I hope not!

I do need to admit to a bias before I answer really. I have issues with the dagger. I mean actually that’s not true. I have issues with how casually it is treated on the show. People take it and use it against Rumple and seem to think it’s nothing. The dagger forces him to do as commanded, he loses all free will. Now you know what a big fan of Regina I am, and as a redeemed villain and fellow magic-user she’s the best example to use for comparison.

Nobody has ever tried to put some kind of control device on Regina. Even when she was at her worst, nobody tried to strip her of her free will. Whereas people treat the dagger so casually, I wonder sometimes if they’d use it on Rumple to get out of a parking fine or something else equally minor. I know I’m being ridiculous with that statement but the way using the dagger has been portrayed in the show, it’s been like using it has no consequences.

Anyway, I could rant about this for ages, so I’m going to shift gears slightly. Rumple didn’t lose the dagger for almost the entire time he was the Dark One. Then especially come season 5/season 6 it was like he was losing it practically every other episode (I know that’s an exaggeration but my point stands). Rumple knows what the dagger can do, he’s not a careless man by nature, so why has it been so easy for people to steal the dagger?

In my opinion the dagger has become something of a “get out of jail free card” for the writers. They need Rumple to do something, or to not get in someone’s way etc. and rather than think of a legitimate reason, they just have somebody take his dagger so that he does whatever is necessary.

So yeah I loathe the dagger for multiple reasons. I hate it for stripping away Rumple’s free will. I hate that there are never any consequences for that. I mean I know it probably contributed to Rumple’s mental state in season 6 as he was in a terrible place, but I’m not just talking about consequences for Rumple, but consequences for the people that use the dagger. If “all magic comes with a price” surely controlling the Dark One and using his magic should come with a price? Plus controlling another human being shouldn’t be something that is done so casually, it’s fundamentally wrong. Shouldn’t any of the main characters have at least some conscience pangs about it?

Sorry I’m going on again. Basically I would be happy if the dagger never came up again. Say Rumple has it locked up in a safe place if they must and then leave it at that. They don’t ever show consequences for using it, and I’m sick of them using it as a way to stop Rumple from getting in the way. My greatest wish for season seven is that they stop finding ways to bring Rumple down, if the villain is an evil like we’ve never seen, then let them be powerful enough that Rumple can go full power on them. Let’s see every inch of the power he commands, not just magically but tactically.

However while I hope the dagger won’t be a factor, I rather suspect that it will be. It’s far easier for them to hobble Rumple, and they like him to be on the villains side and as Rumple is redeemed and looking out for his family, how else are they going to get him to be all evil? They’ll have to have him commanded. That’s my pessimism talking though. *cross fingers* I’m wrong on this score and my hopes come true and the dagger is ignored.