My Emma.

I keep seeing some people talking about how those who are saying it’s okay that Killian killed Charming’s father because he’s a different person now are falling into the same mistake/free-pass mentality that we accuse Regina fans of having – past misdeeds don’t matter because they aren’t those people anymore.

I’m sorry but I just don’t get that, because to me there are two very different things at play here. My problem with Regina was never the awful things she’s done as the EQ. I honestly don’t care if she slaughtered entire villages, killed Snow’s parents or murdered baby seals. She was a villain and her actions were villainous. That was the point. Just as I don’t care if Killian hit Belle, killed his own father, Charming’s father and lots of other people. He was a villain and his actions were villainous. That was the point, too.

What I do care about is how they react to those villainous actions now. What I do care about is how sorry they are and how guilty they feel for all those awful things they’ve done in the past. What I do care about is how they make amends with those they have hurt in the past. And, in that regard, Killian not only has done all of the things above, but he has also held himself accountable for all the horrific things he has done. Regina, yeah, not so much. Her redemption arc just doesn’t work for me at all (for reasons the fandom has already thoroughly analyzed so I’m not going to get into that now). But that, her lack of real change in the present, is my issue with Regina.

“The past doesn’t matter because they’re different people now”. This is not a free pass. This only applies if and only if the character has shown he/she has earned forgiveness through his/her present change of attitude/behavior (aka if the redemption arc is well done and believable). But if their present attitude/behavior still isn’t that good/redeeming, the past deeds aren’t that easily forgiven because you are not sure that they have evolved from that/learnt their lesson and, therefore, earned forgiveness. And that is the difference to me: whereas Killian fulfills the requirements, Regina doesn’t.

Random thought of the day: today, while doing research for my thesis, I came across a comic book character that seems to now be forgotten in the shadows: The Black Pirate.

The Black Pirate, whose alter ego was Jon Valor, belongs to DC Comics and first appeared in April 1940. Comic Vine describes him as having “no super powers or extraordinary abilities” but he was “a superb swordsman, superior athlete and an accomplished sailor”. He was also known for his strong moral code, sense of justice and for being a “swashbuckling adventurer”.

However, more than anything else, what called my attention was how much the physical appearance of the Black Pirate/Jon Valor resembles our favorite pirate’s (pics under the cut):

Why was Emma so weak and OOC in the wish world??

Because the woman who made the wish was the same who said this:

Up until wish!Emma stopped wish!Henry from killing Regina, she was pretty much exactly what the EQ thinks of her outside of her savior qualities: pointless.

As @whimsicallyenchantedrose​ eloquently said in her episode analysis:

“The characters in this verse are influenced by what the Evil Queen thinks of them, and what she wants their experiences to be.  Why was Princess Emma so weak and ineffective? Because the Evil Queen sees her that way outside of her savior status.  If it wasn’t for the Evil Queen turning her into a savior by casting the curse, the EQ sees her as having no drive or fire at all.  In a way, the EQ sees her act of casting the curse as making Emma what she is. Are we really surprised that the EQ—the unquestionable villain—has such a terrible and skewed image of Emma? Wouldn’t it have really been more OOC if the version of Emma the EQ helped concoct via her wish was just as strong and passionate as real Emma is?” 

I wish some people would understand that:

- Not finding the Killian/Belle friendship the best thing since sliced bread ≠ thinking Belle is some threat to Emma or CS.

- Disliking Belle ≠ thinking she deserves what she gets from Rumple and especially ≠ from victim blaming her.

- Disliking Belle = not being too fond of the character due to the inconsistent writing she’s had for some years now and, therefore, not enjoying when she spends time with one of your favorite characters.

Not that hard.

snowbellewells mentioned you in a photo “stunningcaptainswan: Never forget that, long before being in a...”

Yes! That’s what I think they were clearly going for. Emma still wasn’t ready to admit the depth of her feelings for him at this point, but she most definitely loved the attention she got from him (as shown by her jealousy over Hook and Tink) and to see how she had a special place in his heart. So in this moment her “good” means that Emma wants him to want her and to never forget her. Poor thing just didn’t want to admit that was because she also wanted him and could never forget him either.

sunshine-and-the-catsuit

reblogged your post and added:

Haha, I prefer that better! Although I don’t think Belle is in any position to give love advice lol

Earlier drafts of actual episode scripts written by the official writing team are NOT canon. Scenes that are in the final episode script but are not filmed are NOT canon. Adam said so regarding both situations. So no, the comments/jokes of certain actors and actresses at unofficial fan conventions about certain scenes are not gospel and, even more shockingly, I know, they are definitely NOT canon.

I can buy the Hook/Tink thing because there were canonical flirty undertones to it and Hook did hit on her, but Hook and Regina? You mean the Hook who has always seemed clearly unimpressed and uninterested in her and like he never gave a damn about her, not even as a potential fling? Yeah, nope. The hills are alive with the sound of crack shipping. 

the-book-labyrinth

reblogged your post and added:

That’s a great point and a really interesting one. I haven’t really talked about that yet, but I do think that this, for now, seems to be a plot hole. We still don’t really know why Killian was able to keep the darkness at bay in Storybrooke and the only explanation the show indirectly gave us for that was the fact he didn’t remember it in the first place, as you mentioned. To me that would be enough of an explanation if it weren’t for two things:

a) if episodes before we hadn’t been introduced to physical symptoms of being the Dark One. We know Dark Ones can’t sleep. Killian was still a DO in Storybrooke and, as so, the physical symptoms of his condition had to be there. So did he just think his sudden permanent insomnia was due to something else? Why didn’t he find this strange? I think he would at least try to question Emma about it.

b) if Dark Hook in Camelot hadn’t been such a radically different version of the real Killian Jones. When the show chose to present us with such a dark version of Killian, I think we were led to believe that the darkness has a much stronger hold on people than “just” some sort of induced placebo. 

I don’t think we’ll ever get an answer to this, but I do wish we had had something that would be clear and make us all go “aha, that’s why he was able to resist the darkness in Storybrooke!”

Either way, we also have to remember that we analyze everything to exhaustion. The general audience isn’t as concerned with these things as fandom is. Just to give an example, when I was watching 5x10 with my sister (who is GA) I told her “I don’t really understand why Hook has acted normally in Storybrooke”. She looked at me like I was the dumbest person alive and she simply said: “It’s a show about magic - it was magic, duh!”

But the good thing about plot holes is that we can each come up with our own headcanons that explain everything. At least that!

In 1x15, at the station, Emma asks Ruby (whom she had just hired) to go get her a grilled cheese.

In 4x13, also at the station, Emma no longer has to ask anyone to bring her a grilled cheese because her boyfriend already knows her well enough and surprises her with one. 

This is one of the things I love about the show: the attention to these small details. It’s an interesting parallel that, in its own scale, shows how Killian understands her and is there for her like nobody else has ever been. Isn’t it beautiful?