It’s been forever since I watched the introduction of Killian, specifically his meeting of Emma, Snow and his journey to Storybrooke.
I wanted to rewatch these scenes to go over their interactions after knowing all what we know of him now the show’s over, just to see what’s missed etc and just to have a bit of fun tbh.
It is quite eye opening, even though we all know how the story goes and we’ve studied every frame to death.
But I wanna do it again :D
I want to start at the betrayal. Now we know these two have realised there’s a connection there. He’s been flirting, figuring her out, showing off, and most importantly…. he’s been helping.
He’s decided he’s on their side, and knowing more of Killian’s history, we know he’s not shy about helping others reluctantly if it’s the right thing to do. He decided to help Ursula, he decided to help Ariel-
The key issue with all the times he’s helped in the past is, it’s never gone his way, he’s gotten fucked over, and as a result of that, he becomes nasty and attacks out of spite, usually because he’s tried to do the right thing and it backfires on him.
But in this moment, he’s sided with Emma, he’s doing the right thing, he’s felt a connection with her and they’ve succeeded in their plan. He’s happy. He’s open. He’s Killian Jones in this moment. Not Hook, not a pirate, just Killian.
He asks to take her hand so they can head off and make their way to Storybrooke, Cora completely forgotten for now…
But Emma isn’t that optimistic.
She hasn’t sussed him out yet. She gets the connection, but from her own history, she knows that that connection has before left her double crossed, locked up and broken.
She’s not going to take the chance of making that mistake again, especially when she’s not sure of him just yet. And while you can see she’s determined to go through with shackling him, she’s genuinely sorry for doing it.
There’s no smirky “you’ve bested me again” here, no cocky remarks or charming flirtation to try and woo her into letting him out.
He’s genuinely shocked. He’s hurt. He’s angry. He’s vulnerable.
Because once again, Killian Jones has bared himself, tried to do the right thing, and it’s blowing up in his face.
He was true in his helping of her, true in his unconventional way of getting to know her, and he was true about helping her get back home.
But it wasn’t enough to convince Emma, and so he’s left double crossed, betrayed, hurt and angry…..
