418: Sneak Peeks (1-3)

Yet, if Emma’s going to hold her parents to such a high standard, why does she not also do the same to Hook and Regina, who’ve committed way more dark and dismal crimes than her parents?

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Because Snowing took away Emma’s agency.  This has been Emma’s issue since season two.  

There was a great quote Jen said back in season two:

She seems to always be the victim of that particular circumstance, which is someone making a decision for the greater good and her having to serve the greater good, instead of anyone taking care of her or letting her take care of herself. [x]

I think probably what bothers Emma the most about this lie is that her parent’s didn’t trust her enough to make the right decision when she was older.  They let fear get the best of them.

I think Emma would have turned out fine had the curse had not happened. If Snowing raised her to be a loving, kind person then yeah, likely she would not turn out to be evil. Because she would already have that solid upbringing.

But now, Emma is questioning if the choices she’s made in her life are really hers, or because some magic made her to do it.   It’s less about the act and more about what Snowing took from Emma, which is her agency.

I don’t think you can compare what Regina and Hook did or didn’t do to Emma to this. Simply because they’re not the same. Regina and Hook are not Emma’s parents, so of course how she regards them is automatically going to be different because the relationships are different.

As far as Emma’s relationship with Hook goes, as far back as the beginning, it’s almost always been based on Emma’s choice. Hook let her know in Dark Hollow. The end result of their relationship isn’t going to be because of trickery but because it’s what she wants, because she chooses him. And Killian also let David know, whatever becomes of his and Emma’s relationship this season, it’s as much up to her as it is to him. He sees her as an equal partner, which is how it should be in any relationship. Emma also knows how far Killian has come and that he’s not that person anymore.

Regina, I’m not even going there. Because I’m still trying to decide how I feel about this so-called friendship.

Yet, if Emma’s going to hold her parents to such a high standard, why does she not also do the same to Hook and Regina, who’ve committed way more dark and dismal crimes than her parents? Because Snowing took away Emma’s agency. This has been Emma’s issue since season two.

What about when Regina took away Emma’s family with the first curse? What about when Rumple manipulated events so that she’d be the savior, whether Emma wanted the job or not? What about when Hook left Emma for dead in a magically fortified jail cell? Are those not also “taking away Emma’s agency”? I admitted that Snow historically didn’t seem to respect Emma’s agency by sending her away, but at least Emma’s parents had Emma’s best interests at heart! If they hadn’t have sent Emma through the wardrobe, she would’ve died at the hands of Regina’s guards! They were totally wrong to drive Emma’s potential for darkness into Lily, but at least they thought they were doing it to protect Emma. But I’m not going to make this a shipping battle. Not now. Not ever. I’m allowed to have my opinion and to state it here. It’s not about shipping. It’s about family. And it’s about treating others, especially one’s parents, with love, understanding and forgiveness, especially when people who’ve committed far greater and many more crimes than Snowing get a free pass in Emma’s book. Emma treats her family with disdain while treating Rumple (at least in S2), Regina and Hook with compassion.

Saw an interesting theory floating around that I feel I might as well share here. What if Emma actually ends up killing Cruella while trying to save Henry? Something just might make Emma snap and go too far, therefore she makes her first real slip towards darkness. We know Cruella probably isn’t going to be around after this episode, based on set reports and spoilers for the remaining episodes, so either Cruella leaves or she’s killed.

That’s interesting. I theorized it might be Regina who makes good on her threat to end Cruella if she harmed Henry, but Emma doing so instead might be the unexpected thing that sends her over the edge. As far as we know, the only person/thing has Emma killed is Maleficent in dragon form, who it turns out, isn’t really dead. Killing someone is a dark business, and even when done in self-defense of defense of someone else, can cause a person to wrestle with issues of right and wrong (e.g. when Snow killed Cora).

Sneak peek 1> Cruella has a lot of tricks up the sleeves of the fuzzy coat… love her SASSY language.

SNEAK PEEK 2> I love how Emma and Regina’s both reflected the same feelings about CRUELLA’s kidnapping of Henry…. I would not want to be in her shoes.

SNEAK PEEK 3> As much as I agree with Emma about Snow and PC treatment of Lily….. I say … EMMA give it a rest…. people are not perfect, they make mistakes… YOU made tons of them.

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I hope Cruella doesn’t die and she somehow gets her happy without dying.  I like to hope that her happy ending will be resolved similarly to Ursula’s.