Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20160321010032/@comment-25926288-20160325121143

Hmm, some people are washing Milah as a hero and others are doing so to Rumple. Milah was trapped by her circumstances and by Rumple's choices. What noone seems to be getting is that they were both people who made terrible choices.

Rumple took away whatever agency that she had and left her in a rut. Essentially, Rumple gave away her child because she was married to him and there must be no option for divorce. Murder must be casual in EF, but Milah didn't want Rumple to be a murderer, she wanted him to be the man that stands up for himself or at least his child and take what he wants (I mean that's exactly what he did in present day, so that's what the message was). Milah obviously wasn't thinking straight as her child was endangered (and both parents were willling to do anything for their child until later abandoning them) and when Rumple returned she was like "OMG Rumple, we need to hide the body" in exclamation because I don't think she realized what she had just asked for.

Courage was defined in Once as being willing to standing up for yourself. Rumple wasn't courageous as a spinner because he wasn't willing to take risks, to fight for what he wanted, to let others make their choices themselves, etc. Rumple was selfish. Not in the way of being all "ME. ME. ME", but he held control over his family's lives and you can see how he does that will Belle. Milah was stuck in a marriage and in a situation she couldn't get out of and Rumple didn't make it much better.

And there's no reason to bring Hook in for some comparison unless you can't argue Rumple's sainthood (and yes, I'm kidding). I'm obviously a fan of Rumple, but if you think Milah was terrible and Rumple was okay, then you must be loking through tinted glass.

In the Hook-Milah- Rumple story, everyone was a grey character, no shade much different than the other.