But this is not a Greek tragedy, it’s a fantasy melodrama. So this episode, by putting the engagement ring and proposal into a single narrative frame, presents the consequences for Hook’s past actions catching up with him as first and foremost a potential impediment to his prospective marriage, which we all know will happen regardless. For me, that’s the main issue. Hook as a character is overdetermined by his ability to “get the girl” — everything else seems to fall by the wayside, including the girl’s other familial relations. This particular focus does Hook’s character no favors.
But we never got Hook saying how worried he is that Emma won’t marry him now bc of what he did to Robert. For all we know, the first thing that pops into his head is in fact how Charming will feel and how awful he himself feels for being the one who actually killed Robert, especially after helping him the whole episode figure out what happened to give David some closure. Nowhere did the show suggest all he cares about is getting the girl. He even lied to Emma for David. I don’t think it’s fair to say he is simply overdetermined to get the girl and doesn’t care about anything else. That was Hook in season 3 and even 4. But I think he has shown countless times that he cares for others. Just this season, he cared about what Henry thought about him. And he saved his life.
You’re right, we don’t know anything about Hook’s emotional state. What I was pointing out is narrative structure, not character feelings. To put it simply, I would have a lot less problems with this turn of events if the proverbial ring didn’t show up in this particular episode. By putting those two things together narratively (prospective engagement and past murder), the writers are framing the two events in relation to each other. And yes, one might say that it’s because it’s more dramatic this way — and that’s precisely what my (and I think some others’ here) critique is about.
Also, for the love of all that is holy, can someone please explain to me where Hook got the money to buy the rock? Does he have a job? Does anyone have a job? How does money circulate into SB? Or does Regina print it? How does produce? Seriously, what is the political economy of this place– because I don’t understand it one bit.