I will never cease to be amazed that people read my long ridiculous posts! Thank you!
In answer to one of your questions, I think that Hook didn’t really think he had a chance with Emma when he revealed his secret but since then a couple of things have happened:
- Hook heard Neal say that he’d fight for Emma which means…they’re not together (also there was just a hug, no kisses or grand declarations and no hanging around each other afterwards – Emma looked uncomfortable, they both looked sad, and Neal walked off – not exactly a big lovely reunion and we know Hook witnessed this)
- Hook’s conversation with Neal – he thought that Neal heard him basically reveal that he’s in love with Emma so he was thanking him for not freaking out about that/the kiss (which he also mentioned as part of the secret) only to find out that Emma hadn’t mentioned it at all! – Initially he is very hurt by this (the pain in his voice *sobs*) but then it’s like a little lightswitch goes on, where he suddenly realizes that she wasn’t trying to get a clean slate with Neal. She could easily have said she kissed Hook but it didn’t mean anything and please don’t hold it against me because I thought you were dead, but she didn’t feel the need to.
This last point is shown again later when she asks Hook why Neal’s acting like that and he tells her he thought Neal heard him say they kissed and she got upset as to why he might think she had bothered to tell him. I really think that he knows her well enough to know that had she wanted to dive back into something with Neal, she WOULD have told him and the fact that she didn’t, again that she wasn’t trying for a clean slate ON TOP OF the fact that it didn’t look like a happy reunion to begin with, gave him reason to hope.
And now that he does have hope, he’s in this completely. He’s got a shot and he’s not going to step aside until EMMA tells him to. Just like it didn’t matter what Charming had to say about it. Hook’s right – until Emma makes a CHOICE – and she will eventually have to – both guys are gonna fight for her.
Hook did kinda push himself in a little bit and join them on shadow duty (turns out she didn’t really need either one of them but still, probably best not to wander around alone), and of course it was because he doesn’t want Neal left alone with her! He doesn’t want to give up a chance to continue proving to her that he’s right for her!
Neal had no reason to suspect anything at that point cause his old friend had a point (surprised he didn’t pick up on the hastiness of him joining them but he may have thought maybe he just doesn’t want to get stuck with Snow and Charming who were clearly fighting right then or something) and Hook had a point about it not hurting to have more than one person there that has experience to help.
It was surprising we didn’t get any “what are you doing back in NL” moments but the revelation about Emma kinda took the majority of screentime for this episode, so we were left with very few NICE CaptainFire moments to work with. It was nice for Neal to tell Hook thanks for offering to help at the beginning and like I said earlier, he’s not behaving toward him like he did when Rumple came back into his life so I have hope (I have hope for Rumple & Neal too but they have farther to go).
I think at some point we’ll get just the two of them working together on something. No idea what given what we know right now, but I feel like if they can focus and work together to help Emma or save Henry or deal with goodness knows what after all of that mess, then they’ll get around to mending those fences.
I’d like to think both guys ultimately want Emma to be happy, and they do care about each other, so while it will be excruciating for one of them, the other will ultimately both understand and still be a part of the others’ life as well as Henry’s. So I do think we’ll eventually get that conversation of “You came here for Emma, didn’t you?” kind of moment from Neal to Hook.
They need it, desperately. Neal reacted badly after a momentary good moment of realizing that Hook was 1) sentimental and 2) cared about him enough to have his sword to give to Emma thinking she needed it in memory of Neal. I think it touched him for about 2.5 seconds and then he lashed out about it because he went back to fight mode and he doesn’t know what to think because they have trust issues between them from the past too (which again, we need way more info on to see how they really left things in NL vs what we know right now).
I would love love love for them to talk by themselves like Hook and Charming did and have Neal come to the realization that they’re in this for the same thing and they need to work together so that they can accomplish this and get everyone they care about safe. Hook has never questioned whether Neal cared about Emma, even realizing that he must be the guy that made Emma the broken woman he met in the EF, since he’s Henry’s father and Emma was deeply wounded by a past love and is clearly on her own now. He, like CSers, has never questioned that or pretended it didn’t exist.
When he met Emma, Neal was not in the picture and he didn’t know who that was. He didn’t know through all of their interaction until literally after he thought Neal was dead. Then it was a shared bond between him and Emma but not something to stop him from having feelings for her because he had them before he knew they shared a past, and after he was gone what difference did it make because it doesn’t change anything.
Now he’s in this completely and Neal pops back up and it hurts him because he does care about him a great deal and it makes this entire situation completely awkward. As far as I’m concerned, other than a few massive apologies here and there, nobody owes anybody anything. They are all adults and entitled to love whomever they love. I do believe CSF can repair themselves and I look forward to watching that happen way more than dealing with the stupid non-triangle. I don’t consider it character growth for any character to back away from what they want because they feel like they owe somebody else something. Just no. They owe it to themselves to say what they feel and what they want and are more than entitled to hope that they get that said in return but nobody owes it to them to feel the same way they do.
Hook is making it very clear that he genuinely loves Emma and will continue to do the things that he’s been doing that prove that every step of the way. Nobody is perfect. They all slip up now and then and Hook is no exception. This is new for him too since he never thought he’d love again. This is a broken man who was basically willing to die if that meant revenge on the man who killed Milah, and finally now has something to fight for; to live for. He’s becoming the best version of himself again after years in the depths of despair and that’s thanks to Emma.
Until that’s acknowledged between Hook and Neal, I don’t know where we go from here. Neal needs to see that this isn’t just some competition to Hook, that he genuinely DOES and CAN care about somebody. Bae thought he only cared about himself and his revenge and it’s likely Neal has the same fears. Like maybe Hook is playing some game and Emma will get hurt just like he did, only he doesn’t realize that Hook genuinely loves him and wanted him to stay so that they could be a family and he was wounded when he left. It’s taken SO LONG for Hook to come around to that mentality again and he’s changed because of Emma.
I want Neal to have a similar moment with Hook/Emma that he had with Rumple awhile back after hearing his phone conversation with Belle. Seeing that side that can care and wants to be good. He’s doubting it right now because of Pan and the prophecy and sadly Rumple couldn’t prove anything to Neal because he tried to do the right thing and send the dagger away so Pan couldn’t control him, but he has genuinely changed for the better and Belle brings out the best in him. So I need Neal to see that Hook is a changed man as well, and that Emma has managed to bring out the best in him too.
It goes both ways, and Neal needs to see that Hook cares about HIM too and that he’s not just some random guy that Hook wants to walk all over. It’s not about that. But not standing up and saying you have feelings for someone and hiding it is just as bad. Walking away is the same as making the choice for them and that’s not fair to them. What do people want Hook to do? STOP FEELING something for Emma and just walk away so that Neal can be with her all the time so that she thinks Hook doesn’t care about her anymore and therefore she might as well choose Neal cause at least he wants her? No!
Both men have behaved badly but Hook should only back off when EMMA wants him to. He thought they were going off to some grand reunion and it didn’t happen. He thought Neal was being extremely kind considering everything only to find out that they obviously weren’t back together and he didn’t even know about Hook and Emma. Of course he thinks he’s got a chance now! Why should he walk away and deny his feelings and essentially choose FOR Emma? Taking away an option is almost as bad as forcing an outcome.
Hook was very very clear in his statement (which admittedly was made in very close quarters but she never bothered to walk away from it like she does with everyone else either so if it doesn’t bother HER it shouldn’t bother US). He will win her, with no trickery, and when he does it will be because she wants him. HER CHOICE, choosing for the RIGHT REASONS, and that in choosing him, it’s because she WANTS TO. Therefore he’s so horrible for her a;slkjdfd;lsak. Seriously? Saying you’re interested is not a crime. Plus he completely believes in her and she goes to him for reassurance. He is her source of strength, even when she’s angry with him at times (and I don’t care what he said in 3×01, he totally fancies her when she’s angry too – he likes feisty women that can fight for THEMSELVES!) Plus it’s adorable that he thinks she’s cute even when she’s angry with him.
It was appropriate that happened in this episode too because we also saw a mini-fight/make-up for Snowing as well, talking about believing in each other and Snow needing Charming to believe in her and watching Hook tell Emma how much he believes in her.
PS: How awesome was it to hear Charming call her Snow for once? It’s about time!
So many incredible CS moments in this episode! I swear the season just gets better and better!
Keeper of Hook's Trenchcoat.