Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20160509005929/@comment-26238347-20160512151134

Rumple always topping of the arc's current villain reminds me of a video game franchise called 'Mega Man' where the ultimate baddie may appear to be someone else but it always ends up being Dr. Wily.

Examples: - When The Evil Queen's Dark Curse was broken, Rumple brings magic to Storybrooke subverting a key aspect of the curse - When the Queen of Hearts makes her way to Storybrooke to kill the dying Dark One, her own heart kills her and Rumple is instantly healed - When Peter Pan is about to kill everybody one by one in the streets of Storybrooke, Rumple locks him in a hug(?) and stabs him with the dagger - When the Wicked Witch of the West is defenseless and locked in a Storybrooke jail cell, Rumple stabs her with his dagger for vengeance - When the Snow Queen ends her spell of shattered sight in Storybrooke, Rumple still keeps his opportunity to leave the town with his magic intact. - When the Author's warped Storybrooke reality is undone and he is imprisoned in a jail instead of a story book, Rumple gets to escape death by having his heart cleansed of darkness. - When Dark Hook makes his sacrifice, Rumple once again becomes Storybrooke's resident Dark One. - When Hades refuses to make a deal with Rumple when he enters Storybrooke, Rumple still gets a piece of the Olympian Crystal after Hades becomes dust.

It seems like Rumple topping the current arc's villain is always something to expect like memory wipes/stolen memories.