Board Thread:Spoilers!/@comment-1916997-20150313202428/@comment-24674051-20150501154214

Rumple is a key character. So is Emma, So is Regina. If you make any big changes in any of these three, you will drastically change the show. Even Snow and David would not have as much impact as these three.

The thing is, They have just about reached the end of Gold/Rumple. As they have shown in the story, the good part of Rumple is almost dead, there is just a sliver of goodness left. Once that goes, Rumple becomes full on Dark One, and the ONLY way to defeat that is to remove it. He is dying, he's already flat lined a couple of times. From a story perspective, they are setting everything up for Gold to die. So his death, unlike Neal's, is not going to come out of the blue. it will be expected. The question is not so much if he will die, but what will be the circumstances of his death. Will he just fade, or will he go out in a blaze of glory? (I opt the latter).

And then that brings up the questions about the Dark One? What happens next? That is the game changer. you know, season 1 was about Emma learning to Believe in Fairy Tales and Magic. Season 2 was about her coming to terms with that belief, and finding out more of who she is. Season 3 was about her coming to terms with her past, and the changes that are happening. This season has been about finally accepting herself, only to discover that there is more of herself that she needs to accept and deal with, specifically the darkness that is hers. Season 5 may very well be about Emma accepting and overcoming her inner darkness, with the help of some unlikely allies, namely the Evil Queen, Captain Hook, and the daughter of Maleficent.