Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26159109-20160201202653/@comment-4453062-20160201204732

Ah, but Rumple's arc for Season 4 would have likely been entirely different had Neal remained alive. "Killing" Zelena to avenge Neal's death was what started the whole lying to Belle about the dagger thing. Rumple would have already had his happily ever after with both Belle and Neal in his life. Though I guess he still would have wanted to free himself of the dagger's control, if given the chance.