Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24118922-20131101170851/@comment-6175354-20131216135833

Nlosborne wrote: Rumplestiltskin isn't dead, or atleast, he isn't going to be… the shows creators said he will be in the second half of the season with Belle in the same land. What the creators said, is open for interpretation.... because it ended with, ''"whatever state that is in". ''Showing Belle, and Neal, coming to terms with what happened, counts as exploring a relationship. Remember, Prince Charming was originally going to die, in the Pilot. This might be something like that. I love Rumplestiltskin as much as the next fan, but I like that he sacrificed himself for everyone. He died a hero, not a coward.

The whole series, up until now; was about Rumplestiltskin being the puppetmaster, so he could be reunited with Bealfire.... and that was a part of Peter Pan's plan, to obtain Henry's heart. Their deaths were the closing of that chapter, in the story.