amusingaminta replied to your post “Okay this really bothers me”
Even though I dislike Neal, I did appreciate the moment where he actually became useful on the island and said "I won't let anything happen to him," etc etc when Emma was leaving him to watch over Henry. He got that at least, right?
Well, even then, he wasn't really particularly useful... you had Charming, Wendy, Tink, Hook and the Lost Boys to watch over a comatose boy. That's kind of overkill when it comes to babysitting. That kid isn't going anywhere, and Neal saying that he would watch over him was a good moment, but he wasn't being anymore useful than he was being on Skull Island. Neal was a great father from the first day he learned he had a son, don't get me wrong. Neal managed to break a horrible, horrible cycle, and I really wish that it had been the real Henry who got to hear that speech, not Hook and Henry!Pan. (I really wish that it had been a private moment, since now people are like 'oooh foreshadowing that Hook will be like a father to Henry' and it seems to have upset some people.)
I just want one generation of father-son relationships in this family tree that does not emotionally scar everyone. Is that too much to ask? Obviously yes it is.