First my answer actually speaks to every single villain on the show but since we’re talking about Hook…I need an acknowledgement that he did do bad things. Even if pro-Hook fans can rationalize them, it doesn’t change the fact that he did do them. So, it would be nice for him to say sorry for leaving Team Princess! in jail. And yes actions speak louder than words and he cam back for them in 222, but I can’t criticize Regina for not apologizing and not expect the same from Hook even if their deeds might be of a smaller/larger degree.
The question in and of itself is also divisive because people on #TeamHook (can I call them that…I hate the idea of “stans” mostly because I have no idea where it came from. What is a Stan? Why Stan? Why not Martha? Or Jim….where was I…) can easily explain the actions that others find as hindrance, just like I can explain away Rumple’s deeds. So for me one of the big things is that I’d like Emma to learn about Hook’s relationship with Bae in its full capacity. And a someone on #TeamHook is going to say that Emma knows and is fine with it. But there’s nothing in universe to suggest FOR SURE either way. And I think that’s a big problem for the fandom. We each accept our headcanons when the show leaves it up in the air.
@RG you’re right, I’m quite happy to rationlise Hook’s actions, just as you said you are happy to defend Rumple. And Regina fans will defend Regina to the death. We see the best in our favourites, just as Robin sees the best in Regina and Belle sees the best in Rumple and perhaps we can have tunnel vision. But I get the feeling that fans/haters aren’t allowing Emma to see the best in Hook. I get sick of the hypocrisy. What I see from fans is that Regina and Rumple are more easily forgiven for their misdeeds and Hook isn’t. But it’s the why I don’t understand. It seems that no matter how hard he tries there is nothing Hook can do that will make up for his past. Any good deed/action he does will always get construed into something bad. Is it because the writers are angling Hook to be a hero when he clearly started out as a bad guy (I’m not using the term villian, b/c he was a rubbish villian), that he has to do *everything* right to be labeled as such? He swapped from side to side, so was Hook harder to place into the black and white world of Hero and Villian? Regina and Rumple still have their darkness and are still classified as villians, Rumple especially so, and Rumple doesn’t want to be a ‘hero’ so is that why he’s more easily forgiven for all the horrible things he’s done in his past, beacuse he’s still in the villian box?
In general, if you don’t like a character, you don’t like a character, that’s fine. No-one’s expecting all characters to be everything to everyone, that’s just not how the world works. What bugs me is the fans that twist and maniupate the character’s actions to get their hate across, to posion them for others’ enjoyment. And this works both ways too. I’ve read some pro-Hook blogs that are just blatantly stretching the truth to get their point across I roll my eyes and laugh.
Re the Stan thing, I’m old so I had to look it up. The definition I found was that it was from Eminem’s ‘Stan’ or the contraction of stalker + fan. In either case if that’s where it came from I don’t want to be called a Stan. And terms like TeamHook or TeamNeal are just devisive anyway. I blame Twilight for all that rubbish (but then I blame Twilight for a lot of things 😉 )
If one is to engage with the primordial forces of darkness, one must expect a little social awkwardness