#anti cs

[queenofglassbeliever]

The devolution of Emma Swan is among the saddest things I've seen on television.

[whuqchl]

Yes I'm still annoyed about Emma and Hook's relationship.

What was the reason for the audience being told that Hook was the one to break down Emma's walls, and that he's the one she can really confide in, when every time there's a real situation the person Emma has no choice but to be honest with because they know her too well is Regina?

What was the reason for Emma when she needed someone to make the hard choices in order to protect everyone, or to fulfill her wishes, going to Regina instead of Hook or anyone else in her family?

Why have Hook get personally upset when Emma closes herself off, or hides something from him and then have Regina be the one to confront Emma's feelings?

I didn't even ship Emma and Regina throughout the series, but I knew how big it was/still is and I just don't understand why the writers refused to make Emma and Hook interesting or reasonable. It's like they didn't care. 'Show don't tell' didn't seem to apply to them, so they kept telling the audience how great this relationship is and how much they love each other, and what they're willing to do for each other, but if you actually ask why, there's no explanation.

And it didn't even have to be like that!

[im-j-o-h-n-locked]

the more i read sq fanfics set after the show's finale, the more i give myself the despair, confusion and rage because of the canon (mind you i stopped watching the show at the beginning of s5; what I know of it after 505 is the word in the streets, HC and my own mind filling the blanks). BUT

what do you MEAN swan mills family was set apart for years? that's as terrible as it sounds. let's start from there.

what do you MEAN emma's happy ending is to be a housewife without her family members that went all away for YEARSSS? it took her 28 years and other curses for them finally reunite and for what?? for what reason?? why wasn't she around the whole magic shebang weaving the realms and all? sounds illogical to me. "oh its because of baby Hope" then they should give her a child. end of story.

what the fuckkkkk do you MEAN henry is an ADULT with a 10 YEARS OLD DAUGHTER and they didn't/couldn't come back sooner????

whaattt do you meeeaannn emma LOST so many years of her kid's life???????? is not like getting Ry to storybrooke was going to fix it. They are different people at this point.

i tried reading the explanation to all of this and i decided it is not worth it 😭 there's so much to unpack and the mess it makes is worse. i just wanted to vent im sorry 😔🤚🏾

[i-hate-flying-jellyfish]

Literally can't trust the opinions of people that don't like Rumple. Especially if they don't like Rumple while at the same time liking HOOK.

[wlwlibrary]

I've been thinking about the concept of the five man band in relation to Once Upon a Time's core characters, specifically during the neverland rescue mission.

Emma is obviously the Leader. She is the protagonist and the chosen one (the Savior), a common trope for leaders. But most importantly she makes the decisions, Regina even says so "Well, Emma, you said you wanted to be the leader. Lead." (3x02), and everyone follows her calls (except Gold but I don't think he fits neatly into the five man band anyway).

Regina is the Lancer – designed as a foil to the leader (Emma) while also in the works of building a close bond with her. She goes rogue to do things her way when the rescue party doesn't make progress with their chosen methods of saving Henry. She also fits the bill of having a dark brooding past which is not the main focus of the rescue mission, but it's still a charcteristic Lancer trait.

Snow is the Heart. She is dead set on doing what is right/good, sticking to her moral principles, which can be seen when Regina suggests ripping the lost boy's heart out to get him to give Henry a message and Snow is appalled at the suggestion, convinced there is another less gruesome way to achieve their goal. She also wants to keep the group together, encouraging hope and tries to keep the team spirit up.

Charming is the Big Guy/Powerhouse. He is physically the strongest, taking on opponents with his sword. He usually doesn't contribute much strategy-wise instead he is more action focused, and most resourceful during physical duties and fights (the brawn). He is also very loyal.

This leaves only the Smart Guy, which I honestly can't quite figure out. The closest character to the Smart Guy is probably Gold, since he always has an intricate plan that actually works and is savy in tactical manipulation. However, he also has Lancer qualities like going rogue and being a morally grey character (you can argue about the "grey" aspect, but I don't wanna open that can of worms as it would go beyond the scope of this post).

That said, Gold is by definition the Chessmaster at his core, manipulating the course of events to fit his agenda. He is an inherently neutral, self-serving character that only cares about his goals and in the process switches sides as it suits him, not caring about betrayal.

Now we covered the five archetypes of the Five Man Band, but we kinda encounter a problem with the number of group members as it exceeds the traditional five members of its namesake trope. Meaning, they're not actually a five man band, but the characters that have been there from the start (Emma, Regina, Snow, Charming, Gold) mostly do fit the traditional archetypes. The super-trope, and most accurate one, would be the Team, which has no limitations on size and archetypes.

So we have the original rescue party that starts out with Emma, Regina, Snow, Charming, Hook and Gold (already six members). Over the course of the rescue mission they aquire two more members – Neal and Henry (who is technically the one they're trying to save, but nonetheless a critical group member).

Henry is definitely also the Heart, sharing the role with Snow, but bringing slightly different values into the mix and serving a different function than Snow. He also believes in the goodness in people and doing what is right. Whereas Snow is hesitant to believe in villains changing their ways, Henry believes that it is possible. He is no doubt the one who connects all group members (all part of his family except Hook), even in the absence of his presence, through their love for him, uniting them despite their differences to follow one mission – saving him from Pan.

Hook to me seems like a weak Lance, which is not surprising as he is basically a cheap male version of Regina. In a way he is a foil to Emma, but less direct than Regina. They also set him up as Emma's love interest in an attempt to make them have a close bond, however, it is very much one-sided on his part and he doesn't actually have a huge impact on Emma's character development in the Neverland arc (he does in later seasons, tho arguably for worse since he propelled a regression of Emma's character). Compare that to Regina who makes Emma start to embrace her magic potential which is critical when Emma, Neal and Hook want to trap Pan's shadow. Even in Regina's absence she influences Emma's character growth – which is part of the Lancer-Leader relationship. Overall Hook feels like an add-on to the group that only accompanies them because he has experience and knowledge about Neverland, not because he is actually interested and emotionally involved in saving Henry. The only reason he is helping is to gain Emma's affection.

Lastly, Neal... I honestly can't quite figure out which archetype Neal fits best, so if you have suggestions I'm all ears.

side note: Belle, though not present and arguably only sought out when they need her expertise, is also the Smart Guy

[themeepyfreak]

An Analysis of Season 3A's Love Triangle

In Season 3A, Hook is used to juxtapose Neal to make Neal look like the healthier, better option in the love triangle. Contrary to popular belief, the Captain Swan relationship in this half season is portrayed as toxic and unhealthy.

Hook’s romantic interest in Emma only goes beyond flirting after he learns Neal (Baelfire) is Henry’s father and Emma’s ex, a major red flag given Hook’s romantic history with Neal’s mother, Milah. On Neverland, Hook bonds with Emma over Neal’s supposed death, but this connection is built on lies: Hook falsely claims he and Neal were close friends while Neal was in Neverland. In reality, Hook faked the friendship to gain intelligence on how to kill his father, then betrayed Neal by selling him to the Lost Boys and abandoning him for centuries, something that Emma never learns about.

Hook and Emma first kiss was transactional, a reward for Hook saving Emma's father's life. After Emma thanks Hook, Hook challenges her, stating "That all your father's life is worth to you?". Emma is the one to kiss him but only after being practically dared to while in an emotionally vulnerable state. This is contrasted in a later episode by Neal convincing Rumple to save David's life for no cost or expectations from Emma.

Hook’s actions become even more toxic once Neal reunites with the group. After hearing Neal and Emma confess that they still love each other, he tells Neal about his and Emma’s “dalliance.” He does this purposely, knowing Neal’s hatred for lies (the reason Neal’s friendship with Hook ended badly before) and that the word “dalliance” implies more than just a kiss that Emma later downplays. Hook’s revelation was solely intended to hurt Neal emotionally.

In the next few episodes, Hook takes advantage of Neal's pain and tension around him by continuing to pursue Emma aggressively. Hook provokes Neal until Neal snaps, leading to the immature lighter fight, which casts Neal in a negative light and prompts Emma to reject him.

Afterwards, Neal apologizes to Emma for his immature actions. This is contrasted by Hook showing no remorse for his part of the lighter fight. Hook has no guilt since he did what he intended: made Neal look bad in Emma's eyes.

Overall, Hook’s relentless pursuit of Emma, despite her repeated rejections, is not romantic or positive but a sharp contrast to Neal’s approach of giving Emma space and autonomy. Neal respects Emma’s choices, letting her decide when and how to engage emotionally. Neal is the healthier and more emotionally mature option in the love triangle, which is why Emma gradually softens toward him during this season.

This interpretation is supported by the showrunners (A&E) and some cast members, including Jennifer Morrison who referred to Hook as "Emma’s night in Vegas.” Hook was intended to be a fun detour, not Emma's ultimate partner and endgame.

[sulietsexual]

What's a ship that you can objectively understand why it's popular but just personally can't stand? And what's a ship that you just can't understand why it's popular?!

So for me Luke/Lorelai is in the first category. I personally can't stand them, but I see how others would enjoy them, and they've got a lot of rom-com tropes that appeal to most people. Another one is Phoebe/Cole - I don't like their scenes and would argue that Cole changed both Phoebe's character and the entire tenor of the show for me for the worse, but yet I can see why people got into them. Then there's the "I just can't see the allure" category, and for me that's Spuffy. They're so grossly toxic, abusive. twisted, relentlessly miserable---and Buffy does not even like him for 95% of the time, let alone love him. And yet people are talking about how "cute" and sweet soulmates they are and I just truly, honestly feel like i watched a different show!

Personally, if I can't stand a ship, chances are I also can't understand why people ship it, but I do have several ships where I get the appeal, but I'm indifferent to them, like Phoebe/Cole from Charmed or Betty/Jughead from Riverdale or JJ/Emily from Criminal Minds.

As for ships where I don't understand the popularity, I have to admit, in this our year 2025, post-Me Too and amid Epstein, Diddy and everyone else, I understand even less how people ship Spuffy AND SOMEHOW STILL DEFEND SPIKE'S ACTIONS?!!!!

I'll also never understand Emma/Hook from OUAT, they have nothing in common, almost zero build up to their relationship and Emma becomes a hollow shell of her former self while literally ending up co-dependent, barefoot and pregnant as her endgame.

And lastly, I don't fully understand how fans went so rabid for Olicity when freakin' Laurel Lance was right there with all her and Oliver's history and chemistry and passion and love!

[6-ish]

please god take all of alex's suffering and double it and give it to carlos sainz