Over the course of Once Upon A Time, fans have seen many sides of Rumpelstiltskin. Whether he's a cowardly peasant, the overly eccentric Dark One, a man willing to sacrifice his life for a greater good, a schizophrenic loon with one hell of a dual identity crisis, a mourning father or a man who values power over the love of his life, actor Robert Carlyle has had the chance to play the character all across the board. Immensely frustrating in recent days for his treatment of Belle - his own wife - and for throwing away all the growth he experienced up until he took the lives of both he and his father in favour of pursuing more power, Rumpel's path is seemingly squarely back to one of villainy. Despite that, he still manages to be continually engaging, easily one of the greatest characters on the series, if not the best. Always scheming, always holding secrets close to the chest and always ready to return character requests with nothing more than a clever comeback, Rumpel easily remains the series' most intriguing villain. Even when fans think they have him figured out, he throws them for a loop, for good or, more often, bad. Though it's easy to argue that the show as a whole hasn't been as strong or as promising as it once was, it's hard to deny that its villains often tend to elevate every scene they're in. As for now, fans have no choice but to wait and see if Ursula, Cruella and Maleficent can manage to earn their place among Once Upon A Time's cream of the villainous crop. Do you agree? What villains from Once Upon A Time would make your list? Let us know in the comments below.
Writer, film enthusiast, part-time gamer and watcher of (mostly) good television located on the fringe of Los Angeles, who now has his own website at www.highdefgeoff.com!
