What I noticed in the last few episodes, and particularly in the last one, is that it seems like he has stopped trying so hard to be Emma’s “parent.” We see in the EF flashbacks how well he knows Snow and how he is so good at figuring out exactly what to say or do when she is upset, angry, freaking out, etc. He knows what to say to stop her from making mistakes by not TELLING her not to do something but by giving her advice and then letting her figure it out on own her own based upon what he told her. And then in the last episode we had two references to how Snow and Emma are so much alike. It seems like he has figured out that the best way to “parent” his daughter is to treat her just like his wife (no ick factor intended. Meaning, just like Snow said in Echo Cave, they never got to watch Emma grow up – bam, they have a daughter the same age they are. So Daddy Charming has figures out he needs to just accept that and go with – he has a 28 year old daughter so he needs to treat her like a 28 year old woman, which oddly enough is exactly how he has figured out to treat his wife.
On the other hand, Snow isn’t there yet because she is still mourning the “loss” of her baby. She isn’t ready to stop trying to give advice to Emma the way she would a child. When she was MM she was so much better with Emma because she related to her as a 28 year old woman. I think Daddy Charming’s brush with DreamShade death made him evaluate what he has and what he could lose and I think he decided having the opportunity to be a dad to a 28 year old is a much better option than not being able to be a dad at all. And like his conversation with Emma about “moments”, he is finding the good in a bad situation and trying to enjoy it and do everything he can to help her in the way she needs instead of dwell on the bad (that she is all grown up and doesn’t need the kind of advice they missed out on giving).
Honestly, Charming as a character has always annoyed me a bit. But he had had these GREAT moments lately and I am loving him.
Also, if no one has noticed this go back and watch the Echo Cave Scene when Charming tells Snow his secret. Gosh would have known they were pregnant then. Watch right as he tells Snow that he thinks she will be an amazing mother. He breaks character and starts to cry for just a minute but now that we know you can totally see it!! It is beyond adorable and it worked with the scene so I’m sure they just decided to keep it. It is one of the cutest things I have ever seen!!