Regal Snark
He's apparently trying - especially after everything that happened with Neal. Because as you know, he wasn't so lucky there as he was here, and Rumple had driven his own son away for the sake of power.
One would hope he'd get his shit together for his sake, but I doubt it. As long as he carries the title of The Dark One, he's not going to change. You can't change for anything better when you've got a power like that.