Will Emma have to pay a price for her magic?

It’s really the temptations that intrigue me. With magic comes power, and with power comes corruption, greed, and/or temptation. Imagine having magic, and not being tempted to use it occasionally for selfish or petty reasons, even if the main focus is for the greater good.
Emma is the savior, but she’s also human. She will be tempted to use magic at times, instead of relying on her own human strengths and capabilities.
Regina was corrupted by magic, as was Cora, Rumple, and even Zelena. Emma will be changed forever because of her use of magic.
The OUAT stories remind us often, that ALL magic comes with a price, sometimes a heavy, even deadly price, which is partially what Neal’s death was meant to remind us.
As Neal’s life’s journey ended, possibly as Rumple’s ultimate price of magic, Emma begins her journey into that very same world of magic. She begins her journey as a hero, but she too will pay a heavy price.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heroesjourney.svg

There’s a few ways they can go with Emma and her magical abilities.  As mentioned, there’s the blanket “all magic comes with a price,” meaning ultimately, Emma will have to pay a price.  There’s the ‘Emma’s the Savior’ and that in and of itself is the price of her magic.

But they could also begin to attempt a differentiation between light magic and dark magic.  To date, we’ve mostly seen magic fit into boxes – Dark Magic:  Regina’s revenge, Cora being, well, Cora, Zelena (all, notably, stemming from the same source – the Dark One himself).  Then there’s Pan, whose magic was dark because at his core, Pan/Malcolm had zero redeeming qualities.  They use magic primarily for selfish reasons.  And when it comes to Rumple, he may ‘help’ others, but the price is always steep.  Because the root of the ‘help’ is coming from darkness.  Rumple loses his power with Belle’s True Love because he doesn’t know how to use his magic for good – therefore, the price he pays is always so great.

Then you’ve got the fairies – Light Magic.  Of course, their magic is limited, and you could say it does come with it’s own price in that they seem to only be able to function single-mindedly, and are more at the mercy of others than their own individual beings (save for Tinkerbell, the ‘rebel’).

But as Regina pointed out, Emma’s raw ability is strong.  Emma is by no means perfect or an angel, or even particularly joyful 90% of the time (!) but in her heart, there is good.  Her intentions are to protect her family, and the innocent, and to defeat evil.  And those intentions are strong.  Her magic comes from the Light, because in her core, she is Light.    She is the product of True Love, and apparently this is why she is so special (we’re going to forget a moment about kids like, oh, Cinderella’s baby or Philora’s baby-to-be or Snowing #2 because that’s a whoooole other discussion! 🙂 ).  But she isn’t a fairy – she is human.  She is not one-dimensional, she has goodness and she has flaws.

So I think there may not BE a price for Emma to pay.  I think the more Emma learns about her magic, and the more she embraces who she really is, the more she will see the Savior as a positive thing, and therefore, it is no longer a “price” she is paying.  And because the magic comes from Light and Good, and therefore, is not used for Dark or even selfish reasons, there is no price.  She gives and protects using the magic she has, unlike those who practice Dark Magic.

Thank you Jenna B. that was a lovely response. Thank you for a really uplifting perspective. This show has become fairly dark, and sometimes I forget that there is still goodness and beauty to be found.

Thank you Jenna B. that was a lovely response. Thank you for a really uplifting perspective. This show has become fairly dark, and sometimes I forget that there is still goodness and beauty to be found.

Emma literally or metaphorically dying and then coming back as her true self–THE SAVIOR in all her glory–would be pretty uplifting, I think. You come back with the full weight of your power and ability and knowledge in yourself.