Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24589671-20141201023147/@comment-5106672-20141202160306

I wouldn't want the writers to pull the "wasn't me" card on this one, tbh. The story is much more compelling if Rumple is deliberately acting the way he is and will pay the price for his actions.

It is also interesting to see how his relationship with Belle treatens to come full circle in comparison to the other loves in Rumple's life: he's being a coward and he lost Milah because of that; he's chosing power over love like he did with Bae, and like Malcom and Cora did with him. I loved the idea of him having a second chance at long last, but you deserve one when you actually learn from your mistakes. He's clearly repeating the same mistakes and wrongs he did and others did to him.