Board Thread:Show-Related Questions and Answers/@comment-25974054-20151208173233/@comment-25926288-20151208173722

Think of it as a stalling season half.

Rumple;s heart was filled with Darkness and it was going to consume him, but now he has a fresh start, so a long time before he is consumed again.

The Darkness (Holy Grail magic that was Nimue's and Merlin's) can be destroyed by an untethered., whole Excalibur. But if it's really destroyed....I guess the light.