Happy New Year…!
Oh those favorite moments are wonderful. I’d forgotten the way Neal said Emma’s name at the campsite! I did remember her saying home that way. I’ll admit, that I was disappointed that the star map wasn’t actually a star map–but really who would come up with an arcane candle of shadow capture!? How’d he even know to make something like that in the first place, and why was it still in his cave? Sorry, the little mythology things are just nitpicks that bother me and I need to get back to the shippy stuff in this thread.
The writers keep putting in subtle clues tying Emma and Neal, so I am hoping that there is going to be more to come to show why Emma would think Neal is “it” for her the way he’s obviously been shown to feel for her. Emma right now is the one who’s going on a bit of a journey and quest of self-discovery to be sure about what she wants out of life. Her fake memories and the process of believing again to recover and merge the old ones might just give her enough perspective to truly appreciate Neal ‘s side of things.
Yes, he’s apologized, and not tried to downplay or excuse himself (let alone blame her for his bad choices) and shown that he will do what it takes to be there for her–uncontrollable fairytale catastrophe’s aside.
We don’t know yet why Neal doesn’t show up at Emma’s door, but I’m guessing that just as we don’t fully know why he left her the way he did, there’s larger forces at work preventing him. It isn’t lack of courage, or love this time, just as A&E said that about the first time fairy-tale fate drove them apart. He’s already shown he loves her with the crystal ball (and that wasn’t about Henry AND Emma, just Emma). He might have some doubts about how she feels now but I think that’s where the story lies here, that to show the audience that this time, despite those doubts, he is going to rise above it to be steadfast and wait for Emma to come to him in her time, yet be by her side so she knows she has his support either way, unconditionally.
Emma has to drive the action and pursuit, I feel now, not Neal. She’s the main heroine, not a passive princess to be rescued, so I think it is ok the ball will sort of be in her court. Only Neal’s at a place to admit it emotionally that something more than Henry or just friendship came out of their previous relationship, that they truly love each other.
As far as headcannons go about the jail thing–I have no idea. It could be less flattering to Neal, such as August literally talks him into putting Emma in jail for some half-thought-out by the writers magical curse reason and Neal’s just sort of fate and fairytales and goes for it, because he cannot risk putting Emma in danger if he second-guesses what August says. With magic, and being in that sort of world, it could make sense to him that she has to be heartbroken for the magic to work. I’d prefer it not be written that way though. That would be the “split it down the middle way” and please neither those who love to hate Neal nor those who want to defend him (or August).
I’d rather it be something that happened where Neal didn’t choose to send her to jail, but rather, only found out in a situation where he couldn’t do much about it. Even then, despite what he said to August, maybe he did try only to realize he’d risk exposing Emma in someway to more risk. Maybe the blood magic thing with Pan hunting Neal led to August making Neal promise to steer clear of Emma, because while August wouldn’t kill Emma to break the curse, Pan (through his minions) would if he could find her. If she were with Neal, then he could find her. So Neal had no choice to be near Emma. I’m fairly sure August didn’t require Neal’s promise to steer clear just to be mean or arbitrary about it. He really thought Neal would get in the way of Emma being in the necessary state to break the curse. So the question is why did he think it, and what else did he think and who gave him that information?
August’s reluctance to take the money was just about his own personal greed, but he did leave Emma the bug and keychain. He wasn’t just playing them completely and he did seriously want the curse broken, but he also knew there was a waiting period until that could happen.
He did take the time to drive the bug to Phoenix since Emma found it. Then going so far away might have been partially greed, but partially trying to keep Pan away from Emma in case he left a trail to her.
Headcannon wise, what I’d love to see would be that some big twist with the new big bad being the one giving August all his information about what August has to do to avoid Pan killing Emma to break the curse. Then later we find out the villain is ‘helping’ because the new villain doesn’t want the curse broken that way because that way wouldn’t let her cast it again. Sort of how Cora didn’t want Rumple to die in NY and his power boil away, not that she wanted Rumple to live.
I want there to be a better reason we didn’t see this story until now, than what we saw with Henry’s adoption. Really, the Darlings being there in a “missed it by that much” kind of way just doesn’t give me confidence that it is going to be so epic as seeing August reporting to the thought exiled Black Fairy or is it really a spoiler to say Wicked Witch? . I just would love some big reason that makes keeping back this story of why and how Neal left meaningful to more than just shippers.
“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