Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5899967-20150521213510/@comment-24674051-20150522174036

I still say that we don't know for sure about the Apprentice. Yes, it looked like he might have died, but that was NEVER confirmed. He could just be resting (he did, after all, just expend a bunch of energy trapping the darkenss, and then fighting same darkness, plus being slammed by one of Emma's light bolts), he could be near death and will ultimately die in the Premiere (after passing on additional information to the Nevengers regarding Merlin and how to find him). I am not going to pass judgement on that one just yet.

However, Rumple as the Dark One is gone for good (except for flashbacks, of course). And but for the intervention of the Apprentice, Rumple the man would be dead as well, and in fact we are not 100% sure about Rumple's ultimate condition.