Killian Jones/Captain Hook: One Handed Pirate With A Drinking Problem

[Kktjones]

16 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

I haven't found him really entertaining since 3A

 

7 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

I just wish the writers would bring back some of the fun and lightness of the character

I agree on some level with each of these comments. If I'm being honest, I'm probably only watching the show for Hook and the CaptainSwan relationship at this point. And while I have really enjoyed his character arc, I do feel like they've taken away some of his personality and what made him so much fun to watch. I had a feeling they would ultimately be pairing him with Emma back in Season 2 and I imagined all the playful banter and adventures they would have together. Instead, we get him in the role of (to quote Rumple) Emma's lapdog. I love his devotion & loyalty to Emma, but I just wish they were allowed to have more fun together.

They also seemed to have cooled off the sass between him and Regina. I liked it because he seemed to be the only one allowed to talk back to her. I recall seeing some people compare their relationship to squabbling siblings, but I never saw any underlying affection, so didn't agree. I wouldn't mind if they ultimately got there. 

I'm also very glad that they are giving him relationships with Belle, Henry & David this season. I'd love to see him and Snow have a conversation one of these seasons...

[Camera One]

I'm not big on CS or Hook, and I agree that he's the most consistently written character.  The way they have shown his sustained redemption shows that the Writers could do it for Regina or Rumple if they wanted to.  The difference I think is A&E & Co are too in love with the flamboyant sides of The Evil Queen and The Dark One/Evil Gold, and they can't let those go, so they put Regina and Rumple into yo-yo trajectories.  With Hook, they're not as tickled by his Dirty Pirate personae.  I'm thinking the aspect of the character they love is his Tortured/Brooding Soul mode.  Thus the repetitive flashbacks where Hook is pained over decisions he made in the past and feeling he's not good enough.  

[Rumsy4]

10 minutes ago, Camera One said:

I'm thinking the aspect of the character they love is his Tortured/Brooding Soul mode.  Thus the repetitive flashbacks where Hook is pained over decisions he made in the past and feeling he's not good enough.

I agree. It's getting old. At least Dark Waters didn't have the typical backstory where Hook screwed over someone in the past. Liam 2.0 did that to himself. lol

About Dark Hook: Colin gave a terrific performance as Dark Hook. He clearly had fun exploring a slightly manic take on his character. 

[YaddaYadda]

1 hour ago, KingOfHearts said:

I won't ever understand why so many people put Hook in the same boat as Regina, Zelena and Rumple as far as who isn't trustworthy as a redeemed villain. If someone did bad things in the past, has worked to redeem themselves, and hasn't done any of it since, (especially in a TV show) it's unlikely they'll just snap. There are many reasons why Hook's reformation has been the most legitimate, which I don't think I need explain here. Hook has said nothing like, "I hate doing good", or "I want to murder this person" or "why can't I have my happy ending". He's the only "villain", in my opinion, who genuinely hates the person he used to be. He has no reason to go back to that.

Even though I've never been a huge fan of his character, (I haven't found him really entertaining since 3A), his redemption was always the best on the show. Not perfect, but better relative to the others. He has had the most consistent progression and character development. He hasn't flip-flopped around depending on the plot's needs. His character has writing problems like the others, but to me, his arc has been his strong point.

I think the difference between Hook and the others is that he decided to change because he could and with no expectations for anything in return for it. He changed because he wanted to change, not because someone was trying to change him. He was given an opportunity at something else and he took it and hasn't looked back.

[KingOfHearts]

Quote

The writers found a way around this in S5 with the forced Dark One storyline, but that involved a Hook who was compromised by something he knew he couldn't fight and begged Emma not to do. Even then, he still fought back and ultimately sacrificed to clean up his mess. If Present!Hook goes off and starts attacking Belle again or steals Baby Gideon on his own, there would be no use for him once they'd defeated him. 

The verdict is still out on Dark Hook for me. It made perfect sense that the darkness took a hold of him so quickly because of his weakness. That's understandable. However, I'm not a big fan of using magic to force characters into certain extremes just to drive angst. It does kind of work in 5A, but I have a feeling it was more for shock value than adding complexity to Hook.

What bothered me most about Dark Hook was the impact on Captain Swan. Some of the things Hook said to Emma were very break-up worthy. You have to put a lot of blame on the DO curse for him to get by with it. I just remember watching and thinking, "That's so horrible! How could CS possibly reconcile after that?" But you know, um, magic, that's why. So, it really didn't matter all that much in the long run. It added more impact to his sacrifice, which was the ultimate goal of packing on the brutality.

Quote

I think the difference between Hook and the others is that he decided to change because he could and with no expectations for anything in return for it. He changed because he wanted to change, not because someone was trying to change him. He was given an opportunity at something else and he took it and hasn't looked back.

Hook has always had some kind of moral compass or integrity at his core. He always believed his actions originated from a thirst for justice. His philosophy was "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth". He acted for others most of the time, such as in avenging his wife/lover, stopping a king from committing genocide, or avenging Liam for being abandoned and replaced by his father. 

[Shanna Marie]

On 11/30/2016 at 7:08 PM, Kktjones said:

And while I have really enjoyed his character arc, I do feel like they've taken away some of his personality and what made him so much fun to watch.

I have mixed feelings about this. One the one hand, a lot of the fun of Hook is his irreverence and his gusto for life, the way he's 100 percent about everything. On the other hand, I'm not that interested in the standard snarky bad boy type and a big part of the reason I like the character is his remorse for his past. He has a lot to feel remorseful about. This season, I've actually thought that he should be working through a lot more PTSD, considering what he's been through lately, and I've been disappointed that there's been no sign that he was dead not too long ago, was tortured in the Underworld, or had been made the Dark One against his wishes.

But I think there's a lot of room to show his trauma without being so "Angel-lite" with the brooding and with his other personality traits given room to play. For one thing, while he might be dealing with some PTSD, wouldn't he have a renewed zest for life from coming back from having been given a second chance? There's also a lot of potential for playing with his fish-out-of-water status and his enthusiasm for discovering things, especially with him moving in with Emma and Henry. That could have been interesting to see, him hiding his trauma by focusing on the little pleasures of life and trying to fit into Emma's home when he doesn't understand all of it. But that would have required screen time and a plot to fit it into.

[KAOS Agent]

I think it's a huge missed opportunity to inject some fun and lightness into the show by not having little Hook moments from moving in and not knowing stuff. Like Hook blows up the microwave because he put something in with foil on it. Anything to give him some modicum of a story and keep it from being all angst all the time.

[Shanna Marie]

They don't even have to write laugh-a-minute dialogue or comedic set pieces for Hook to add humor and fun. Colin is brilliant with the non-verbals. Just his reactions and expressions can be funny. Heck, the funniest, most laugh-out-loud moment of the season so far was his face when he found out that Regina and Gold had "chemistry." Second place might have been the little throwaway moment in which he pointed out that the videogame controller discriminated against one-handed people (one of those culture clash bits we don't see enough of).

I personally think that therapy sessions between him and Archie with him trying to work through the trauma without entirely understanding the concept of "therapy" could have been hilarious and touching at the same time. There's the awkwardness of his past treatment of Archie, so the opportunity for more apologies. And then there's someone not from our world trying to figure out this lying on a couch and talking to someone as a form of treatment. Doesn't this sort of thing work better when you're both sitting at a bar with a drink in front of you? Meanwhile, being turned into a Dark One, experiencing having Nimue in control, overcoming her, dying, being in the Underworld and tortured by Hades, realizing he'd have to stay, being prepared to move on and then finding himself alive again and back in Storybrooke might be well beyond the scope of the degree Archie got from a curse. His fake memories of medical school wouldn't have prepared him for dealing with that.

[KingOfHearts]

I don't know why the writers are so allergic to culture clash. They'll very rarely make a joke about it, but most of the time they pretend it's just not there. While Hook is the perfect contender for clashing with modern society, I wish we could have seen Robin do it a little too.

Hook could have had a strong arc this season if the domesticated life with Emma were actually a real subplot (Instead of this Saviors-always-die crap.) and S5 had any aftermath whatsoever. That meetup with Liam 2.0 with Henry did nothing for anyone but the guest characters. What ticks me off is that Emma's arc this season is very much a personal one for her, while in S5 her story progression moved in tandem with Hook's. Those two function better so much together than separately. We don't need to explore their walls or pasts. We want to see what they're going to do for the future. That's so much juicier.

I don't see why Hook has to be quarantined off in his own centric almost every time.

Edited December 2, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[Dianthus]

Going back to the false accusations of rape for a moment, I think it might also have had something to do with his comments to pre-DO Rumple when he came looking for Milah. Personally, I subscribe to the idea that Hook was just trying to goad Rumple. I seriously doubt Milah was being mistreated in any way on the Jolly, or that Hook wouldn't deal with such an offender in a rather terminal way. Given what we now know about his backstory, I can't imagine him being ok with rapists among his crew (or anywhere really). Bad Form, doncha know.

[KAOS Agent]

Out of curiosity I was looking at the screentime numbers for individual episodes this season. Did you know that Emma was onscreen for only four minutes in Hook's centric? I'm not one to need all Captain Swan all the time, but they built up all that angst about Emma's secret and had Snow talking all about how Hook wouldn't forgive her lack of honesty and then concluded with him keeping the shears in the previous episode. That was Hook's entire storyline in S6. So it should follow that it would have all come to a head in Hook's centric. Instead, Henry suddenly decides that Hook doesn't care at all about Emma and they get kidnapped by Liam 2.0. In the end, Hook & Emma had a thirty second scene in which all was forgiven. What was the point of that? Does Hook even have an arc this season? Is there any kind of character growth occurring for him? 

[Dianthus]

16 minutes ago, KAOS Agent said:

Out of curiosity I was looking at the screentime numbers for individual episodes this season. Did you know that Emma was onscreen for only four minutes in Hook's centric? I'm not one to need all Captain Swan all the time, but they built up all that angst about Emma's secret and had Snow talking all about how Hook wouldn't forgive her lack of honesty and then concluded with him keeping the shears in the previous episode. That was Hook's entire storyline in S6. So it should follow that it would have all come to a head in Hook's centric. Instead, Henry suddenly decides that Hook doesn't care at all about Emma and they get kidnapped by Liam 2.0. In the end, Hook & Emma had a thirty second scene in which all was forgiven. What was the point of that? Does Hook even have an arc this season? Is there any kind of character growth occurring for him? 

No. Next question.

[Rumsy4]

3 hours ago, Dianthus said:

Given what we now know about his backstory, I can't imagine him being ok with rapists among his crew (or anywhere really). Bad Form, doncha know.

Besides, the pirates we've seen (including Blackbeard) seem like the bar wench/whore type. Ariel and Snow were perfectly okay with walking onto pirate ships by themselves. I don't think real-world incidences should be applied here unless shown otherwise. 

 

3 hours ago, KAOS Agent said:

Does Hook even have an arc this season? Is there any kind of character growth occurring for him? 

His arc is only about supporting Emma this season, apparently. 

[Curio]

5 hours ago, Shanna Marie said:

They don't even have to write laugh-a-minute dialogue or comedic set pieces for Hook to add humor and fun. Colin is brilliant with the non-verbals. Just his reactions and expressions can be funny.

 

He's the perfect straight man for a comedy. It drives me batty that the writers don't recognize the natural comedic talent Colin has and utilize it more. I mean, yes, he's good at brooding too...but this show desperately needs more lighthearted moments and Hook could easily be that character who injects comedy without having to resort to A&E's classic "Regina or Zelena says a sassy line so there's our quota of humor for the episode" tactic. Hook should be the character who's the weekly comedic relief, but he's also well-rounded enough that it wouldn't come off as a caricature because he nails the emotional scenes too. My favorite characters in fiction are the ones who are able to balance both comedy and drama, and it's a shame A&E don't allow Hook to do more to uplift the mood of the show. I guess I'll just have to cast Colin in my sitcom if I ever actually want to see his comedic chops on my TV screen.

[Shanna Marie]

I was going to say that I seriously doubted that a woman would devote her dying breath to telling a man who raped her and turned her over to his crew to be gang raped that she loved him, but on this show, with their weird blinders about all things rapey, you never know. However, the fact that she told Rumple when they encountered him again that she and Killian had fallen in love before she ran away with him doesn't really fit with the rape story, and it would be odd for the crew's gang rape victim to end up being able to give orders to the crew and them jump to obey them, and all that happened in the same episode, so it's not even this show's screwy continuity issues. Then add in the more recent flashback, in which they met because Killian was stopping a man from harassing her and he walked away when he learned she was married, and it seems even more unlikely that he would have kidnapped and raped her.

I know it's my headcanon, but I've always imagined that the kidnap and rape story was Milah's idea, her way of testing her husband. She had that mean streak, and it would have been a combination of testing and torture -- if he failed the test, he'd have to live with the torture of knowing how he failed her. I have a scene in my head in which she tells Killian that she wants to leave with him this time and he asks about her husband. She insists that her husband doesn't really care and wouldn't do anything to try to keep her. He says she can come with him, but if her husband is willing to fight for her, he thinks she should stay with him and their son. She comes up with the rape story as what to tell Rumple if he shows up. If that threat doesn't make him take action, nothing will. And it doesn't, no matter how nasty Hook gets with him, so he sails away with Milah.

[Dianthus]

Another random thought, in a lighter vein... it's possible that the admiral from The Brothers Jones was, to them, sort of like Nemo was for Liam 2.0. To a lesser extent probably, given that the brothers were already grown men by that point, but still. Someone who helped them navigate their new world, going from virtual slaves to naval officers, and providing them with resources they lacked.

Also, if getting the Eye of the Storm stone was such a big deal that sailors were willing to risk death for it, I imagine that the men who accomplished it would be celebrated. It makes more sense now (IMO) that these two would be tasked with a mission that involved traveling to another realm to retrieve the Dreamshade. They had already done the seemingly impossible once before, so who was better qualified?

[kitticup]

On 12/2/2016 at 2:24 AM, Curio said:

He's the perfect straight man for a comedy. It drives me batty that the writers don't recognize the natural comedic talent Colin has and utilize it more. I mean, yes, he's good at brooding too...but this show desperately needs more lighthearted moments and Hook could easily be that character who injects comedy without having to resort to A&E's classic "Regina or Zelena says a sassy line so there's our quota of humor for the episode" tactic. Hook should be the character who's the weekly comedic relief, but he's also well-rounded enough that it wouldn't come off as a caricature because he nails the emotional scenes too. My favorite characters in fiction are the ones who are able to balance both comedy and drama, and it's a shame A&E don't allow Hook to do more to uplift the mood of the show. I guess I'll just have to cast Colin in my sitcom if I ever actually want to see his comedic chops on my TV screen.

It's funny that you wrote this.  One of my first post on TWOP was about Hook and how I loved that he didn't take himself to seriously and brought a lightness to the show.  I loved the innuendos because they were funny and at times LOL.  He made me laugh.  I still like Hook but I wish he had more of his humor And flirty banter.

 

i wonder what Colin's career will be like after OUAT.  I worry that he doesn't pick great roles.  He tends to like too heavy things. 

Edited December 3, 2016 by kitticup

[Curio]

26 minutes ago, kitticup said:

i wonder what Colin's career will be like after OUAT.  I worry that he doesn't pick great roles.  He tends to like too heavy things. 

 

This is why I'm advocating for a dark comedy. Something like In Bruges would totally be up his alley.

But yeah, let Hook be the comedic relief, A&E. I promise it won't ruin his bad boy charms.

[Dianthus]

Bouncing back to earlier convo (sorry/not sorry) - can you imagine the back-and-forth between Milah and Killian once Rumple's gone?

"Bloody Hell, love, you were right. He just left. As far as he knows, you're getting passed around by my crew like a cask of ale, but he's not going to do anything about it. I haven't even had a visit from the Harbormaster. I'd be raising ten types of hell."

Milah just shrugs.

"He's not you. He never could be. That's part of why I'm here."

[Dianthus]

Bouncing back to earlier convo (sorry/not sorry) - can you imagine the back-and-forth between Milah and Killian once Rumple's gone?

"Bloody Hell, love, you were right. He just left. As far as he knows, you're getting passed around by my crew like a cask of ale, but he's not going to do anything about it. I haven't even had a visit from the Harbormaster. I'd be raising ten types of hell."

Milah just shrugs.

"He's not you. He never could be. That's part of why I'm here."

Bouncing back to earlier convo (sorry/not sorry) - can you imagine the back-and-forth between Milah and Killian once Rumple's gone?

"Bloody Hell, love, you were right. He just left. As far as he knows, you're getting passed around by my crew like a cask of ale, but he's not going to do anything about it. I haven't even had a visit from the Harbormaster. I'd be raising ten types of hell."

Milah just shrugs.

"He's not you. He never could be. That's part of why I'm here."

[OnceUponAJen]

On 12/03/2016 at 0:46 PM, Curio said:

But yeah, let Hook be the comedic relief, A&E. I promise it won't ruin his bad boy charms.

I think the thing that made me laugh the most was that scene between Hook and Robin where they're looking at the sonogram for Pistachio. I still laugh when I think about it. Hook looked so disgusted by the idea. It was well-played.

Edited December 5, 2016 by OnceUponAJen

[kitticup]

For me, two scenes:

1.  Season2 when Hook told the princesses not to be afraid to really get into the fighting to decide who will accompany Hook up the beanstalk. That was one of my favorite innuendos.  I couldn't believe the actor could keep a straight face.

2.   Deckhand Hook in the background when they first encounter Snow and the dwarves.

[Kktjones]

The one that actually made me guffaw was in Season 2 when he said to Regina "I've been tied up in bed. And not in the good way." He had some great one liners back in Season 2. Now he's been reduced to providing pep talks, asking if people are okay, and freaking out when Emma disappears.

[Rumsy4]

That one funny line from the Script Tease, where he says "You are Prince Charming. I am bloody Captain Hook--not the other way round" was apparently cut. I don't get why Adam keeps teasing non-existent lines from the episodes this season. 

[Souris]

2 hours ago, Rumsy4 said:

That one funny line from the Script Tease, where he says "You are Prince Charming. I am bloody Captain Hook--not the other way round" was apparently cut. I don't get why Adam keeps teasing non-existent lines from the episodes this season. 

Because he's trying to bait Hook fans to watch.

[Rumsy4]

This is based on some spoilers we got recently, though this is not a spoiler in itself. I keep seeing these arguments on tumblr that Hook is really old-fashioned and traditional, and I'm left scratching my head. Are people confusing being old with being old-fashioned?? Sure--he knows how to kiss a lady's hand charmingly, but this is the guy who co-habitated with a woman who had been married, and is currently co-habitating with his True Love. He rebelled against authority figures. Is it his vocabulary? Or his lack of awareness of modern terminology and pop culture references? I am seriously confused. 

[Dianthus]

Sorry, I don't really get it either. OTOH, I think it may have more to do with the culture in which he was raised than the character himself. Maybe it's not so much old-fashioned as more formal?

[Curio]

I'm still in shock over how Hook's character was so underutilized in 6A. If it weren't for the Cinderella episode and the Nemo episode, it's like he's a ghost. Sure, he shows up on screen from time to time, but he doesn't actually get to do much. The fact that he was forced to sit around while Regina went off to find Emma in the Wish Realm is so completely out of character that it makes you wonder if Colin did something to piss off A&E the day they were writing that episode. The only reason Hook remains somewhat relevant right now is because Colin brings so much to Hook even when he's shoved off to the background. (Like his facial reaction to finding out about Regina/Rumple getting it on.)

If this is the final season, I'm going to lose it. Hook is one of the most popular characters on the show, and instead of building upon all his progress and prominence in Season 5, it's like A&E said, "Wow, some of these Twitter people really hated that we made Hook a focal point in Season 5. Let's completely push him off the grid to make them feel better in Season 6." No one has even mentioned Hook's death in 6A. I doubt it'll get mentioned at all in the future.

I know this is entirely anecdotal, but every casual viewer person I've met in real life always seem to list Hook as either their favorite or one of their favorite characters. Surely, ABC aren't blind to this. So how did Season 6 come to be?

[Mathius]

I keep tell you, Curio, you have given A&E way too much credit.  You never should have put it past them to be this idiotic.

Edited February 26, 2017 by Mathius

[Curio]

Where's that lower your expectations gif when you need it...

[Mathius]

But look on the bright side!  It seems like Hook will be much more prominent in 6B....it's just that it'll be alongside everyone and anyone but Emma.

[KingOfHearts]

Quote

Where's that lower your expectations gif when you need it...

"Describe Once Upon a Time in a single gif."

Edited February 26, 2017 by KingOfHearts

[kitticup]

20 hours ago, Curio said:

I'm still in shock over how Hook's character was so underutilized in 6A. If it weren't for the Cinderella episode and the Nemo episode, it's like he's a ghost. Sure, he shows up on screen from time to time, but he doesn't actually get to do much. The fact that he was forced to sit around while Regina went off to find Emma in the Wish Realm is so completely out of character that it makes you wonder if Colin did something to piss off A&E the day they were writing that episode. The only reason Hook remains somewhat relevant right now is because Colin brings so much to Hook even when he's shoved off to the background. (Like his facial reaction to finding out about Regina/Rumple getting it on.)

If this is the final season, I'm going to lose it. Hook is one of the most popular characters on the show, and instead of building upon all his progress and prominence in Season 5, it's like A&E said, "Wow, some of these Twitter people really hated that we made Hook a focal point in Season 5. Let's completely push him off the grid to make them feel better in Season 6." No one has even mentioned Hook's death in 6A. I doubt it'll get mentioned at all in the future.

I know this is entirely anecdotal, but every casual viewer person I've met in real life always seem to list Hook as either their favorite or one of their favorite characters. Surely, ABC aren't blind to this. So how did Season 6 come to be?

I sometimes wonder if it is A&E striking against the "pretty boys", like how they wanted to kill Charming.  With Colin, he's probably a bigger nerd than they are so it throws them a little.

[Curio]

On 12/2/2016 at 4:24 AM, Curio said:

It drives me batty that the writers don't recognize the natural comedic talent Colin has and utilize it more.

Quoting myself for a second...but hey, at least they're finally letting Hook be more comedic. Too bad it's only for a minute of screen time each season. (No wonder Colin wants a spinoff sitcom of Old Hook, there's so much wasted potential they never even tapped into.)

Part of me kind of wants OUAT to end this season just so Colin can find more work in comedy. As much as he's good at brooding, he really has a natural instinct for physical comedy.

[PixiePaws1]

2 hours ago, Curio said:

(No wonder Colin wants a spinoff sitcom of Old Hook, there's so much wasted potential they never even tapped into.)

Part of me kind of wants OUAT to end this season just so Colin can find more work in comedy. As much as he's good at brooding, he really has a natural instinct for physical comedy.

For one horrible moment I saw Old Hook courting Mrs Brown (Irish slapstick type comedy; Mrs Brown's Boys)...yeeeeeee!!!

[Rumsy4]

Colin was great as "old Hook". However--that wasn't Hook. It was a totally different character. Might have been better if they'd had Blackbeard play that role, and Killian take over August's role. The choice to have Hook be a mere punchline in the AU was strange, to say the least.

[Curio]

1 hour ago, Rumsy4 said:

Colin was great as "old Hook". However--that wasn't Hook. It was a totally different character. Might have been better if they'd had Blackbeard play that role, and Killian take over August's role.

It's hard to analyze his character because he was only on screen for a minute, but I could see small glimpses of the real Hook in there. Apparently, this Old Hook saw a poster calling for the rescue of Princess Emnuhhya, was smart enough to track her down by himself even though he's never met her before, was confident about his looks, and was willing to duel a much younger man than him with a chisel just so he could take the princess back to her kingdom. (And get his money.) He still had some of the classic Killian manners by calling Emma a princess and bowing when he announced that he was rescuing her. If young and attractive Killian tracked down Emma by himself, wanted to bring her back to her castle, and bowed when he offered her his services, everyone would be up in arms about what Emma did to him. But just because Hook was older, heavier, and a lot more of a klutz, suddenly it's okay to make him the quick comedic punchline.

Quote

The choice to have Hook be a mere punchline in the AU was strange, to say the least.

Not quite as strange as making a side character who hasn't been seen since Season 4 the main focus of the entire episode.

Edited March 6, 2017 by Curio

[PixiePaws1]

Clearly Colin had fun playing Old Hook ..and as much I admire his talent...i saw him on screen and it came across as a character from a pantomime. I wasn't offended by having him be old and overweight. I was angry and frustrated that the only chance for a CS adventure in a non curse world, even the shoddy and dodgy wish realm, was tossed aside like rubbish in favour of pairing Emma with yet another whitewashed arsehole.

It could have been beautiful and special...instead we got.....that....:o ((((

[Kktjones]

Yeah, I don't know if it's an unpopular opinion, but I didn't like the way Colin portrayed Old Hook either. I love Colin and usually find his acting choices spot-on, but this felt like he was trying too hard. I didn't find it funny in the least and I hated Emma's reaction to and treatment of him. When we found out about the wish world I remember all the CS fans going into overdrive with their predictions of the Princess and the Pirate "meeting" again for the first time. The positivity police were out in full force saying "they wouldn't pass up an opportunity for another romantic first meeting." Then we learned he would be old and fat, and people were saying, "well, I'm sure there will still be a spark and he will help Emma escape, blah, blah, blah." Nope on all accounts. The writers have clearly abandoned CaptainSwan as a focus on the show. As others have said it boggles my mind that they wasted an opportunity for Emma & Hook to have an adventure (the rest is spoilery)

Spoiler

given that they will be getting engaged and possibly married this season. Way to have absolutely no build-up to that.

[Curio]

3 hours ago, Kktjones said:

Yeah, I don't know if it's an unpopular opinion, but I didn't like the way Colin portrayed Old Hook either. I love Colin and usually find his acting choices spot-on, but this felt like he was trying too hard.

I think his performance was campy, then again, we only got a minute of it. But even in the minute he had, there were moments Colin threw in that made me want to learn more about this Old Hook. When Hook first lunged for his sword after Pinocchio stole it from him, he retreated back and nearly slipped and fell, but in that moment, he actually appeared to be a little scared. If there's one thing we know about Captain Hook, it's that he's never afraid. The only time Hook seems to be fearful is whenever Emma is in danger, but if his life is on the line, he doesn't care. In fact, back in Season 2, he seemed to be kind of suicidal. So this older version of Hook seems to value his life to the point where he's now afraid of dying, but he still postures as if he's the man of his youth. Younger Hook may have had a devil-may-care attitude and didn't fear death, but Old Hook has lost access to Neverland and is finally aging. After making a fool of himself grabbing the chisel, I think he realized he wasn't impressing them, so that's when we get the moment where he recollects himself and he swipes his bangs away pretending like he didn't break a sweat or didn't hurt his old back. And how did Old Hook lose access to his fountain of youth island anyways? If Rumple was still alive, why didn't Hook do everything he could to stay young? Did he think Rumple was dead, so he gave up on life, let himself go, and now is a crazy old alcoholic who keeps thinking about his glory days as a pirate and tries to recreate his epic adventures? Is that why he wanted to rescue Princess Emma and take the reward? And now I've officially thought about Old Hook's characterization more than A&E.

Had Old Hook been in the episode for longer than a few seconds, I think Colin would have had more time to be nuanced with the performance. I mean, how do you subtly portray an old, drunk, and crazy pirate in 60 seconds? I don't think you even try to go for subtlety.

What would have been great is if Old Hook replaced Pinocchio's role in the episode. Old Hook as Emma's unlikely helper might have started out as pure comedy, but the more Emma got to know him and had to work with this different version of the man she loves, Colin could have subtly peeled back the layers as we learned more about why Old Hook became a crazy drunkard. It would still be a comedic performance, but it could have gone more like this: First Initial Meeting = slapstick comedy and scene chewing, Middle of the Episode = Old Hook does or says something surprisingly thoughtful that subverts the audience's expectations, End of the Episode = more slapstick comedy, but also rom-com elements and a bittersweet goodbye. I just don't understand how A&E sat down at their computers, brainstormed who was going to help Emma for an entire episode, and landed on a random guest character who we haven't seen since Season 4. It's not that I don't ever want to see August on my screen ever again, but this was not the time and place for him to take center stage. When Hook and Emma are confirmed True Loves and live together, I'm sorry, but the audience might actually want to see them interact?? It's not rocket science. Also, considering this could be the last season, it's depressing that the writers wasted what could have been a funny Captain Swan rom-com episode on...whatever it is they gave us instead. How would you interact with your significant other if you traveled to the future and met them as an older person? Why didn't they want to explore that at all?

A&E always say they like to put "their own twist" on fairy tales and like to subvert our expectations, but then they went with the most cliched version of Captain Hook in the Wish Realm and didn't subvert our expectations at all. In a meta sense, I guess putting Colin in a ridiculous wig and makeup is subverting our expectations because we know what he looks like normally, but in a story sense, it would have been more surprising and refreshing for Emma to team up with Old Hook instead of the obvious direction they went. 

Edited March 7, 2017 by Curio

[Kktjones]

Curio I absolutely agree with everything here - this would have made such a better story and I have no doubt Colin would have killed it. The fact is Emma needed enchanted wood to get home and her true love lives on a ship made of enchanted wood. How they can completely ignore that and decide to limit Hook's interactions to a 30 second moment of comic relief, I'll never understand. He served absolutely no purpose in either realm Sunday night (or in the winter finale). But then I think Colin/Hook has been criminally underused this entire season. There must be a reason and I can't buy it's just because of the anti-Hook brigade on twitter. Oh well, at least he'll get some screen time next week. Beyond that, who knows...

[Curio]

11 minutes ago, Kktjones said:

There must be a reason and I can't buy it's just because of the anti-Hook brigade on twitter.

I think A&E thought Season 7 was in the bag. They tend to go overboard whenever they heavily feature a main character, so when it's Hook's time to shine, he gets a lot of focus like in Season 5. When it's another character's time to shine, they forget about the rest of the cast and can only focus on one or two characters at a time. This season, A&E wanted to focus on Regina, Rumple, and Gideon the most, and screw everyone else. Hook got the worst of it. But they probably thought Season 7 would be a new story where Hook would be featured more prominently, but now that Season 7 probably won't happen, Hook got the short end of the stick and will probably end this series being pushed to the background most of the time. It's pretty depressing.

[janett snakehole]

14 hours ago, Kktjones said:

Yeah, I don't know if it's an unpopular opinion, but I didn't like the way Colin portrayed Old Hook either. I love Colin and usually find his acting choices spot-on, but this felt like he was trying too hard. I didn't find it funny in the least and I hated Emma's reaction to and treatment of him. When we found out about the wish world I remember all the CS fans going into overdrive with their predictions of the Princess and the Pirate "meeting" again for the first time. The positivity police were out in full force saying "they wouldn't pass up an opportunity for another romantic first meeting." Then we learned he would be old and fat, and people were saying, "well, I'm sure there will still be a spark and he will help Emma escape, blah, blah, blah." Nope on all accounts. The writers have clearly abandoned CaptainSwan as a focus on the show. As others have said it boggles my mind that they wasted an opportunity for Emma & Hook to have an adventure (the rest is spoilery)

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given that they will be getting engaged and possibly married this season. Way to have absolutely no build-up to that.

When speculation and spoilers started coming out about the episode, the positivity police kept moving the goal post like you mention. There was even the set visitor who saw him in costume and said "he didn't look that bad" in response to someone asking if he was aged and that was used as proof that he wasn't so old. Oh man. Remember when we just thought he might have been aged up for no real reason? ha ha. ha. ha. 

I don't understand these writers. Sorry but who gives a flying fux about August. The narrative was honestly sort of come together coupley for Emma and August. Why? You have a couple made up of your protagonist and a popular fan fave character and you make Emma and a rando no one cares about the "couple" to focus on in a premier. Okayyyyy

If I didn't know any better, I would think Adam & Eddy have something against Colin. They very deliberately underused him in 6x10 and 6x11 (mocked his character for a short comic bit in 6x11) and I genuinely do not understand their reasoning. 

[tri4335]

12 minutes ago, janett snakehole said:

When speculation and spoilers started coming out about the episode, the positivity police kept moving the goal post like you mention. There was even the set visitor who saw him in costume and said "he didn't look that bad" in response to someone asking if he was aged and that was used as proof that he wasn't so old. Oh man. Remember when we just thought he might have been aged up for no real reason? ha ha. ha. ha. 

I don't understand these writers. Sorry but who gives a flying fux about August. The narrative was honestly sort of come together coupley for Emma and August. Why? You have a couple made up of your protagonist and a popular fan fave character and you make Emma and a rando no one cares about the "couple" to focus on in a premier. Okayyyyy

If I didn't know any better, I would think Adam & Eddy have something against Colin. They very deliberately underused him in 6x10 and 6x11 (mocked his character for a short comic bit in 6x11) and I genuinely do not understand their reasoning. 

My cynical conspiracy side thinks that they are so mad that Captain Swan overtook their pet Regina/EQ that they are subconsciously punishing Colin and JMO but I suppose I'm really off the mark with that or at least HOPE I am!

[Rumsy4]

Talking about the costume and makeup for Old Hook--it was terrible. That took 2 hours to put on?? It looks like someone draped an unwashed undershirt over Colin and shoved a pillow under it. As for the hair--it's like an upended mop. Why doesn't "fat" Hook have a double-chin? It looks like he is malnourished and has Kwashiorkor with a bloated stomach. It was embarrassing and cringey, but not in the way the writers may have intended.

9 hours ago, Kktjones said:

There must be a reason and I can't buy it's just because of the anti-Hook brigade on twitter.

I'm pretty sure this was a large part of the reason why Hook and CS have very little focus and screen time this season. I get that A&E thought S7 was in the bag, but nevertheless, this amount of reduced focus speaks of a deliberate choice. 

[Curio]

1 minute ago, Rumsy4 said:

Why doesn't "fat" Hook have a double-chin? It looks like he is malnourished and has Kwashiorkor with a bloated stomach.

 

Old Hook's look tends to happen to older guys who are naturally thin but drink a lot—they carry it all in the gut.

But yeah, the makeup wasn't the greatest. I imagine if he was on screen for longer than 90 seconds they might have tried harder to make him look more realistic.

I'm torn on whether or not I want a Season 7. On the one hand, if Hook is just going to be tossed aside like he is right now, then I want Colin to move onto something else while he's still in his prime. But selfishly, this version of Captain Hook is one of my favorite fictional characters ever, so I'll cherish any second I can with him. 

[Souris]

54 minutes ago, janett snakehole said:

If I didn't know any better, I would think Adam & Eddy have something against Colin. They very deliberately underused him in 6x10 and 6x11 (mocked his character for a short comic bit in 6x11) and I genuinely do not understand their reasoning. 

I wouldn't be surprised if A&E have a subconscious resentment of attractive, talented guys like Colin and "alpha males" like Hook. Eddy thinking that mocking Hook and making him old and fat was the best and funniest thing EVER is pretty telling. He was positively gleeful about it.

32 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

I'm pretty sure this was a large part of the reason why Hook and CS have very little focus and screen time this season. I get that A&E thought S7 was in the bag, but nevertheless, this amount of reduced focus speaks of a deliberate choice. 

It's definitely a deliberate choice. I think the coordinated anti-Hook/OnceUponAHook SQ brigade really had an effect. Hook is a very popular character -- it makes zero sense for him to be so sidelined and marginalized, from either a narrative or buzz factor. So there is SOME reason for it. They dropped him and CS like a hot potato this season.

My cynical conspiracy side thinks that they are so mad that Captain Swan overtook their pet Regina/EQ that they are subconsciously punishing Colin and JMO but I suppose I'm really off the mark with that or at least HOPE I am!

I can't say that hasn't crossed my cynical conspiracy mind, too! A&E seem like they could be exactly that petty. Add in some resentment they may have for JMo not signing on for a S7 early in the year, and they could very well be taking it out on Emma and by extension CS.

[PixiePaws1]

Quote

 

There are simply no words

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRZxEXSDJYA/

[daxx]

Colin is a gift!

[Hecate7]

On 3/7/2017 at 11:13 PM, tri4335 said:

My cynical conspiracy side thinks that they are so mad that Captain Swan overtook their pet Regina/EQ that they are subconsciously punishing Colin and JMO but I suppose I'm really off the mark with that or at least HOPE I am!

I am even more cynical than you. I don't think it's accidental or subconscious. I think it's fully intentional. "Take that, audience!"