Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-1475805-20151207082556/@comment-8345449-20151207091449

Merlin did say that it was technically possible for someone to use the darkness for good. Maybe Rumple may turn out to be The One.

If the Storybrooke gang are going to face off with the gods in the next part of the season and beyond, they are certainly going to need some big guns on their team, so Rumple x10 could prove be an asset as long as he can keep the darkness under control.

Farerb wrote: It was a bad call and a character regression for both him and Belle. They have been in this exact same situation at the end of season 3, so what was the point of their storyline in the past season and a half if nothing has changed?

I don't really see Rumple turning back to DO as character regression. We have never really seen Rumple do anything selfless or heroic that wasn't about saving those he loves. So him screwing over everyone else and only trying to save the people he loves (getting Belle out of town) is pretty consistent with his character. His helplessness to save Belle during the "Bear and the Bow" episode may have reinforced his desire for power. Originally, he wanted power as a means to protect Baelfire, so it makes sense that he would want power once again to protect Belle.