The Rumbelle Dilemma

[RumplesGirl]

I feel like, right now, we need a space to openly discuss what’s going on with Rumbelle.

Abuse? Not abuse? Rumple is the bad guy? Rumple is misunderstood? Belle is a victim? Belle is a shrew? There is no hope for Rumbelle? There is hope for Rumbelle? Belle did wrong in sending Gideon away? Belle did right in sending Gideon away?

Just…discuss.

[AKA]

Wow where to begin.  Abusive, Yes.  I love angst but this is not angst this is emotional and verbal abuse on both of their parts.  I LOVE RUMBELLE, but wow the writers have done a number on them.  Neither one of them communicates with each other at all.  This is a lot of Belle’s fault because when communication is open she either won’t listen or just runs away.  On the other hand, Rumple is so insecure and afraid that he won’t even attempt to communicate at times (hey Belle I totally did not speed up your pregnancy) this leads to misunderstandings on both of their parts. This has always been an issue for this couple, the difference is this season you have Belle lashing out verbally at Rumple, Rumple getting scared and lashing out magically at Belle which leads to the abuse issues.  I don’t know if I have hope, I would love to but have not idea how they could fix this? Belle does some completely cruel things to Rumple this and last season

1. working with Zelena at all.  This is the woman who killed his son.  There is nothing that can come back from that and Belle should respect and love Rumple enough to know that.

2. turning to Hook for help, I know he has redeemed himself and she has forgiven him, but if you look at it from Rumple’s perspective this is the man who stole his first wife and left his son motherless.  So now he has to watch his second wife who is also pregnant turn to Hook for help instead of him. I am sure this brings back all the insecurities that have plagued Rumple for years

3. Giving their son to Blue.  I can not believe that in all the years that these two have been together that Belle has no idea why he hates Blue.  That she does not understand that Rumple feels that Blue is partially responsible for the loss of Bae and she is definitely responsible for the difficulties that Rumple had in finding him again.

In return Rumple has lied and manipulated Belle and made her feel foolish and unloved since the death of his son (when are we ever going to explore that issue, oh right never)

[RumplesGirl]

Like @AKA I have no idea where to start so I’ll just answer my string of questions.

1) Abusive, yes

2) Rumple is the bad guy but Belle is also a waffling shrew.

3) There is ZERO hope for this ship. At least there shouldn’ be. Nothing should be powerful enough to counteract what’s happened not only this season but all seasons since 3B. There is no apology big enough, there is no deed grand enough to fix this. And if the writers really think there is, then I got a bridge to sell them. And a plot of land. And some racing horses.

4) Yeah Belle was right to send Gideon away but NOT with Blue! Like, are you kidding me? Also, I sorta think Gideon should just be sent away in general from both his parents.

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

[TheWatcher]

Rumple is misunderstood?

NOPE. Rump is not misunderstood. Hes a bad guy who does bad things to even the people he loves. There was a time when he was showing a real struggle between the darkness and light (and that’s understandable, like all addictions it doesn’t go away over night, and Belle standing by her love is great no matter how bad it got in the beginning because he was trying and making progress. Falling occasionally, but we knew where his heart was…) but now?…No.

Through the last few seasons he keeps backsliding of his own accord. He doesn’t care. He wants things to be his way and will do whatever it takes and then cry a few crocodile tears (see what I did there? :P) while he asks for forgiveness time and time again.

Belle was right to send Gideon away, she’s protecting him from a dangerous person and Rump being his father is no excuse. Belle is a victim and I only wish there was something more she could do. Its not like she can call the police or get a restraining order after all.

I really….want to have hope for Rump as a character but I think he’s gone too far. This is a man willing to risk everything for his child and now here he is trying to (kill?) his newborn. I can’t find any sympathy in me for him. I do not believe I will buy a another redemption arc for him. I cannot see him and Belle reconciling and if they do, I would really question how she can sleep at night knowing everything Rump has done and what he could do since hes so UNSTABLE and UNTRUSTWORTHY.

And I will not accept A&E telling us “Rump is a difficult man to love” if Belle takes him back like none of this happened.

I cannot see any positive way this story will end for Rumbelle. If Rump dies, even as a way to redeem himself, his child grows up fatherless and he continues that cycle. If he lives, he still cannot be trusted ever again and I don’t think i’d be okay with that.

"I could have the giant duck as my steed!" --Daniel Radcliffe
Keeper Of Tamara's Taser , Jafar's Staff, Kitsis’s Glasses , Ariel’s Tail, Dopey's Hat , Peter Pan’s Shadow, Outfit, & Pied Cloak,Red Queen's Castle, White Rabbit's Power To World Hop, Zelena's BroomStick, & ALL MAGIC

[RumplesGirl]

I cannot see any positive way this story will end for Rumbelle. If Rump dies, even as a way to redeem himself, his child grows up fatherless and he continues that cycle. If he lives, he still cannot be trusted ever again and I don’t think i’d be okay with that.

I agree with this. There is no way to fix Rumbelle in my opinion. Rumple can apologize all he wants but it doesn’t erase what he did. And Belle can agree to open lines of communication but it doesn’t change her constant waffling.

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

[thedarkonedearie]

Belle will find out that it was EQ, not Rumple, who sped up her pregnancy.  Rumple will save her and his son and will either live and Belle will realize he did choose to do good in this episode or he will die a hero and we realize he was misunderstood and had horrible abusive parents.

[RumplesGirl]

he was misunderstood and had horrible abusive parents.

Having horrible and abusive parents is definitely a factor to elicit sympathy but I don’t know how comfortable I am in erasing all Rumple did because “hey, traumatic past!” We aren’t doomed to repeat these cycles of violence. There does come a point when you (well, Rumple) have to accept responsibility for your actions as YOUR actions. Rumple taking that darkness back in the first place was a big indicator, for me, that his past traumas aren’t playing as major a part as the writers maybe wanted in the beginning.

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

[Keb]

They aren’t there yet, but I think this may be the episode that was really the turning point for post 3A Rumbelle…glimmers of hope in it.

Also Bobby deserves all the awards.

Has it become an abusive relationship? Yes. Irredeemably? Not in my mind…but mainly for the same reason it was okay to want Rumple to reconcile with Bae after he snailed the dude…and almost killed Henry…and all the other things. The reason I’m okay with there still being a chance of Rumple and Belle getting back together is because it IS a story. A RL mass-murderer who starts getting controlling on you and locking you on ships with people who want to kill you because of them? Nopenopenope. RUN. But a fictional, flawed, and still sympathetic villain having a chance at happiness and redemption? That I can get behind.

This is a story where the Evil Queen and Captain Hook, where even Cora, have all been treated as worthy of redemption and loving relationships. Rumple’s recent treatment of Belle has been abusive, but not actually violent. I think they missed an opportunity in an episode I otherwise loved to have Belle inform him that yes, he HAS actually been hurting her…but Rumple’s statement to the queen, that he hadn’t crossed certain lines, holds true.

I don’t think it’s exonerating abuse to suggest there are shades of it, some more terrible than others. He’s held her captive, but he did that the first day they met…so it’s not exactly new and it wasn’t unforgivable back then. It doesn’t make it right or acceptable behavior, but it is something you can come back from, especially when he did honestly believe he was protecting her on the ship and possibly that he was protecting her with the bracelet. There is a very flawed argument to be made from his perspective on that…it’s not assault if you push someone out of the way of a speeding car, right?

Rumple’s deciding not to do something awful is not a redemption at all, but it’s a step in the right direction. I think there is a VERY long way to go before they could reasonably reconcile, and it has to start with honest communication (which is what Belle wanted from the start anyway). But I feel some hope that it could be done without glorifying anything Rumple’s done now. That was my worst fear…that they would pull the kind of back and forth they did in S5B that was giving me characterization whiplash…and just make Rumple good again and Belle accept him again without working through the issues they’ve given them.

But if they can make the characters deal with these things even a little bit…they put it out there, just as they did in Skin Deep; Rumple’s afraid he’s unlovable, and what makes this ship so powerful is the idea that someone unlovable could find love.

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

[RumplesGirl]

Rumple’s recent treatment of Belle has been abusive, but not actually violent

Isn’t that quantifying which types of abuse are worse than others? A black eye is worse than emotional hurt, in other words? Personally I don’t think it works that way. I think every instance of abuse is simply that….it’s abuse.

Has he ever hit her…no. Is it still really horrible, life altering abuse? Yes. And while “it’s a story” is a nice neat excuse (especially if you’re predisposed to WANT Rumbelle back together) it doesn’t excuse the moral message behind the story that the writers would be selling–and all stories have them. You know that. By your logic something like 50 Shades of Grey is a riveting and emotionally compelling slice of “other” romantic life, even with all it’s consent and rape culture issues.

There’s nothing wrong with having a darker morally grey (even black) story but if the writers aren’t openly making commentary on it (those missed opportunities you mentioned) then it’s just a moral repugnant story being sold as a morally uplifting story. “Hey look! That guy who mentally and emotionally assaulted his wife got forgiven and a happy ending! Women in these kinds of relationships…just keep on trucking. And taking him back. He’ll change for you eventually.”

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

[Keb]

Yeah, I wish they wouldn’t miss those opportunities, but it doesn’t feel like they’re completely whitewashing what he’s done, either.

And I agree, abuse is abuse, but I think that the motives matter, at least in a story. Rumple’s motives were not to harm Belle or his son, but to protect them. That doesn’t make his methods right, but it does mitigate them slightly.

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

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