Rumple's Happy Ending: A Theory

[TheWatcher]

ooooh ur right RG. But still….crack theory is crack theory

[Slurpeez]

@TheWatcher

I much prefer your idea of Lily becoming the next Dark One! Lily being Emma’s evil twin works better for me, because Emma used to be one of my fave characters, and part of me still cannot even stomach the idea of her turning into the Black Swan.

"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]

Does anyone believe that Rumple will live beyond the season finale?

I tend to be a bit stubborn about some things. So I’m set in my headcanon that Rumple is dying at the end of the season (and they expect to fill in the loss by Naveen Andrews as Jafar in Season 5). Every post I make is colored by that belief and every theory I make is based on it. If I’m wrong I’ll be shocked but I’m really assured of my opinion. But how many of you think that Rumple actually has a chance of going into the next season and ultimately getting his happy ending?

I really think they’re pointing to not everyone gets their happy ending. And in real life people DON’T get their happy endings. But the big mistake they’re making is they made us love Rumple in season 1-3a so much that destroying his character and ripping his happy ending away from him might just ruin the show, too. I know this is going to be dismissed by some because I adore him, but there are so many who watch the show purely for Bobby Carlyle (or Lana Parilla). Yes, people proclaim all the time “I’ll never watch it since X left the show” yet the show in question goes on for years. But this show is a different animal. Every single freaking story line has Rumple at it’s core in some way, shape, or form. He’s dynamic, charismatic, and compelling. He’s not the most physically attractive person on the show, but when Bobby is on the screen eyes just go to him because of his acting ability. What is Once without the imp?

I’m digressing, but it would be interesting to hear if anyone truly believe Bobby’s not going anywhere.

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

[RumplesGirl]

I’m digressing, but it would be interesting to hear if anyone truly believe Bobby’s not going anywhere.

Right now, Rumple is so far beyond the pale of where he started that the only conclusion I see, based on where he is right now and how he is acting (and as always, how RC is portraying him), is death. Either intentionally or unintentionally.

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

[Sweets]

Right now, Rumple is so far beyond the pale of where he started that the only conclusion I see, based on where he is right now and how he is acting (and as always, how RC is portraying him), is death.

As a lover of Rumple’s character, what do you think he is doing now that is beyond the pale? He always struck me as a guy who doesn’t have many limits on his behavior. Is it because now he doesn’t have a clear motive?

[RumplesGirl]

RumplesGirl wrote:

Right now, Rumple is so far beyond the pale of where he started that the only conclusion I see, based on where he is right now and how he is acting (and as always, how RC is portraying him), is death.

As a lover of Rumple’s character, what do you think he is doing now that is beyond the pale? He always struck me as a guy who doesn’t have many limits on his behavior. Is it because now he doesn’t have a clear motive?

Quote

He has always been a selfish, manipulative, egotistical, power hungry man. But he was also human–a man who wanted to be loved, a father looking for his little boy. He had a human streak to him which is what made him so compelling. They destroyed that. He is all but a cliche black hat, farcical villain now. Those human moments, those ones that made his fans root for him, are rare *if* they are seen at all.

I’ve given more thought into this question elsewhere, so I’ll just quote myself

Here is my honest opinion: they removed Rumple’s humanity. Rumple has always been selfish, difficult, hard, manipulative, and diabolical. But underneath all that, he was a man who wanted to be loved and a father looking for his lost child. It’s what made him fascinating to watch. They took away his entire humanity in 4A. He stopped being a complicated figure and became just “black hat.” Had they kept Rumple’s humanity in tact, shown him actually struggling with the idea of hatting Emma or leaving everyone in SB to die or…gee….I don’t know mentioning his dead son that died in front of his very eyes after being apart for 300 years and going to extraordinary lengths to get him back…then he’d still be Rumple and I could *understand* him. But none of this happened. It was just ALL ZE POWERRRRRRR. That’s it. They took their most complicated, grayest, more morally and ethically challenged character and reduced him to a cliche bad guy. All he needs is a white cat on his lap at this point.

As for his limits, how about manipulating Belle? He wasn’t manipulating Belle when he let her go in Skin Deep, honestly expecting that she’d never return. He wasn’t manipulating her when he gave her a library–both in SB and in the EF. He wasn’t manipulating her when he chose not to kill Robin Hood in ‘Lacey.’ But now, he has manipulated her a thousand different way to Sunday, only with the now added bonus of those manipulations putting the entire town at risk Chernabog and the QoD.

How about hatting Emma. (yes, @Keb. I see you. I know you’ve rationalized it in your head. That doesn’t mean it works for everyone nor does it mean it’s actually an okay thing just because maaaaaaaybe Rumple thought he could free Emma–though, seriously, when? He was planning on cleaving and leaving. There wasn’t going to be any un-hatting)

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

[Sweets]

Here is my honest opinion: they removed Rumple’s humanity. Rumple has always been selfish, difficult, hard, manipulative, and diabolical. But underneath all that, he was a man who wanted to be loved and a father looking for his lost child.

I think the show missed a true opportunity when they decided not to develop Rumple and Henry’s relationship after Neal’s death. There was the very brief introduction of Henry working in Gold shop, but they chose to spend time introducing the Sorcerer/Author mythos it fell to the waste side.

 

[Josephine]

Thats’s the problem. Relationships aren’t developed. They’re told to us. We don’t see human connection between any of the characters anymore. We’re TOLD too much (e.g. that Will and Belle are a thing now but never ever shown anything to hint at it). But they never take the time to develop anything. It’s all plot, plot, exposition, plot.

Season One had plot but it also had development. We saw the Snowing and Rumbelle fall in love. We saw Emma struggling with accepting her place in Storybrooke as the biological mother. We saw Rumple’s despair at losing his child. We weren’t told…we were shown. That’s the biggest criticism I have about the show now.

With Rumple, we have no background about his motivation. Just action that doesn’t cotton to what we know of his past characterization. There is secrecy and then there is bad storytelling. There is a disconnect. It’s like they’re saying “Yeah, you loved him but we really need him to be a big bad.” Yes he was never a “hero” but we understood his motivations. Now I just don’t care.

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

[Slurpeez]

Does anyone believe that Rumple will live beyond the season finale?

I’m 51/49 on the matter, and am leaning slightly towards Rumple actually dying in the S4 finale. On the one hand, I agree there are potentially many reasons why Rumple’s character may be finished by the end of S4. There are many rumors about RC being fed up with how MRJ was treated, about RC disliking the direction the show has gone, and disliking the concept of Rumple getting a happy ending or deserving Belle. There’s also the way the story now is playing out and how the character is being written now as increasingly nihilistic. I think RC is a big enough actor that ABC would release RC from his 5-year contract early if he really wanted out. On the other hand, B&B is a really popular Disney cartoon, and A&E might not want to disappoint fan-girls of the Rumple and Belle pairing. So maybe the writers could find a way to wrap up Rumple’s story without necessarily killing him off, and instead write him as having his curse undone by TLK and then packing him off to A Land Without Magic so as to avoid the temptation that magic in SB has to offer. Maybe Rumple’s happy ending could simply be starting over again away from all the crazy once his dark one curse is broken.

"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]

RumplesGirl wrote:

Here is my honest opinion: they removed Rumple’s humanity. Rumple has always been selfish, difficult, hard, manipulative, and diabolical. But underneath all that, he was a man who wanted to be loved and a father looking for his lost child.

I think the show missed a true opportunity when they decided not to develop Rumple and Henry’s relationship after Neal’s death. There was the very brief introduction of Henry working in Gold shop, but they chose to spend time introducing the Sorcerer/Author mythos it fell to the waste side.

Quote

I will never disagree with this. The other issue is that if they do have Rumple being shown as human, it ends up on the cutting room floor (his scene with Henry from 402) or it’s written in a way that ignores the Neal-sized elephant in the room (again, his scene with Henry).

Now I just don’t care.

In any kind of medium–literature, tv–it is perfectly okay to hate or love a character. Those are two very strong emotions and both can be applied to any subject based on subjective reasoning’s. It’s when the audience stops caring about a character that the writers and their material are in trouble. (And I’m not saying that everyone has stopped caring–obviously there are a great many people who care, loathing and loving equally–but there are those who *have* stopped caring.)

So maybe the writers could find a way to wrap up Rumple’s story without necessarily killing him off, and instead write him as having his curse undone by TLK and then packing him off to A Land Without Magic so as to avoid the temptation that magic in SB has to offer. Maybe Rumple’s happy ending could simply be starting over again away from all the crazy once his dark one curse is broken.

I could see that. And they might use Bobby (if ABC doesn’t want to buy him out of his contract fully) in flashbacks or just to appear in the season finale.

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

[Author]

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