Board Thread:Spoilers!/@comment-4962906-20151029131440/@comment-24674051-20151201171919

Ok, this may be slightly off topic, but I'll put it here as it does relate to the question of if we might or might not see Rumple in the mix.

Emma knew that she needed a hero to wield Excalibur, and it had to be a particular person, not just anyone. Rumple is the only person known (to date) to have been a Dark One and lived to tell the tale. His Trip to Hell and Back was probably when he killed himself and Pan, followed by his subsequent ressurection by Neal.

Rumple knows the dark ones better than anyone, since he was probably the one that survived the longest as the Dark One, and therefore spent more time with all of the voices in his head. Plus he is personally acquainted with both of the current Dark Ones.

So, Give Rumple Excalibur (which he conveniently has, thanks to Killian), and he essentially becomes the Anti-Dark One. So we will see Rumple in the mix of things, just not as one of the dark ones.

That's my speculation, and I'm sticking to it.