Just by being around 300 years and being old school he would not easily set aside the familiar and the last bit of his old identity. Plus he has does some drastic changes of late… put aside his revenge, is letting Milah go, loving Emma… and it seems he quite drinking.
Good points! I also equate his pirate jacket specifically to his emotions. In Tallahassee he has it off the whole time while he’s with Emma, and you can see that he’s very Killian-Jones-ey rather than maintaining his Captain Hook façade. He wasn’t wearing it in the scene with Rumple’s cell either, where you could see his hurt pouring out of him. It’s only until the Lake Nostos sex swordfight scene, that he’s actually wearing his coat again, and the sarcastic Captain Hook persona returns (“I may be a simple pirate but I know one thing – lakes have water”). We don’t see Killian with the leather jacket off again until 3×04, when he’s giving Emma a coconut (and Tink is there too watching them) that you can openly see the absolute adoration on his face.
It’s a direct parallel to Emma, who, as has been confirmed, wears her red leather jacket as her emotional armour. Notice how she decided to put it on again in 3×10 after their return from Neverland, because
1) Henry was acting strangely
2) Killian was distancing himself from her
3) Neal had asked her out and she was very conflicted about it
so she obviously felt VERY emotionally vulnerable.
When it comes to the main characters, everything is deliberate down to a “T” lol.
Keeper of Captain Swan's first kiss