Sweet Charity

^THIS. Rumpel was definitely wrong in bringing her over to the dark side and manipulating her, but she could have said no. The writers can't just brush off all of her evil deeds by placing the blame on Rumpel. Or I guess now it's Rumpel, Jefferson and Dr. Frankenstein. At the rate we're going, pretty soon it'll be revealed that the real reason why Regina killed Graham was because he killed one of her wolf pups back in the Enchanted Forest.

Betsybelle

I can't tell if the writers are blaming Rumple or if it's just the fans..........but again, I wish the writers would make it clear what his motivation is; they really need to make it plainer that he's doing all this for his son.

That said, we did get the library scene - that's about as explicit as it gets.

Adam and Eddy adore Regina and make their sympathies with her very plain. I don't want to hear about how tortured she is if they're not going to talk about how tortured he is.

Candygirl9890

LOL! At this point, I wouldn't be surprised.

Wes&FredFan

I only wish that we had a wistful moment where either Belle or Rumpel mentioned the other by name.

Kelaine

No, no, no, it will turn out that Graham was freeing wolves who were actually mad killers - magical rabies or something - and that Regina's dear, sweet, loving mother was replaced by one of these who'd learned magic who then killed Daniel.

Yep, that's right, I'm blaming Graham's mother for everything.

She also created the Dark Curse, started the Ogre Wars, and convinced Maurice to send Belle over the the border - but only after she'd convinced Belle to dump Rumple.

Did I miss anything?

I've seen enough writers who were pretty good crash and burn on relationships that I admire ones who can work around that minefield.

The general problem is that romantic tension is something a lot of writers can and do pull off. Most have difficulty transferring that into an interesting relationship once they stop playing with romantic tension.

Now, although the writers keep throwing problems at Snow and Charming, they've been able to keep them interesting as a couple facing problems, not just a romantic couple.

That said, they have managed to throw one thing after another at them to keep them apart (currently in different universes).

I would generally characterize Snow and Charming as action characters. Their strengths show when they're tackling problems together (or seperately).

I want to say Rumple and Belle are more a brains couple. Rumple certainly has the wit and intelligence. Belle has the intelligence, although she may need to work more on verbal wit.

If I were to make one change in Rumbelle, Belle would be more obviously Rumple's intellectual equal, having moments where her intelligence shines, the two of them both contributing skills to problem solving.

Jiorjiina

TFTNT! (typed this an hour ago and then got caught up in things and forgot to post!)

Betsybelle

Jiorjiina, I'm PMing you now. Whenever you get a chance, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Well I would love to see that.......I'd love to see them debating things because they're both so intelligent and aware. I'd love to see them discuss traveling one day - maybe Gold can tell her of the places he's seen. I'd love to see them play chess or just read together - be involved in intellectual pursuits. Has Gold ever been able to talk to anyone like he can to Belle? Has Belle ever had that chance to do so with anyone? They talked in Skin Deep, really deep discussions, and that to me is what made the eppy exceptional. I want that also for them now and going forward.

lunas_borednow

... I'd be surprised if they ever bring it up again...

Betsybelle

Looks like Rumbelle quit each other cold turkey............Everything about them saddens me now: Belle as depicted this year, the ship, the angst, little Rumbelle....It might have been better to leave Skin Deep alone, lol.

lunas_borednow

Given Belle's rehab speech I'm going to say there was no quitting...

Betsybelle

I was being somewhat facetious; I was trying to imply that I agree with Wes & Fred......of course it's only been 3 episodes since the Croc (and Gold was barely in #5 and not in #6; Belle was not in either).

I can't believe how many people hated that line, lol

Wes&FredFan

I didn't take that "rehabilitation" to mean that she's trying to get "over" him ... only that she understands what it's like to have personal issues (like Red's wolf issue) ... though hers was the fact that she was locked up for 28 years, and her father tried to make her forget who she was ... some hard core personal issues for Belle. It didn't occur to me that she might have referred to trying to help Rumpel with his own issues too. It seemed more like she was trying to encourage her good friend by reminding Red that she has her own share of identity crisis issues. It was basically a Ruby/Belle friendship thing, so I'm not taking it as a downside for Rumbelle. Belle has other things to "get over" in her life that have nothing to do with Gold.

lunas_borednow

Agreed... though I do think the "Somewhat of an expert" part did have to do with her experiences with Rum.

“Belle has an incredibly heart, and an incredibly mind, and her gift is perception. Her gift is to be able to look at others and to see their true selves beneath whatever their exterior is. And I think that despite everything she went through with the curse and being locked up by Regina, that hasn’t gone away.”
— Adam Horowitz

Wes&FredFan

I think they're far from over ... Adam knows how popular they are. I think he's just biding his time for a big pay off, but all these other stories also need to be told first. I think we'll get some great moments, but the wait is gonna be tough. I'm sure it'll be worth it though.

Though I did NOT like the idea of Belle being chained up in the same place that Rumpel gave her as a gift. That was a little awkward.

Betsybelle

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