Does that mean that such a person, and the character that stands for them, is absolutely irredeemable? Not necessarily. And in the hands of competent writers, I would actually be interested in seeing an effective and compelling redemption arc for a kind of social type that I personally find thoroughly loathsome. But what they’re doing doesn’t accomplish that.
See I think putting Henry first over himself and saving Belle’s life (the wife of the man he used to hate and want to kill for revenge) is absolutely effective in getting Hook redeemed. And as far as generalizing, it just seems that nobody on here hated that the writers were trying to redeem Regina for all her MURDERS and RAPING. But because Hook is sexual by nature, and is also male (I’m sorry but I think this matters), his misdeeds are worse than murder and rape. And yes, I know Hook killed people and his father but that’s not what you mentioned. You mentioned he is an “entitled bro,” a title that cannot be given to a woman. And you mention that these villains that they tried to redeem haven’t gotten what they wanted, except for Hook. And yet, Regina has Henry and the love of her family who forgave her. Rumple still has Belle somehow and a child on the way, and Zelena still has her child. So why can’t Hook continue to have Emma?
I really wasn’t going to dive into this, but I’ll just give my two cents and leave it alone.
I have to agree that Hook is getting an easy route to redemption…much like someone previous said, A&E are redeeming him by giving him simple tasks to show that “Hey, he’s not so bad after all right? Now stop tweeting us & enjoy whatever we give you!” Not saying Hook isn’t being redeemed, but how Adam and Eddy are doing it is unfair to others who went through hell and back for redemption. Even his Captain Hook role, a role he dealt for hundreds of years, was swept away like it never even existed. Sure it was teased for one episode back in Season 4, but Adam & Eddy never really write the struggle he’s had with dealing with who he used to be. Meanwhile Regina is literally wrestling with her Evil Queen, Zelena is in a tug and war with the Wicked Witch of the West, and Mr. Gold is…well he’s content with Rumpelstilskin.
Now as for Regina, yes she did rape once and murdered hundreds upon hundreds and did a lot back during her Evil Queen Days, but look at the price she’s paid along the way in the course of her redemption. As she raped Graham, her soul mate was raped by Zelena who got pregnant by him. She murdered people, and then karma came back and made her have to kill Daniel again, and then Cora was killed, and then Robin was killed, not even mentioning it took her a LONG time to earn Storybrooke’s trust.
Regina nearly lost her son on several occasions, was nearly electrocuted to death, then had to give up her son to save everyone from Pan’s Curse, suffered the flip flopping of Storybrooke’s behavior towards her, and was alone for quite a long time…even going far as going to therapy to try and change herself. There was a lot Regina had to pay for her sins in the past, and a lot she had to do to be redeemed. Even Zelena had to kill Hades herself, Maleficent lost her daughter, and Mr. Gold sacrificed his life at one point to save Storybrooke from Pan, and soon after lost Neal, the one person who he spent 300+ Years trying to get back to.
Honestly speaking…what karmic price has Hook had to pay in the course of his redemption, besides the prized ship that he eventually got back? For Oz sake, they’ve even thrown in a brother for him to have along with Emma & her family. Hook literally has everything, while all of the other villains, some who were on a redemption course before him are still struggling and even losing.
What course of Heroic Action has Hook done from his own free will, rather than being talked into doing or reminded of the sort of man he wishes to become? Now I will give credit where credit is due, he did spare his brother and was willing to send Henry instead of himself….however, his redemption course has been smooth sailing compared to Regina, Rumple, or even Zelena’s.
I’ll end it here because I feel as if I’ve said my peace on the situation. I am here for most of Storybrooke’s Villains getting redeemed, even Hook because whether fans like him or not, it’s clear he’s not going anywhere. But if they’re going to really redeem Hook in the eyes of the fans who aren’t die hard Hookers/CSers, he should have to take the long road just like everyone else had to, and the long road consists of karmic prices being paid and selfless-sacrificial actions constantly being done. But then again…Adam and Eddy speeding up Hook’s redemption is probably because they know this show only has about one more season left in it, so I try to rationalize in my mind that they’re just quickly wrapping up all of the storylines and tying up loose ends before the show meets it’s end.
"If you go as far as you can see...you will then see enough to go even further." - Finn Balor