Board Thread:Show-Related Questions and Answers/@comment-24434261-20140117205440/@comment-5679696-20140117213929

I'm sure the intention of that scene was to make us believe Gold is dead... But we never really saw his actual death. If you remember Desperate Soul's flashbacks, the previous Dark One did not dissappear when stabbed with the dagger in his heart. He just died, possibly turning mortal again. No light, no POP!, no disseapering. So, I personally speculate something made Gold decide to dissapear in the last moment to escape from his death.