So I had to go into “Neal Defender” mode tonight on another board I visit and thought I would share my diatribe with you guys because I thought you might appreciate it. I don’t think I’ll change that person’s mind because they are SO bent on how horrible Neal is because he left Emma alone but dang it felt really good to rant at them, LOL 😆
This is what I said:
1. There are NO perfect characters on this show. They all have their flaws, have done bad things to other people, or have made a crapload of mistakes, and it’s what makes the show so fascinating for me. No one can be exempt from judgment on things they’ve done in the past (including Emma).
2. Neal did NOT know Emma was pregnant. If he had known that, there’s no way he would have left her.
3. Neal was not only scared of facing Emma again ten plus years after breaking her heart, he was also scared about facing his father again…someone he had been running from for a long time after being abandoned at the age of 13. It wasn’t just his guilt in leaving her, he wasn’t ready to face the father who abandoned him. I think he knows how badly he messed up. He admitted to Mulan that being apart from Emma was the biggest regret of his life and I loved her line to him, “Your belief in love wasn’t strong enough to overcome your fear of rejection.” 
4. I don’t think Neal ever truly loved Tamara. I think he was still trying to forget Emma and thought he would never see her again. He probably thought dating someone else would help with that but we saw at the end of season two that he never stopped regretting how badly he hurt Emma and also never stopped loving her.
5. We don’t really know all of Neal’s story yet. We don’t know how long he was stuck in Neverland, how he got away from Pan, what happened to him between the time he got to our world and before he met Emma, or what all he was doing or where he was during those ten plus years apart from Emma. I want those missing pieces filled in because I think they’ll tell us a lot more about Neal/Baelfire. He’s been through a lot in his life too and I don’t think it’s fair to focus only on Emma’s pain…he’s got some serious pain and abandonment issues of his own to work through too.
6. After watching those scenes with Emma & Snow in last week’s episode with her talking about how miserable she was growing up alone, Neal may literally be the only person in her life who ever showed her kindness and love. She probably did the same thing for him and even though they didn’t have much of anything, they always had each other and that was enough for both of them. That’s not something you forget about easily, even through the pain and years apart.
7. If Neal had chosen to stay with Emma and not leave her, yes he would have finally had a family with her and their little boy, but the guilt of not telling her about the Curse, her parents, and her destiny would have eaten him alive and when that time to break the curse would have come up, I don’t think she would have believed him nor would she have been happy that he kept it a secret from her for all that time. Neal was pretty much in a lose-lose situation where Emma would end up hurt one way or the other. I think Emma was starting to realize that at the end of season two (ex. their talk on the beach).
8. If Regina, Hook, Rumple, and even Pan are capable of having happy endings (and Eddy and Adam have said repeatedly that evil isn’t born, it’s made, and not that I consider Hook evil per se), then Neal should be allowed to have a happy ending too. Neal’s intention wasn’t evil at all…he was heartbroken to find out she was mixed up in his fairy tale world too….he just wanted her to have her family back. I really don’t think Neal should be looked at as an evil, horrible guy. He’s a good guy who did a bad thing but he also knows it and deserves a chance to make things right again with Emma.
Sorry for the ramble….I just love Emma & Neal’s story. The reason for the Curse (Neal/Bae) falling for the Savior who was destined to break the Curse (Emma)…that’s just a beautiful story of fate, destiny, and two lost people hopefully finding their way home. 
Do you think I rambled enough??! LOL 😆 😉
#MoreBOOMLessGloom