Speculation WITHOUT Spoilers: Lalalalala! I can't hear you!

[RadioGirl27]

Could Dark One Emma at least give us some snark?

I expect her to be more hurtful than snarky, especially with her parents and, probably, Hook.

If Snow or whoever commands Emma to not do something to stop her from doing something they know she will regret, is it so bad to prevent her from doing it?

Well, in this show, to kill someone to save your son is considered a terrible crime, so it would be considered something terrible. Unless is Regina who does it, then no, then it would be considered something good or totally forgoten in the same episode.

[retrograde]

Okay, but I have a question following this up.  If Snow or whoever commands Emma to not do something to stop her from doing something they know she will regret, is it so bad to prevent her from doing it?  

I don't think it is, and I don't think Emma would think it was once she's back to normal, but while she's the DO, she probably wont's see it that way, and if her loved ones are trying to connect with her, it would be a set back. (Also, for maximum drama, I reckon they'd have Snow [or whomever] do it on an occasion where Emma actually wasn't going to do something bad but they didn't know if they could trust her; that'd put a dent in the relationship).

Edited July 11, 2015 by retrograde

[Camera One]

How about Dark Emma being so overprotective of Henry that she locks him in a tower.  So he'd be a male Rapunzel, and Dark Emma would be Mother Gothel, since stroking the Author/Henry's hair imbues Dark Emma with even more power.  

[Camera One]

I'm afraid I'm going to have to cleave myself from the Spoiler thread now that set photos are coming in.

 

Speaking of cleaving, maybe when the Dark One was taken out of Rumple, it cleaved his soul in two, and there's another Dark Rumple out there at the same time as Normal Rumple in Storybrooke.  

 

How do people want Rumple to act when he wakes up?  Guilty about all the horrible acts he committed as the Dark One?  Pushing Belle away feeling he doesn't deserve her?  Or getting back to his scheming ways, playing on everyone's desperate wish to separate Emma from the Darkness to regain a hold of power now that he's no longer the Dark One?

[YaddaYadda]

Or getting back to his scheming ways, playing on everyone's desperate wish to separate Emma from the Darkness to regain a hold of power now that he's no longer the Dark One?

 

I think this is the option they might be going with.  Why anyone would ever trust the man is beyond me.

[PixiePaws1]

Just floating some questions. ...

Will 'white hearted' Rumple twist the dagger in Killian's heart over his comment (made last season...can't remember the ep) that he was getting his happy ending and Rumple lost everything? Do you think he will now suddenly have compassion for Emma's plight or scheme to get control of the dagger. .which gives him access to the power of the Dark One without having to be it?

We have speculated before that Rumple is like an addict for power. ..do you think he will try to take back the Dark One mantle, not caring if he needs to kill Emma to do it?

[KingOfHearts]

I believe they're only going to go with Rumple freaking out and attempting to get his power back. We've already seen that a few hundred times already, so it's on par with these writers. It would be more interesting if Rumple lost his memory and became the cowardly peasant he used to be. I'd like to see if Belle would have been attracted to him if he wasn't the world-traveling powerful Dark One. I seriously doubt it. It wouldn't make Rumple any better, because we saw him capable of murder then anyway.

 

There's just really nowhere else to go with Rumple's character. We've seen him quasi-redeem himself, we've seen him backslide. He's been on the side of the heroes and the baddies, sometimes both at once. We saw him get married to Belle and we saw her kick him out. The character has been up, down and everywhere. He needs to die.

Edited July 15, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[Rumsy4]

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me a 100 times, er... shame on me". The people of Storybrooke need to get this tattooed on their foreheads. The longer road to redemption would be for Rumple to learn to live without his power, and begrudgingly or not, start helping the Nevengers save Emma. However, I feel that he will be back to his devious ways soon enough.

 

Rumple is not going to like being powerless after 200+ years--that is his defining trait. He might pretend to help everyone save Emma, but will be secretly plotting to stab Emma with the Dagger and get his power back. At the last minute, Belle will either talk him down stating that she believes in the goodness of his heaaaart, or he will finally be killed off (probably by Regina's hand). 

Edited July 15, 2015 by Rumsy4

[KAOS Agent]

Sadly, I don't think Rumpel will have lost his power at all. He'll wake up free of the Darkness, but still super powerful and get himself involved in stuff because that's how it is with this show. Powerless!Rumpel would be interesting character-wise, but not for a show that's all plot, plot, plot and wants him actively involved.

[Camera One]

I"m afraid that might be true, but even if Rumple had zero powers, he still spells and magical objects, plus knowledge.  They will say he's the only one who knows how to find Merlin or something, or he has a secret past with Merlin, or Arthur, or Merida or whoever and he will play them against each other like marionettes.  I can see the heroes still being dependent on him.

Edited July 16, 2015 by Camera One

[Rumsy4]

I read someone on the imdb boards commenting that Emma hasn't saved anyone since S1. And while that is not true, the climactic moments of the season haven't belonged to her since then.

How better to bring it back than by having Emma defeat the DO curse forever--something no DO, or Merlin, has been able to do. I hope this will be a "no one saves me but me" moment for Emma (with the help of her loved ones), So, I don't want Hook or Snow to break her curse with TLK. I want it to be something Emma does. I can dream...

Edited July 28, 2015 by Rumsy4

[Camera One]

There's no way Snow will break the curse anyway. Hook, maybe. I too would prefer to have Emma to defeat the curse, after her family and friends get her back in touch with the person she is deep inside. This is not a foregone conclusion. In Season 1, I expected Snow to break herself out of the potion she drank from Rumple, but apparently, there was nothing she could do, and if she killed Regina, she would never come back from it? WTF. So I hope this is not a repeat performance.

[Shanna Marie]

How better to bring it back than by having Emma defeat the DO curse forever--something no DO, or Merlin, has been able to do. I hope this will be a "no one saves me but me" moment for Emma (with the help of her loved ones), So, I don't want Hook or Snow to break her curse with TLK. I want it to be something Emma does.

Maybe it could be the kind of thing where the loved ones have a plan, but it fails, and the fallout of the failure is what reminds Emma of who she is so that she's able to rally her own strength and will so she can cast off the Dark One herself. That way, the love of the people in her life does play a role, and she might not have been able to do it without their love, but she still ultimately saves herself. So, say Hook tries to save her, fails, and is hurt in the process, and seeing this happen touches some part of real Emma that's still in there, and that wakes up her true self to win an internal battle with the Dark One. And would pay off all the mentions of her fear of losing him.

[Souris]

So, say Hook tries to save her, fails, and is hurt in the process, and seeing this happen touches some part of real Emma that's still in there, and that wakes up her true self to win an internal battle with the Dark One. And would pay off all the mentions of her fear of losing him.

 

That would rather parallel Charming stepping in front of the arrow Dark Snow meant for Regina. His action opened up her heart so that she was able to TLK him and break the spell that made her lose her memory of him. That was an internal thing for her, but it was sparked by his action on her behalf, that he was willing to die to save her heart from being darkened. I would like to see an ending to the Dark Swan arc that evokes that. Perhaps Dark Swan is trying to kill Rumple or Regina and Hook steps in front of her spell. She would be so upset, her light magic would come out full force and ultimately defeat the Dark One.

 

And then she could TLK Hook to save him.

 

Edited July 28, 2015 by Souris

[YaddaYadda]

You know what would parallel the whole Snowing sharing a heart?  If they say figure out that light magic can defeat the Dark One in some contrived way (because it will contrived as hell), Emma and Hook can switch hearts where she can use her light magic to get rid of the Dark One now that they know how to.  Emma's heart can't be taken, but she can probably remove it herself.

 

I know...but with this show...I will not elaborate further.

Edited July 28, 2015 by YaddaYadda

[Curio]

So, say Hook tries to save her, fails, and is hurt in the process, and seeing this happen touches some part of real Emma that's still in there, and that wakes up her true self to win an internal battle with the Dark One. And would pay off all the mentions of her fear of losing him.

Perhaps Dark Swan is trying to kill Rumple or Regina and Hook steps in front of her spell. She would be so upset, her light magic would come out full force and ultimately defeat the Dark One.

I feel like this might start to get too repetitive for Hook and Emma, though. Hook nearly died when Zelena tried to drown him and Emma had to give up her magic, then Hook nearly died again when Ingrid had him pinned under the icicles and Emma freaked out, and then Hook nearly died again when his heart was being squished by Rumple, and then Hook actually died in the alternate universe and Emma mourned him. I'd like a see a switch up where Emma is the one who actually appears to be dead and see his reaction.

 

So maybe Emma's ultimate sacrifice to defeat the Dark One once and for all is to sacrifice herself and all the darkness within her, but then Emma is brought back to life by the combined love of her entire family. (And by "family" I mean Hook, Henry, and her parents. Everyone else can GTFO.)

[Camera One]

So maybe Emma's ultimate sacrifice to defeat the Dark One once and for all is to sacrifice herself and all the darkness within her, but then Emma is brought back to life by the combined love of her entire family. (And by "family" I mean Hook, Henry, and her parents. Everyone else can GTFO.)

I thought the formula was Family = Lily and Regina.

Maybe Snow, Charming, Henry and Hook can all take out their hearts and make mincemeat pie, and when Dark Emma eats it, she's back to normal. Then, she can break her heart into five pieces and they can all share it like a Kit Kat bar.

Edited July 28, 2015 by Camera One

[Shanna Marie]

So maybe Emma's ultimate sacrifice to defeat the Dark One once and for all is to sacrifice herself and all the darkness within her, but then Emma is brought back to life by the combined love of her entire family.

But would that really count as saving herself? It kind of makes her helpless.

 

The reason I was spitballing something happening to Hook was that although he's nearly died lots of times, the only time it was about her was when it wasn't really her Hook, and he was doing it because it was the right thing to do, not a sacrifice for her. The Dark One has plenty of reasons to hate Hook, given their ongoing feud. So if the Dark One was taking over Emma and if Hook took a big risk to try to save her but the Dark One overpowered her and did something to hurt him, that might be the trigger to make whatever's left of real Emma within go "oh hell no" and rise up to fight off the Dark One. I guess the same thing could happen with one or both of her parents, but there's not the long enmity with the Dark One that might give the Dark One the motivation to overcome any Emma qualms to hurt them, and I'd be worried about the fallout. I think Hook's a lot more capable of taking Dark One abuse without blaming Emma because he believes so strongly in her, while they haven't really shown her parents having that kind of relationship with her. Hook would be able to say, "Hey, we've both been dark and done things we're not proud of, and at least you had an excuse, no hard feelings, I'm just glad to have the real you back and I'm glad my crazy plan ended up working, even though I'd have preferred not to be hurt." Her parents are a lot more black-and-white.

[kingshearte]

But would that really count as saving herself? It kind of makes her helpless.

I don't know; I hardly think a deliberate choice to self-sacrifice makes one helpless.

 

That said, given that self-sacrifice was what put her in this position in the first place, having her get out of it the same way just seems... I don't know. Not quite right. Something like seeing a loved one in danger being what pulls her out of it and gives her the power to save the day does seem pretty in character for her, though, so I could see that happening. Just please, for the love of whatever, don't let the "loved one" who inspires this be Regina.

[Camera One]

The scene will go like this... 

 

DARK SMOKE circles Emma again.  The smoke color changes to purple, then to green, then to orange, just because. [audience connects the dots later]

 

EMMA: Don't come any closer!  It has to be this way.  You have to let me go!

 

SNOW: No!  We're your parents.  Wait, do you think that's stating the obvious?

 

CHARMING: Stating the obvious is our role on this show.

 

REGINA: Let me save you after you sacrificed yourself for me.

 

SNOWING: And us.

 

HOOK: And me.

 

GRANNY, GRUMPY, ARCHIE, BLUE: And according to other interpretations, us as well.

 

HOOK: You know it's true.  Everything I do.  I do it for you.   

 

REGINA: Wait a minute, going last is perceived as more important as going in the middle.

 

HOOK: I want last with Emma.

 

REGINA: No, I get the last word with Emma.

 

SNOWING: Helllllllllllo, we're still here.

 

HENRY: Did everyone forget about me?

 

BELLE: I JUST FOUND OUT WE'RE ALL CAPABLE OF WHITE MAGIC WHEN A LOVED ONE WHO HAS TURNED INTO THE DARK ONE IS IN DANGER UNDER A FULL MOON ON THE FIFTH DAY OF HARVEST! [audience connects the dots to make sense of this]

 

Everyone shoots white light out of their hands at Emma.

 

EMMA: Oh, thank you.  You saved me, mom and dad.  You saved me, Regina.  You saved me, Hook.  You saved me, Hook.  You saved me, Regina.  [Audience connects the dots to decide who actually saved Emma]

 

DARKNESS envelopes Merlin instead.

 

MERLIN: Bwahahahahahahahahaha, I'm the Big Bad for 5B!!!!

Edited July 30, 2015 by Camera One

[Jul 68]

I've been thinking about how the show will eventually end. A&E have said that they have the ending already planned out. So, what could they do to wrap up the story and have the whole thing make some sort of organic sense? Then I hit on it..... What if they do a twisted mashup of Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz.

Once upon a time, there was a baby girl found abandoned by the side of the road in Maine. Life was very difficult for the girl and she was only able to find solice in reading fairy tales. If these people could have a 'happily ever after', she would tell herself, then surely she could as well. As time passed and the little girl moved from foster home to foster home, she withdrew into the book and the stories more and more.

Enter present day. We open to find the little girl is now the Emma Swan that we all know and love. Emma isn't living in Storybrooke, but in an asylum. She was placed there as a teen when she kept insisting that she was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.

As this new story unfolds, we meet the Director of the facility, Regina Mills, who always gets what she wants (she IS the boss after all) and her lead psychiatrist Archie. The specialty of this asylum is people who believe that they are fairy tale characters. Some of the patients are cured and leave the facility (Ruby, Jefferson, Pan, Tink, etc). While others leave, only to return later when they relapse (Sidney, August, Blue, Zelena). Most everyone that we know as a resident of Storybrooke is a patient.

We also learn that Neal was an intern who thought that he could help Emma by taking her for trips outside of the walls of the facility. It didn't work, but he fell in love with her while trying. The tryst came to light and an abrupt end when it was discovered that Emma was pregnant. The baby was sent for adoption at about the same time that Regina gave birth to her son, Henry.

This would explain why A&E couldn't care less about inconsistencies in the story and the screwed up timelines. It would also explain why everyone in Storybrooke is related. Emma is creating a family.

So, what do you think?

[legaleagle53]

Were it not for the fact that Adam and Eddie have insisted from the beginning that they're not going to do an "it was all a dream, and you were there, and you were there, and you were there!" ending, I would hate for such an ending to be the case.  I hated it when St. Elsewhere did it, I hated it when Dallas did it, and I hated it when Roseanne did it.  It's a cop-out and a rip-off that is highly insulting to the intelligence of the viewers who invest years in following shows like this, to say nothing of a slap in the face to said viewers.

Edited August 2, 2015 by legaleagle53

[Souris]

I LOATHE "it never really happened" endings. Cheapens everything IMO.

 

Somebody actually asked Adam on Twitter recently if Emma was in an asylum & imagined the show, and he replied "No."

[RadioGirl27]

Maybe not Emma, but it could be Henry the one imagining everything.

[Camera One]

I don't think A&E will go for that type of ending.  There would be too much backlash.  They might do it as a one-off "fun" episode, though.  Maybe as a season finale where everyone is trapped in Henry's dream world and they must break themselves out, almost exactly like the AU in the Season 4 finale.

 

We might get what we saw in the "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" finale.  Which would be a five-minute mostly dialogue-less epilogue montage, whirlwind of moments where we jump ahead to see Emma and Hook getting married (15 seconds), jump ahead to them talking to their child about how there are magical worlds out there (30 seconds), and then Regina rings the doorbell with lasagna and fade out as everyone is chowing down laughing like they left their brains in the Enchanted Forest as music plays in the background, and wink wink closing shot of a clock at 8:15.

Edited August 2, 2015 by Camera One

[Jul 68]

I didn't know about the Tweet. Good information.

I vividly remember the ending of St. Elsewhere being the first show ending that I hated.

I like the idea of a one off episode, but it would be too reminiscent of Buffy (no, it was not my inspiration).

[Panopticon]

I would never watch St. Elsewhere because I know how it ends. I wouldn't want to bother engaging with the characters.

 

You can tell me that this is silly, because all characters from that sort of show are fictional anyway. And you'd be right. But it doesn't change the way I feel, and apparently there are a significant number of people who agree with me (or else I wouldn't even be aware of the ending of St. Elsewhere, a show that ran before I was old enough for primetime TV).

 

If Once Upon a Time pulled an "it never really happened" ending it, would be infinitely worse that if most shows did it. The whole first season-- that widely acclaimed, widely watched first season-- was about asking Emma, and the audience with her, to believe an inherently unbelievable story.  To go back and say that Emma wasn't the one who doubted, but rather the one who hallucinated, not only negates but actively mocks that journey.

 

I would rather see OUAT go with the Swan Queen fans' theory that Henry is imagining the whole thing as a way to cope with his mothers' separation than make Emma the one in the asylum. And I hate Swan Queen and don't even like to see Emma/Regina in the same room.

[Dianthus]

Bob Newhart waking up in bed next to Suzanne Pleshette was the one exception to the 'it was all a dream' bad ending. I wasn't even a big Newhart fan, but that was near perfection.

[Souris]

Even the Newhart ending annoyed me.

[OnceUponAJen]

Bob Newhart waking up in bed next to Suzanne Pleshette was the one exception to the 'it was all a dream' bad ending. I wasn't even a big Newhart fan, but that was near perfection.

True! I don't think it would have worked as well as it did if that show/couple were not so universally loved, though.

[Camera One]

How about a "What if Regina was never born" episode.  They'll show everyone being absolutely miserable.  Without her, Snow would never have met Charming, and Emma would never have been reunited with Henry, much less exist.

Edited August 3, 2015 by Camera One

[KingOfHearts]

 

How about a "What if Regina was never born" episode.  They'll show everyone being absolutely miserable.  Without her, Snow would never have met Charming, and Emma would never have been reunited with Henry, much less exist.

I count on Snow leading the anthem on how if Regina hadn't cast the curse, they wouldn't have had all those wonderful times in Storybrooke. It'll be followed immediately by everyone eating her lasagna and complimenting on its red pepper flakes. Zelena will sit awkwardly in a booth by herself, then go outside to leave the party. Regina will come out to make sure she's okay, then we get an ambiguous hint that she starts a path of redemption as well.

 

After it airs, fans will write fanfiction about Zelena crying over no one eating her meat pies.

Edited August 3, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[YaddaYadda]

How about a "What if Regina was never born" episode.  They'll show everyone being absolutely miserable.  Without her, Snow would never have met Charming, and Emma would never have been reunited with Henry, much less exist.

 

If Regina was never born, Snow wouldn't have become a bandit, wouldn't have met David who would have married Abigail instead.

 

Emma doesn't exist or maybe they do meet anyway but are fighting a war against each other instead because David is now George's son.  Maybe they meet, unite the kingdoms, have Emma.

 

The thing that wouldn't change even if Regina doesn't exist is Rumple wanting to find Bae.  And Cora does have another daughter, the first born she promised Rumple.  And maybe Zelena isn't as batshit crazy as she is because she is oh so fucking jealous and envious of Regina (Zelena is totes the Evil Queen in this and Regina is Snow White).  Maybe Zelena is the one who casts the curse instead.

 

They would have likely been cursed anyway.

Edited August 3, 2015 by YaddaYadda

[legaleagle53]

The thing that wouldn't change even if Regina doesn't exist is Rumple wanting to find Bae.  And Cora does have another daughter, the first born she promised Rumple.  And maybe Zelena isn't as batshit crazy as she is because she is oh so fucking jealous and envious of Regina (Zelena is totes the Evil Queen in this and Regina is Snow White).  Maybe Zelena is the one who casts the curse instead.

 

They would have likely been cursed anyway.

 

That wasn't the actual contract between Cora and Rumple.  Cora tricked Rumple into rewriting the contract so that she would only have to give Rumpel her firstborn child that was sired by him -- and she then made a point of telling him that he would never sire any child of hers.  Zelena wasn't Rumple's daughter, so she would still have been off-limits to him that way.  

 

That said, you're right that Zelena probably would still have cast the Curse by default -- that was, after all, her original stated goal in going back in time.  She thought that she would get to lead Regina's life once she prevented Regina from existing at all.

Edited August 3, 2015 by legaleagle53

[Camera One]

Knowing this show, Zelena might be "redeemed" within Season 5 when she loses the baby but realizes how much she loved it and would have wanted to be a mother.  

[KingOfHearts]

Knowing this show, Zelena might be "redeemed" within Season 5 when she loses the baby but realizes how much she loved it and would have wanted to be a mother.

Or Regina initially vows that Zelena will never see it nor have any part in its life, only to bond with her over the next nine months. Once the baby is born, Zelena realizes she wants it and Regina lets her hold it. Cue awkward 3-person parenting.

[Camera One]

Though this show doesn't do awkward 3-person parenting.  One parent pretty much drops out of the picture for an entire season (Emma/Henry).  Or forever (Neal).  Or the baby drops out of the picture (Baby Neal).

Edited September 5, 2015 by Camera One

[october]

With the cast as bloated as it is, I think it's possible Zelena won't be around long after the baby is born. I have a suspicion that she'll either die giving birth (a bit dark for this show though) or more likely she'll sacrifice herself to save her baby from some kind of threat, 'redeeming' her, and leaving the baby with Regina and Robin (insta!kid for OutlawQueen. Everything else with them has been poorly executed and nonsensical so why not?).

Edited September 5, 2015 by october

[KingOfHearts]

There's really no possible way for this baby story to be interesting with TS,TW. The only way I'd be remotely curious is if Snowflake and Little Wicked both get sucked into a portal and come back as grown-up witch hunters.

Edited September 5, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[retrograde]

The only way I'd be remotely curious is if Snowflake and Little Wicked both get sucked into a portal and come back as grown-up witch hunters.

I would totally watch that.

 

RE: this week's poll. I would agree with "Dark Swan is a fakeout. The real villain will be Gold trying to get his powers back." except they did the former last season, and the latter the season before. Surely they can come up with something more original?

[Mari]

Surely they can come up with something more original?

For some reason, I feel like laughing manically.  I wonder why?  :)

[retrograde]

I know, I know...

 

I actually do think they might do an Emma fake-out, but I really don't think they'll just have Gold go evil again. Where would they go from there with that character?

[Rumsy4]

LMAO! 

[Mari]

 Where would they go from there with that character?

Well, he could be the subject of a curse that makes him look like a very large, fuzzy lion thing?

:)

 

Seriously, I could see them doing an Emma fake-out, too. They did a fake-out with Maleficent and Ursula, and came pretty close to a fake-out with Ingrid.  And in all those cases Rumple was the actual villain.

[Souris]

Or they'll start out heavy with DarkSwan, lose interest about Ep. 6, fixate on a new villain, have DarkSwan skulk through a scene or two in black leather for the rest of the arc, then magically cure her in the final minute of the midseason finale with the Enchanted Left Big Toenail Clippings of Shangri-La.

[Camera One]

RE: this week's poll. I would agree with "Dark Swan is a fakeout. The real villain will be Gold trying to get his powers back." except they did the former last season, and the latter the season before. Surely they can come up with something more original?

 

LOL.  I don't think there needs to be a villain, at least for the first half of 5A.  The Darkness itself escaping would be enough of a threat, and keeping Dark Emma in line would be enough to occupy everyone without necessarily making her a "villain".  But I voted that there will be another villain revealed by mid-5A.  Someone else who wants to drink the black blob of Darkness after Emma passes it, or the Black Blob personifies itself as Frollo or Governor Radcliffe.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Camera One

[Rumsy4]

I do think the logical progression for Rumple's character would be to try take back the Dark One powers from Emma. He's been addicted to power for centuries! The only time he willingly gave up control was to save Bagel from his stupidity in the Missing Year.

Belle keeps reassuring him that she loves him, but Rumple has never been able to internalize that belief. He won't be able to adjust being powerless all of a sudden, especially when people he has wronged (Regina, Emma, Hook, etc.) now have more power than him. IMO, he will be back to his scheming in no time.

[Mari]

The thing is, by separating him from the Dark One, making the Dark One into some sort of possession? curse, and making his heart pure white, they've sort of done a Rumple reset.

 

In some ways, we're really dealing with several different possible characters, and we don't know which will show up:

• Original Pre-Dark One Rumple the coward as he was when he was with Milah
• desperate to save his son, takes crazy risks for power Rumple
• Mr. Gold
• Dark One mindset-manipulative Rumplestiltskin (of which there are several versions)
• the merged Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin that happened after he remembered who he was
• completely new and different character because he doesn't know who he is Rumple.  (We don't know what that white heart means--maybe his body's had a complete memory reset.)

 

Several versions of Rumple would immediately start scheming to get power back, but it's a complete unknown because we have no clue which version will show up.

 

Also, how much power does he retain without the Dark One magic?  If he has all his memories, those have value, but how much magic does he have?   Would he want to regain the Dark One curse, if it meant dying with charcoaled heart?

[Rumsy4]

I wouldn't call Gold's heart pure white. What it is is a blank slate. He has the choice to fill it with love or hate. If he got the DO powers back, he might find a way to keep his heart from becoming charcoal black right away. He would always have the hope of finding a loophole.

It would be out of character for Gold to adjust to his condition right away. He will have to face the temptation to take his power back. Whether he gives in or not will depend on what the writers ultimately want with his character.

[Camera One]

Also, how much power does he retain without the Dark One magic?  If he has all his memories, those have value, but how much magic does he have?   Would he want to regain the Dark One curse, if it meant dying with charcoaled heart?

 

Even without inherent magic, Gold still has a million magical objects in his Shop, plus with his knowledge of spells, he can still do a lot and wield a lot of power.

 

I think if he does become the Dark One again, his heart will be back to normal for no reason.