While I’m not going to defend the poor way in which Robin’s character has been written, what you wrote about him comes across to me as victim blaming. Robin’s reaction was one of disbelief, but then again, the situation is almost beyond belief. Zelena was magically impersonating Robin’s deceased wife, and she is reportedly carrying his child. None of that is normal, even for someone from the Enchanted Forest. Robin’s reaction may not have been the reaction Regina had been hoping for, but Robin was certainly the victim of Zelena raping him for his seed. Pointing the finger at Robin for not knowing better isn’t helpful and perpetuates blaming victims of rape instead of the rapist. Even men can be victims of rape (something which isn’t really acknowledged in the wider culture or media). Regina herself is a rapist of Graham, so it seems like Regina has failed to understand that what Robin is experiencing now may be the equivalent of the type of post-traumatic shock that many rape victims experience. (And don’t count on A&E ever to acknowledge that both Graham and Robin were sexually victimized by Regina and Zelena, respectively).
Maybe Regina was hoping for a more immediate response of disgust from Robin in reaction to what Zelena did, but that is not necessarily how victims of sexual abuse react. Sometimes people who’ve been sexually abused actually defend their abusers. Robin not knowing how to properly react, and even perhaps refusing to believe the seemingly impossible that he could’ve been so duped, doesn’t seem so unreasonable. Robin even coming to the defense of his rapist, whom he believes is carrying his child, doesn’t sound so crazy when you read about reports of Stockholm Syndrome. Robin was tricked and violated in the worst possible way by the most manipulatively shrewd villain yet, and he believed this woman was his wife. Plus, Robin knew something Regina didn’t (i.e. the pregnancy, whether real or not). Even if Robin sensed something was off (which he did), he probably never in a million years suspected Marian was really Zelena. It probably just never occurred to him, and pointing the finger at him and saying he should’ve known better just comes across like blaming a rape victim for allowing himself or herself to be taken advantage of, when really, Zelena is the only one to blame.
I’m not blaming Robin for what Zelena did to him (I even said in the other thread that this would be an opportunity to explore the female on male rape issue which isn’t as recognised as male on female rape). The thing that bugged me about this scene was that Robin accuses Regina of lying in order to split him and “Marian” up. There is no reason for why Robin should think this given Regina’s actions in 4A. I can totally see why Robin would be confused, puzzled, bewildered because of the seeming absurdity of it all but to accuse Regina of lying as a means to break him and “Marian” up seems OOC for him. It’s like the effect of what Regina told him was less “What do you mean? What’s going on?” and more “Oh I get it, you’re jealous!”
I’m not Regina’s biggest fan right now but I just found Robin’s response to her quite patronising, as if she’s got nothing better to do with her time than try and break up Robin and Marian.
While Robin may not always listen to his code of honor, he does have one. He went against his better judgement when he committed what he believed was an extra-marital affair with Regina (which it turned out not to be), but he seems to have been very conflicted both before and after having sex with Regina. I think Robin really would’ve committed to Regina had it not been for “Marian” nearly dying from the Snow Queen’s curse. (If Robin hadn’t gone with “Marian” people would’ve decried Robin as a wife-killer, so it was a no-win situation). Yet, just because he violated his code before does not mean he would be willing to do so when it comes to fate of one of his children. He was not willing to let “Marian” die, and he certainly wouldn’t want his unborn child to suffer. His code matters now more than ever, because Robin believes Zelena is carrying HIS CHILD, who is an innocent here. I don’t think Robin was choosing Zelena over Regina so much as he was putting his child first (something a good parent should do). Robin believes that he owes it to his child not to abandon him or her, no matter the chilling circumstances surrounding the conception. The only way to ensure his unborn child survives is to take care of Zelena until she gives birth. So Robin not immediately abandoning the mother of his child makes sense when one realizes Robin is not the sort of man to abandon his child, which is exactly what Zelena was counting on. Robin may not make great decisions when it comes to choosing a partner, but he is a good father to Roland, and now, this second (real?) child.
Whilst I agree that Robin wouldn’t leave his unborn child, it was his reaction towards Regina that bugged. We’ll have to see how this progresses next episode.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of Felix