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For the second year in a row, SwanQueen won top honors in our Ultimate Femslash Competition, proving once again that the Once Upon a Time duo of Emma and Regina is one of AfterEllen’s favorite on-screen pairings. Last year we spoke with Lana Parrilla about playing The Evil Queen and the subtext fans can find in her relationship with Jennifer Morrison‘s Emma Swan. This year, we went to the creators and executive producers, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, to find out their thoughts on one of their show’s fiercest ships.
[adrotate group="5"]We never created “Swan Queen” or “Snowing” or “Rumbelle” or “Captain Swan” or any of the ships, subtextual or not—our fans took our stories and ran with them. We fully expect them to continue to do so.
….what?
SwanQueen, maybe, since a lot of it is subtextual but they are really going to say that they didn’t create Snowing, Rumbelle, or CS (and more)? That they don’t write for those ships? Did…did they watch the S5A finale?
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"We never created “Swan Queen” or “Snowing” or “Rumbelle” or “Captain Swan” or any of the ships, subtextual or not—our fans took our stories and ran with them. We fully expect them to continue to do so.
….what?
SwanQueen, maybe, since a lot of it is subtextual but they are really going to say that they didn’t create Snowing, Rumbelle, or CS (and more)? That they don’t write for those ships? Did…did they watch the S5A finale?Did they watch the first scene of the first episode of the first season where Charming kisses Snow awake with TLK, where EF season 1 was filled with “I will always find you”, to have TLK between two characters is to write a ship! ship is short for relationship!
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixWe never created “Swan Queen” or “Snowing” or “Rumbelle” or “Captain Swan” or any of the ships, subtextual or not—our fans took our stories and ran with them. We fully expect them to continue to do so.
….what?
SwanQueen, maybe, since a lot of it is subtextual but they are really going to say that they didn’t create Snowing, Rumbelle, or CS (and more)? That they don’t write for those ships? Did…did they watch the S5A finale?Well, they arguably didn’t create CS, either, but that’s a discussion for a different thread.
But they definitely created Rumble (or would that be Jane, since she wrote “Skin Deep?”).
Both POM and Jiminiy are spot on with what I was trying to say. It’s not like the fans created Snowing and Rumbelle through subtextual analysis of two characters not shown to be in a romantic relationship in canon. A and E (and the team of writers) wrote those relationships to be true love, romantic, canonized, and ongoing.
Sometimes (a lot of times) I think A and E need to stop talking. Just full stop.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"SwanQueen, maybe, since a lot of it is subtextual but they are really going to say that they didn’t create Snowing, Rumbelle, or CS (and more)? That they don’t write for those ships? Did…did they watch the S5A finale?
I think they misspoke here, per usual. I think what they meant was that they don’t write these characters solely with the “ship” they are attached to. As they say in the first answer to the first question, the relationship they are in is just one part of the character they are trying to tell the story of. I think sometimes we as fans tend to over blow and overemphasize different “ships”because it’s a lot of fun to hope for romances we want to see, or think we will see, or simply root for a relationship we are currently seeing. I think A&E just meant that there are many other factors that go into writing a character’s actions and behaviors and we tend to focus a lot on who they are dating the most.
And also, technically they did not “create” the terms “Snowing,” “Rumbelle,” “Swan Queen,” “Swanfire,” “Outlaw Queen,” etc etc etc. These are names we are constantly trying to come up with to please ourselves, and as a result, I think we overemphasize them and people take sides and what not. The writers simply write the character’s lives and if that involves falling in love with someone, then great. They obviously created the “relationship” of Snow and Charming. But they didn’t create the “ship” or the ship names. If that makes any sense…….haha. Why do I feel like I’m always the one trying to defend these silly writers?
As they say in the first answer to the first question, the relationship they are in is just one part of the character they are trying to tell the story of.
Still means that they created that relationship in the first place. One aspect of the overall character, sure. But it’s still an aspect created by the writers. They create those relationships–good, bad, in-between–by the way the write their characters and their show. The characters did not form in a vacuum away from the writers; the writers create them with every tap of the keyboard. For the writers to deny their own hand is preposterous. Also to suggest that they write these characters without the ship in mind is no longer factually true to the show. Look at Regina and Emma. Their strongest relationship used to be with their son and his importance in their lives. The secondary relationship was with Snowing as either enemies becoming friends or as parents. But as of S5A, Emma and Regina’s entire center is about their romantic pairings, right down to the absurdly stupid scene of Regina willing to die to save Robin, leaving her one and only child abandoned. This is of course when A and E aren’t trying to bait SQers with increasingly textual points.
And of course they didn’t create the ship names. To suggest otherwise is silly and no one did that. But ‘ship just means relationship be it of a canon romantic kind (Snowing), a canon familial kind (Regal Believer, The Charmings), or a friendly kind (the writer’s intention of SwanQueen). And A and E created every single one of those.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"I think what they meant was that they don’t write these characters solely with the “ship” they are attached to. As they say in the first answer to the first question, the relationship they are in is just one part of the character they are trying to tell the story of.
Maybe back in season 1…
Sometimes (a lot of times) I think A and E need to stop talking. Just full stop.
And writing.
Still means that they created that relationship in the first place.
Agreed. I think what they meant was that they aren’t shipping anyone. Or should I say, rooting for anyone to stay together. They are writing it as they see fit. Whether they actually are doing that is completely up for debate. Getting rid of Neal, and then inserting Hook into Emma’s love life seemed like something a lot of fans wanted. And then they did it. Coincidence? Likely not.
But as of S5A, Emma and Regina’s entire center is about their romantic pairings, right down to the absurdly stupid scene of Regina willing to die to save Robin, leaving her one and only child abandoned.
I actually would argue that the Regina and Robin story line got zero time this past half season. Regina was just kind of there to help here and there. And Robin did literally nothing. They took a backseat to Emma and Hook for plot reasons. This arc was a lot about Emma and Hook obviously, because well, they both became dark ones. And for CS shippers, this was more development and an extra layer of story for their relationship that they felt they weren’t getting. Their relationship had been stale and with all the problems Season 5A had, it certainly didn’t make Emma’s relationship with Hook stale. But anyway, now that this arc is over, I’m hoping the writers will go back to what Emma and Regina share a bond over, their son Henry. I think we all would like to see more of Henry honestly.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is that because of the plot in season 5A, we had to get a lot of relationship stuff from Emma and Hook. But I don’t feel we got that with Regina and Robin at all. Should they have given us more of Henry, yes. It is what bonded Emma and Regina to begin with. But we did get some good scenes with them clearly caring about their son in Dreamcatcher….
I would also say that in real life, when you find someone you really like and start dating them, everyone else tends to get thrown on the back burner; friends, children, parents. All of a sudden, the world is all about them. So in a way, Regina finally finding her “true” love would take her mind off her son for a bit. Idk, it seems realistic to me. But I fully expect that by the time the show has reached it’s end, the writers will circle back around to beginning themes, including Emma and Regina’s love for their son Henry.
Oh and yes, Regina willing to sacrifice herself for Robin was totally ridiculous on so many levels.
Or should I say, rooting for anyone to stay together. They are writing it as they see fit.
Disagree. There have been plenty of instances in interviews where they’ve said that the end of Snowing would be the end of hope (so they’ll never split them up) or that CS has “been through so much” but they hope love conquers all or that Regina deserves some happiness and Robin gives it to her. And so on and so forth.
I actually would argue that the Regina and Robin story line got zero time this past half season. Regina was just kind of there to help here and there. And Robin did literally nothing.
Well I agree that Robin did nothing, but Regina’s storyline become the baited SQ one because at the end of the day, SQ is more popular in fandom than OQ. Emma giving Regina the dagger to “end her” in case of emergencies for example. Never mind that it would make Regina the Dark One which is one of the single worst ideas I’ve ever heard, the writing team wanted to bait SQ in that moment so, tossing logic out the window, they had Emma fork over the dagger to Regina (all while playing up the CS scenes of Hook coming to find Emma and saving her from killing Merida).
But that’s one of the biggest problems that I’m trying to emphasize. Snow and Charming (and Henry for that matter) played next to no active role in trying to save their daughter. Heck, until the season finale Emma barely had any significant alone screen time with her parents. But god forbid we go one episode without some CS kissing or Emma and Regina having a private conversation. Why? Because CS and SQ are insanely popular and Snowing are not. So A and E write with those two ships in mind, to heck with their narrative. I’ll pass over the fact that Emma’s entire hero journey was reduced to her boyfriend and not her self actualization.
But we did get some good scenes with them clearly caring about their son in Dreamcatcher….
Of course. That episode was one of the better ones because it was the most organic and felt like a return to the themes of this entire show: family. And that’s how A and E write now. One episode out of 11 that feels like it could easily fit back in with S1-S3A to appease the angry rabble who don’t like CS, SQ, OQ, or any other ships that get written to the extreme.
I would also say that in real life, when you find someone you really like and start dating them, everyone else tends to get thrown on the back burner; friends, children, parents. All of a sudden, the world is all about them.
Friends, yes. That’s a common phenomenon. Too bad Emma has none of those that actually pop up and talk to her, help her, commiserate with her. I would sincerely hope that children never go on the back burner. Especially on a show that touts itself as being about family, first and foremost. But ultimately, it comes down to balance. Learning how to balance your love life, your children, your friends,and your family. So Emma waltzing into the Underworld to rip out her heart and split it into two–not knowing if it will even *work*–is her declaring that she’s not balanced. She’s chosen one aspect (read: the writers are choosing one aspect) over the others. The writers might give Emma and Henry some bonding time but they will never–ever–sacrifice CS (or OQ if we’re going to put Regina in for Emma) to do it. They willingly give up air time, development and narrative of Emma/Henry or Regina/Henry for the sake of their romantic ships. And that’s what bothers me about this article and the passage I quoted from A and E above.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"
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