Yesyesyes, I agree! (I have this whole Rumple-essay waiting somewhere called something like "more self-serving than craven" – it's not that I don't think Rumple is never ever cowardly, it's just that I don't think it's as defining a character trait of his as people, Rumple himself occasionally included, claim). About his motivations in letting go of Bae not being as clear-cut as that, I mean . It's Rumple choosing one thing over the other in that moment (and Neal seems to see it that way too, when he accuses him of choosing "all that" *making typical Rumplestiltskin-gesture* over him): If fear plays a role in that choice, that doesn't mean it's all there is to it.