How Rumple's Lies will Affect Belle

[Keb]

I don’t think she’s going to instantly forgive him, but I do think, if they’re true to her character, she is going to blame herself at least in part for what’s happened or at least for not seeing it sooner.

She IS strong and brave, but she doesn’t always believe that about herself. And the things she wants most seem to be:

–A happy ending with her true love, Rumple, and her family (she reconciled with her father, after all, and she seems to enjoy babysitting Nealflake)

–To be a hero (we’ve seen her do this a few times, but it crushed her that Rumple wouldn’t let her help save Henry–for two reasons, she wants to be a hero and she wants him to need her)

–Libraries (who doesn’t?)

–To see the world & have adventures that don’t go horribly wrong

 

(It just struck me as I was writing this that Belle’s adventure with Anna fits perfectly into what she said to Dreamy in the Outsider about sticking to her books. Gah, feels.)

She can’t go see the world because curses/realm hopping issues/ice walls, at least right now.

She has a library (that keeps getting villains and drunks breaking into it)

She’s been a hero a few times but a lot of it seems kind of futile to her at the moment, or feels like luck/someone else’s work to her. (It makes sense if you are insecure like she evidently is–like, when she used the potion to put a shield around Storybrooke, she didn’t feel like a hero because it was just a little thing that Rumple had set up, so it didn’t feel like she was actually doing anything. May not be healthy, but I suspect this is where her head goes sometimes, especially after seeing Family Business.)

She’s married to Rumple and thinks he trusts her more than she deserves. She also thinks he has reformed, and she’s got some pretty good evidence–the man freakin’ DIED to save the town (and her). That’s serious hero stuff. She was worried he would hurt Zelena, but she SAW footage of Zelena doing herself in. He’s played with the dagger with her enough to give her good reason to believe he’s really trusting her with it.

And all of that falls to pieces when she realizes he lied. That’s the main thing she’s got going for her right now.

We, the audience, know that she’s strong and capable, but she has to believe it about herself, and she doesn’t always. She’s much better at believing in other people, whether wrong or right.

 

[PriceofMagic]

I have hope RumBelle will sort it out.

All magic comes with a price!

Keeper of Felix

[Keb]

I believe they will, but I really want to see Rumple have to work to win her back. That’s the story I want from them.

And I’m hoping we’ll get to see Belle having to deal with her own emotions some more, too…she can’t just trust Rumple to save or validate her. He may have given her the first chance to be a hero, but she’s also got to believe she can do it on her own.

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

[obisgirl]

I believe they will, but I really want to see Rumple have to work to win her back. That’s the story I want from them. And I’m hoping we’ll get to see Belle having to deal with her own emotions some more, too…she can’t just trust Rumple to save or validate her. He may have given her the first chance to be a hero, but she’s also got to believe she can do it on her own.

I agree.

[Slurpeez]

To be perfectly honest, at the rate Rumple is currently descending evermore into darkness, I don’t see him getting a happy ending. Robert Carlyle has said he doesn’t think Rumple deserves one. I would’ve vehemently disagreed with that notion in S3, but now in S4, I don’t see him turning back to the light unless by some miracle Belle gets through to him. And even then, I still think Belle deserves far better treatment than she gets from Rumple. Being married to Rumple seems to bring out the worst in Belle. She tried to control him with his dagger and then used it to slice his neck. Who the heck is this lady? It’s almost like Rumple’s darkness is rubbing off on Belle more than her goodness is rubbing off on him, and that to me, is the sign of a toxic relationship. If two people don’t spur one another on to be better, but rather, drag each other down, then that is a bad sign. And at the end of the day, Belle cannot save Rumple (nor should she). The only thing she can do is stand up for herself, and tell Rumple to get his act together if he ever hopes to make their marriage work.

"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

[Josephine]

So I’ve been thinking about this and I have some opinions I never though I’d have, but this season has changed my opinion of the show and the direction it’s going.

I think firstly, that Rumple is consciously pushing Belle away.  Multiple times he could have confessed but he didn’t.  He’s in this descent into madness and knows it and I think it’s his way to push Belle away from it.  Without her there to be his little spark of hope and reminder of the man he still has buried somewhere inside, he’s free to wallow in his evilness.  Let the Dark One take over.  I think he’s tired of the fight and after Neal dying he’s ready to let it reign.  He’s always thought Belle will leave and this is his self-fulfilling prophecy.

I think Belle should leave him.  Not divorce, but they need a separation.  She needs it.  We as viewers need it.  I can’t see any rational person finding out all the stuff Rumple is putting her through and staying with him.  And Rumple needs it,.  He needs to not use Belle as a crutch.  All this self-love lecturing we’ve been getting lately, he needs to learn this, too.  I think the reason his curse has never been broken by TLK is because he doesn’t want it broken.  Yes, magic works differently in our world. Blah, blah, blah.  But he’s holding a part of himself back.  He always has reasons.  I think Belle leaving him might be the only thing to knock anything back into him.  Certainly her being with him isn’t doing either of them any good.  It’s not a healthy relationship.

I have a fear, like many, that Bobby is going to get his wish and  Rumple will never be released from his curse or redeemed.  Being a Belle lover, this doesn’t bode well for her, either.   What frustrates me is that seeing the story on our screen of a mortal Rumple, released from his curse and dealing with mortality is much more interesting and riveting than seeing yet another descent into madness and evilness.  So many issues could be addressed:  no longer being the powerful evil sorcerer, dealing with the reality of having a much younger wife and probably her desire for children.  Should he have children at his age…whatever that is? What is his purpose if he’s not the Dark One?  That is an interesting story to tell.  And I’m saddened that I will never get it.

I wouldn’t put it past these people, either, to have Belle finally leave her husband, Rumple completely descend into madness and whatever he’s bent on doing, and then she finds out she’s pregnant.  TWIST…BOLD…yeah.  Wouldn’t surprise me in the least.  It might be the kick in the pants he needs to “cleave’  (can see RG cringing from here) himself from his curse and be the man his family needs.

I still love my Rumbelle in fanfiction.  They’re still my OTP there and I adore how many smart, talented writers are out there.  But my opinions of the writers, show runners and story lines have changed since I first fell in love with it.

I was listening to music today and this song is perfect in my opinion of the current state of Rumbelle:

Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough — Patty Smyth and Don Henley

 

Like a fool who will never see the truth
I keep thinking something’s gonna change

But there’s a danger in loving somebody too much
And it’s sad when you know it’s your heart you can’t trust
There’s a reason why people don’t stay where they are
Baby, sometimes love just ain’t enough

Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.

[Slurpeez]

I think firstly, that Rumple is consciously pushing Belle away. Multiple times he could have confessed but he didn’t. He’s in this descent into madness and knows it and I think it’s his way to push Belle away from it. Without her there to be his little spark of hope and reminder of the man he still has buried somewhere inside, he’s free to wallow in his evilness. Let the Dark One take over. I think he’s tired of the fight and after Neal dying he’s ready to let it reign. He’s always thought Belle will leave and this is his self-fulfilling prophecy.

I agree with this assessment of Rumple. He never expected Belle to stay with him and he still doesn’t. He offered her his hand in marriage, but did so under false pretenses; the very minute he was ready to commit he gave Belle good reason to leave him. I think he is concealing full darkness of his nature from her because secretly he revels in his power. He wants to keep it, because he is terrified of losing it. I don’t think he’s afraid of death, since he already died. But he is afraid of being controlled like he was by Zelena, and here Belle just sought control him with a dagger. Her attempt to do so solidifies in his mind that he was correct to give her a fake dagger rather than the real one. Also, in order for one to change, one must first want to, and I don’t think he does. He may have been willing to sacrifice himself to save his loved ones, but since he was resurrected and controlled by Zelena, something has changed. He’s the darkest version of Rumple I’ve witnessed since he first lost his son and killed his first wife. I think Rumple even fears his own darkness, that it will consume himself and his new wife. That is why he gives Belle reasons to leave him, why he is making a case against himself, giving Belle every cause to walk out on him.

I think Belle should leave him. Not divorce, but they need a separation. She needs it. We as viewers need it. I can’t see any rational person finding out all the stuff Rumple is putting her through and staying with him. And Rumple needs it,. He needs to not use Belle as a crutch. All this self-love lecturing we’ve been getting lately, he needs to learn this, too. I think the reason his curse has never been broken by TLK is because he doesn’t want it broken. Yes, magic works differently in our world. Blah, blah, blah. But he’s holding a part of himself back. He always has reasons. I think Belle leaving him might be the only thing to knock anything back into him. Certainly her being with him isn’t doing either of them any good. It’s not a healthy relationship.

That is what I think right now. I think this marriage has become toxic to Belle. She tried to control her husband with that dagger, knowing full well that Zelena used the dagger on him to keep him enslaved. That is not the same lovable Belle we met in Skin Deep who tried to free Rumple with TLK. This is a much darker version of Belle. I believe that is in part Rumple’s dark influence over her. Despite his best efforts to keep Belle at bay, he is implicating her in his lies. He is using his wife as his alibi in a murder and using her good word to vouch for him by letting others believe she has the real dagger. The problem then isn’t just that Rumple is lying to Belle, using her, and manipulating her. The problem is that he is also dragging her down and his darkness is starting to get to her. The reflection Belle saw in the mirror makes her see the worst in Rumple; the problem is, the dark version she sees of Rumple is an accurate version of him because he is the dark one.

"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

[RumplesGirl]

I think Belle should leave him. Not divorce, but they need a separation. She needs it. We as viewers need it. I can’t see any rational person finding out all the stuff Rumple is putting her through and staying with him. And Rumple needs it,. He needs to not use Belle as a crutch. All this self-love lecturing we’ve been getting lately, he needs to learn this, too. I think the reason his curse has never been broken by TLK is because he doesn’t want it broken. Yes, magic works differently in our world. Blah, blah, blah. But he’s holding a part of himself back. He always has reasons. I think Belle leaving him might be the only thing to knock anything back into him. Certainly her being with him isn’t doing either of them any good. It’s not a healthy relationship.

I love Rumbelle. I do…but unless ONCE really has absolutely no concern for telling any sort of moral tale then Belle has to leave. She HAS to learn to let him go if he can’t fight the darkness. I know it’s about not giving up on those we love but you know what…sometimes people don’t want help. It’s a two way street and if he’s not going to make the effort, if he really thinks that he’s always going to be a villain, then that’s on him.

Wouldn’t surprise me in the least. It might be the kick in the pants he needs to “cleave’ (can see RG cringing from here) himself from his curse and be the man his family needs.

Sweet heaven, if I hear that word one more time this season….

 

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[obisgirl]

That is not the same lovable Belle we met in Skin Deep who tried to free Rumple with TLK. This is a much darker version of Belle. 

Wait, what? How is Belle darker?  Between the two of them, Rumple’s heart has to be pitch black compared to Belle’s, who I expect to be bright red.  Plus, you know, she told the truth about everything she did in Family Business. Rumple’s been lying to everyone and he’s done far worse than Belle this season.

[RumplesGirl]

Slurpeez wrote:

That is not the same lovable Belle we met in Skin Deep who tried to free Rumple with TLK. This is a much darker version of Belle.

Wait, what? How is Belle darker? Between the two of them, Rumple’s heart has to be pitch black compared to Belle’s, who I expect to be bright red. Plus, you know, she told the truth about everything she did in Family Business. Rumple’s been lying to everyone and he’s done far worse than Belle this season.

I’m not sure about darker per se, especially when compared to Rumple but I do think there is more of a “self-preservation” going on with Belle as compared to previous seasons. I’m pretty sure she is lying to herself. I think she knows, broadly, what is going on with Rumple but is actively telling herself that he has changed and that she wasn’t wrong about him. So she “ignores” (willfully) all the hints that he’s doing something wrong. She keeps mentioning him leaving the house early for example….She knows something is up but she’s willing to swallow his lies to keep from facing the music.

Which is sad. *sigh*

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[Author]

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