Re: the cop theory.
Actually, if we look at the previous casting calls, they were pretty accurate. For Milha, it described her as ” a woman who’s often at her village’s tavern and is bored with being a wife and mother.” For Beaman (who turned out to be Smee), it described him as “a criminal who deals in stolen antiques.”
So I think whatever happens in Tallahassee between Emma and Neal will have to do with his casting call (assuming he’s “Jack”):
He’s in his 20s or 30s, charismatic, sexy and mysterious, but also loyal and kind, and he’s running from his past in a land full of danger.
This makes me doubt that he’ll be a cop who rats her out…I think he leaves Emma because he’s running from something. Don’t get me wrong, I would be pleasantly surprised if it went the ex-cop route, but I think the writers are going to take it somewhere else based on what they’ve told us.
We also have the episode synopsis: Meanwhile, Emma’s past is revealed to be anything but magical when she meets up with a fellow thief who wants to make an honest woman out of her.
I think Neal is a real thief with good intentions. But how does “loyal and kind” and “make an honest woman out of her” reconcile with “running from his past”? Was he running from something/someone, and think he was putting Emma in danger by staying with her? Or…did he see a connection between Emma and his past, and decided to run?
Also, I wonder about the “running from his past” part…does that describe Neal in the flashback, or Neal at the present time? I wonder if they’ll surprise us by showing us present-day Neal. Maybe we’ll see his reaction to the postcard he receives and what he does about it. Oh ho, exciting!