Board Thread:Show-Related Questions and Answers/@comment-30851494-20161226023129/@comment-25926288-20161226042507

I'm going with my theory of karma/potential/whatever. However, you can even simply see it as in character.

Rumple first wanted power because of? That's right--Security. If you think you're going to lose it all, if the choice is life or death, Rumple chooses life. A blank slate just means that you have equal potential for light and darkness. My theory is that from the blank slate point, doing good makes you more likely to do good, but it doesn't eliminate the chance you'd do something bad.