1.) Mr. Gold - Good or evil
I really liked how the 4th season's first half ended. Mr. Gold's character can be so confusing at times. Sometimes, I wonder if he is always trying to gain power because he is scared or greedy. Mr. Gold's true problem is that he wants the benefits of being both a villain and a hero. The benefits of being a villain are being able to devote yourself to/and get what you want. The benefits of being a hero are having trust and relations, yet it is my firm belief that Mr. Gold simply wants the benefits of being a hero to use those trust and relationships to his advantage, whether it be for pleasure (when Mr. Gold has a relationship for pleasure, it must be noted that he will throw this away when it stands right in the way of something he truly desires) or to assist him in achieving his goals. The argument against this would be that proof lies in the episode where Mr. Gold sacrifices himself to defeat Pan, yet this is yet another selfish act. What we realize, upon further inspection, is that Mr. Gold simply did this to gain the love/trust of Neal. I feel that, while this could have been because he loved him, it was more to ease his own guilt. A hero would have sacrificed himself to save the town, but Mr. Gold's motives are clearly branded as a way to gain Neal's trust. After all, the only deal he ever broke was with Neal. In conclusion, Mr. Gold's affection (towards Belle) is real, but his desire for power is also real, and it is the latter that wins out in the end.
2.) Mr. Gold's motives explored
As I stated in the paragraph above, sometimes I wonder if Mr. Gold is after power because he is scared or greedy. I'll keep this one brief. Mr. Gold is, in reality, and contrary to what most would believe, greedy. His greed, however, stems from fear. He took the fear of losing power and ran with it. If you are in a jungle and about to be attacked by a tiger and someone gave you a rifle, you'd be happy. Mr. Gold, however, would want an automatic weapon, or whatever crazy item you can think of. The point is that eventually it becomes less about self defense and more about greed. All different motives are suggested, such as trying to rescue Baelfire and self-defense, but even when these are accomplished Mr. Gold wants more, out of greed. On a side note, Mr. Gold's patience makes him extremely dangerous. He is always invested in the future.
Mind if I go way off topic here? I wasn't sure where else to put this...
Exploring powers:
This is one of the more odd scenarios. Emma Swan is usually thought of as being very powerful, yet her magic is nowhere near as practical as Mr. Gold's. The dilemma here becomes how powerful Emma should become. If Emma turns out to be a Mr. Gold without the handicap of the dagger, the show is doomed. I feel that we're already headed in the wrong direction, as, currently, her powers have no known limits. Now, of course, not all limits are as obvious as the dagger. With Zelena, for example, it is clear that she is powerful, but it is also clear she has limits and weaknesses, such as light magic. Emma Swan is so absurdly powerful and unpredictable that we don't really know where she'll stop. It is, however, important to note, as I said before, that her magic is nowhere near as practical as Mr. Gold's. The day Emma Swan is teleporting, throwing fireballs and ripping out hearts is the day I stop watching.