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I finally watched the episode last night and my Captain Swan meta is here. There’s also a shout out to the first page of this thread. Yeah, I’m talking about you guys.
And my thoughts on the Swan Queen element in the episode. < I apologize if there’s some stuff that’s not understandable since I started writing it out on iphone last night past midnight and didn’t finish until 2 in the morning.
[adrotate group="5"]This made me laugh. From http://justrumbelledearie.tumblr.com/post/101226028337/midstorm-an-alternate-ending-to-breaking
An alternate ending to Breaking Glass.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of Felix@ Epona_610 I do not dislike any of the characters… including Regina and I liked seeing her on the road to redemption and that it appeared that her changing was genuine. WAS… she has definitely fallen off the wagon. Because Regina is fiction all that is ok. If this was real life I too would find this friendship to ridiculously unbelievable and would think Emma should see a therapist.
You have a totally valid point that many SQ must be crazy to ignore and hope for romance? What the heck? And while I understand that the show does have a medieval times type of setting when life was different and the sword settled as many disputes and the local lord / King… but the show does gloss over too much. Even if the characters just accepted that this is the harsh times in which they live…and allowed for a certain amount of play in a person’s own ability to take the law into their own hands… how do they forgive and especially forget?
I agree with Jenna B that they share a son and so Emma and Regina need to have some type of civil relationship… but how in the world can Emma actually put so much effort into befriending Regina and just stands there listening to Regina’s rant about how Emma ruined her life? IMO there are just too many horrible things that Regina did to allow for an actually friendship. Can Regina change, I think so, but she served no time, received no justice for any of her crimes… how can anyone forgive her and move on… especially the Charmings.
The thing that bugged me the most about that scene by the steps listening to Emma say how she is looking for a friend and who better than Regina : everyone else had to do the chasing, convincing, proving in their Emma relationship. Killian literally changed everything about himself except his hair color to get a friendly Emma. I mean come on… Emma made her own parents run the emotional gauntlet to get over her walls but here. It just irks me a bit considering the others have never willing hurt Emma, where as Regina has literally lied, stolen, cheated, murdered etc…
And yes… Epona_610 you are so right in regards to Henry… I guess Storybrook does not have a magical equivalent to DYFS. I too was so disgusted by Henry’s Operation Mongoose. If he can forgive Regina how can he does this to his Grandfather – who did sacrifice himself to save Henry ( not that I am a fan of the IMP’s moral backward slide ). It just seems that under Regina’s parentage Henry is giving into his genetics and Regina is counteracting the Charming side of the family.
sorry so long… but I too just cant understand Emma wanting Regina as a BFF. There is just too much water under that bridge
Pretties 🙂
2×05 – 4×05: such progress, two season after
http://emmafoundtallahassee.tumblr.com/post/101368207131
http://emmafoundtallahassee.tumblr.com/post/101289566576
Currently an emotional mess over the fact that they could have easily had Emma be by herself in that last scene but they chose to make it a bonding moment for CS because she’ll never have to do anything alone anymore :’)
http://gentlesleaze.tumblr.com/post/101209465048/currently-an-emotional-mess-over-the-fact-that
http://iricious.tumblr.com/post/101284661035/just-get-on-with-it-for-justalilblondemama
The beginning of a beautiful bromance
&I will post the Gif set that @lady linked too, because we totally nailed it 😉
OMFG I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT THIS BUT WHEN HE CALLED HER NAME SHE WALKED AWAY, BUT WHEN SHE CALLED OUT TO HIM … HE CAME BACK.
THIS IS TOTALLY IMPORTANT.
HE IS THE GUY WHO COMES BACK. FOR HER.
AND I’M DYING.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A PATTERN WITH HIM NOT BEING ABLE TO DENY HER ANYTHING.
AND SLOWLY SHE WILL START TO TRUST HIM.
AND fjksdjfsdfjsdklfuaisdfjkdhf
She couldn’t trust him even though she wanted to. He did trust her even though he shouldn’t have.
Trust is, and will be, a major theme with them. And I’m going to love (and cry over) every second of it.
Reblogging because it’s exactly what happened, CSers are seers… CSeers.http://kimidakewooooo.tumblr.com/post/101379205335/asyouwishemma-we-re-only-halfway-there-omfg To rise our spirits
It’s amazing how much stuff we called correctly from way back when on the beanstalk isnt it 😉
http://kimidakewooooo.tumblr.com/post/101379205335/asyouwishemma-we-re-only-halfway-there-omfg To rise our spirits
It’s amazing how much stuff we called correctly from way back when on the beanstalk isnt it
Yes it is.
Thats why I’m wondering- how do you guys think Emma will find out about Hooks deal with Rupmle? How will she react. Let’s paly CSeers. 😉
After last episode I’m not sure. Emma seems to be reacting diffrent towards people who lie to her/ not tell her the truth right away- Regina example. I see it as a possible setting for her future reaction to Hooks dealings with Rumple and I am honestly a little lost here. Will she go all angsty on him or not?
I found this to be rather insightful.
WHY HOOK IS BETTER FOR EMMA THAN NEAL EVER WAS: A COMPARISON
Disclaimer: This is a really REALLY long, gif heavy meta that is Pro Captain Swan, and Anti Swanfire. Therefore, if you like Neal and Swanfire/Swanthief, I would advise against reading this.Let me start off by saying I don’t hate Neal Cassidy. This mostly has to do with the fact that I’ve known him as Baelfire through Rumplestiltskin’s back-story. Baelfire was a boy who grew up in a broken family. To his knowledge, his mother died, and his father was the town coward. Then after a series of unfortunate events, Rumple became The Dark One, and Baelfire got sucked through a portal. He was left to fend for himself in a land without magic, with nobody to call family. Now, who can’t sympathize with an abandoned teenage boy?
The thing is, Baelfire grew up, and ultimately became Neal Cassidy. In the time it took for him to go from a lost boy to an adult, his personality and character had changed.
Cue episode Tallahassee.
Meeting Emma
Neal: When Neal and Emma first meet, Emma is a young girl who recently ran away from her foster home. Neal is arguably older than her (although it is never explicitly stated exactly how old he is, I assume he should be in his early 20s). Let’s bring back the issue of Emma’s age. She is 17 years old – I’ll refresh that in a new (visual) perspective; The actress Abby Ross (who played young Emma in Snow Drifts) is currently 16 years old. That makes her just one year shy of what Emma is supposed to look like when Neal and Emma first meet:
With that in mind, 17 year old Emma is engaging in (possibly unprotected) sexual activity (I’m not going to get into statutory rape or anything like that because Neal’s age is never confirmed, and that isn’t even the point of this section anyway) which leads to her pregnancy. Straight off the bat, their timing couldn’t be worse.
It doesn’t get better. While neither party know that Emma is pregnant, they decide to follow up on a (serious) crime that Neal committed a few years prior. That’s when August steps in and interferes with their budding (and quite frankly, reckless) romance. He convinces Neal to leave Emma. In the process, Neal let’s Emma take the fall for his crime, and leaves her in prison for 11 months.
Therefore in Emma’s eyes, she is left to rot in jail by the first person she ever fell in love with. She is forced to give up her child (Henry) because she doesn’t believe that she is enough for him. Through these events, Emma becomes permanently damaged. It goes on to affect the way she looks at herself, the way she looks at love, and the way she looks at trust.
Hook: 11 years later, Emma finds herself in the Enchanted Forest, trying to find her way home (Tallahassee). The show already begins to associate Emma and Hook as a romantic pairing because of its direct parallel to the Neal story-line. As a stark contrast to Emma and Neal, Hook meets Emma when she is 28 years old. She is now a mature adult, who is a lot less impressionable/vulnerable, and a lot more set in her ways.
Hook and Emma have to team up to acquire the compass, and they have their first adventure together up a beanstalk. With Neal’s betrayal (keep in mind that at this point in time, Emma still doesn’t know the truth about Neal), Emma has her walls sky high. Regardless of this, Hook sees her for who she really is (more on that later in the section: Understanding Emma). They end up working splendidly as a team, and they are ultimately successful in getting the compass.
Then their relationship [temporarily] takes a turn for the worse; Emma does to Hook what Neal did to her, and abandons him. This is because she is afraid to trust him. Why? There is something about him that makes her feel as if they could form a meaningful connection. But because the last meaningful connection she formed ended terribly, Emma expects Hook to do what Neal did and leave her – so she does it first. Later on – to Emma’s surprise – Hook tells her that he wouldn’t have done what she did:
Now look at Emma’s immediate reaction to this:
She feels shocked and guilty at the same time. Emma is incredibly taken aback that it is possible someone wouldn’t just abandon her right away (like her parents, and like Neal). There’s a lot more to extract from this, but I’ll stop here because the point is this; During their introductions, Hook is contrasted to Neal in a positive light – given the choice, he would have stayed.
Understanding Emma
Neal: There has been little evidence over the series showing if Neal truly understands Emma. Despite both having been abandoned, they are not very alike. Even in terms of abandonment, they are different. To her knowledge for most of her life, Emma was left at the side of the road right after birth. She never knew if her parents loved her, or wanted her. At times, she even doubted if they existed at all. Neal on the other hand, unknowingly (and indirectly) caused the events that led to Rumple choosing magic over him. This happens when he is already a teenager and has already been raised lovingly by Rumple up until then.
Then in There’s No Place Like Home we see Neal help Emma shape her idea of home. He is able to affect her because they both have that one thing in common – being away from home. Despite this similarity, it has been proven time and time again that Neal doesn’t actually understand Emma at the end of the day (more on this in further sections).
Hook: From the moment they meet, Hook and Emma immediately understand each other. It starts with her seeing right through his blacksmith disguise. Then there is this scene:
This line is a tad bit ironic because Emma Swan is not an open book. On any regular day, she is extremely guarded, and tries her best not to show her vulnerability. The point of this line was to display that Hook is able to push right through those guards and understand her immediately. He says that because he’s seen the eyes of the lost boys in Neverland, he is able to identify her as a lost girl. In truth, he actually recognizes her because he, himself, is a lost boy (as we learn in And Straight On ‘Til Morning). This translates into Hook actually having his walls up as well – not just Emma.
As the series progresses, we are given constant reminders that Emma and Hook know one another well. Here are a few of them (And Straight On ‘Til Morning, New York City Serenade, There’s No Place Like Home respectively)
Although we are given many verbal (dialogue) cues, we also are shown through their story-lines that they are not very different.
A little later in their (Hook and Emma’s) relationship Neal dies (Quiet Minds), and they gain another thing in common; They both have now lost some they love, to death – the only difference being that Emma was no longer in love with Neal when he passed. Still, he was a very important old flame, and it is enough to parallel Emma and Hook in their need for revenge. Hook, already well on his path to redemption, advises Emma against it (It’s Not Easy Being Green):
He always reads Emma without a problem because he is able to see himself in her (and vice-versa).
Respecting Emma & Her Decisions
Neal: The most prominent moment which displays the amount of respect Neal has for Emma’s decisions happens in Manhattan, when Emma finds out that Baelfire is Neal. In this episode, Neal also finds out that Henry is his son and Emma reveals that she never intended to tell him. Neal replies by saying that it wasn’t Emma’s choice to make:
The problem with this scenario is that it was, in fact, completely Emma’s choice to make. Emma was the one who had to go through the trauma of giving birth to Henry in jail. Emma was the one who thought she had to go through it alone, because as far as she knew, he left her and he never once thought to come back and find her for 11 years. Neal consciously made the decision to leave Emma (contrary to what Neal keeps insisting, he had a choice. More on this in the section: Fighting for Emma). He hurt her and scarred her for life and when Emma calls him out on it, he doesn’t apologize. Instead he scoffs and says ‘Okay, I get it’:
Neal constantly acts as if he’s better than Emma, and Emma responds by becoming unusually weak and vulnerable around him:
In this entire scene, Neal doesn’t even bother to defend Emma in front of Henry, and lets her take all the blame for not telling him who his father really is.
Neal also fails to listen to Emma when it’s important. In Manhattan, Neal asks her why she kept the swan key-chain. She tears it from her neck, and gives it back to him saying:
In Quiet Minds, Neal disregards this completely and tells Belle another story:
Proving that he never really pays attention to what she says.
Hook: Although Neal sees himself as somewhat better than Emma, Hook has always seen her as an equal. Here is the very first time he showcases this (Tallahassee):
He acknowledges that they are a partnership, and even goes to add the respectful disclaimer ‘I don’t mean to upset you’. This attitude toward Emma continues as the series goes on.
In Neverland, when Emma proclaims herself the leader of the group, Hook does not object. Some may not realize that this means a great deal in terms of Hook as a character. Hook is not only a pirate, but a captain. He’s the head of his crew, and he isn’t afraid to remind them (The Crocodile):
Not only this, but we see Hook contrasted to Neal once again in New York City Serenade, where he apologizes to Emma for kissing her:
He also states that he does not do this sort of thing often – but he still did it for Emma.
Hook didn’t need to apologize for kissing her – he simply wanted to. He was only trying to jog her memory (and he believed that a true love’s kiss would break the spell). But just like it failed for Snow and Charming in Heart of Darkness, it didn’t work for Hook and Emma. Also, if he really wanted to, he could have just grabbed Emma by force, and shoved the memory potion down her throat – but he didn’t. He took the hard way, and tried to gain her trust. He respected her enough to try and explain the situation first.
Belief in Emma & Her Abilities
Neal: When Emma suspects (correctly) in The Evil Queen that Tamara is responsible for August’s murder, everybody doubts her (except Henry), and Neal is no exception to this. When Emma tells him her theory, he responds with sarcasm and then says:
Some may argue that his response in this moment is completely validated because Tamara is his fiance, and he is in love with her. First of all, Neal does not need to be rude in order to defend Tamara’s honor – but he is. Second of all, he does not seem to be incredibly in love with Tamara when he almost immediately gets over her betrayal (while setting his sights on Emma) and doesn’t flinch upon learning she had died on the island.
In the same scene, he doubts her again by calling her out on her ability to detect lies:
He does all of this in the direct presence of Henry, showing how little consideration he actually has for her.
Hook: Hook on the other hand, shows time and time again that he has unwavering faith and belief in Emma (paralleling Charming believing in Snow despite her own insecurities in Lost Girl).
There is an abundance of instances to choose from throughout the series (starting all the way from Tallahassee, when Hook tells Emma she’s ‘bloody brilliant’ and ‘amazing’). One of the more memorable scenes where Hook shows his faith in Emma is in Dark Hollow. Hook tells Emma that she will get her son back. When she asks ‘you think so?’, he says confidently:
Another memorable scene comes from The Jolly Roger, where Hook reassures Emma that magic has always been a part of her:
The most recent scene where Hook shows his belief in Emma is in There’s No Place Like Home, where he tells Emma that she’s capable of recreating the magic to open the time-travel portal:
The conversation that follows is enough for her to regain her powers and wield the wand; enabling the two of them to go back home to Storybrooke.
Lastly, as a direct comparison to Neal, Hook once again contrasts him in New York City Serenade when he asks her to use her lie detecting abilities on him:
Unlike Neal, he always shows her that he believes in her abilities, and at times even depends on them.
Fighting for Emma
Neal: In Tallahassee, Neal asks August to send him a post card when the curse is broken. We can assume that he does so because he wants to go back to Emma once her role as savior is complete, and reunite with her. This does not happen. Instead, Neal ignores the postcard he receives as he prepares himself to marry Tamara.
Earlier on, I had mentioned that Neal had a choice, contrary to what he keeps saying. Here’s the first proof:
August then goes on to say that it’s up to Neal to make ‘the right decision’. Here’s my problem with this; how do either Neal or August believe that the right thing to do is send an innocent 17 year old girl to jail for a crime that she did not commit? In Manhattan, it is revealed that Neal has been Baelfire all along, therefore he’s always known the ways of magic. If anything, the right thing to do is help Emma learn as much as she could about the curse and prepare with her until her 28th birthday. Where is the logic in choosing to send her to jail instead? (Yes, I am aware that Emma needed to give up Henry in order for the events of season 1 to take place, but August and Neal didn’t know that).
Moving on… After all the events transpire, we see Neal and August years later in Selfless, Brave, and True, right before Neal meets Tamara. August informs Neal that he’s turning back to wood because Emma is in Storybrooke. He tells Neal that he has to go and help her break the curse so that he can stay human. Neal then does not speak of how he misses Emma, or how he loves Emma. He does not say that he is excited about the possibility of seeing her again. Instead he says:
So now we see why Neal truly left Emma all those years ago; It wasn’t because it was the right thing to do, and it wasn’t because he loved her (although he did – I’m not disputing that). It was because his fear of facing his father again was greater than his love for Emma. It wasn’t enough to fight for her. He even says this to her face in Manhattan, after Emma asks if he had known who she was when they first met:
Let me repeat that this man never thought to properly apologize to her for leaving her in prison all those years ago. He never thought to go visit her for the sake of this apology. Sending someone to jail should not ever be something that is done lightly. Neal didn’t even bother sending Emma a letter (which could have prevented him from going to Storybrooke and facing his father).
Then, much later, after Tamara dies, the Neverland adventure ends, and everybody is back in Storybrooke, Neal (once again) fails to fight for Emma. I’ll rewind a little back to Neverland; After Neal is betrayed by Tamara, he immediately ‘moves on’ to Emma. In Dark Hollow, he learns that Hook and Emma shared a kiss. Then, Neal finds out that Hook kept his cutlass all those years, and gave it to Emma to remember him by. Instead of feeling grateful or warmed that Hook remembered him all this time, he responds by saying:
This statement implies that Neal wants to be a part of Emma’s life again. This is further reinforced when Hook tells Emma (immediately following this scene) that they will both try and win her heart once Emma finds Henry. But as soon as the adventure is over and they return home, Neal does not perform any romantic gesture to truly try and win Emma’s heart. Instead in The New Neverland, he gives her an ultimatum, conclusively throwing the ball back into her court instead of pushing from his own side:
He claims that it’ll make it easier for her, when in actuality, it means he doesn’t have to do any work to swoon her. Emma ultimately decides against going on a date with him.
After Pan’s curse is cast (Going Home) and Regina is forced to destroy her own (and in turn destroy the existence of Storybrooke altogether), we see Emma and Henry say goodbye to everyone. Here, Neal tells Emma and Henry that ‘this isn’t over’ and that he’ll ‘see both of [them] again’. This is commendable on Neal’s part – because for the first time, he expresses to Emma that he is actually going to try and work for her – although the reason he might be doing this could be more for Henry than Emma as Neal does not want Henry to grow up without his father, like he partially did.
When the curse is destroyed and everyone is brought back to The Enchanted Forest, we see Neal immediately talk to Snow and Charming (New York City Serenade) about bringing Rumplestiltskin back to life in order to find a way back to Emma. Once again, another commendable act by Neal. We see in Quiet Minds that he succeeds in bringing Rumplestiltskin back to life, but at a very steep cost (where Neal acts incredibly carelessly without thinking of the consequences – but that’s something for another meta). Because of this cost, he doesn’t find his way back to Emma, because we find out later (A Curious Thing) that Snow and Charming are the ones to cast the curse to bring them to Storybrooke.
In present day (Quiet Minds), when Neal and Emma are reunited once more, he once again fails to fight for her. When Emma and Neal discuss Emma’s life in New York, he states that he and Emma were never truly involved with one another:
This demonstrates a lack of faith in their romantic relationship, because had it really mattered to him, he would have told Emma then and there that he was still in love with her, and that he will win her over. He doesn’t do this, and later on he says:
This is wonderful coming from Neal, because he finally let’s her know that there is a part of him that still loves her and cares about her – and Emma needed to hear it. But this also implies that he knows that he and Emma are not right for each other.
Neal’s essential problem with Emma has never been that he wasn’t willing to fight for her – it has always been that he was either not willing enough or that he was never constant in it. Had he just been consistent with her, it was very possible that they could have worked out together. The fact of it is… Emma simply isn’t the right woman for Neal to inspire him to be the man that she needs. He admits they never found ‘Tallahassee’ (which is a metaphor for home and true love).
Hook: We see that from the very moment that Hook is able to admit his feelings about Emma (Ariel), he fights for her, and lets her know (Dark Hollow):
What’s good about this is that Emma is a person who is used to people in her life never fighting to keep her. She has felt it growing up, she has felt it when her first adoptive family sent her back, and she has felt it with Neal. Hook, being a lost boy himself (who also understands her very well), knows what she needs – persistence. Not only that, but his sincerity and ability to show her his raw feelings, let’s her know that he isn’t just going to leave her when he gets the chance.
The only time Hook ever stops fighting for Emma is when it is the honorable thing to do. In The New Neverland, he has a conversation with Neal where he admits that he will back away from Emma for the sake of Henry. This already shows that he puts Emma before himself. He is willing to give up his happiness with Emma, if it means that she will be happy with Neal. But, at the same time, he warns Neal that if their relationship doesn’t work out, he will pursue Emma again. He does not want Neal and Emma to be together if it means that she will be unhappy. He explicitly mentions that he has walked out on her before. Hook wants Emma to have a man who thinks the world of her, and he believes he is capable of being that man.
Then we see Emma reject Neal’s ultimatum later in the episode. Sadly, we never get to see Hook’s proper reaction to this, because Pan’s curse gets in the way. Instead, we actually see something better during Emma and Henry’s goodbye (Going Home):
Now what is important about this scene isn’t what Hook says to Emma (although it helps), it’s what Emma says in reply:
This is so significant because Emma has recently rejected Neal but is open to accepting Hook (even though they are about to be separated). She let’s Hook know that his love for her is welcomed, and that it is even encouraged.
Then the curse is destroyed, Emma and Henry lose their memories, and everyone else goes back to The Enchanted Forest. It is established (New York City Serenade) that destroying the curse built walls between realms, and travelling between them was not possible anymore. Alas, with this knowledge, Hook goes to find his ship, The Jolly Roger, because it is the only home he has left.
But just because he leaves ‘the gang’ doesn’t mean he doesn’t stay true to his word (to Emma). We see in The Jolly Roger that Hook is in pursuit of Blackbeard in order to take back his ship. In the process we see that Hook is actually substituting his need for Emma through a need for The Jolly Roger:
We see Hook constantly personifying the ship as the episode goes along. Because The Jolly Roger represents both his home (literally and figuratively) and his love (Emma), he fails to give it up in order to help Ariel find Eric. We do learn that in present day, he feels guilty about this and that it has been haunting him since he made his decision. Luckily enough, Ariel still finds Eric and has her happy ending. What’s better is that Hook needed The Jolly Roger later for a more significant purpose (I’ll cover that more in the section: What Emma Needs in a Person She Loves & Bringing Her Home).
Then, Snow and Charming cast the dark curse (A Curious Thing) and Hook receives a message from Neal (although this act shows his care for Emma, it also shows that he believes Hook loves her enough to succeed in finding her, and bringing her back) to go and find Emma. Hook, being the great captain that he actually is (he’s not simply all talk), manages to outrun the curse. When he arrives in The Land without Magic, he is able to navigate in a strange new land, and find her exact apartment – this is not an easy task to do for someone who is native to The Land without Magic, let alone a foreigner.
When he does find her and bring her back, Emma tests him. She actively pushes him away, and at times makes it a point to be insensitive to him (Kansas):
But Hook is not deterred. He knows Emma, and he knows that he has to keep holding on in order for her to trust him enough to let him in – and so he does. He keeps at her side – but he never violates her boundaries. He doesn’t pressure her, out of the respect he has for her choices. He only pursues the situations that Emma does not clearly define (or encourages pursuit), and when Emma’s walls are not completely up she admits that she trusts him (The Jolly Roger):
This proves that he isn’t pursuing her in a one-sided manner. Emma is simply less vocal about it, because her walls are still up.
Before moving on to the next section, I need to highlight one more contrast the show makes with Hook and Neal. Neal said if he had known who Emma really was, that he wouldn’t have gone after her. In There’s No Place Like Home, Hook says that the past hasn’t changed because he didn’t remember the bar wench (Emma) he kissed. He then adds:
This shows that no matter what circumstance that Hook would have always fallen in love with her, and fought for her.
What Emma Needs in a Person She Loves & Bringing Her Home
Like I have mentioned a few times before, Emma needs someone who will fight for her. She needs someone who is persistent in trying to break her walls down until she is convinced that she can trust them. She also needs someone who is able to bring her home. When Emma is in a relationship, she gives it her everything. She is unselfish, and always puts the other person first. She needs someone who will do the same – an honorable person. All of these needs have stemmed from her issues with abandonment.
Neal: As covered in the section: Fighting for Emma, Neal does not truly work to win her heart. It is also covered that Neal puts his fear of his past catching up with him before Emma. This already negates Neal as a person that Emma needs in her life.
Furthermore, as mentioned in the section: Understanding Emma, Neal shaped the way Emma thought of ‘home’ in their past, but he doesn’t actually bring her home – I’ll repeat once again that they never found ‘Tallahassee’.
Hook: So we move on to Killian Jones – who has been constant and persistent in fighting for Emma. I’ve already established through the previous sections that he is the kind of person that Emma needs in her life.
On the topic of bring her home, through the entire season 3b, we are reminded that Hook brought Emma back to Storybrooke (New York City Serenade, Witch Hunt, The Jolly Roger respectively):
Along with these reminders, the show establishes that Storybrooke is Emma’s home (even as she tries to run away from it). In There’s No Place Like Home, we see Emma finally accepting that Snow, Charming, and Storybrooke are her home:
This admission is catalyzed through Hook, in that he physically brought her back to her family, as well as his belief in her (as covered in the section: Belief In Emma & Her Abilities). Because of this, they are able to make their way out of the past and back to the present.
Some time later, in the scene that takes place right outside of Granny’s diner, we find out that Hook gave up The Jolly Roger to find his way to Emma. He doesn’t say that he did it to win her heart. He doesn’t say that he did it so that he can selfishly be with Emma. He did it because it was the right thing to do. He gave up his own home for the sake of hers, and her happiness. And so, Hook’s redemption arc comes full circle. He is finally branded as a true hero.
After this moment, Emma and Hook share a kiss:
Notice the Storybrooke sign in the background in the very first shot of their kiss. This was not done coincidentally as they could have just as easily made a close up shot (making the flow of the kiss slightly smoother). But by doing this, we are reminded that Storybrooke is Emma’s home. When Hook and Emma kiss in front of that sign, they are linking Hook and Storybrooke together. This is further enforced in Rumple’s voice-over: ‘When we met, I wasn’t just unloved and unloving. I was an enemy of love. Love had only brought me pain. My walls were up, but you brought them down. You brought me home.’
In conclusion, not only has Hook diligently fought to bring Emma back home, he has finally become a part of it. Together, Emma and Hook found ‘Tallahassee’.
Bonus: Allusions & References
Once Upon A Time constantly makes allusions and references to existing works in literature and the media. Captain Swan and Swanfire are not exceptions to this rule. Allusions are important simply because they signify what the writers associate with the pairings.
Neal: In Tallahassee, we get this line:
Bonnie & Clyde were criminals. Although they may be celebrated in the media as a wild and young love story… in real life, they were robbers and murderers. Ultimately, they were shot and killed at a young age. If you ask me, that’s not a very happy ending.
In There’s No Place Like Home, we get this scene where Neal is sitting on a swing while trying to put on Emma’s glove:
It had recently been brought to my attention that this scene is a direct reference to Marlon Brando’s character in On The Waterfront (1954). Trying to put on the glove represents Neal trying to manipulate/handle Emma. This is clearly not a healthy symbol of a relationship – yet they made the effort to make the reference, and decided to include it in the final cut of the scene.
Hook: Hook and Emma represent the classic pirate & princess pairing.
Starting with The Princess Bride (1984) (be it the film or the novel)
– in multiple occasions, Hook has told Emma ‘As you wish’. This is perhaps the most memorable moment when he does (Good Form):
In The Princess Bride, when Westley (Dread Pirate Roberts) says ‘As you wish’ to (soon-to-be-princess) Buttercup, what he is really saying is ‘I love you’. From the beginning of the story, they are defined as true love, and this concept (and belief in their love) carries them throughout their entire adventure. The story ends like this:
Then in Snow Drifts we see Emma introduce herself as Princess Leia:
This is a direct tribute to one of the most iconic pirate/princess pairings of all time (from the Star Wars Film Franchise). In the end, Han and Leia marry, and have three children – sounds like a happy ending to me.
We’ve reached the end of my super long meta, and I have to congratulate you if you made it all the way.
http://cerenacanthandleit.tumblr.com/post/86503535031/why-hook-is-better-for-emma-than-neal-ever-was-ahttp://kimidakewooooo.tumblr.com/post/101379205335/asyouwishemma-we-re-only-halfway-there-omfg To rise our spirits
It’s amazing how much stuff we called correctly from way back when on the beanstalk isnt it
Yes it is.
Thats why I’m wondering- how do you guys think Emma will find out about Hooks deal with Rupmle? How will she react. Let’s paly CSeers.
After last episode I’m not sure. Emma seems to be reacting diffrent towards people who lie to her/ not tell her the truth right away- Regina example. I see it as a possible setting for her future reaction to Hooks dealings with Rumple and I am honestly a little lost here. Will she go all angsty on him or not?
My gut reaction is she will be pi$$ed off that he didnt come to her 1st. But like you say after the whole Regina thing, I’m not 100% sure anymore, I didnt like Emma being Regina’s emotional punching bag, then still seeking her friendship (I mean, yes I know- plot, but still).
I think it’ll come down to what exactly Rumple forces Killian to do… I’m hoping Rumple will try forcing Killian into doing something so horrible that Killian goes, “No, I’d rather risk loosing Emma (tell her about the tape), than risk loosing the good man I’m becoming”. That way, yes Emma will be pi$$ed & hurt that he didnt trust her enough to come to her in the 1st place, but she’ll then find out its because he fears not being a good enough man for her, which will lead to her fighting for him, as he fought for her…
Or she simply wont care, sweep it under the rug (like whats happened with Regina) & on wards & upwards from there….
Or she’ll freak out & we’ll get a mini style semi break up type thing, but she’ll find out why it happened & she’ll start fighting for him lol 😉
It really depends on what they are going to do for the mid season/ 411 episode & if they are going to leave us with a cliff hanger ep or like with 311, with the 1st half arc pretty much wrapped up.
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