I think it’s really interesting to listen to how Rumple talks about himself as opposed to how the narrative has portrayed him. Because the narrative has portrayed him in many, many ways - Dark One/Saviour, villain/hero, coward/brave. Through the narrative, we see all sides to Rumplestiltskin, but through Rumple’s narrative of HIMSELF, we only hear ‘coward’. That’s ALWAYS been the way (look at 2.4, 5.6…). That’s self loathing. That’s not being a very reliable narrator of your own story. Yes, he sees that in himself and hates it, so I agree that this moment is him banishing that idea from his view of HIMSELF.
If we want the truth about Rumplestiltskin, we have to listen to the people who love him: Bae, Belle, Gideon, Alice, and, yes, Wish Hook and Regina.
Belle’s insistence that there’s a good man in Rumple and that his heart is pure/true is the truth. As is Alice saying that she knows who he really is and won’t let him lose the battle with the Darkness. Bae’s acknowledgement that his was a home filled with love, and Gideon’s fierce love for his father are the truth. And so is Wish Hook’s respect and admiration, and Regina’s love and gratitude for his sacrifice.
(Also, look at how the narrative flips the situation from “The Crocodile” with Wish Hook in “Knightfall”. Hook believed fighting was the honourable, brave thing, but it cost him his daughter, and is shown very much to be the wrong choice. By comparison, Rumple’s choice to walk away in “The Crocodile” is represented as the correct choice [in hindsight, perhaps] - you go home to the child who needs you, however people will see you for that. Rumple may still have associated that with cowardice, but the NARRATIVE makes it clear that HE made the right choice).
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