Board Thread:Rant and Rave/@comment-31592902-20170630182255/@comment-31231929-20170713172325

Aine1989 wrote: Emillian Swanones wrote: I definitley agree that their relationship is toxic. I didn't think it was horrible until Season 4, though. I would say it got full blown abusive in season 4, but they were laying the foundations in season 1 and 2 (3 doesn't really count because they were apart for most of it). When you look back on it you can see the elements of toxicity, even though they are not as blatant as before.

Not to say Rumple could not have redeemed himself and the relationship could have gotten better if the writers wanted it to.

I think the thing with Rumple is that he cannot have a healthy relationship. It's one of his core character traits. We saw it with Baelfire, with Milah and then with Belle. I sort of liked them in seasons 1-3, but I was done with their relationship by 4B. I do think that they were at their best in Season 3, which I think goes to show that if a couple is better of with physical distance between them, then they shouldn't be together at all. I was so proud of Belle in 4x11 for pushing him over the town line and in 6x04 for saying they were over. Then in 6B Rumple did a complete 180 and Belle took him back, which I think was a grave mistake. Rumple deciding to turn his back on the darkness and trying to be good could have been the start of a second redemption arc for him, but I think he's hurt her and everyone else too much for it to ever feel real.