Maybe I’m getting grumpy with age, but I find myself less and less impressed by a portrayal of masculinity where the guy must kick butt, swing a sword, or “cast magic missiles.
I’m not so sure this has anything to do with masculinity. The women are very strong on the show. Rumple we know is strong with magic, Charming has his sword fighting abilities, heck even Robin has his bow and arrow. And we’ve seen Belle kick some butt too. But Neal has no fighting skills. And that’s fine. Not all men need to be tough, but I just feel in a world with magic, it would be hard for him to survive because literally everyone other than maybe Henry have some sort of strength they can use. If you were ok with Neal sitting back in the background like an Archie character or a dwarf then fine. But the main players are all very strong. Neal is a strong person in his own way. But the ability to defend and fight I feel he was lacking. For me, he felt out of place in a land with magic in storybrooke.