Home › Forums › Once Upon a Time › General discussion and theories › The Captain Swan thread! › Reply To: The Captain Swan thread!
I think this makes some really valid points ….
“So, about that monkey you almost married…” : Possibly unpopular opinion on the Walsh jokes.
A lot has been said about the playful banter between Emma and Killian in the last few episodes – her teasing him about his age and his repeated reminders about her almost engagement to a monkey.
While I do see that the teasing is indicative of a new level of comfort between them and I enjoy the fact that they are finally having some fun, the nature of the comments (to me at least), indicate that Killain is still quite insecure when it comes to this new relationship with Emma.
Hook has brought up Walsh on numerous occasions and every single time he makes a comment about him being a monkey. Now keep in mind that Hook saw Little John turn into a flying monkey and also back into a man – all due to Zelena’s magic. Hook is very much aware that Walsh was a man, a cursed one, but still a man. And he hasn’t forgotten that Emma says she loved him. Or that she was considering his marriage proposal. And that hurts. The wound on his heart from how things played out in NYC is still fresh despite the current developments between he and Emma.
Things are going incredibly well between them now. She’s let him know she cares for him – deeply. She’s opened her heart to him and let herself be vulnerable in ways he must know she hasn’t done with anyone else in a very long time, if ever. She’s told him she can’t lose him. Yet three words remain unspoken – three words Killian Jones is very desperate to hear from Emma Swan.
I love you.
Because as much as she’s shown she cares for him, what remains to be seen is if they way she feels about him is the same way he feels about her.
Hook has known for quite some time now that Emma is The One. Three hundred years of life wasted on a revenge quest and all it took was meeting the right person, his princess, and everything changed for him. He hasn’t spoken those three words yet either, but there can be no doubt as to how he feels about Emma. Not because he gave up his ship or risked his life for her and her family, but plainly because he tried to True Love Kiss her false memories away in NYC. Emma knows he loves her. And he knows she knows. So as much as he jokes about other blonds or plays it confident about whether there will be any pillaging or plundering on their first date, Killian Jones is very insecure when it comes to his relationship with Emma Swan. He’s declared his love for her, but she hasn’t yet reciprocated. And he is OK with that – but knowing that she has done so for other men is something he struggles with.
An entire year he spent pining for her in the Enchanted Forest, only to finally find her in Manhattan and have his TLK attempt fail. Then after she drank the memory potion there was no hug, no kiss, no romantic moment – only the reality that she was in love with another man. He was devastated.
So even though Walsh turned out to be an imposter….even though that awful truth hurt Emma…even though Walsh is now dead…Hook can’t let it go. He should want Emma to forget about Walsh. But he can’t stop bringing him up. Because HE can’t forget about Walsh.
Or rather how Emma felt about him. And he is desperately looking for Emma to reassure him that what she feels for him is more significant than what she felt for that “monkey”. He’s making jokes about it – and this is fairly common behavior between people that are newly dating. Everyone wants to believe they are better than their lover’s ex. And putting that person down, even if only in a playful way, is a way of fishing for compliments – looking for reassurance that the object of your affection prefers to be with you over the person they were with before you.
Hook let go of Milah. He needs to believe Emma has done the same. He loved Milah – and in a way he always will. But he loves Emma more. And he wants very much for Emma to love him more than she’s ever loved any other man.
And he wants her to express that to him. So Hook brings up Walsh repeatedly – even at the start of his and Emma’s very first date. Why would he do that? The answer is simple – he’s jealous and insecure. Just look at the context – they’ve just arrived at the restaurant and he asks her what she thinks.
Then:
”I’ve only seen you go on one date, and that was with a flying monkey. Thought I had to top that”.
Hook’s competing against a dead monkey man here. Well three dead men according to what Emma told him the night before. He has no way of knowing if Emma prefers him to these other men – his worst fears are that she is with him by default, because these dead men are no longer an option. Hook can never ask Emma if she prefers him to Neal – that wound goes too deep for both of them. And he doesn’t know enough about Grant to go there. But Walsh, well he turned into a flying monkey – the absurdity of the situation makes it humorous enough for him to feel comfortable bringing it up as a joke. It’s the only one of her former lovers that he feels comfortable talking down about – the only one he feels comfortable placing himself above. And so he does so…repeatedly.
Sadly the mention of Walsh backfires a bit when Emma counters Hook’s joke about topping Walsh’s date with a reminder of the fact that Walsh proposed to her that night. His response – “He also tried to kill you”. Ouch. Now that even didn’t happen on their date – but Emma’s response this time is unlike the ones that occurred after Hook’s previous mentions of Walsh. This time Emma just laughs it off (“Right there’s that”) because she is completely over Walsh at this point (what he did to her and that she fell for it has surely left some scars on her heart but she clearly isn’t pining over that man). But Hook, he isn’t over it. Because Emma seriously considered that marriage proposal – and as far as Hook knows it wouldn’t have occurred if Walsh didn’t think Emma might actually say yes (in reality it was a long shot Walsh took because of Hook and the fact that this presence was a threat). And she almost did say yes.
Hook is nowhere near ready to ask for Emma’s hand in marriage. Not for lack of readiness to commit to a life by her side, but because unlike Walsh he’s not confident she would say yes. Right now they are nowhere near that point. So in a way he’s jealous of Walsh – or at least of what he had with Emma. Killian Jones’s jokes about monkeys, though funny, mask his insecurities.
He will likely continue reminding Emma that she almost married a monkey for the rest of their lives together because yes – it’s that funny. But it may take a while before it becomes simply a joke to him, for him to be convinced that the reason Emma prefers him to the Wizard of OZ is not because of the monkey Walsh was, but because of the man Killian is.