Reply To: Why is Hook such a divisive character within the fandom?

[Slurpeez]

1. So…you point blank admit you’re ignoring the shows canon and just coming up with headcanons and then try to defend those headcanons as fact? ….Alright. You do you, but…you have headcanons whereas I have what is stated specifically on the show. Also Jane Espenson stated when Going Home aired that the reason that kiss did not work was because Emma had her memory wiped. And TLK will never work with a memory wipe. And what drained her magic was Emma giving Hook CPR after Zelena whom cursed his lips tried to drown him. I’m sure you would have loved for Emma to let Hook drown but that is not what was gonna happen

No, I’m not ignoring the show. I’m looking at the events that took place, and I’m analyzing them; it’s just different from how you analyze them. Other fans choose to dig below the surface because there might just be more going on than meets the eye. You claim to already know the outcome of the entire show, whereas I don’t, so the burden of proof is more on you than anyone else. The fact remains that Emma and Hook haven’t shared TLK. Many CS fans try and convince themselves and others that Hook and Emma share true love, despite the evidence to the contrary (many failed TLKs). However, the thing that would most convince other fans that CS does indeed have true love is the very thing CS keeps not getting: TLK.

I look below the surface. You can call it “head-canon” if you want, but I call it reading between the lines. For example, there were the middlemist pink flowers in the field were CS shared another failed TLK, and those were the same kind of pink flowers that Arthur gave Gwen (not a great sign). It’s a way the writers can show that CS and Arthur/Gwen are similar kinds of unhealthy romantic pairings. While there might a standard way that CS fans have to explain it away, it’s a symbol that’s really hard to ignore. Also, if we’re going strictly by canon, Emma told Merlin in Nimue that not seeing Rumple in her head was probably a bad sign.

Emma: When I was seeing Rumplestiltskin in my head, he said he would only be with me until I embraced my dark powers. So recently, I’ve been thinking maybe not seeing him, maybe that’s a bad thing.

Interesting, seeing how it was Hook taking Emma to the field of pink flowers that quieted the voice inside of Emma’s head. Could it be that the closer Emma and Hook got, the closer Emma got to embracing her dark one powers? I’m thinking that is a resounding yes, seeing how Merlin also warned Emma that she would stain her very soul if she chose to embrace the darkness. Merlin warned it was the darkest path that she could take.

Merlin: I see two paths for our journey, Emma. On one, you resist the darkness and we succeed. On the other, you succumb to the darkness and I do not return. I die….If I die, it means that you lost your battle and the darkness stained your soul. Everything and everyone that you know will be at the mercy of the most powerful dark one ever… Yourself. No pressure.

Emma darkened her very soul when she saved Hook with Excalibur. To Hook’s credit, he resisted and wanted Emma to go on and have a future without him. Instead, she gave into the darkness to save him. She was ready to use the Promethean flame to rid the world of the darkness forever when Hook started bleeding. Emma showed how love can be a weapon by choosing to tether Hook to an actual sword. That is some very obvious symbolism, and there probably couldn’t be a more telling way to show Hook and Emma’s love is like a weapon with the ability to break their hearts. I call it choosing to read all of the revealed symbols and not just take someone’s word for it.

2. Probably because if she shared her heart with him at the beginning of the season then we wouldn’t have had a S5B. They had to go to the Underworld for a reason. The writers also absolutely show that CS is very much like Snowing. Hence why Emma says the Snowing catch phrase “Hook I will find you, I will always find you”. That was a straight up confirmation that CS=Snowing.

Emma said her father’s line when she was going to the UW, but that does not mean CS is the exact same as Snowing. My take on it is that Emma desperately wanted to believe her relationship with Hook is the same kind as her parents’ marriage, but there’s nothing to back it up. Unlike Snowing, who’ve shared TLK dozens of times, CS doesn’t have anything to show for it. If anything, CS has multiple failed attempts at TLK . It’s only natural that Emma would desire to have the same kind true love as her parents, but that doesn’t mean she’s found it yet with Hook. Again, it’s a matter of interpretation.

3. Clearly since you basically stated you ignore canon and think your head-canons are somehow more canon than what actually happens on the show and what comes out of the creators and actors mouth that know way more about the character than you do.

Please don’t put words in my mouth. I never said I ignore canon nor that my way of seeing things is “more canon” (those were your words). Everything I wrote is based on my interpretation of canon events. CS fans love to try and dictate what is the correct interpretation of canon and what isn’t and look for the writers and actors to back them up. Well, what is canon is that CS has never shared TLK. CS fans will do verbal acrobats to try and convince themselves and others of why their favorite couple still hasn’t shared TLK, but they haven’t. The writers have had ample chances to convince fans like me that CS share TL. They shouldn’t have to tell  fans like me it’s the case; they ought to show me and give me clear reasons.

Of course, the showrunners will tell CS fans what they hear because Hook and Emma are are couple in the show, and they want you to buy their product. ABC’s advertising department promotes CS as an “epic” love story because it keeps CS fans watching. But is all the while, the writers might just be showing a different kind of story, at least to viewers who have the eyes to see it. Fans of CS don’t want to see it that way, and probably nothing will convince them of any other possible conclusion than CS is great. They can praise Hook’s deeds and call his relationship with Emma amazing and romantic, but it won’t change the way many other fans see it: unhealthy and selfish.

It’s like @RumplesGirl wrote: it comes back to emotional truths. You want to prove to everyone that CS is the greatest thing ever, but most people have already made up their minds over the past five seasons about Hook and his relationship with Emma, the same way they have formed opinions about Henry, Regina, Snowing, Rumple and the rest of the characters. At the end of the day, you have your set of beliefs about Hook and other people have theirs, and probably nothing anyone writes will sway anyone else.