I am actually going to defend Hook here. I used to hate him but season 6 has actually made him somewhat likeable. He’s not my favourite regular but he’s now in my top 3 (4 if we’re counting Gideon).
Firstly, Hook should get total props for helping Belle. I’m not talking about saving her from Jekyll (that’s just basic human decency), I’m talking about him offering Belle a place to stay after she left Rumple. The genuine apology was a welcome bonus but he stepped up to help Belle out especially when Emma didn’t give a damn to try and assist Belle in any way. Belle went to Granny’s to ask for a room and Emma’s response was basically “You don’t want to stay here, it’s awful”. That was it. So not only did Emma disrespect Granny by speaking ill of her business but she also didn’t offer Belle any alternative place to stay. It was Hook who actually did the decent thing and provided Belle with some accommodation when she had no where else to go.
Secondly, in regards to Hook trying to burn the memory of killing Charming’s father rather than tell Emma, I don’t hold it against him. It wasn’t the right thing to do but it makes sense. He’d summoned up the courage (dutch courage) to tell her the truth and before he gets the chance, she catches him off guard with the ring. There is a reason why you’re supposed to listen and give people a chance to talk when they are trying to disclose something, it’s because that might be the only chance they do. It takes a lot of courage to admit something, to the point it could literally be a “now or never” situation. Hook got drunk because he needed to, in order to have the courage to tell Emma about what he did, but then then because she jumped him with the ring, the moment was gone and Hook then didn’t have the courage. He knows he should tell her the truth, he’s been told he should tell her the truth, but that doesn’t make doing so any easier. Hook went to the next logical solution, if he couldn’t tell Emma then he’d get rid of the memory all together. It wasn’t right but I can see why he did it.
I actually think we should be more critical of Emma than Hook to be honest for several reasons:
1. She went rooting through his stuff and found the ring. He wasn’t actually going to propose until after telling her the truth. She jumped him with the proposal.
2. Emma was angry with Hook, not because of what he did, but because he didn’t tell HER. That is actually kind of selfish on her part because she cares more about her feelings than the fact that Hook had murdered her paternal grandfather.
3. Hook was using one of Emma’s magical dreamcatchers from her time as the DO. Why does Emma still have them?
ScrewballNinja actually comes up with an interesting point about Emma http://screwballninja.tumblr.com/post/158969270976/yeah-honestly-if-emma-still-has-all-her
In fact, the real betrayal for Emma isn’t about her father at all– it’s that Hook didn’t let her in because post Dark Swan Emma is *obsessed* with control. She controlled Hook’s death, she controlled his memories, she even controlled him post-death by trying to drag him back to life when he was ambivalent about it. And that’s why Emma shows Hook the ring when she finds it after searching his belongings all day– because now she can control when he asks her because she already knows her answer. Hook is drunk and clearly upset but she still pushes because she’s afraid to let Hook propose on his own. She doesn’t trust him to actually follow through without her guiding the situation. Yikes!
Screwball Ninja also makes some interesting points about Emma’s costuming this season. Basically costuming is used to send messages about character eg the EQ dresses are more cleavage heavy whilst modern day Regina dresses more demurely. Emma’s clothing style has changed so drastically (possibly because of JMO’s input) that it’s not very Emma like.
Emma’s foray into white lacey button-up high-collar shirts is coded as sexual repression– I’m pretty sure that’s not what’s intended. (Even the expression “buttoned-up” is shorthand for repressed.)
These kind of shirts are wildly impractical for sherrif-ing or savior-ing: they limit your arm movements, they don’t handle sweat well, the lace is scratchy, and the itty-bitty fastenings take ages to put off and on. Not to mention it would take Hook forever to unbutton her one-handed. They’re the type of shirts worn by women who DON’T have to swing broadswords down main street.
In fact, if you want your wardrobe to say “open to love” you put the character in soft silks and cotton and open v-necks– open necks are a sign of vulnerability. You know, like Emma wore in S1:
Coupled with Emma’s lack of makeup, these white starched high-collared shirts put her firmly in the “beginning” section of the Repressed Schoolmarm Who Has a Sexual Awakening trope. The only reason IN A ROMANCE for someone to have their hair pulled up that severely is for her lover to take it down; the only reason for a woman to have buttons up to her neck is for her lover to rip off said buttons later in a moment of passion.
Screwball also goes on to say
But “The Ravishment of Emma Swan” is not what we’re seeing, is it? On the contrary, the show goes out of its way to avoid any confirmation of consummation and has Hook hang back from Emma’s repeated invitations to come in for Netflix and chilling. The overall effect is weirdly re-virginizing. WHY?…..And now Hook has to win Emma’s father’s approval AND Emma’s approval and regain his honor. This is now the story of a disgraced knight fighting for redemption through Brave Deeds and the woman waiting for her love to come home. Nothing wrong with this trope. I’m fine with this trope. I’ve read some lovely books on this trope … but S1-3 Emma WAS the brave knight! You can’t pull a switcheroo like this on the audience and not expect them to notice.
Essentially Emma’s costuming completely changes the meaning of a scene. A good example of this was Emma’s date dress with Hook. Notice the difference between the two Emma “date” dresses:
One screams confidence, the other says something completely different.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of Felix