Emma Swan Character Analysis

[charming]

@rumplegoldfan wrote:

charming – do you mean that Emma and Henry act like children together?

I know that my opinion is not a favorite on this topic but that is part of what I struggle with in the whole “Emma will end up getting custody of Henry” scenario. While I do think that is obviously something that will somehow be addressed at some point – I wonder when and how because I do think that Emma and Henry act like kids together. BUT I think that has been done on purpose. I think they have made Regina the parent who adopted Henry as a baby and taken care of him but, as far as we have seen anyway, isn’t warm and fuzzy with him. Then we have Emma at the opposite extreme who is lots of fun to hang out with – the kind of person who would let you eat chocolate cake every morning for breakfast. She would love you like crazy and give you lots of hugs, but you might also be late for school every day and never have to wear a coat when it’s cold outside (although she would probably buy Henry a really cool leather coat).

I don’t see Emma being ready to be a parent yet – I believe she even said that in the pilot. Being concerned about Henry’s well-being, and being concerned that Regina isn’t the best parent doesn’t necessarily make her qualified to be a parent herself. At this point I think it would end up as some very bizarre situation where a woman who is raising her child is living with her mother – and her mother is the one who is really raising her son because she is the better parent. Only in our case the woman wouldn’t know she is living with her mother and the grandmother wouldn’t know she is really parenting her own grandson.

yes, well put.

[hjbau]

There was even a scene in Ep 15 where Henry wanted to get a bunch of junk food from the diner and Emma said no. I think that Emma acts like a mother to Henry. I think that people should still be playful with their children. Talk to them like people. I think the biggest reason why Emma can’t parent Henry properly is because she doesn’t have custody. She doesn’t have any real say. Like it is a little strange that Henry is walking around town at night by himself and Regina doesn’t even seem to notice that whereas i think Emma would notice it. It reminds me of two parents who are split up, but one has full time custody. Regina and Emma don’t get along so they fight over Henry. And Regina has custody so she is the one with the authority to make the calls though at the same time she seems completely neglectful never being aware of where Henry really is.

I do think parenting is very difficult. No one is perfect at it, but i think the fact that Emma cares, really cares about what is best for Henry and Regina doesn’t seem to care even enough to be aware of where he is and is willing to hurt him to prove that she has the control in the situation is enough for me. And maybe not in the court of law, but in the court of show law should Emma have custody that is enough for me.

I think i just know too many kids that grew up in bad split homes or bad adopted homes or got shipped around to different foster homes. It is not an easy thing.

[killianhookfan]

I think this is exactly the arguement that this could come down to on the show. Legally to be a parent, you have to do things like provide food, shelter, clothing, and make sure your child gets to school. You are not required to be playful or interact with your child as a friend. Parents who meet the legal criteria for parenting run the gambit when it comes to the KIND of parent they are. This is why I am guessing that Regina would make an arguement for getting a bad rap for being a single working parent. In a two parent home there is normally one parent who plays more of the good cop and one who plays more of the bad cop. In a single family home – the single parent is so busy playing so many roles that they often don’t have any time left to play with their kids after they are done with all the “have to’s” at the end of the day. Emma doesn’t “have to” do anything with Henry. She doesn’t have to make sure he eats nutritious meals, or that he has school uniforms that fit, she doesn’t have to make sure he does his homework, she doesn’t have to take him to the doctor when he is sick or for his annual physical, etc.

In Regina’s case I have heard people use examples of how she was so hard on Henry about leaving his shoes on the stairs when she got home from work and how she came down on him for being at the hospital instead of being at home. As a mom – I have had the shoes on the stairs conversation more times than I care to remember. It’s a safety issue – and regardless of what else happens to be going to or how happy I am to see my son when I get home, if there are shoes on the stairs – mom is NOT going to be happy. I don’t think that makes me an Evil Queen or an unfit parent. Also, if my son was supposed to be at home at I found him hanging out at the hospital – I would LOSE it and he would be grounded for a VERY long time. Again, all part of the parenting job. And when I talked to him about these issues I wouldn’t sound like a friend and I wouldn’t be having a calm rational discussion as if I were speaking with a peer. I can relate to these things. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have times when we have fun together. It also doesn’t mean that there aren’t times when I am being a decent person and my son is being a 10 year old butthead. Kids know exactly what to do to push their parents’ buttons. I think we have seen some of that from Henry on the show. I also think we have seen Regina make some efforts that she isn’t getting credit for.

I have no problem seeing Henry taken away from Regina if she does something to warrant it but so far I haven’t seen her do anything to warrant her losing custody of her son. If going to counseling with her child qualifies her for losing custody then there would be many wonderful parents in this world who are very concerned about their children and take them to counseling to try to figure out how to help them that will also be losing custody. There are parents who pull their hair out trying to figure out what to do about a kid who sneaks out of the house – assuming that they know the kid is sneaking out of the house. This is where I think things get very tricky on this show. If Regina were to do something like hire someone to watch Henry 24 hours a day or put an alarm on the house that would make it impossible for him to leave the house without her permission, then everyone would say that Regina is holding him against his will, when – clearly – the kid has issues with disobeying his mother and sneaking out of the house. I think the fact that Regina is the EQ makes everyone look her not as a parent, but only as something evil which means that by default, she must be an evil parent as well. But, if there was a kid in the normal world who was sneaking out of the house all the time – no one would think twice about those options.

I’m sure some of this comes down to personal experience and age, and whether people are parents themselves, what kind of family life they had as children, etc. I didn’t grow up in an physically demonstrative family, I was an only child and always preferred to play by myself as opposed to having my parents play with me – so I definately didn’t grow up in what most people would consider a warm and fuzzy family. But I still knew my parents loved me and even though they were strict I was very happy. So I guess I just don’t see too much wrong with Regina as a parent, and I also don’t know what we don’t see on TV. When they are alone she could be great with Henry or she could be beating him with a noodle. 😯

[hjbau]

I just don’t think that Regina’s issue is that she doesn’t have time. I honestly don’t think she cares about spending time with Henry. She is the Evil Queen. She is a bit insane. She is a mass murderer. There is just nothing about this situation that is normal to me and while if it is was a real situation i would agree with you that certainly consistency, keeping a roof over their head, feeding, making sure he does his homework, all of those things are good and of value and if we take Regina just as she is in Storybrooke then sure she should keep custody, but Regina is the Evil Queen. She is that other person who has done all of those horrible things.

I do think though the reason that Emma does not “have” to do those things with Henry like feeding, homework is because she doesn’t have custody and not because she doesn’t want to do them. I think she wants to do them very much, but does not have the opportunity. She even said in Ep 9 that the only reason she doesn’t have Henry is because she can’t.

And about where Henry is, i think i see the opposite. Regina freaks out when she finds out he is with Emma, but most of the time it doesn’t seem like she really cares where he is. He is wandering around at night. She leaves him alone all the time. And he is only ten. Ten is still very young to me. I just can’t believe she does that as much as she does. And i know she is a working mother, but him just wandering around at night all time seems bizarre. And maybe Regina isn’t aware of how much Henry is doing that, but maybe she should be at home and be a bit more aware. We know she isn’t working at night so where is she and why is she not more aware of what he is up to.

Though really when it comes down to it things like Regina murdered Graham. This is not a safe situation. If Regina ever found out that Henry was Snow’s grandson what would she do. Those are my biggest issues with Regina. I have no issue with her yelling at him for leaving his shoes on the steps, but the fact that she is a bit insane and he is the grandson of the woman Regina is trying to torture and ruin pretty much makes me think get that kid out of there before Regina finds out.

I have two brothers and a sister. I never played with my parents either. My parents are a bit on the crazy side and i won’t pretend that does not color my thoughts on this matter. My family did not have many rules and that is a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. The only thing i would consider abusive that Regina has done is when she grabbed him by the arm and yanked him. I don’t think that is okay to do ever to a child unless they are running into the street or something. That is just my feeling on the matter.

I just want to say that by my saying that i think Regina, the Evil Queen, should lose custody of Henry does not mean that if there was a normal non murdering sane woman who was strict like Regina i would not think she should lose custody. Though i do think she is damaging Henry by being so cruel and mean to him and by being unable to connect, but in the real world that would just make her not a very good parent and not necessarily that she should lose custody. Though the reason she cannot connect comes back to the fact that she is an insane murderer who has cursed everyone in her world in an attempt ruin their lives.

[charming]

Ok. Timeout. Parenting issues aside and custody issues aside. Back to Operation Cobra. We can deal with Operation Single Mom v. Married Mom and Operation Birth Mom v. Adoptive Mom another time. What till they actually have a custody battle and we’ll revisit this. Right now everyone in Storybrooke does not know who they are so the last thing on their minds is who gets what rather who am I?

[surayya]

@charming wrote:

Ok. Timeout. Parenting issues aside and custody issues aside. Back to Operation Cobra. We can deal with Operation Single Mom v. Married Mom and Operation Birth Mom v. Adoptive Mom another time. What till they actually have a custody battle and we’ll revisit this. Right now everyone in Storybrooke does not know who they are so the last thing on their minds is who gets what rather who am I?

Lol – well said.
My only comment is Lana Parrilla has said that Regina does indeed love Henry- I think its much like the other things Regina/EQ loves tho, if it comes down to her perceived happiness, her love will come off 2nd best.

Jennifer Morrison has stated that Emma stayed in SB because the thought that she made the wrong decision by/for Henry is killing her & she couldnt leave until she knows he is safe & happy.

Personally i dont think she’s ready to be a full on parent just yet- but oats, how many 28yr olds who dont have kids let-a-lone have had 0 ties to family nor children most her life, are ready to be parents right off the bat, even 1st time parents dont get it right, right away either- parenting can & usually is a, it takes time & practice thing for most 🙂
I do think we are seeing Emma slowly become more parent like as the season has gone on. 🙂 (Henry’s lone adventures i dont really think can be held against Regina to much, as after all SB was frozen in time with 0 visitors for the last 28yrs, which pretty much rules out kidnap, stranger danger & typical modern-day concerns for kids out alone at any time – in NZ we still have places where kids & teens still walk home at night in the dark by themselves, sure its no longer common & becoming less, less as crime etc increases but it does happen, same with kids walking up to the local ‘shopping center’ – which looks much like SB’s lol- alone).

[charming]

@Surayya wrote:

@charming wrote:

Ok. Timeout. Parenting issues aside and custody issues aside. Back to Operation Cobra. We can deal with Operation Single Mom v. Married Mom and Operation Birth Mom v. Adoptive Mom another time. What till they actually have a custody battle and we’ll revisit this. Right now everyone in Storybrooke does not know who they are so the last thing on their minds is who gets what rather who am I?

Lol – well said.
My only comment is Lana Parrilla has said that Regina does indeed love Henry- I think its much like the other things Regina/EQ loves tho, if it comes down to her perceived happiness, her love will come off 2nd best.

Jennifer Morrison has stated that Emma stayed in SB because the thought that she made the wrong decision by/for Henry is killing her & she couldnt leave until she knows he is safe & happy.

Personally i dont think she’s ready to be a full on parent just yet- but oats, how many 28yr olds who dont have kids let-a-lone have had 0 ties to family nor children most her life, are ready to be parents right off the bat, even 1st time parents dont get it right, right away either- parenting can & usually is a, it takes time & practice thing for most 🙂
I do think we are seeing Emma slowly become more parent like as the season has gone on. 🙂 (Henry’s lone adventures i dont really think can be held against Regina to much, as after all SB was frozen in time with 0 visitors for the last 28yrs, which pretty much rules out kidnap, stranger danger & typical modern-day concerns for kids out alone at any time – in NZ we still have places where kids & teens still walk home at night in the dark by themselves, sure its no longer common & becoming less, less as crime etc increases but it does happen, same with kids walking up to the local ‘shopping center’ – which looks much like SB’s lol- alone).

You can tell that Henry comes from Emma who comes from snow and Charming. It does not take much to please him. He just wants to love feel it back, as Emma does that is why those are the same peas in the pot. Gold said in earlier episodes to Regina, “I saw them walking down the street together thick as thieves.” In a lot of ways Emma and Mary Margaret have that too. Rewatch the frist three episodes whenever they see each other, especially the first time; the look in MM’s eyes. That look I’m refering to in the next 2 episodes happens almost everytime they see each other until they starting living together. Which reminds me of that scene where Emma asks if her spare room was still available that is like a typical mother daughter moment. A daughter who has not scene her mother in years knocks on a door and asks if she can stay with her. The way MM answered is almost the same as a mother would.

[hjbau]

I really like the scene where Emma and Mary meet for the first time. Mary just keeps looking at her at first and hesitating like they connect right away, but Mary doesn’t know what it is about.

[charming]

@hjbau wrote:

I really like the scene where Emma and Mary meet for the first time. Mary just keeps looking at her at first and hesitating like they connect right away, but Mary doesn’t know what it is about.

Yes and everytime since then until Emma moved in Mary Margaret has looked at her like that. Almost as if a mom seeing a long lost daughter for the first time. Since she has become mousy in a good way because ot the curse is afraid to confront her about how she actually thinks and feels. That I think is the key to her overcoming the curse; she needs to say to Emma, “do you think I’m your mother or do you think you are my daughter?” Something along those lines and that needs to happen between Emma and David too. Mommy and Daddy issues need to be rectified between the three. David believe it or not is in my opinion much further along than anyone else in SB other than Kath who’s fate is yet unknown with repsect to her mental state that is.

[hjbau]

That would be a great scene of Emma actually said something to her like she believed or Mary said something like she believed.

[Author]

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