In every fairytale there's always at least one major obstacle to overcome, but in the world of Once Upon a Time, tragedy and mayhem seem to strike at least every other week. On this show, no happy ending is guaranteed, which is why I'm starting to grow more and more concerned about what fate has in store for Belle on Once Upon a Time . Granted, this character is no stranger to danger (she was married to The Dark One, after all), but now that Rumple is at the mercy of Dark Swan, I fear our book-lover's future is looking more and more grim. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that Belle could potentially die soon on OUAT .
According to Sunday night's episode synopsis for "The Bear and the Bow," Emma will apparently use Belle as bait in order to convince Rumple to take a heroic stand. But just to give you a better idea of how dire the situation is, here's how the description reads in full: "Emma commands Merida to kill Belle in hopes of forcing Mr. Gold’s heroic transformation. With Merida unable to disobey Emma’s orders, Gold must find the courage to fight for Belle’s life or risk losing her forever."
Now I'm sure that Rumple will inevitably pull through and save the day in the name of true love. However, there's always that slight chance that something will go wrong, which means Belle could still be in serious danger. OUAT has proven in the past that it isn't afraid to kill off beloved characters. (RIP Sheriff Graham) So it's best to not just assume anything outright. Merida by herself would never try to harm Belle, but since her heart is in Emma's hands (quite literally), she has no choice but to do what she's told.
However, if I was writing this episode (consider that an official offer, Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis), I'd much rather see Belle save herself or have both Belle and Merida work together to thwart Emma's plan. As much as I love a good Rumbelle moment, it's also really great to see the female characters be the heroes. This show does a great job with portraying women as strong, self-sufficient characters — Emma, Regina, and Snow White are total badasses in the best way possible — so I'd like to see a little of that rub off on Belle. She may be the show's go-to research girl, but I know she could contribute so much more if given the chance.
Either way, I'm hoping that Belle's life will be saved. I'm just saying that it'll be even better if she ends up saving herself. Your move, Once writers!
Images: Jack Rowand/ABC (2); thetaleofstorybrooke/Tumblr
