing to accept that his child came first, actually, so she is capable of that).
I was with you until this. I think there’s a world a difference between accepting that your husband is going to put their child first (and I’d argue that most married couples would agree that’s perfectly in line with reality) and making power (the drug on this show) a top priority. I don’t know that Belle should have to compromise that/accept that. Even if the power doesn’t make Rumple hurt people and is being used for something more altruistic, it’s still power (read: drug) over her. And that’s where I’m struggling to find this middle ground because I don’t know how a human being accepts being a tied number one in the heart of their significant other when the thing you’re tied with is a drug.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"I think that scene puts RUmBelle in an interesting position and actually potentially sets up the conclusion of RUmBelle’s story especially if Bobby stops at season 6.
I think by this season’s end Belle will agree to accept Rumple as he is. However season 6 will show her being dragged down by Rumple’s darkness (kind of like in real life where someone’s addiction also drags down those closest to them). Rumple will notice this and will be forced to make the choice of giving up the power for good to save Belle before or watch the woman he loves be destroyed by his darkness. At least that’s the story I’m hoping we will get and then Rumple chooses Belle and they get their happily ever after.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixShe may have to accept not being his sole top priority (she was willing to accept that his child came first, actually, so she is capable of that).
I was with you until this. I think there’s a world a difference between accepting that your husband is going to put their child first (and I’d argue that most married couples would agree that’s perfectly in line with reality) and making power (the drug on this show) a top priority. I don’t know that Belle should have to compromise that/accept that. Even if the power doesn’t make Rumple hurt people and is being used for something more altruistic, it’s still power (read: drug) over her. And that’s where I’m struggling to find this middle ground because I don’t know how a human being accepts being a tied number one in the heart of their significant other when the thing you’re tied with is a drug.
I agree that it’s been mainly treated as a drug/addiction in the show, but in this particular case I was reading it as more like someone who loves both her career and her spouse and is being asked to choose between the two.
Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing
I agree that it’s been mainly treated as a drug/addiction in the show, but in this particular case I was reading it as more like someone who loves both her career and her spouse and is being asked to choose between the two.
Isn’t that rather cherry picking though? This isn’t a career in the sense that Rumple has an obligation to be the Dark One for his own self fulfillment or the fulfillment of the town/universe. Rumple actually wasn’t the DO for an entire arc and still he took back on that dark mantel because it means more to him than anything else. It’s like a heroin addict giving up heroin for a brief bought of sobriety and then falling off the wagon because he remembered how good heroin feels.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Oh, I agree. But that’s where my head was when I said that. Belle is never going to be the absolute first and only priority in Rumple’s life, regardless of whether it’s a good conflict (his children) or a bad one (the power). And that is the thing that she has to accept or not.
As for his taking it back, I would say that he never chose to relinquish the power–it was taken from him, forcibly, while he was in a coma. (It was that or die, but still.) So what we haven’t seen from him since S3 is his actually giving up the power. He has not made that choice, so it’s not really backsliding–it’s just failing to take advantage of the opportunity he was given.
I still believe he is ultimately going to have to make that sacrifice for this to work, as part of HIS arc. But for the Rumbelle arc, it may not have to go that far for it to still be (reasonably) healthy for them to be together.
Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing
I think Belle would be more than willing to accept being tied for first place in Rumple’s heart if the other object of affection was a child. No doubt her heart would be equally split between husband and offspring. But if she does accept that the power/drug holds equal weight in Rumple’s heart and stays with him, I don’t know that it’s healthy. Yes, she’s accepted the man he is, but the man she is accepting is a dangerous drug addict who has shown that when push comes to shove, he’ll do what he thinks is necessary (up to and including murder). So what does that say about Belle’s character that she’ll take him back, love him, and accept him knowing that there is a very real chance that he’ll go all hat-sucky (or the equivalent) again. At what point does she become hopelessly naivee and frankly dumb?
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Like I said, he’s going to have to prove somehow that he’s not going to go all hat-sucky if he’s going to keep the power.
And I’m not sure how he’ll do that, especially given that he just tried to kidnap a baby and rekilled Milah at Hades’ behest.
Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing
I’m pretty sure Rumple will be the person who Merlin predicted would eventually be able to wield great power without giving into the darkness. Hence, Belle will be able to live with his status as the dark one, provided he only uses his power for good, rather than for evil. With all that being said, however, when I actually pause to consider it, I don’t see how Rumple will be able to prevent the darkness from consuming him. His heart actually turned coal black the last time. What makes him think he’s suddenly capable of not letting the darkness consume him again? What’s to keep the darkness at bay this time–just because he has all the combined power of previous dark ones now? I’d expect that to amplify the darkness, not decrease it. *head desk*
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
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