Reply To: Was Emma's true self a sad one because Peter wanted it to be so?

I had a somewhat different read of the puzzle- and think there was a more sinister reasoning behind it. Peter is of course, incredibly powerful in Neverland, but I think his power manifests itself in a different way. He’s not shooting fireballs or creating curses- his magic takes another form, one that preys on the young and immature. I mean this in a slightly less than literal way, I don’t just mean agewise, but rather in regards to the maturity and progression of ones self development.

For example, the Peter Pan of the story had the Lost Boys. Boys who were convinced to come to his side because of a mutual disdain for the grown up world that had wronged them one way or another. Maybe they felt their parents didn’t love them, or that they had been abandoned in some other way. Peter was giving them a place to go, but by doing so was also allowing them to play the victim and run away from their fears and problems rather than maturing and confronting them.

Why is this relevant to Emma? To my way of seeing, the map wasn’t a gift, it was the first of a number of attacks. Emma herself says that being the Savior is the last thing she wanted to admit and the thing she’d hidden from herself the most. But being an orphan? This is no great secret and her abandonment issues are the main reason for the major chip on her shoulder- but we’ve seen her slowly grow out of those feelings as she has started to feel she was part of an actual family.

So why would Peter bring this up? Again, it’s part of his ploy, and it’s a multi-pronged attack. First, he’s forcing her to remember painful memories. Those feelings are also ones that will alienate her from her parents, destabilizing the group and her role as leader. Thirdly, by telling her the map would only reveal itself when she admitted who she really was, he forces the view that she “really is” just an orphan, when that is a viewpoint created just to break her down and destroy the personal growth she’s had since coming to Storybrooke.

(Likewise, I think Peter is preying on Henry’s self doubts behind the scenes. As Henry is alone and doesn’t have his family around him to help, when we see him meet the group- he will probably be in a very dark and lonely place.)

Peter’s weapons and power are subtle, and I don’t think we’ve seen the end of it. He’s clearly playing mindgames with Rumple and the doll (another tactic to break someone down internally) and I think we are going to see more of these kinds of tactics through the season. I think the second set of promotional photos and taglines adds credence to this idea- as they several are regarding believing a (insert the dark or sad side of a character here) can overcome their personal demons, demons that Pan is going to do his best to use.

In the end, I think we’ll have a situation where many of the characters don’t believe in themselves and are consumed by self doubt- but unlike the beginning of the season, they will start to believe in one another. This unity will be the weapon they use to defeat Pan, who will likely have expected them to crumble.

tl:dr – Yes. It is.