Is Lacey An Improvement Over Belle?

I have been waiting for this episode for so long, and like so many other things in life, the longer you wait, the harder it is to live up to your expectations.

I always thought Belle was pretty great.  She is very pretty, very smart, very nice, and she is with Rumple, which is awesome.  But, Miss Belle had some character flaws.  She is a very all-or-nothing kind of lady.  If she is mad at you, she will dump you and vow never to see you again.  If you try to harm her, she will not confront the person and get very mad if someone tries to harm that person.  It just doesn't add up.  So many times, Rumple could have gotten rid of Regina and Hook and she wouldn't let him.  And do you know what that got her?  Shot over the town line and given a new personality that is totally different from her real one.  Very annoying.

Regina, who I hate with the fire of a thousand suns, decided to treat Belle like a punching bag once again.  Instead of just letting amnesiac Belle leave the hospital in peace, she decided to give her a personality that she believed would ensure that Belle would never love Rumple again.

Poor Rumple.  It is very obvious that the man is a villain, but I still felt so bad for him.  Belle is the only woman who truly loved him and thought he was a good man.  All he wanted was to be with her and now she is "a scantily-clad barfly named Lacey".  Grrrr.  If we didn't already know and love Belle, Lacey might be a good addition to the show.  She likes to have a good time, likes to show off some skin, and loves to drink.  She goes out on a date with Rumple, only to ditch him halfway though because she is a nicer guy than she thought he would be.  Lacey doesn't like nice, she likes bad boys.  Luckily for her, Rumple is very capable of being bad.  He beats the daylights out of the guy Lacey was making out with, while Lacey watches.  Lacey likes bad-boy Rumple.

So, do these two stand a chance together?  The whole point of Rumple pursuing Lacey was to get her to fall in love with him so he can get Belle back.  But, will Rumple want Belle back if Lacey is so into his dark side?  These two have chemistry to spare, and they could create a whole lot of dynamite together, if you know what I mean.  But, I still miss Belle.  I hope she comes back soon.  After Rumple gets his fill of Lacey first of course.  Ha ha.