Harsher in Hindsight: The Black Fairy offers Rumple the chance to bring back the dead, which he turns down in favour of a life with Belle and Gideon. In the next season, Belle dies for real of old age, and Rumple then joins her in the finale.
The photos Fiona shows Gold of Belle supposedly having abandoned him for a trip around the world. They just have Emilie de Ravin photoshopped in front of the most obvious landmarks of various places. The fact that the scene is played dramatically just makes it ridiculous, even if it's later revealed that he was fully conscious.
Despite being hyped up as the ultimate evil the Black Fairy never does battle with Emma, instead she's killed by her son rather easily, leaving Gideon as Emma's final obstacle. Although considering how much power and magic Fiona had, any such battle probably would have involved lots of special effects far beyond the show's budget. And the show does have a history of battles not turning out as expected, or being more about emotional conflict than physical, so this does fit the pattern.
Despite all the realms being involved in the collapse of Emma's belief, and Aladdin and Jasmine coming Back for the Finale, none of the other supporting characters from across the six seasons do. No Ruby, Mulan, Aurora, Philip, Tinkerbell, Ariel, Anna, Elsa, Dorothy, Maleficent or Lily. And even Aladdin and Jasmine barely play a role, with Jasmine just using the magic carpet to find David after the beanstalk falls.
