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As for the promo, yay for the dreamcatcher. Love the idea that it could act as a type of tailsman/emotional touchstone for Emma. And going on that last scene and the swift kick to Hook’s special area, I’m probably not the only one who get’s a perverse sense of joy and entertainment of the idea of Hook running around New York harassing Emma and her knocking him back at every opportunity

It’s actually quite funny to think that the circumstances in which Hook shows up are so awkward. He has to become a stalker to Emma, who is now cursed to forget everything she learned about Neal in “Manhattan” and to forget all of the scummy things Hook ever did to her. As unintuitive as it may sound, the writers have given SF fans a gift by not only making CS come first, but also by making it happen when Emma is not in her right mind. She can’t remember anything about the fact that Hook left for her dead in the Enchanted Forest and while believing Neal had no good reason to let Emma go to jail. In other words, the only way Hook even has a shot with Emma is by wiping her new memories of Neal which showed why he left her. In my estimation, CS would never get off the ground as long as Neal were in the picture. Emma and Hook have shared a kiss, but only when Emma thought Neal was dead. By making Emma think of Neal as the loser who left her for selfish reasons, the writers are effectively taking away Emma’s newfound understanding and empathy with Neal. They are also taking away Henry’s special relationship with his father. It’s painful, but also shows that Hook is Emma second choice, not her first.

Also, I laughed out loud when Emma kneed Hook in the gonads! It was seriously a funny way to end the winter finale. And while CS fans are quick to draw parallels to Snow and Belle not remembering their respective men, I have to wonder if the writers just threw in the forced CS kiss to pacify the loud fan base. Also, I still think Emma, who embodies true love, should have had her memories jolted when Hook kissed her, not because they’re true love, but because Emma embodies true love. Yes, she doesn’t remember him or believe she’s the savior, but that shouldn’t matter to someone as inherently powerful as Emma. She didn’t even have to try to awaken Graham; she just did it even before she accepted her true identity or believed in magic in S1 . The CS kiss not working at the end of 3×11 doesn’t necessarily mean Hook’s kiss would’ve worked under different circumstances (like he gets Emma to fall in love with him). It could just mean that Hook and Emma are in fact not true love.

I now am fixated on the idea that it’s Emma’s talisman which will awaken her. It would be a direct parallel to 2×22 when Belle’s talisman, her chipped cup, awakened her. The writers are being oh so clever by allowing CS to think the parallel is Snow and Charming in 1×16 when Charming had to try and get Snow to remember him. Yet perhaps the real parallel isn’t the CS kiss not working, but rather, the fact that it’s Emma’s talisman, her SF dreamcatcher, which connects her to her real identity, just as it was Belle’s chipped cup, representative of Rumbelle, which stirred her real memories. There were so many other Rumbelle parallels like Belle saying to Rumple she would see him again being compared to Neal saying he would see Emma and Henry again that I wouldn’t be surprised if this is how the writers have crafted it to be.

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Did I miss something?  At what point during this episode did they show that Hook and Emma were TL?  I didn’t see that.  Did I miss it?  I saw Hook try to kiss Emma but it not working (which doesn’t surprise because she doesn’t even know who Hook is).  And I did see that Emma wanted Hook to remember her which did imply that she had some sort of feelings for him but still no proof that this is TL.  Sure there might have been some parallels and I’m pretty sure Hook feels like he loves Emma but I haven’t seen any proof that Emma loves Hook.  So I don’t see this “triangle” as being over or resolved.

*sigh* Some people have a very shot-term view. CS thinks they’ve “won” and that there is no more love triangle to even speak of. Let them celebrate and have their fun while it lasts, because once it ends, it won’t return. TV love triangles don’t work like that. That is why I bet secretly, some CS fans are worried that CS seems to be playing out before SF does. They’ll deny it, pretend like Neal’s belief in second chances with Emma and Henry was all in vain. Yet, TV dramas almost always match the pair who aren’t right together first . The writers will save the best for last by making the couple who are meant to be last in the order of things. “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.” It may sound like backwards reasoning, but I’d rather have CS come first before SF than after.

And then there’s the good-bye scene between Emma and Neal. I must admit I was hoping for more but how it played out made sense. Emma already knows how Neal feels, he’s told her but he doesn’t bring it up now because he wants her to go through with leaving with Henry. She has to, there is no other choice and to make Emma feel bad or remind her how much he still loves her would have been insensitive on Neal’s part. He doesn’t want her to feel worse, he just gives her hope that they will see each other again (ala Snowing’s I’ll always find you). And they share an epic hug and that’s it. I think Neal knows how hard this is for Emma. She doesn’t give up and in a way she has to so that Henry won’t be alone. Again, Neal is putting Emma and Henry’s needs before his own. Of course this is tearing him up inside. He just lost his father and now the only other two people that he loves will be gone from him again. His happy ending is gone yet again but instead of breaking down and crying he puts on a brave face because that’s the kind of guy he is. He doesn’t want to put any more pressure on Emma and tho he loves her he doesn’t want her to be sad that she has to leave them all. He holds back his own emotion so that Emma can do what she needs to do without hesitation.

There wasn’t anything Neal could do at that moment except assure Emma he’d see her and Henry again. Yet, one thing I noticed is that Neal was smiling as he hugged Emma. It was a smile to conceal his pain perhaps, but I also thought that maybe he has real faith now that he’ll get a happy ending. The last gift his father gave him was hope. Neal now believes that second chances are possible. His father proved that to him by making the right choice of saving everybody. Rumple’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain, and Neal knows now that Emma and Henry will live. That is his happy ending, for his son to grow up not as he did but to be loved by Emma. Neal’s hope is to rejoin them one day. His belief in second chances has been ignited by Rumple’s last words to his son of believing that happiness is possible.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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I’m curious now to see how Emma behaves going forward. She has her true love in being a mom to Henry. So, in a way, this is a taste of the happy ending she always wanted, just minus Neal.

. @euge_21 it will definitely impact her #OnceUponATime #PanNeverFails #UglyDucklings

— Jennifer Morrison (@jenmorrisonlive) December 16, 2013

How do you Emma will be impacted by believing she kept Henry his entire life? For the better? Someone on here brought up Grumpy and how he’d rather remember the good and the bad. Do you think that applies to Emma? Would she rather just live a normal life with Henry than never see her parents again or Neal again?

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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I love the SF gifs! Keep them coming! And here is Emma’s moment of clarity from her SF talisman. Not from the CS kiss. From the SF talisman. That’s right. From Tumblr

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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In a previous post I mentioned how Emma’s response to Hook at the town line was pretty weak and if they wanted to use that moment to highlight her having feelings for him, it would have been a perfect opportunity. Thinking about it some more, and considering that what Regina says immediately after was how Emma would lose her memories, if they actually wanted to show a sign of mutual love between Hook and Emma, this is how the scene should have played out…

That’s an interesting take on it. I like the way you’re retelling it since it suits my SF tendencies well. Emma wasn’t even going to say goodbye to Hook until he stopped her, made a joke, and said he’d think of her. Her reply? “Good.” That is so cryptic. That’s it? No hug? Perhaps my shipping goggles are getting in the way, but I think it could be read multiple ways. It just kept me guessing, which I think is the point. While I think CS is headed our way, big time, I’ll just chalk it up to Emma being cursed.

Though Emma did not verbally reply to Neal after he said, “This isn’t the end. I will see you again,” Emma did initiate a strong bear hug with Neal. That’s something. I noticed her face was trying not to give away too much emotion, probably because she was fighting back her feelings. In her head, Emma was probably internally screaming, “I can’t believe it’s happening again! I’m losing him for a third time. This is what I meant when I said it’d be easier if I didn’t have to face this pain again. Don’t show emotion. Walls up!” Yet, I think RG is right that is when Emma made a beeline for the bug, because she was fighting back the tears already.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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I thought there were some interesting potential SF/Snowing parallels. Remember what Charming said to Snow. “The future we imagined is gone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find another one, an unexpected one.” Emma and Neal dreamt of a future together, yet it didn’t turn out like the thought. But that doesn’t mean they can’t find another one, together.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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I’ve been aware of this for awhile but am now only putting it into words. I see Hook as being Neal’s literary foil. Jennifer Morrison has said that Hook reminds her of Neal. So it’s natural that Emma would feel some sort of spark with Hook. Yet, for all the similarities that Neal and Hook have (e.g. one is a former thief, and the other a pirate who both love Emma), they differ significantly in lots of other ways too which I’ve mentioned before. It will be interesting to see where the writers take this, since I think they’re intentionally putting Hook as a stand-in for Neal in what should be Neal’s natural setting: NYC. Yet, I think we’re going to see Emma, even in her cursed sate, start to gravitate back to Neal, her true home. Emma’s talisman being the dreamcatcher would be a very good way to demonstrate this concept. Dreamcatchers catch the bad dreams only to let the good ones in. It’s a very interesting dynamic they’re setting up of Hook being there mid season for Emma but Emma gravitating back to the dreamcatcher, even in her cursed state, just as David Nolan seemed to know to go to the troll bridge when he had amnesia. Despite being cursed, David  was  inexplicably drawn  back to Mary Margaret. Could Hook be to Emma as Kathryn was to David during the curse?

Ok. I just rewatched. I think it’s VERY significant what Hook says after failed kiss in NYC “I had to try. It was a long shot. I was hoping you felt as I did.” Doesn’t that pretty much sum up the whole relationship?

Yes, that sums up CS in a nut shell for me. Any attraction that Emma has for Hook is rooted in the fact that he reminds her of Neal, her true love. Yet, attraction and true affection are not the same thing.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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Fluffing your SF auras everyone! From Tumblr:

• Emma tried to comfort Neal when he lost Rumple.
• Emma hugged Neal goodbye.
• “This isn’t over. I’ll see both of you again.”
• Emma and Henry drove away in the yellow bug, which was once Emma and Neal’s home.
• And then ended up in New York, the same place Neal ended up in before.
• Emma and Neal have a song.
• Emma’s going to find the dreamcatcher again.
• Not to mention that she never stopped loving him, and he’ll never stop fighting for her.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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This scene broken my heart into a million little pieces. I’m sure Belle will see Rumple again. Someday. Somehow. Somewhere…over a rainbow? From Tumblr

 

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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