Personally my favourite Rumple is morally!grey!Rumple. I like Rumple as the DO, I like his darkness just as much as his capacity to do great things for the people he loves. I want him to be… an anti-hero. Best case scenario Gold ends up still the DO, but he’s shown the ability to use his powers for good (mainly when it’s for the good of those he loves). Sometimes he’s cooperative with the heroes, sometimes not and he always calls them out on their bullshit (mainly how they run to him for help and yet treat him like the plague).
He and Belle reconcile, which takes hard work and a lot of soul-searching. He develops an actual relationship with Henry. He remains frenemies with Regina (after hashing some things out) and grows close to Maleficent (I liked how they bonded over lost children, I thought it was crazy that after Rumple gave her the answers she wanted she turned against him to help Regina, who did nothing for her).
When Belle reaches fifty Gold has made a decision: he’s found a way to sever his immortality. He wants to grow old with her, does not want to live to see his children die, and then their children. That way he gets to keep his powers AND destroy the darkness at the same time (thus he proves he does not love power more than Belle or his family and sort of fulfils Merlin’s prophecy, becoming a man capable of wield the darkness instead of being controlled by it). It involves a complicated spell and TLK.
People still don’t like him but kids think he’s super cool. When people try to warn them to stay away they start up with nosey questions like “But didn’t he save the town from Pan?” and “Didn’t he pull Excalibur out of the rock?” “I heard he once defeated a bear. With no magic.”
I’m also kinda in favour of a super!dark!Rumple conquers all but that’s something I’d rather read about in fic.
Oh wow this is just how I see Rumple! You have put words to the picture in my head. Can this be canon please? This is what I have hoped for all along and thus far been disappointed in the show.
I have said a few times that I think Rumple is a bit like Professor X in the X-Men movies. Prof X always had to get taken out early before the battle because he was too powerful and could have just frozen everybody – instant win – if he was around. I mean he froze a whole museum at the start of X2.
Well every time stuff happens I think Rumple’s going to be awesome, like when he went off alone in Neverland, or declared to Emma that “none of the heroes were him” and then boom nothing happens. I reckon that is because Rumple could just take care of the crisis and then it would be done in an episode, so they have to drag it out.
Also, he’s not the ‘hero’ so he can’t save the day, even though he’s capable. Rather than come up with a reasonable explanation they just make Rumple disappear, like wandering around Neverland for no reason (he is not that dumb). I mean this is the guy that manipulated the whole Enchanted Forest to put everything into motion years in advance. He knows how to take care of business. Can they let him? Nope because he’s not a Charming.
I’ve always said villains make the best heroes, because they are pragmatic and they are willing to do what it takes. About the one thing I found awesome in 5B (aside from just Rumple generally) were his lines about dark and light and morality. I really wish that they would show that as fact in actions, and not just with Rumple talking.