Yeah for years the writers have been accused of hating Belle/hating Rumbelle because of the abuse and poor stories hurled at them but when compared side by side the supposed “favorite” ship…. the episodes speak volumes.
Well to speak to this, they didn’t want to kill Emma off. They wanted Emma and Hook to live their life without any death. And then they had to come up with a convoluted way to keep Hook around bc they weren’t done with Colin yet. So yeah the stories are going to be different. I guess I just feel like the writers had more to work with in regards to Belle and Rumple than Hook and Emma. I don’t necessarily believe that these episodes prove that the writers’ had a favorite ship. That seems a little much.