Once Upon a Time season 6, episode 9’s Hero of the Week honor goes to someone who took the final stand against corruption and evil.
Once Upon a Time’s heroes are no strangers to sacrifice. They carry the weight of their decisions around at all times like a badge of honor. It is one that shows how far they’ve come and how far they are willing to go. “Changelings” challenges one character to make the most difficult sacrifice of all.
You voted and here are the results!
And the winner is…
Belle French exits the library and finally delivers the final blow to her relationship with Mr. Gold. In the moments following the birth of her son, Belle decides it is best to send him away until Gold is out of the picture for good.
Belle and Gold’s back and forth relationship is no small piece of the Once Upon a Time fabric. It is one of the more frustrating relationships of the series. The last few seasons weakened the foundation of their relationship. It appears that season 6 is the wedge that will finally cause a crack too big to fix.
In the final moments of “Changelings” Once Upon a Time decides it is time for the two to cross the point of no return. With Gideon gone, Rumpel and Belle must now face each other and end this relationship once and for all.
Best Quote
Best Interaction with a Villain
Belle’s refusal to tell Gold his son’s name is perhaps the best interaction of all time between the two characters. Their love affair once held such promise. She saw the beauty inside of the beast, while he made plans to become a better man for her. You wanted to root for their happiness.
Now, we’re happy to root against them. Gold’s plans all focus on his own happiness. In “Changelings” Gold seeks to speed up Belle’s pregnancy, take his child, and watch as someone grows to love him. Belle is not having any part of that plan. Even though Gold retreats and does not carry out the first step of his plan, Belle sticks to her guns and sends Gideon away with Blue.
Watching as she says farewell to her newborn is heartbreaking, yet joyous. After Gideon disappears into the sky, Gold arrives and demands to know his son’s name. Belle holds on tight to that information and does not give him an inch.
Top Three Heroic Actions
- Sending her son away to live with Blue
- Refusing to tell Gold his son’s name
- Trying to rescue the innocent baby in the Enchanted Forest
Question of the week: What should be Belle’s next move?
Belle, much like Snow White circa the Evil Queen’s reign of terror, faces a future without her newborn. She is a mother in pain and needs some time to process all of the events of the past few days. The heroes must lend a shoulder or two for her to lean on during this time, but action is going to follow soon enough.
Gold is out there working on a plan to get his son back from fairy purgatory. He is angry and more powerful than ever. It would be in Belle’s best interest to win Zelena over in the interim. Zelena may not be on the best terms with Regina, but Belle can appeal to her motherly compassion and her hatred of the Evil Queen.
The key to defeating Gold and ending his hunt for Gideon is to use what he loves against him — power. Zelena has a grip, quite literally, on his heart. She is the best line of defense for Belle and her magic is quite formidable even if it does not quite match the powers of the Dark One. As we saw in “Changelings,” Belle is clever, but dried squid ink is no match for Gold.
Hopefully, the show will push Belle out of the library and into a more active role against Gold now that Gideon is safe.
Honorable Mention:
Tip of the hat to Blue. Her sacrifice for Belle is one of the greatest we’ve seen in Storybrooke. Not only does she take on the responsibility of raising a child, but she leaves behind everything and everyone she knows. Blue takes Gideon without any questions and sets out to protect the child from harm.
We commend Blue for her selflessness and bravery and hope that she returns sooner rather than later.
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Let us know what you think of Belle’s heroism and check back each week to vote for your favorite hero!
Be sure to check out our Villain of the Week!
Watch Once Upon a Time season 6, episode 10, “What You Wish For,” Sunday, December 4 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
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