Neal and Emma are definitely going to have one more thing to bond over when they reunite…she’s going to understand way better what it feels like to give up everything you love because it’s part of something much bigger that saves everyone else. The only difference for her is that she’s with Henry. That type of sacrifice and their past history isn’t something she’s been able to talk to him about yet but she will for sure be able to see his perspective a lot better after this experience. I will rage and storm Vancouver if they don’t cover this with Emma & Neal at some point in this second half of S3.
That’s an excellent point which I hadn’t even considered! Emma walking away from her parents for the sake of Henry very much mirrors Neal walking away from Emma for the sake of her parents! I think the writers are clearly going to give Emma and Neal even more empathy and understanding for one another in the future knowing what it means to make huge self-sacrifices of the people they love. Emma had to do right by Henry when this new curse came just as Neal had to do right by Emma when the first curse hit so she could save her parents. The only difference is that Emma got to have Henry at least, whereas Neal had to struggle on alone after the first curse hit.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy