Beyond Selidor

The thing about the whole Hook-Gold vendetta that doesn't seem to get conveyed very well is this: Hook didn't steal Gold's wife. She went with him because she didn't love Gold, and wanted a new life. You can't steal someone who wants to go with you freely.

To be perfectly honest, I'm much more interested in Belle's reasons for sticking with Gold, rather than Gold's redemption. I want to know why she is the way she is, and loves the ways she does. His motivations are actually a lot clearer and more explicable.