Honestly, it baffles me a bit when people say that they see Bae and Neal as being two separate characters
Same. And it baffles me when people say that I only love Neal because he’s Bae. It’s not true. I don’t love Neal just because he is also Baelfire, the cute heroic kid. I don’t love him just because he is Rumple’s son or Henry’s father. To me that’s like saying that people only love Hook because Colin looks good in leather and eyeliner.
I love Neal because of who he is, his very self. I love his heart and his courage. I love his strength and his sense of humor. I love that the second he knew he was a father, he was determined to break the cycle of abandonment. I love how he continually makes sacrifices for others–Wendy, the Darlings, Emma, and Henry. He gave up his shot at a happy ending so that Emma could have hers and yeah it sucked but fate is a cruel mistress.
People hate Neal not because he is a villain but because of how human he is. It’s easy to love the villains because while we can empathize with them, we can never fully be them. I may understand Rumple’s deep self loathing and thinking that he is unlovable (that’s me a to a T) but I can’t understand murder in the name of power. Same with Regina and Hook. But everyone knows what it’s like to hurt someone you love. Neal is a reminder of the frailty of humankind, how close we all are to hurting each other everyday. He hold us a mirror to ourselves and asks to think about the our own choices. And I love hm for that. I love his humanity.
In other news, I was thinking. 8:15 and Charely’s Girl wake up Emma. Literally, wake her up. Both things are associated with Neal. It’s almost like Neal himself trying to wake her up out of a curse but failing only because he himself is not there.