- This topic has 63 replies, 25 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 5 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
He is a character on a show. He has no rights. I only think about the character in terms of what does he do for the plot. And what he can do for the plot is be a villain which is what he is good at, in my opinion.
And the situation is abusive. As someone who understands that situation, it is abusive. And the fact that he let her leave does not mean that the situation was not abusive. It was. And Belle did seem afraid to me. I just don’t see anything romantic about that and as someone who understands what that situation is like in real life, i don’t think it is funny. I wish that everyone could understand where i am coming from and not that i just think that i want Rumpel gone.
[adrotate group="5"]Well, that’s the strange thing, isn’t it? When Rumpel/Gold was acting as the simple, black and white villain, he didn’t seem to have many fans. But after Desperate Souls and Skin Deep aired, he developed one of the biggest fan bases in the entire fandom. So, judging by numbers, Rumpel is actually better at playing the sympathetic villain or the anti-hero. Most of the admiration his character recieves is based off of his actions in Skin Deep, Desperate Souls and even The Return. I think the audience prefers to do what the writers have clearly done: Keep him in the middle. Between good and evil. He always makes for a good villain, but people tend to respond to a more sympathetic, or evil anti-heroic character, as opposed to the simple, stereotypical villain.
I don’t agree that Belle was afraid of Rumple. When he told her to leave she came back to give him a piece of her mind. The last words belonged to her and she wasn’t afraid to tell him things that he didn’t necessarily want to hear .
My friend was in an abusive relationship for 5 years, she was married to the guy. She managed to free herself from that a**hole about a year ago, but he keeps stalking her from time to time even though there is a restraining order against him. I know the situation from the real life. And what Belle and Rumple had is nowhere near what I know from the real life and Rumple is nowhere near my friend’s ex.
But in fact I get where you are coming from and I get that your experience might have been different.The criticism I’ve seen on other boards concerning Rumbelle is the abusiveness and Stockholm syndrome, too. But that’s the same criticism to the “Beauty and the Beast” tale, also. However, if you look at fairy tales, they were brutal. Funnily enough, Beauty and the Beast was one that was supposed to be uplifting. It was supposed to be a reassuring teaching tale for new new brides to not be afraid of arranged marriages. As a child, years before Disney came out with the movie, “Beauty and the Beast” had always been a favorite of mine. Here was a heroine who didn’t fall in love with her “prince” because he was wealthy, or had a kingdom or a huge castle. They got to know each other gradually. Every night he asked her “Beauty, will you marry me.” And every night her response was the same until circumstances made her realize the truth. I just never saw the abuse aspect in the story.
My one main criticism with “Skin Deep” is, although she stated she’s been there months, that the story seemed rushed. This series seriously likes to drag stuff out and BAM! the whole story happens in one episode. I realize why they did it that way story wise. And it makes sense, but anothe part of me thinks it would have been more impactful if they had drug it out like Snow’s story.
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
@hjbau wrote:
He is a character on a show. He has no rights. I only think about the character in terms of what does he do for the plot. And what he can do for the plot is be a villain which is what he is good at, in my opinion.
And the situation is abusive. As someone who understands that situation, it is abusive. And the fact that he let her leave does not mean that the situation was not abusive. It was. And Belle did seem afraid to me. I just don’t see anything romantic about that and as someone who understands what that situation is like in real life, i don’t think it is funny. I wish that everyone could understand where i am coming from and not that i just think that i want Rumpel gone.
Although I agree with you that Belle and Rumpel’s initial relationship was definitely very scary and had hints of abuse, it’s difficult for me criticize their relationship too harshly because like Josephine said, that is the story of Beauty and the Beast. EVERY version of the tale had the Beast mistreating Belle, and quite frankly, scaring the living hell out of her. So, the writers of OUAT captured that aspect of the tale perfectly. People have gotten so used the watered down Disney version of the tale, that people tend to forget what this story is really about. It’s dark, it’s scary, it’s supposed to be complex and thought-provoking. And even though the Disney version does show you how terrifyung the Beast is in numerous scenes, it’s immediately counterd by a lovely upbeat song that makes you forget about what you just saw. So, Rumpel’s behavior towards Belle is actually staying true to the original source material and all its other incarnations.
Now, does that make it ok? Sweet Jesus no! But that’s the tale. Some have criticized OUAT for making Beauty and the Beast’s story way too dark, but once again, the story IS dark. It always has been. And yet, in nearly every version of the story, Belle falls in love with the Beast. So, the story’s flaws actually lie in the original source material rather than the show’s handling of the story.
@Josephine wrote:
My one main criticism with “Skin Deep” is, although she stated she’s been there months, that the story seemed rushed. This series seriously likes to drag stuff out and BAM! the whole story happens in one episode. I realize why they did it that way story wise. And it makes sense, but anothe part of me thinks it would have been more impactful if they had drug it out like Snow’s story.
I wonder if that’s why there’s so much Rumbelle fan fiction–people feel like not enough of the story was told. I for one am relieved to hear that others feel some of the Once storylines are rushed. I’ve been thinking perhaps I was the only fan who felt that way, and that perhaps it was a generational difference, as I grew up in a time when a tv episode lasted 50 or so minutes, and a season had 32 episodes, so writers could move storylines along more slowly. I hope the Once writers will someday publish the series bible so we can see more of what they had in mind.
After doing some thinking I realised that the scene between Rumple and Belle may be disturbing for some people, especially for the ones who more personally relate to the theme of abuse. If that’s the reason some people don’t like that storyline, then I respect that.
I just don’t see their overall relationship as abusive because neither Belle nor Rumple exhibit behaviour typical for victim/abuser in an abusive relationship. Besides I’ve never really perceived OUaT Belle as a victim.
There was one time when Rumple freaked out, yelled at Belle, shook her and threw her into the dungeon. It was despicable behaviour. But as Midnight Dreary and Josephine rightly said he is the Beast. He is not supposed to be Mr Warmth. The scene was purposedly incorporated into the story to make his beastly nature come out to both viewers and Belle. Thanks to that scene we learn that even when confronted with Rumple’s worst side of nature, Belle did not give up on him or stop loving him.
I don’t think it was the writers’ intention to portray their relationship as abusive, let alone advertise or glorify abuse in relationship. At least I hope it wasn’t. They just wanted to stay true to the message from The Beauty and the Beast. As one wise man once said you don’t love for something, you love despite everything.There was one time when Rumple freaked out, yelled at Belle, shook her and threw her into the dungeon. It was despicable behaviour. But as Midnight Dreary and Josephine rightly said he is the Beast.
In Beauty and the Beast there is a scene where the beast risks his life to save Belle from the wolves, and injures himself badly in the process. I wish Skin Deep showed a scene like this to illustrate how their love is not just one sided. Belle brings light, humanity back into his life. Rumpel does truly love Belle in return, he even vows to protect her in the finale. Hopefully season 2 we will continue to see Rumpel redeem himself, Belle deserves that. He regrets treating her badly, and if you think about it, Belle did not have it that bad. She was able to walk freely within the castle, was not hurt, or starved, Rumpel even let her go. I’m not saying that excuses him, but I mean he is supposed to be a beast. It’s Belle’s fate to be his conscious, and basically turn him human.
What Rumpel did to Belle at the end of Skin Deep wasn’t right. I think he freaked out so much because he had actually let himself get close to someone then believed it had all been a trick cooked up by the evil queen. He was “licking his wounds” so to speak when Regina walked in and basically revealed that Belle had been genuine. At that moment I think Rumpel had realised what a prat he’d been and was more than willing to include Belle back into his life until Regina had said Belle was dead. Rumpel believed her and I think it has haunted him ever since that the last time he saw Belle he acted like he did. He even said to snow in 7:15 am “Love makes us sick. Haunts our dreams. Destroys our days. Love has killed more than any disease.” His love for Belle which he tried to deny has been punishing him for the way he behaved.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of Felix@darcyfarrow wrote:
@Josephine wrote:
My one main criticism with “Skin Deep” is, although she stated she’s been there months, that the story seemed rushed. This series seriously likes to drag stuff out and BAM! the whole story happens in one episode. I realize why they did it that way story wise. And it makes sense, but anothe part of me thinks it would have been more impactful if they had drug it out like Snow’s story.
I wonder if that’s why there’s so much Rumbelle fan fiction–people feel like not enough of the story was told. I for one am relieved to hear that others feel some of the Once storylines are rushed. I’ve been thinking perhaps I was the only fan who felt that way, and that perhaps it was a generational difference, as I grew up in a time when a tv episode lasted 50 or so minutes, and a season had 32 episodes, so writers could move storylines along more slowly. I hope the Once writers will someday publish the series bible so we can see more of what they had in mind.
To be perfectly honest, I think their relationship felt rushed because the writers spend so much time focusing on MM and David and their constant, and quite frankly tedious, push-and-pull relationship that they forget to develop of the parts of the overall story. I think that’s why the writers made sure to have Belle by Mr. Gold’s side for the season 1 cliffhanger. That’s why they’re planning on heavily featuring Belle in season 2. They know they only had a certain amount of time during season 1 to introduce this relationship, so they’re making up for it season 2. So the rushed nature of Skin Deep is forgiveable when viewed in that light. Just as long as they develop the pairing in seaon 2, then all is forgiven
And as far as fanfiction goes, I think it’s mixture of the two. There’s so much of it because, yes, the writers have only given fans 2 episodes to work with. So, fanfic writers have to fill in the blanks or make up their own version of what happened. But also, popular couples tend to have a lot of fanfiction. That’s just a fact. No matter how many scenes and storylines Belle and Rumpel recieve in season 2, the amount of Rumbelle fanfiction is still going to increase.
The topic ‘Rumpelstiltskin’s reaction to seeing Belle’ is closed to new replies.