Reply To: Why is Hook such a divisive character within the fandom?

What I commonly hear from Hook detractors is that while Rumple and Regina have committed so many sins (more so than Hook, and on a larger scale), they can sympathize with them more because they feel that they have faced the consequences for their actions more so than Hook. That’s not to say Rumple and Regina haven’t had actions rug swept, either. I mean I still find it hard to swallow that Belle brushed aside the revelation that Rumple killed his own wife so easily, nor did Belle give Rumple crap about abusing people with his inner darkness when she was being Lacey once she got her memories back.

I guess I should ask this thread what they would like to see of Hook in the future to genuinely buy any redemption arc, if it is even possible? Phee suggested a few vague ideas, but I’m intrigued to see others elaborate. To not start a riot, please don’t simply suggest “Hook can only redeem himself by giving up his life” as an option. I’ve seen it suggested countless of times when the death spoiler of doom was upon us last Winter, and I would rather we don’t revisit that as to not push any buttons. This is something to seriously ponder. Can Hook be redeemed and how far would it take?

I think that’s an interesting question. I think Hook can be redeemed, as can Rumple and Regina, but there are a couple of things I’d like to see happen.

1. Hook stops threatening to cause harm to Belle- Belle is one of my favourite characters alongside Rumple, and whilst I understand the hostility between both men, I wish Hook would stop using Belle as a bargaining chip. Belle has done nothing to Hook so the fact that he is willing to cause her distress just to get at Rumple is a little unfair. I think one of the reasons I liked Hook so much in 3B was because he wasn’t threatening Belle in any way.

2. I’d like for Emma to know about Milah, just so that it doesn’t seem like she only knows half the story. Obviously, a talk about the ex doesn’t come up in every day conversation and I wouldn’t expect Hook to tell Emma about every woman he slept with, but because of the familial connection between Milah and Henry, it would be nice to know that Emma did know about the Milah connection even if it was to just let the audience know she was totally fine with it.

3. Just a general acknowledgment of past mistakes and at least attempts at making up for it, the same goes for Regina. For example, perhaps Hook makes up for trying to kill Belle by saving Belle’s life without it having any obvious benefit for him.

I agree with Phee about Hook’s character being slightly wasted after season 2 when the revenge plot ended. Neverland really should’ve been Hook’s time to shine and he kind of didn’t. We needed to be SHOWN rather than told the stuff that Hook did in Neverland.

I also agree with the Jenna’s interloper theory to an extent. Hook’s introduction to the show wasn’t as bad as MAP’s but as Jenna so rightly pointed out, Hook’s flashbacks are solely about Hook. Whereas Snow, Charming, Rumple, Belle and Regina tend to share flashbacks, Hook’s flashbacks are strongly Hook centric so unless your id your favourite character, those episodes can feel a little light on other characters.