Reply To: Emma + Baelfire = Swanfire

Nobody on this show deserves love because love is not something the can be earned. Trust is. Respect is. But love? Love is a gift. It is something freely given, sometimes in spite of who we are or what we’ve done.

This is possibly the best, most concise summary of everything I tried to say in the CSF thread over the summer. No one is perfect and all have fallen short of stated ideals. Both Neal and Hook are vying for another chance with Emma, since technically, both men abandoned her, though Neal’s motive was to get her home whereas Hook’s was to make sure she didn’t get home. Yet, form where I’m sitting, we’re all still rooting for Hook to get his chance at redemption, even if we don’t see him and Emma ending up together. So, where is the equal love/enthusiasm for Neal to get his shot at redemption? It’s pretty much confined to this thread. If Regina, the tyrannical ruler who slaughtered her citizens in the hundreds, gets a second chance at love, then surely Neal does too? Even Emma, who gave up her son to give him his best chance, may not “deserve” Henry according to Regina enthusiasts. Does Emma deserve a second chance at motherhood with the son she gave away? Well, regardless of wether she does or not, she and Neal are fighting for a do-over at parenthood….why not a second chance at love with one another? Rumple doesn’t “deserve” a second shot at being a dad to Neal after he let go of Bae. Like PP said, he could just start over with Belle and have some new kids. Yet, we still long to see the day he finds redemption and reconciles with Neal. Why? Because we all long for a another chance to make things right.