Board Thread:Rant and Rave/@comment-31937823-20180102211252/@comment-28162607-20180103234618

Emillian Swanones wrote: Aine1989 wrote: Hell I ship CS and I have a lot of issues with the arc.

One issue no one seems to focus on here is the retcon of the Dark Curse as something that possesses you and forces you to do things, like how Emma acted against her will in 5x01 and 5x07 and how Killian was so OOC you would think it was an ACS fanfiction. The problem with this retcon is how it completely destroys Rumple as a character. It reduces him to "well he was being controlled and can't held accountable" despite the fact he made it crystal clear he wanted to be the Dark One.

I would have thought Rumple fans would take an issue with their favourite character being retconned like this. I wouldn't say it was retconned. I think the Dark One Curse is controlling if you don't want to be the Dark One or if you were forced to become one, but that it isn't if being the Dark One is your choice. Rumple chose to become the Dark One both times and neither Emma nor Killian wanted to be Dark Ones. Emma sacrificed herself to the Darkness and was trying to get rid of it the entire time and Killian becoming the Dark One wasn't his choice. I don't remember anything in the narrative saying that the Dark One Curse was controlling Rumple, only that Emma and Killian were being controlled. Exactly. If Killian and Emma were being controlled then why not Rumple? They show the Darkness as controlling you, like it did Emma.

Which destroys the character they spent four seasons building and makes him a far less complex character. It was the ultimate whitewash; "Rumple cannot be held accountable for his actions because he wasn't in control of them". Whether or not that was deliberate we may never know (I personally think it was an unintended mistake based on a writing choice they did not think through).

I would have had it as a voice that whispers and tempts but ultimately, it is your choice to make.