407: Critical Analysis

My stance on OutlawQueen is that this is in no way a straightforward adultery case.  As far as Robin was concerned, Marian was DEAD.  In his mind, she’d be gone for at least 3 years.  He’d moved on.  When he first fell for Regina, she wasn’t even in the picture.  She was brought back under very unusual, magical circumstances that threw Robin for a loop.  I think, though, (and I could be wrong)  that even in the real world, if a person goes missing for a certain length of time, they are declared dead, and the spouse is no longer considered married.  It’s really not fair to expect Robin to just happily return to his wife and pretend the whole relationship with Regina never happened.  If Robin would truly rather be with Regina, then forcing him to be with Marian isn’t *anyone’s* “happy ending”- Not Robin’s, not Marian’s, or Roland’s.  If the man I was married to believed he would be happier with someone else, then I’d rather he go.  I wouldn’t want to be with a man who was only staying with me out of obligation.

Now where Robin did mess up was in not being honest with Marian from the beginning.  But Robin is being shown as a flawed character here, he’s made a poor choice- and he *knows* this!  He admitted that what he was doing was not honorable.  You know, we all judge.  We all think we know better, that we would make the right choice in the same situation…but would we really? You don’t know for sure unless you’ve been in that situation. I don’t see this as the show telling us that what Robin is doing is a *good* thing. Remember, the story isn’t over yet.

This being said, I admit that the whole weird situation with Marian is my least favorite story thread on the show right now.  I do wish they hadn’t brought Marian back in the first place as it just makes everything really awkward.  (I disliked the Mary Margaret/ David Nolan story of S1 too.  I don’t like awkward relationship situations.) I will be very disappointed if they decide to kill off Marian just so Robin and Regina end up together.  That *would* leave a bad taste in my mouth.

If Robin would truly rather be with Regina, then forcing him to be with Marian isn’t *anyone’s* “happy ending”- Not Robin’s, not Marian’s, or Roland’s.  If the man I was married to believed he would be happier with someone else, then I’d rather he go.  I wouldn’t want to be with a man who was only staying with me out of obligation.

My complaint isn’t that Robin has to stay with Marian out of a sense of duty, but him not even trying to find some love in his heart enough to save her seems cold (pun intended). Also, Marian wasn’t “just” his wife to whom he felt honor-bound; she’s also the mother of Roland, and the woman he once deeply loved. Trying to save Marian so that she can be there for their son doesn’t even seem to be registering on Robin’s radar screen. All he seems to think about is Regina, and how she makes him feel. But a good parent doesn’t just think of himself; he also must think of his kid. I’m not saying Robin has to stay with Marian for Roland’s sake, but can’t he be that good man that Marian once inspired him to be, enough to save the mother of his child? His boy shouldn’t have to grow up without knowing her. It makes me angry the way Henry was denied the chance to get to know his dad, too. Roland not getting to know his mom would seem like that messed up scenario all over again.

I don’t see this as the show telling us that what Robin is doing is a *good* thing. Remember, the story isn’t over yet.

I agree. I think it was clearly shown that Robin remembers the love he had with Marian, and it was a good, selfless kind of love that made him want to be a better person. I don’t think it’s totally over as far as his feelings for his wife are concerned. He’s clearly conflicted because of the feelings he has for Regina, which are real. He’s currently fighting his conscience in choosing to carry on with Regina while his wife sits frozen in limbo somewhere. He was after all drunk when he called upon Regina the second time. Alcohol can sometimes make people do things against their better judgment.

1. So glad to see that everyone has remembered that Marian has been DEAD for 30 years! Robin Hood moved on, and mourned…it’s completely natural for this to happen. 30 years is WAY past the mourning/waiting stage….he raised Roland as a single father, which no doubt changed him further. The vows he made to Marian were till death did them part, and it did….but no where in the vows did it say anything about resurrection! Blame the precious Emma Swan for that one.

Well, it may have 30 years chronologically speaking, but Robin and Roland were frozen in the EF for 28 of those years. Remember when Cora created the bubble dome in the Enchanted Forest, she told Hook they’d be frozen for the duration of the curse. So to Robin, it’s more like 2 years have passed. That is why Roland, who was born prior the curse, is only 4 or 5 years old, rather than 34 or 35 years old. They were frozen in time. So two years is a lot less time to mourn the loss of a loved one. I’m not convinced he’s totally forgotten the love he had for Marian. I recall him even telling Regina once that if there’d been a way to get her back, he would’ve. Now that she’s back, it’s a lot more complicated since he has real feelings for Regina, but I think he knows it’s the selfish choice to make. He said he’s always been the righteous guy who does the right thing, and choosing to be with Regina while the mother of his child is frozen in limbo just seems selfish to me. Can’t Robin find a way long enough to save Marian, so Roland can have her in his life? Then he can talk about getting a divorce from Marian. Then he could choose to be with Regina. That just seems like a nobler way to go about things rather than the way he chose to in this episode.

I think one of the issues with last nights episode was Snow’s first reaction to Emma. This was at the mommy and me group. When Emma heated the bottle and then proceeded to try to take Noah, you saw Snow flinch. That was not Snow-like and really set the tone for the rest of the episode.

Frozen Peeps: The whole Ingird back story contradicted the whole Frozen story. Basically with that episode they said that Ingrid did not have true sisterly bond with her sisters. I am sure it will be explained that their bond was held within the ribbons. Which is just another way of saying, we needed to change sisterly bond thing due to plot. I am not a huge fan of Frozen anyway but differing from the main part of the story just bugs me.

Robin/Regina/Marian: Robin just makes me sick when I see him. I think it’s because of how he is acting in this situation. It is the dialogue that makes me cringe when he comes on. I don’t know if it is the actor or the writer in this situation. I am leaning towards both! However, I don’t think this situation would be good anyway you look at it. If I were Regina and I told him to leave me alone I think I would have slapped him when he tried to kiss me.

Will Scarlett and Ana: I liked Ana, she was one of the reasons I watched WL as long as I did. I wanted her on Once. I know a lot of peeps didn’t like her but I would hate for them to do something to her and them not get their HE.

Rumple: What is up with him? If I had seen some type of character arc since Neal died to show him move towards this dark place I would get it. However, he hasn’t struggled or nothing. It was like, “I am evil what are you doing to do about it?” His relationship with Belle is no longer a relationship either. She seemed almost like an intruder in the shop instead of his wife. Their chemistry is off.

Emma: Um, she isn’t acting like Emma either. Emma would be questioning how easy it was to capture the SQ.

Hook: At least he is still acting like himself in this episode. The mirror line was hilarious and his questioning of Rumple was spot-on.