Insider.com: How much room does all this emotional exposition leave for love in Emma’s life?
Jennifer: It was definitely a priority for the writers this year to bring men into her life. Interestingly, I think we can’t truly be in healthy relationships until we work out issues with our parents, so I think it’s fascinating that they’ve chosen the season where she begins to learn about her parents to also be the season where she opens herself up to love. But Emma definitely won’t be the pursuer. She’s a tough nut to crack, but there are men coming into her life who aggressively try to break through her armor.
This was actually from S2 but we know that the narrative shifted slightly partway through that (pretty much when they got Hook and Neverland and that whole story started off!) and that Colin breaking his leg threw a wrench in some of that too but the core character stuff for Emma remains the same and I found the wording interesting given some recent concerns so wanted to share!
Keeper of Hook's Trenchcoat.