Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-26241562-20151013033754/@comment-25926288-20151013034156

Not person, but being. (Well, as far as we know) So, it's not a he, but an it.

The Darkness is an entity that snuffs out the light and will eventually destroy all the realms if left unchecked.

We never saw Rumple's fall to darkness. It went from Normal Rumple to a lightly Golden Rumple in the flashbacks.

Light is the opposite of Darkness. Without Light, there can only be Darkness. But Light always casts a Shadow (of Darkness).