Thread:Hmcooper4/@comment-3481504-20151006104910/@comment-24674051-20151006144746

Honestly, I have yet to see any magic weilder be as powerful as the Dark One (and that looks to be true for Emma now that she's the Dark One). I think Pan, within Neverland, was powerful, but the edge he held over Rumple was not magical, but psychological. Rumple had a lot of 'Daddy issues', and I think that may have colored some of his thinking. Also, while Rumple may have been more powerful than Pan, there may still be truth that the only way for Rumple to defeat Pan was exactly as he did.

Also, Rumple did not defeat Pan by opening the Box, as we saw. Pan pulled that last minute switcharoo with Henry, and gained the upper hand on Rumple, at least for the moment. No, the only way Rumple defeated Pan was by sacrificing himself.