Reply To: Neal's death in not on Zelena's hands

[Felie]

But dont we blame her for her actions and the intentions behind them and not the outcome? The outcome will I believe always (or mostly) be the result of multiple peoples intentions and actions. And if so the blame will be the same regardless of what result come from “evil” intentions. This is a very philosophical discussion. I love those

I know.. that is what I mean. I dont blame Z for Neals death, but for her intention to use him as a Tool to ressurect Rumple which she knew would result in his death.

I love debates like this too!

Yes. As I’ve said before on this post, her actions and intentions were immoral, and only she can be held accountable for them. Also, had she not been discovered by Neal and Belle then she would have been mostly to blame for his death. However, if her actions and intentions did not ultimately lead to the his death, then she cannot be blamed, despite all of her intentions. What I mean by this is; as soon as Neal found out about her plot his intentions then became the catalyst which led to his death. His knowledge of the situation overruled her influence since, as soon as her plan came to light, she no longer had any influence (if this makes any sense). Everything that happened thereafter was down to Neal’s actions making the Witch’s intentions of little consequence.

She is guilty of being immoral and attempting to trick Neal into exchanging his life for that of his father’s, but at this point she cannot be accused of being a murderer, or even of manslaughter.