Emma Swan- Growing Up

[evilqueen]

To me it looked like she was stealing because it was the easiest solution – she has some brains and she managed to get it all together and got a job – I know it’s a bit more complex than that, but the point is – if you looked at things from HER point of view, she’d be asking herself: why didn’t I do it before? It would be a combination of shame and low self esteem, in her eyes this would be a terrible mothering example, especially that she DID end up in prison, no matter the circumstances – if she was lucky and got away, that didn’t mean that what she was doing wasn’t worth a prison sentence. And I guess that’s how she sees it, especially now that she grew up, became more sensible and ‘good’, the past surely looks grimmer than it actually was. It really doesn’t help that her parents are the great heroes of FTL, she doesn’t even know that Snow White herself used to steal to get by too.

[eireland]

My whole argument is… she wasn’t a grown up when it happened… so, no one can really be like “why didn’t she act like a grown up?” because… well… she wasn’t one. She was 17 when Tallahassee took place (perhaps 16 when it started, depending on how long she knew Neal before he got her arrested). She was just a kid. I feel bad for her.

[schmacky]

I know the timing is all wonky because she said she was 18 when she had Henry and Regina said he was 10 in the Pilot but I think it’s safe to assume she was arrested at 17 years of age (or younger) otherwise it wouldn’t have been a juvenile record. Whether or not she had her 18th birthday in jail and that’s when she gave birth to Henry is up for debate but either way.. all this crap went down when she was just a kid. A kid that never had anyone look out for her and guide her. She’s made some mistakes, no doubt.. but I think overall she’s done a good job of raising herself.

Being pregnant is a scary thing. Being pregnant at such an early age is even scarier. Being pregnant, young, and alone is even more scary. But the scariest I think? Being pregnant, young, alone, and in prison. She didn’t have many options. And every option was probably scary as hell. It’s a crap situation to be in. And I hope they actually show it some time.

[evilqueen]

Schmacky, I agree, she did well for herself and yes, she must’ve been sh*** scared in prison, but the question was – in the last episode she very strongly claimed that she was absolutely no mother material – what exactly was she referring to?
According to Elreland, there must have been lots of things going on in her after-prison life to get to that point and the show needs to brush up on that gap, but I’m thinking that Emma said that based on her pre-prison life.

[schmacky]

She could have been referring to both pre and post prison. Either way, we really know nothing of what Emma Swan was like before SB except that she didn’t get close to people and only went as far as one-night stands. What did she do when she wasn’t hunting down people that skipped out on bail? *shrug*

And just a side-note, I wonder if she worked for a company or for herself. If she worked for a company – OK. If she worked for herself, I wonder where she got money to pay people’s bail. More than likely she worked for someone else and was contracted out.

[Grimmsister]

She seems to have no one on the outside of Storybrook that she is connected to, she must have led a very lonesome life.
The way I see her (before Storybrook) is as a workaholic. She would have been completely consumed in her ‘detective’ work and then of to a bar every friday to pick up the new dude for a onenighter, to convince herself that she still had some sort of personal life.

They could do an episode on that, but how would they tie it in, as a driving force, for the overall plot of Once?
I don’t see how right now, so I don’t think they will do it. But they might hint at her pre-Storybrook life some more.
However I do think we will get the story of baby Henry at some time, how she gave him up and how and why he ended up in Storybrook of all places.

[evilqueen]

I just realised the possible answer to your other question – how did she end up from being a ‘one night’ girl to not really looking at any man and not trusting them either?
I agree 100% with what you said about her picking random guys trying to desperately prove to herself she has some personal life too.
But at the same time she was chasing all those bad guys who screwed their friends, families etc and she constantly saw in them what Neal did to her – over and over again. It must have been a heck of a pain! Because such was her job, she didn’t see much good in people and that’s how she must’ve completely lost trust in them – I don’t think it was just Neal that caused her to change this way.

[Myril]

@EvilQueen wrote:

I just realised the possible answer to your other question – how did she end up from being a ‘one night’ girl to not really looking at any man and not trusting them either?
I agree 100% with what you said about her picking random guys trying to desperately prove to herself she has some personal life too.

One night girl actually somehow implies to me to not really look at any man nor trust them. You pick up some guy for the night, that’s it. Barely look at him ( you notice his body at best), hopefully he is not a talker, have some fun, and be gone before breakfast. Not sure if that is all that Emma had since Neal, but think at least most of the time. If she ever tried to have a more lasting realtionship again, it was no good either (remember what she said to Mary Margaret, when they talked about David and getting involved with a married man, it’s not worth the heartacke – sounded like she knew something about that out of experience).

But Emma was in general distrustful, she had no friends at all, or doesn’t seem like there were any, not even a closer business partner who would have missed her. From her point of view she was let down by her parents, foster parents, probably the foster system, maybe teachers, and then Neal, and maybe she was bullied as kid. No wonder to me she had not much trust and relied all on herself. Something hard to overcome when you barely know anything else in your life.

But at the same time she was chasing all those bad guys who screwed their friends, families etc and she constantly saw in them what Neal did to her – over and over again. It must have been a heck of a pain! Because such was her job, she didn’t see much good in people and that’s how she must’ve completely lost trust in them – I don’t think it was just Neal that caused her to change this way.

It’s reinforcement. You make negative experience, you make them again, and then again. And then you see othes making similiar experiences. After a while you hardly ever think it could ever go differently.

@medchen wrote:

They could do an episode on that, but how would they tie it in, as a driving force, for the overall plot of Once?
I don’t see how right now, so I don’t think they will do it. But they might hint at her pre-Storybrook life some more.

Agree on that. Say even, we don’t need to know more details of her biography as flashback, we know the important events in her life.

However I do think we will get the story of baby Henry at some time, how she gave him up and how and why he ended up in Storybrook of all places.

It’s not that interesting, how Emma gave up Henry, we know she did, we have a good idea why. Interesting is how Henry came to Storybrooke and Regina, but that is Henry’s, Regina’s and Rumple’s story, not so much about Emma.

@Schmacky wrote:

And just a side-note, I wonder if she worked for a company or for herself. If she worked for a company – OK. If she worked for herself, I wonder where she got money to pay people’s bail. More than likely she worked for someone else and was contracted out.

Was wondering too. Something to ponder in sleepless nights. 😉

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[eireland]

Does anyone know what episode it is when we learn that Emma has been on her own since she was 16? I’ve rewatched all the SB parts from episodes 1-8 and i CANNOT find this reference… We all seem to know it, and seem to agree that it was said… anyone know where it was from?

I’m working on a ridiculous youtube video and shows all the silly goofs in the REALITY timeline and I thought this might be important!

[Myril]

@EIreland wrote:

Does anyone know what episode it is when we learn that Emma has been on her own since she was 16? I’ve rewatched all the SB parts from episodes 1-8 and i CANNOT find this reference… We all seem to know it, and seem to agree that it was said… anyone know where it was from?

I’m working on a ridiculous youtube video and shows all the silly goofs in the REALITY timeline and I thought this might be important!

Emma tells Mary Margaret in the episode True North (1×09), that she had been in the (foster) system for 16 years.

¯\_(?????? ?)_/¯

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