Reply To: Emma + Baelfire = Swanfire

[Slurpeez]

I just had a moment of clarity in the chat when Mickstemp mentioned that if Emma runs away from her feelings for Neal in S3 to date Hook, then she’ll be doing the exact same thing that Neal did by choosing to pursue Tamara rather than seek out Emma after she broke the curse. Tamara would be to Neal as Hook would be to Emma (except without the Tamara only pretending to be in love thing since Hook seems to have sincere feelings for Emma). Neal said the biggest regret of his life was letting his fear of rejection stand in the way of his belief in love. By choosing not to deal with her insecurities and feelings for Neal, Emma would essentially be taking the easy way out and letting fear stand in her way of a second chance with Neal, whom she truly loves. Doing the hard thing means facing the fear of rejection in order to believe in love.

So, take heart fellow SF fans, because even though it’s looking increasingly like Emma might give it a go with Hook for a time, eventually she won’t be able to deny her lasting love for Neal, which will slowly eat away at Hook’s confidence in his pursuit of Emma, since he loves Neal, too. By dating Hook, Emma would be doing exactly what Neal was doing with Tamara, and in so doing, she might really come to regret it as Neal did. We already know that Emma needs and loves Neal. She said so in 2×21. Neal said in 3×1 he loves Emma and in 3×3 he  said  he needs his boy and Emma, since they’re all he has. They need each other because they love one another, which is the sign of enduring, lasting, and mature love. That love has never gone away, no matter how hard they both tried to move on. Even though Emma is scared now of facing her past, she’s on a hero’s journey and eventually will have to forgive her parents and Neal for letting her go to break the curse. Snow, Charming Henry, Emma and Neal are a family. And this is a show about hope, second chances, and family always finding each other, which, Henry’s family always does.