Reply To: Little Green Hood (Zelena is Pregnant)

That’s not how I interpreted that scene, so I went back and re-watched it. If you watch it again knowing now what Robin knows (i.e. “Marian” is pregnant), his reactions make a lot more sense. It seems like there is at least one very good reason why Robin reacted like he did, especially after Regina threatened to tear apart “Marian” (whom Robin believed was his pregnant wife). Up until that point, Robin was acting bewildered, like he was struggling to comprehend how the seemingly fantastic claims Regina was making could possibly be true. But then Regina seemed to cross a line by threatening the woman who was still masquerading as Robin’s pregnant wife.

This is how that scene unfolded to me:

Robin: What’s this about?
Regina: Marian. We have to leave before she gets back. She’s not who she says she is.
Robin: What? [looks flabbergasted]
Regina: She’s my sister, Zelena.
Robin: The wicked witch? [looks gobsmacked and confused like he struggling to grasp how that could be] But, she’s dead! We all saw that. [looks dumbfounded, because even in the EF, that’s a stretch of the imagination]
Regina: Somehow she tricked us and went back in time! Robin, she went back, and she killed Marian. She took her place to get back at me.
Robin: No [looks like he’s struggling to process it] This is madness. [He shakes his head in disbelief and says it’s madness, because if what Regina says is true, that would mean he’s been having non-consensual sex with his wife’s murderer and that she conceived his child]
Zelena [disguised as Marian]: Robin, what’s going on? And what is she doing here?
Regina: It’s over, Zelena. I told him everything.
Zelena [still disguised as Marian]: What’s she talking about? Who’s Zelena?
Robin: Regina, you’re scaring Marian.
Regina: Good! Where’s the magic? You must have brought something to make this glamour work. Where is it Zelena? Show me or I’ll rip you apart until I find it! [at this point Regina is yelling at Zelena and threatening her]
Robin: Regina, that’s enough! [Robin steps in front of “Marian”, whom he believes is his pregnant wife, to protect her and the baby from Regina’s threats] Look, I know that this is hard, for all of us, but this is the new reality. I’m with her! I’m with Marian.
Zelena: Actually, not exactly. [reveals herself as Zelena]
Robin: [literally jerks backwards in astonishment and horror]
Zelena: Hello, dear husband. [mocking jeer]
Robin: No! [he’s horrified by the consequences of this revelation as his brain catches up with what his eyes are witnessing (i.e. his wife’s murderer has been raping him and has conceived his child]
Regina: Come on, Robin. We have to get you and Roland out of here.
Robin: [stares frozen in disgust and horrific bewilderment at Zelena]
Regina: Robin, get Roland and let’s go!
Robin: [stands paralyzed, unable to go because of the horrific truth that his rapist is the mother of his child]
Zelena: I think he wants to stay. [in a tone of condescending mockery]
Regina: Robin, what are you doing? [in a tone of increasing concern]
Robin: [looks back and forth between Regina and Zelena like he wants to throw up as he realizes he’s been tricked and violated by Regina’s sister, who is now pregnant by him]
Regina: Get your son, and let’s go!
Robin: No, I can’t! [still paralyzed]
Regina: Yes, you can.
Robin: I can’t. I’m sorry. [looks dejected and defeated, as he turns his gaze back to Zelena] I can’t leave her here.
Regina: What?
Zelena: Do you want to tell her? [Robin stares at Zelena in disgust] Or should I? [Zelena gloats over Regina’s misery]
Regina: Tell me what? [awkward silence, like Robin doesn’t want to say it, because it’s too terrible to be true] Robin?
Robin: [still struggling to say it or believe it himself, because it’s hurting the woman he loves. He shakes his head] She’s pregnant!
Zelena: [has a gloating look of glee over Regina’s misery]
Regina: [looks just as paralyzed, horrified and dumbfounded as Robin did when he realized Zelena was carrying his child]

Robin having a hard time believing Regina doesn’t seem so unreasonable or uncharacteristic to me, because of a couple of good reasons. First, the things Regina claimed are so fantastical, even for people well acquainted with magic, like Rumple. How could a spirit of someone everyone believed dead time-travel to the past and take the form of a person? Even by Enchanted Forest standards, that sounds really out there, since time-travel and resurrection are two of those “rules” of magic which are supposedly impossible to break (except they aren’t, as Zelena has proven).

Next, Robin has just been told that the woman he thought was his wife isn’t who she claimed to be. Robin’s rational brain is struggling to comprehend how the seemingly crazy things Regina claims could possibly be true. Plus, if what Regina says turns out to be true, that means horrific things must also be true (i.e. he’s been raped, and that the child Zelena is carrying is the product of rape, rather than the product of his love for Marian). Victims of rape don’t always act like one might expect them to; sometimes they even defend their rapists (i.e. like in Stockholm syndrome). Robin says it’s madness, perhaps as a form of denial or not wanting to believe he could’ve been so violated by his wife’s murderer. Instead, Robin’s rational brain jumps to the more “logical” explanation that it’s not true, and that’s it’s crazy talk to believe it. His rebuttal could be his coping mechanism, as a way of dealing with it, rather than facing the terrible truth.

Finally, Robin reacts the way he does when Regina threatens to tear apart “Marian” (whom he believes is pregnant, though Regina doesn’t know it yet). Robin physically shields the mother of his child, who at that point, his rational brain is still telling him is his wife. When pressed, his reaction is to try and protect his wife and child from a would-be threat (i.e. Regina raising her voice and threatening a pregnant woman). Would any rational brain conclude in the heat of the moment that a would-be attacker of a pregnant woman might actually be telling the truth? Not likely. His instinct to protect his child and mother of his child takes over. It’s an automatic human response known as fight-or-flight syndrome, and in this case, Robin’s choosing to fight if need be to protect a pregnant woman. It’s not until Zelena reveals her true identity that Robin’s rational brain seems to try and catch up with what his eyes are telling him.

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Okay, just rewatched the scene, like you said with the knowledge that Robin knew “Marian” was pregnant and his actions do seem to make more sense. In fact, just after Zelena reveals himself, you see him glance down at her stomach. You’re right he’s definitely processing the horror.

The one line that still feels a little out of place though is the “Look, I know that this is hard, for all of us, but this is the new reality. I’m with her! I’m with Marian.”

I get Robin is trying to protect “Marian” and whatnot but it still feels like Robin thinks Regina is doing all this out of jealousy hence the “this is hard for all of us” “I’m with her! I’m with Marian”

It’ll be interesting to see if they actually have Robin acknowledge what’s been done to him or if they’ll just sweep it under the rug.