Reply To: Emma + Baelfire = Swanfire

[Slurpeez]

kfchimera wrote:

I am a bit worried at the hidden depth of Emma’s resentment because while we knew she would still have issues with Neal, I thought she was further along on forgiving. The only thing is, when Pan mentioned Henry I knew it is something Emma will have to heal because she has to believe that Henry would forgive her too. So fundamentally her situation has not changed, even if right now she has gone backwards emotionally, but I think she will make progress rapidly on it. I have a feeling Charming’s injury might spark the realization that she truly loves her parents too despite the years of loss. I hope that of course would feed into a much later realization with Neal.

I absolutely think that the way they’re having her dig down into all her emotional turmoil about being abandoned, and about abandoning Henry, is setup for her dealing with those similar issues concerning Neal. She can’t deal with one, without dealing with the other. If they’d only brought it all up once Neal gets back, then it wouldn’t ring true if she’s been playing happy families with her parents in the meantime. But having her start to work through it now, I think will put her in a better position to accept Neal, by the time he shows up.

I was reading a recent interview in which Jennifer Morrison spoke about how NL adversely affected Emma. Normally, we have seen Emma with her walls up, but NL strips her of those defenses which causes her walls to come crashing down. So the Emma we are watching cry to her mother is really the lost little girl who only wanted her mom and dad growing up.

In S2, Emma was more closed off so her feelings of abandonment from and resentment towards her parents were always buried beneath the surface. Being in NL, where a person must confront her past, is now causing those hidden emotions to come forth–which PP is trying to exploit to turn Emma against her parents. Emma deserves to find happiness, and the only way she can do that is to come to terms with her past so that she can find her future. A&E have said that because there is no time in NL, people are forced to live in the past, which is why we witnessed Emma’s heartbreaking orphan scene in 3×2; she is at her most vulnerable, because she has returned to being that lost little girl.

PP is so twisted and clearly is projecting his own abandonment issues and resentment onto the Lost Boys and now onto Emma and Henry. The thing that PP may not realize is that Emma can and will be able to eventually forgive her parents for letting go. Likewise, while Emma undoubtably has resentment issues for Neal letting her go, her ability to forgive is going to apply to him as well. As the product of true love, I think Emma’s ability to really love her family and to forgive them may prove to be extraordinary, surpassing that of a normal person. I think her journey to accepting her past and forgiving her parents will prepare Emma to do the same with Neal.