Reply To: Emma + Baelfire = Swanfire

[Slurpeez]

He’s split up many families and could stand to do the same to two other fathers, two other sons… and a grandpa. :/

Quoted for TRUTH.

What I wrote in another thread in reply to some questions @TheGoldenKey posed:

But, does she [Ursula] really have her happy ending or is it just temporary, like Rumple & Reggie’s or now possibly Hook’s?

I’ve been wondering about that same question. I think the answer is that it is possible for villains to get their happy ending, provided they really have changed and go about it the correct way. I don’t really buy there being some cosmic rule that good “has to win” as Henry said S2 though. Not even heroes are guaranteed a happy ending (just look at what happened to Ruth, Graham and Neal, for example). I don’t think anyone is guaranteed a happy ending, nor are the villains owed one after the atrocities they’ve committed.

I think it was within Rumple’s grasp to have a happy ending with Belle, despite everything that happened with Neal. After the death of his son, Rumple pledged to turn over a new leaf, to become a man worthy of his son’s sacrifice. However, Rumple wasted that second chance he’d been given by Neal’s death. Rumple went about it all wrong by thinking he could have everything, which he cannot. Now I fear Rumple will meet a villain’s end, but that it won’t necessarily be redemptive like the last time in 3×11.

When it comes to Regina, I think she could have her happy ending, if only she’d realize it’s right in front of her eyes, in the form of her son, Henry. Robin Hood is just icing on the cake. But she doesn’t “need” him to be happy. She can be happy here and now. Out of all of the villains, Regina has made the furthest strides towards real redemption. I think Regina realizing that Henry is enough would, in a way, help her achieve inner peace. Maybe that inner peace is what would help Regina most towards achieving real, sustainable happiness that isn’t so much dependent upon romance. And then who knows? Sometimes love comes when we least expect it, when we stop striving so much for something.

When it comes to Hook, I just don’t know. He shows increasing awareness of his own darkness, which is good, but for every step he takes forward, he takes two back. For example, he gave into that darkness when he pulled a gun on Ursula or punched Will. He was referring to himself as a pirate in 4×15, and now that he has his ship back, it’s going to be an even bigger struggle to give up his pirating ways. Why doesn’t he get a real job and get a permanent residence in Storybrooke? I think he is at heart, a sailor, and has the sea in his blood. So it’s going to be hard for him to remain in SB long term. I think while Hook’s current idea of a happy ending includes Emma, it also includes the open seas. I think Hook’s real idea of a happy ending is what he had with Milha: a woman who loves adventure, the open seas, and him, without necessarily being constrained by a child. Milha abandoned Baelfire, but Emma would never abandon Henry.

When it comes to Ursula, her story was all a bit rushed. I think she’s happy for the present having her voice back and being reunited with her father under the sea. However, I don’t necessarily think it’s the last we’ve seen of Ursula either. While she might be able to return to her old life, it might not be so easy for her to give up her old ways. Time will tell if she really has made peace with everything that happened to her.

Regardless of what Ariel said, can any villain really have a Happy Ending as long as Emma is the Saviour?

I think the idea of everyone’s happy ending being dependent on Emma Swan is crap. It would feel a lot more authentic if the villains would take responsibility for their own happiness. Emma Swan having the heart with the darkest potential honestly feels like a plot device, or a way to make the villains look better by comparison. Emma in S1 was honestly my favorite character, so I hate to think she’s going to have to be tarnished to give villains their happy ending without them having to really work for it. I don’t mind Emma having struggles and temptations, since she’s human after all, but the thing I always really loved about Emma is that out of all the characters, she had some of the greatest cause (i.e. growing up feeling unloved) to turn towards darkness but didn’t. This idea of Emma giving into said darkness really doesn’t sit well with me though, and would really make me discontinue watching if the writers make her go full-on evil. I don’t like the idea of Black Swan one bit being used in a bid to prop up villains who don’t necessarily even deserve happiness, especially if it comes at the expense of people who try to do good.