Perfect picture Heather. VCF is a guy, one guy, who runs his site. He’s said he does it because he’s a fan too, not just a businessman. That’s fine, but in my experience, and I’m generalizing heavily–but do dudes ship the same way women do? I mean, I’ve seen a ton of Bond and other films and let’s just say, there’s a term “Chick Flick” for a reason. I just don’t think VCF is all into the “emotional” connection between Emma and Killian and if he is on the CS side–it’s more a matter of self-projection fantasy like, seeing yourself as Bond or the Pirate getting the girl. More interesting than being Neal, the seemingly every-day guy who cannot catch a break.
Neal’s macho factor went up in NL, with him aiming cross bows, capturing squids, and rowing boats. Yet he didn’t “save the day” (because we still have our gender flip and our heroines will, namely Regina and Emma, but with help from everyone….it can’t just be “the guy” ). Plus he’s still not this childhood iconic character for the marketing people to slap on a poster. I’m still annoyed they never made him a poster this season after promising it was “in the works”. The “Believe” arc is seriously almost over and they obviously bothered to take him and Henry into the studio and photograph them for singles.
How hard is it to photoshop a few words? It’s not a question of cost then, but marketing strategy and I’m completely convinced it is because of the PCA nominations. They don’t want to play up anything about Neal and Emma, even if it is in the previously written and filmed storyline because the show runners want the attention they can get for the show. Whether that would make them change their plans next season and begin to start showing bad sides to Neal and even better sides to Hook, I don’t know. With a story they can always add something that makes us look at things in a new way, as they did with this Rumple’s papa story.
We KNOW they previously filmed a smaller scene of Papa Rumple running and getting caught or killed (I forget) for unpaid gambling debts, but this elaborate thing of Papa turning into Pan? Did they really have that in mind from the start? I mean of the show, definitely in mind once they had NL rights I should think. They leave room to “embroider” stories and they do go backwards to look carefully to plan the mannerisms and acting directions, so things fit in as if planned all along even if they were not. Just look at how awesome some of our not-so-crack theories could be? It would fit perfectly yet it often ends up not being at all what the writers were planning. We’re not even professionals at it as the are with the intent to sit down and arc out a season!
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass