A thing about the theme of “second chances”. Several characters are getting one. I shant dwell on the obvious exclusion, which I could easily rant about (again). Regina’s getting a second chance at love. Snowing are getting a second chance at parenthood. The whole reason we have this storyline is because Zelena wants her second chance at a better life. So, what’s Hook need a second chance for? For having screwed over Bae, that’s what.
Hook knew, in the moment that he handed Bae over to the Lost Boys, that he was doing the wrong thing. You could see it in his face. Hook did have some genuine affection for Bae, due to him being Milah’s son. His regret that they didn’t get to go back for him like they’d talked about was real IMO, (frankly I think HE would have wanted to go back for Bae more than Milah would have). The scene where he taught Bae how to steer the ship is a perfect summation of his conflicted emotions where Bae was concerned. The bit where he stuck his hook in Bae’s shirt and pulled him over to the wheel was freaking adorable! But then the scene morphed into him poking around for information about Rumple. And when push came to shove, Hook abandoned the scared and lonely boy who he could have given a safe haven to if he’d had good form. And I say again, he knew deep down that he was doing the wrong thing.
Obviously it pisses me off that that incident hasn’t been addressed in present day, so we can assume that no one knows exactly what he did to Bae, and if he truly wants to be redeemed, he should come clean about that to Emma. But I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for a moment and assume that even though he hasn’t SAID it, he’s still been THINKING about it. If that is what genuinely inspires him to help Henry, because it’s his second chance, then cool. If he tries to convince Emma that Henry needs to know about his family, because it’s playing on his mind how he helped the process whereby Bae ended up living alone in a cave on a dangerous island controlled by a demon, and he considers it his second chance to make sure Henry DOES get to be with his family, then cool. I would hope that if that IS his motivation, they’ll actually state it at some point, because leaving the audience to assume is some half arsed writing and a seriously vague attempt at character development.
If, as a by product of him trying for his second chance by helping Henry, he also helps Emma to stay with HER family as well, for similar reasons, and also because he accepts that Neal truly loved her and would want the best for her, and the best is being with her family, then cool. If that causes them to form a genuine friendship because he’s been helping her, then cool.
But if he genuinely cares about Neal, and Emma, he needs to quit it with the incessant pouting and attempts at romancing her when it’s not the time or place and she’s clearly not at all interested, (seriously, how many times does she have to show no interest before he gets the hint, I get embarrassed for him), because she’s mourning the loss of Neal, who she loved. If Hook can grow up and accept these things and be mature about it, then I’m cool with him and Emma sharing screentime.
If the remainder of S3B is him coming to realisation that this is his second chance, and that even though he can’t undo the past, maybe he can try to ensure it doesn’t happen again with Henry in the future, then cool. If he does it all just to get in Emma’s good graces to try and romance her, NOT cool. There’s no redemption for him in that storyline, no character growth. And that’s what has really disappointed me about Hook in most of S3, he hasn’t developed, he’s regressed, and as someone who started out really enjoying the character, I want him to develop, not regress.
Having Emma eventually succumb to his constant come ons wouldn’t teach him anything about how he behaves, and it’d make Emma seem like she’d finally been beaten down. I don’t want to see that for either of them. I want them both to learn, grow, and be stronger.