Good reading, surayya, thanks for bringing it!
I have a shorter “meta” ( but not nearly as detailed, sensitive and thought out!)
(same warning for pro-Neal lurkers. One woman’s opinion and it isn’t going to change):
Neal was a narcissist slug. The whole process of Tallahassee was to contrast two males and what they personally represented to Emma’s life. Dullard Neal represented pain, disloyalty, disappointment, disrespect…and decidedly bad form. He portrayed all those qualities to Emma quite proficiently. Hook, no.
Actually comparing Neal to Hook, all things considered, is an insult to Hook. There is, in my mind, no reason to defend Hook in regard to anything Neal -related.
And I haven’t got a clue about the Emma reaction to the obtuse “VHS” tape blackmail angle. It is hopefully a somewhat lame set up for some emotional Emma saving Hook or Hook defeating Rumple adventures. They are in set-up mode for some potentially interesting plot twists, so I will just linger in the land of void while it unfolds!
They have very sensually deepened the relationship with our entwined-hand-hugging lovers. It just begs for new, tumultuous obstacles for CS to overcome. With the introduction of the Snow Queen AND the Wizard Hat they’ve given us several possible life threatening, hiatus spanning scenarios to feed our angst hunger 🙂
***Always in search of a good flock***