something i want explored more is just how much snow loves regina. how much she always has. how this little girl, who had just lost her mother, latched on to the kind and beautiful older sister figure who saved her life and taught her courage. and yes, she looked up to her and misguidedly wanted her as a mother figure, and no i don’t think she ever really knew regina back then but god, she did love her. and i don’t think that love ever went away, even when she hatedher.
(sometimes i think too much about young bandit snow, struggling to learn to survive in the woods, reconciling her rose-tinted memories of her childhood and her love for her father with regina’s pain and her rage, fitting together hazy pieces of the daniel puzzle, remembering how regina would flinch around her father over breakfast some mornings. how snow went from the most spoiled and disillusioned princess to saying ‘she thinks i ruined her life’ ‘did you?’ ‘yes.’)
and even when she was older and stronger and smarter, snow still battled with hopefor regina, still dreamed of a day when the kind hearted girl she met all those years ago would come back to her.
and then after the curse breaks and regina starts trying, trying to change for henry - who is another link between them now, another thread tying regina into snow’s family - and god, it’s all snow’s ever dared hope for but there’s so much more bad blood now and things are so tenuous for so long.
but she watches. snow once again sees regina evolve in front of her, this time for the better. she watches and catches glimpses of the girl she knew, her childhood idol, sees fragments of her smile and voice and heart, recognises things about her she thought were lost years ago. (snow watches her own daughter fighting for regina, protecting her and believing in her and giving her everything she never had and once again, it seems their families will be intertwined forever, one way or another.)
and then gradually regina becomes her family again, someone she can trust and rely on and share precious times with, and it’s all snow’s ever wanted but this time it’s real and it’s good and neither one of them ever downplay or forget all the pain they have caused each other, but they’re both choosing to put that aside for the genuine goodness,the love and hope underneath that has tied them together since they were kids.
and somehow, suddenly, snowis the one looking after her when she is hurt, giving her advice and yes, sort of parenting her, because she’s the one who needs it now and it just feels right and natural. she sees regina more clearly than she ever has and it makes her understand everything that happened. these two women have been so vital to each other in every way and i just -
there is no conclusion to this ramble, i just have a lot of thoughts and feelings
#this episode was beautiful # the parallels were insane # and also the differences to show that where Arthur and Guinevere failed #Killian and Emma succeeded # she allowed her love for him to overcome her obsession # which allowed for Rumple to disappear #where as Arthur manipulated and took away Guinevere’s agency # to get them to their goal #Camelot still does not have a king #and it’s still broken # but this episode showed us where Arthur and Guinevere failed # Killian and Emma succeeded #the orphaned king of Camelot # that is needed to fix # the still broken kingdom #is somebody that we’ve all #known and loved for a long time # Killian and Emma and their love # will complete Camelot and # he is the true king of Camelot # the true wielder of Excalibur # and Emma Swan his queen.
i love how nonplussed by technology Hook and Hood were about that sonogram and instead launched in to what’s really important - the emotional effect of the baby on all the players at hand.
Hook wasn’t wowed by the fact that our world has the capability to see inside a womb. Not overly impressed that you can see an unborn baby. There’s no - holy shit that’s incredible moment. Instead, when Robin shows him that sonogram Hook’s reply is:
“Mixed emotions I bet”
He immediately recognized that it is both a difficult and a happy moment for Robin. That there are conflicting feelings about the baby.
And I love that Robin, who doesn’t know Hook that well, OPENS UP. He’s never one to shy away about talking about his feelings, about matters of the heart - good and bad. I love that he understands that this is hard for Regina as well as himself. But he’s also struggling with the fact that he doesn’t have anyone to share his happiness over being a father again with.
I like that he was able to share that with Hook.
And that he had the sensitivity to give Hook a chance to talk about his own troubles with Emma as the Dark One. I’m glad these two have each other.
These men have so much emotional intelligence and sensitivity. And this scene demonstrated to me, once again, why they are the perfect partners for women with emotional walls - women who are strong but who’ve had trouble talking about their feelings, difficulty opening up.
It’s such refreshing flip on the usual gender roles we see in media.
That small moment after Killian nearly gets walloped by a light pole & his only thought is to help Emma. He isn’t scared of her. He’s scared for her.
Snow’s codependency on David makes an appearance and while Killian too could be focused on the near death experience he isn’t. Emma matters way more to him. David & Killian are always ready to fight for Emma. I love that.
