Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-28260770-20160420195541/@comment-28260770-20160422180807

Hmcooper4 wrote: I'm willing to give Rumple another chance (Ok, maybe I suffer from Belle Complex). admittecly, He did start into the UW without revealing to Belle that he was the dark one again. (he would not have revealed to anyone had not Former Dark One Emma caught on right away). And he did destroy the boat and cast Milah into the Drink (and has not fessed up on that act yet).

But since then, he seems to be making better decisions, at least as far as being open about who he is and his desire not to give up the power. He came totally clean with Belle (except for his part in Milah's demise), and is at least trying to find the higner ground, or at least not hide when he chooses to take the lower ground. In other words, he's being open, not hiding behind a mask at this point. All of that is at least a baby step in the right direction. Maybe having to swallow some of his own medicine has helped him realize that he's been a jerk and worse.

Whether he continues to stay that course or not remains to be seen. part of that will have to include eventually coming clean about Milah, preferably before Hades decides that it's in his best interests to throw Rumple under the bus. I agree with you about him opening up. I am glad that he's at least opened up to Belle & been honest with her about regaining his power & not refusing to let it go. I'm glad that he's not just continued to lie to her, making her believe that his 'dark one days' are over. The fact is, that it was only a matter of time before she found out the truth anyway, so it was better coming from him than coming out another way.

While you're right that all this may be a baby step in the right direction, I still don't think he'll change. There's been many times in the show where I've thought he's heading in the right direction. There have been plenty of times when he's done well. Heck, in season 3 he was actually quite heroic! There have been several points where he seems to be changing, but he just never learns from it. All he does is talk about wanting to change. So quite frankly, despite what you say; I've just given up hope that he's ever going to change, at least any time soon. Perhaps he will at the end of the series, but I can't see it happening for a while.

I must admit... I do find the writers of the show irritating the way they keep sending Rumple down (what seems to be) a path towards redemption, but it ends up never going anywhere. I'm just left thinking, "Is he going to turn good or is he staying evil?? Pick one & go with it!"