Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Screwball has another essay…..and It’s funny I didn’t read her review but I thought I was odd for mentioning the SQ thing, but she was like “that was some loud subtext”…..I laughed. She also had the same thought that while both Neal and Hook came off bad for fighting, in the end, Neal’s response was more on target with Emma’s goal to save Henry.
[adrotate group="5"]“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Can we begin to unpack Neal’s reaction to Emma being magical? We’ve talked a little about this over the summer, but now would be a good time to bring it up.
- In 2×16, Neal discovered that Emma was magical, and she said he didn’t get to be judgmental about it since he’s “Mr. Son-of-Rumplestiltskin”
- In 3×7, Neal learns that Regina has been teaching her magic.
- In 3×8 promo, we see that Regina and Emma are casting a spell together and moving the moon, possibly bringing about daylight to NL and you can see a glimpse of Neal’s head in the shot.
So given Neal’s aversion to dark magic, how is he going to respond to Emma using dark magic with Regina? IS Emma even using dark magic? Does Neal still oppose it as strongly as when he was a kid? We saw that Neal used the magic orb in 3×1 to see Emma, so he’s not completely averse to using magic to help save Henry and Emma. And now that Neal is part of their lives, he’s coming to terms with Emma being the product of true love and Henry being the truest believer. I think Neal being the son of Rumple might also make him somewhat magical too. Maybe Neal can help Emma use magic without having to give into darkness? He seems to understand that once you give in, it can destroy a family, as it did when his father chose power over him.
Slurpeez, those are some excellent points you raise, and I think it may prove to be in the long run, a far more important theme than this pirate with a crush. Emma’s magical potential is huge, but dark magic we’ve been told corrupts you, for once it tastes you, it wants more. This could seriously be a huge potential problem ahead for Emma, and she may need someone like Neal to help her stick to the path of light, rather than following in the dark footsteps of those who were seduced by power. Heroes face many temptations on their journey, so perhaps it is time we see a non-romantic temptation.
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
You know oddly enough, what gave me the most hope in that whole episode? The fact that after Hook and Neal have a little tantrum fight, Emma basically uses what Regina taught her to spark the flame that saves the day.
That to me was total SQ fan service, and it tells me, they definitely are trying to please fan groups with little scenes. The CSF thing is so in your face you cannot escape it. They know some people are just sick of it, and it felt like in a way, they were making fun of the rivalry. Yet under that, I feel like the overall story is still driving towards how Emma and Neal will reconnect.
We had a huge theme of how love is sacrifice, and many of us agree that is what drove Neal to leave Emma in the first place. The next thing is how lies destroy relationships. Perhaps not permanently, but the lie David told definitely hurt Snow very deeply. Emma knows why David didn’t tell Snow, and it parallels why she didn’t tell Neal about the kiss.
It wasn’t about what the kiss meant or didn’t–there was no point mentioning it, and getting his focus off Henry. As Snow said, though, Emma has tunnel vision. She didn’t think through how either man was going to feel about the other being there.
Emma isn’t seeing some of Hook’s unsavory qualities right now because she doesn’t want to see them as she doesn’t have time for it. She has to get along with him, to get her son. Leading a guy on, that’s part of her bail bondswoman tricks, and just as Hook uses his piratey skills, well she’s using her skills too. The last time Hook felt betrayed by her, he was so angry he teamed back up with Cora. What’s to stop him from working with Pan and cutting a deal, if she shoots him down cold? She still doesn’t trust him completely, despite that he did help with Neal, as he said he chose a friend. Yet he said he did that to “win her fairly”–it’s still about her affections, impressing her. It’s not that he picked his friend because you know, he cares about his friend.
I don’t know how much she’s buying what he’s saying to her but I do know this, he’s continuing to misrepresent the amount of true friendship he feels for Neal, or that Neal feels towards him. There’s this thing called the “bro code” and I’m pretty sure Hook’s actions would trip more than a few “rules”–one of which is no hitting on your friend’s ex without permission. It’s a silly code, but the point is, how do friends who consider each other close enough to be quasi-brothers treat each other? The idea is you put that friendship far above any “dalliance” you might have with any woman, because well, they may come and go, but your friends remain. So something is just off here about Hook’s actions, as well as Emma’s actions. I can only explain it as she is putting blinders on to get the job done, and he has only been playing up his concern about Bae in order to bond with Emma.
Even though both men seem to think what they could have with Emma is “true love” –ultimately, this isn’t the time or place to be worrying about it, and it seems like that’s ALL Hook’s been thinking about since he got there. HIS happy ending. Neal wants to let Emma know how he feels since he doesn’t want to make the mistake again of not doing so, but beyond that, he’s there for Henry. He’s no saint though, he admits he screwed up by letting Hook goad him, but then, we’ve seen David lose patience with Hook too. Emma seemingly is reacting as if these two guys are equally off-mission, but I hope she knows what Hook’s been about this whole time. I hope she realizes there’s more going on that just her, but that they have more history, and I’m not sure if she is being written as recognizing that.Overall, aside from the Belle and Ariel, Rumbelle scenes I was not that impressed with the episode.
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Hey, In the name of the Brother sort of launched Frankenwolf…it had its good points.
I did actually like the theme that there was a silver lining to the curse, for Regina underestimated how much some of the fairytale characters suffered. I wish this theme of “the real world may not have the highs, but it doesn’t have the lows” continued a bit more, along with the struggles of fairytale characters in a feudal society suddenly reluctant to give up equality to go back to slaving in the diamond mines. I don’t know…dropped plot points are weighing down this show at this point.
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
*hugs and cookies* all round!
As Slurpeez’s quote from MM says–if two people are supposed to be together, they will find a way. I think we all know it might not be the easy way, but that is what makes it a good story.
That’s really what most of us want, a good story, where characters we have come to relate to manage to find some happiness despite the pain of their lives.
And while we cannot control what goes down in this story–I too am glad to have a group of friendly people willing to discuss it (in this thread, and the larger forum too….).
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
That post is fantastic, thanks for sharing! Yes, love is not something one earns but always it is a choice between two people. We know that love cannot be forced by magic. Sometimes people love because of things, sometimes despite things that happen between two people.
Right thread or not, RG–I agree it’ll be nice to see some happy moments.
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Screwball….it’s funny how often she’s on the same parallel train of thought, but then again we all react to the same show, and she does take in prompts.
It is interesting how central Henry is, and it is one reason I feared they might write him out and replace him Cosby-show style Ruby for Raven with a younger cuter -less preteen like model (paging Roland) . It ought to be a reason they wouldn’t but they shifted the paradigm in S1 by breaking the curse when it seemed like a series long frame for the show. On LOST–lost spoiler following: they sort of set up Walt to be big, but the actor grew a lot and his plot faded into obscurity .
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
It’s hard to tell from the clip but seriously, can MRJ be more awesome with how he uses his eyes to convey Neal’s emotions?! Wow. I am beyond impressed with him this year (and I loved him last year too).
I agree. He is subtle at times, but the character he’s portraying isn’t always shouting and angry, but often keeping a cork on a maelstrom of emotions that would probably wreck many other characters. Another thing that I see as in tune with Emma.
RG: I agree with what you said, for some reason the writers so far have decided not to have a conversation between Emma and Hook about his past actions, and it gives the impression to the audience it is water under the bridge to her, to Hook, but it may be that she simply bottled it up as irrelevant for now. She needs her son back, then she can deal with the baggage in the relationships with either man, and they can deal with their issues with each other.
That leads to the reminder from RG. Always good to remind ourselves of the value of different points of view and the importance of promoting an atmosphere where everyone feels welcome. It helps to remember that sometimes what we dislike is what others like the most and people do identify and attach to the characters and stories. That perspective can be valuable to understand as the writers say they do this for the fans, and we are but one part of it. They have a lot of people to “serve” as Jane E once said, so the way the story unfolds may hew closer at times to what others want to see than what we do. When that is the case, well we can be considerate in how we express either disappointment or celebration. We should avoid being like S1 Regina, celebrating other’s unhappiness more than what makes us happy in and of itself.
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
I like that Galuthria… makes a lot of sense and isn’t what you’d expect instead of violent revenge, what he wants is love but rather than earning his father’s respect and affection, he wants to use magic to make it happen. We speculated about the “love someone” thing thinking it would be RedQueen who wanted that, and Jafar to turn time back–but now I think you’re right and it is Jafar for father’s love, and RedQueen actually wants to reset time to before she became the RQ.
I just hope the ratings go up so we get to see all of the episodes! Good thing they didn’t plan to do more than one season anyway!
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Oh wow, I LOVE those videos from msKT! Hopefullly she’ll feel like sharing thoughts but even if she just reads and enjoys–well, that’s what I do with videos usually. I don’t know where to write how much I enjoy them as I usually see them reblogged or embeded here. So it would be nice for her to see how many people appreciate her talents!
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
