Emma Swan: 1000% done with your infuriating optimism

[Dani-Ellie]

The sacrifice was for Regina but not only for her. She was just the first the darkness targeted.

 

This.

 

It doesn't have to be an either/or. And really, in that moment, what were Emma's options? Let it consume Regina and then move on to the next person? In the eighth episode of this show, Emma pulled Regina from a burning building, and this was back when they were mortal enemies. Now that they're friends (and regardless of whether I like it, agree with it, or believe it, that's also the truth of the story), there is no way I'd believe Emma not saving her.

 

But it is also true that Emma would have done it no matter who was in the middle of that vortex. Hell, Emma would have done the same for a stranger, because that's who she is. That's part of what makes her the savior.

 

Which then leads into Emma sacrificing herself for everyone. We were both told and shown that the darkness was not going to stop. It consumed the Apprentice and then moved on to Regina. After Regina, it would have latched onto someone else and then someone else and then someone else. Emma taking it on herself prevented the darkness from spreading throughout the town like a contagion. Like Jen said, Emma had like, a second to make her decision, and she chose to save everyone, Regina included, because that's who she is.

[RadioGirl27]

For me the problem here, and it's the same problem I had when I watched the episode, is the reference to Regina's happiness. He is not talking about saving her life but her happiness. He is saying that only Regina deserves to be happy and that this happiness is more important than anything else, including Emma's life.

These writers are so biased in their love for Regina thay they don't even consider the rest of their characters. Everything is about Regina and only about Regina.

Edited July 14, 2015 by RadioGirl27

[Dani-Ellie]

Of course she saved Regina's happiness, because she saved Regina's life. That's also another thing that doesn't have to be an either/or. Regina can't have a happy ending if she's had all the light snuffed out of her by the darkness or if she's dead before she's fully attained whatever her happy ending is.

 

Emma also saved everyone else's happiness because she saved everyone else's lives. Right now, the people who love Emma are miserable, but is there any doubt that they're going to save her? So their happy endings, along with Emma's, are still attainable, too. If the darkness consumed everyone and everything, no one would have a happily ever after. If this was the series finale, I would be a lot more angry about this whole thing, but it's not. It's a season finale, so this isn't the end of the story.

 

The writers may have a Regina bias but I don't think it's as all-encompassing as it's frequently made out to be. Just like there are shipper goggles, I do think there are anti-shipper or anti-character goggles and sometimes what we see and hear gets filtered through those goggles, too. The fact of the matter is they wrote this big massive heroic moment for the savior, and we're sitting here debating whether or not it was all because of one person. I personally don't believe it was. The actress who plays the character has gone on record multiple times to say she doesn't believe it was, that her headspace when playing the scene was that Emma was saving everyone. One of those times was during a panel where the writers heard her and didn't jump in to correct her or clarify. Regardless of what Eddy said in one interview, the story as played out onscreen did not indicate that it was.

 

Basically, I think we're all making a mountain out of a molehill, here, on all sides. Emma's sacrifice wasn't just for Regina, but the fact that Regina was included or even highlighted isn't a huge deal to me, either.

[Camera One]

Eddy said, "So when Emma sacrificed herself for Regina's happiness, based on a pledge she made", not based on the fact the whole town was also in danger.  That addendum to me adds a bit of specificity to the comment.  

[Dani-Ellie]

And that pledge was to get Regina to her happy ending, which I still maintain she can't attain if she's dead.

 

I guess I just don't understand why the idea that Emma saved Regina has to come at the expense of the idea that Emma saved everyone. Regina is included in everyone, so the two ideas are not mutually exclusive.

[Mari]

I agree that it makes more sense that it was more Emma stopping it because it would go on to devour everyone else.

Unfortunately, Eddy does not seem to agree. Eddy seems focused on that one aspect, which implies that saving everyone else was a happy accident.

I don't think it diminishes Emma's sacrifice at all, but it is frustrating that even in Emma's big heroic moment, the writing team seemed to be thinking all about Regina. It gives me less hope for the next season, because if even that has to be focused on what the action does for just the one character, then likely none of the characters I enjoy will ever be treated fairly.

[Curio]

Emma's hair is so pretty. I love how soft it looks. I especially liked it when she wore it in a low pony tail in Season 4. I love Emma, she's great. 

 

(Sorry, I'm just getting really tired of reading about the annoying Emma saved Regina vs. Everyone debate.)

Edited July 14, 2015 by Curio

[FormerMod-a1]

Emma's hair is so pretty. I love how soft it looks. I especially liked it when she wore it in a low pony tail in Season 4. I love Emma, she's great. 

 

(Sorry, I'm just getting really tired of reading about the annoying Emma saved Regina vs. Everyone debate.)

 

I like badass Emma.

 

[Curio]

I like playful Emma.

 

[Rumsy4]

She did it for everyone, including Regina since she told her so because she'd worked too hard for her happy ending

I think it was rather: She did it for everyone, especially Regina. That makes the most sense in context, taking into account that Emma particularly mentioned Regina's happiness at that moment. This doesn't mean it's a romantic gesture, but it's a sign of sacrificial friendship. Since you know, Regina has come so far, and "deserves" a Happy Ending". After all, Snow was ready to gamble on everyone's life, including the daughter she just met, her husband, and her grandson, for the sake of saving Regina at the end of S2. Maybe Regina will finally stop berating Emma for "never having her back" after this.

[MaiLuna]

Eddy said, "So when Emma sacrificed herself for Regina's happiness, based on a pledge she made", not based on the fact the whole town was also in danger.  That addendum to me adds a bit of specificity to the comment.  

Yes, I think that's why she did it, but not the only reason. If it had been let's say, Archie, Emma would've saved him too, but based on the fact that she's the saviour and she saves people and it's the heroic thing to do. That's what she would've done for Regina a couple of seasons ago too. Emma saw the darkness and she said they had to tether the darkness,  which was attacking Regina, she didn't say "oh we have to save Regina specifically". Regina was in danger and Emma chose to save her. Regina is her friend and she promised to give her her happy ending. When Regina tried to stop her, she brought out her happiness because she didn't want Regina to lose that. She had promised Regina to help her and she did, but that doesn't mean she didn't think of anyone else. Back in seasons 1&2 she saved Regina too, it just wasn't based on friendship or a promise she made to her, it was just because Emma is like that. Eddy was talking about earning their happy ending and that's why Regina's happiness and Emma's sacrifice means something more this time since it wasn't just because Emma was a good person that she saved her, it was different than before.  She asked her parents to help take the darkness out of her again so it's not like she planned sacrificing for Regina and screwing everyone else.

 

 

She did it for everyone, especially Regina.

That's true too, but it was especially Regina because she was the one being attacked. It couldn't have been especially for anyone else.

Edited July 14, 2015 by MaiLuna

[Dani-Ellie]

I like adorable Emma. :)

 

[Shanna Marie]

"Savior" doesn't have to mean "the one who does." Emma sets things in motion. The fact that the citizens of Storybrooke can find some other way than Emma doing it for them is empowering in and of itself.

I like that idea, and that does seem to be the way it plays out, but I doubt it's intentional. No matter how many times someone else has had to pull themselves together to save the day when Emma has been somehow incapacitated, the next time there's trouble, it's all "Emma's the savior! She must save us!" without anyone remembering that they were saved without Emma the last time. And every time Emma says she has to save them all because she's the Savior, no one points out that she's managed to help them save themselves. The show seems to want it both ways. They want Emma to have to be the Savior and have this responsibility, but then they take away the saving at the last minute.

 

As for the saving Regina debate, in my mental happy place that's about the only thing allowing me not to ragequit this show, the reason Emma had to specifically save Regina was that Regina was the one being engulfed in black goo at that moment. Yes, it likely would have gone on to hurt everyone else, but at that moment, Regina was the one it was destroying. It would be like a hostage situation, where the gunman is threatening to shoot everyone, but the one being held with a gun to her head at that moment is the one who specifically needs saving first.

[YaddaYadda]

 

Flirty Emma is pretty awesome too!

[Dani-Ellie]

I like that idea, and that does seem to be the way it plays out, but I doubt it's intentional.

 

Responding in the writers thread.

[KAOS Agent]

 

"Savior" doesn't have to mean "the one who does." Emma sets things in motion. The fact that the citizens of Storybrooke can find some other way than Emma doing it for them is empowering in and of itself.

 

My ultimate problem with this type of idea is that while the town should feel empowered and it comes out that they don't need Emma, they don't seem to get this. Thus, we get stuff where Emma & Henry are living very happily in New York (probably the happiest Emma has ever been) and the Charmings even acknowledge this, but the minute things get difficult, they set out to mess up Emma's happy life so that she can fix theirs. If Emma is a crutch they don't need and the town is empowered by not using that crutch, they need to stop using her as such. Stop putting the pressure on her to solve all of their problems. Why is Emma scolded for being unhappy that her good life was interrupted by these idiots and their problems? Even more, if the idea is that we make our own happy endings, why do the showrunners say things like Emma is responsible for giving Regina her happy ending? Or have Emma verbalize that same idea with in show dialogue?

[MaiLuna]

I realized the other day that as closed off as Emma is, in the last 2 seasons (about and year and a half on the show?) she has said ILY to 3 different guys. So she's not really that closed off. I mean, she had 11 years of false memories for one of those times, but still, I thought it was interesting.

[Faemonic]

I miss Emma's bouncy Disney Princess hair.

 

I also miss when she was the heart of the show. In S1, she was resistant to the fairy tales but still stuck around Storybrooke because the life she went back to kind of sucked, married to the job she was good at but with no friends and family. In S2 she was facing up to things she ought to face up to (Nealfire) but with a support system (Snow) and some other stuff going on that was more like the occupational hazard of a job she was still more or less good at (apocalypse-halting.) By S4, she hates it all and I wonder why everyone can't just leave her alone. She hates being in a town full of fairy tale characters with fairy tale problems (the savior doesn't get a day off!), she does it more out of guilt than out of being a good person, she only loves her parents when they're all about to die, and she wasn't even all that hot about Hook (and I like their relationship now--have been shipping them since Neverland--but ehh means no and the courtship was also boring to watch.)

 

I feel like The Dark Swan is more a product of what everybody else has done to her, herded her into by emotional neglect and use, rather than a real journey. I really miss the Emma Swan who would take a chainsaw to Regina's precious apple tree, threaten to punch Rumple in the face, and even concuss Hook (not against a headboard) and handcuff/tie him to anything that stays still for long enough.

[YaddaYadda]

I miss Emma's bouncy Disney Princess hair.

 

I think I'm the only person in fandom who really did not like Emma's hair in season 1.  I always felt it was too much for a character like her.  I liked it enough when she was out on her fake date because it made sense, but not after.

 

Or maybe I just prefer soft waves to whatever tight curls they were trying on Jen's hair which is super fabulous btw.  Generally speaking, I don't find the Once hair department all that great.

[Curio]

I think I'm the only person in fandom who really did not like Emma's hair in season 1. I always felt it was too much for a character like her. I liked it enough when she was out on her fake date because it made sense, but not after.

 

Make that the two of us who didn't like Emma's Season 1 hair. I always over-analyze tiny details like that and think about how Emma wouldn't have the time in the morning to sit in front of a mirror and create those perfectly bouncy waves. (It takes about 40 minutes with that long of hair.) That's just not her personality; she seems more like the type to roll out of bed, maybe run a brush through her hair quickly, throw on some mascara, and get on with her job. Realistically, Emma shouldn't even have her long hair down all the time, she should probably keep it up in a pony tail because she's so active with fighting monsters and using magic, but that doesn't look as cool on camera.

 

I also like the look of Jen's hair with a simple blowout, but that's just my personal preference.

Edited July 19, 2015 by Curio

[pezgirl7]

This is one of my favorite hairstyles of Emma's:

https://40.media.tumblr.com/fbe79547938bd33ecd2b0dc415f89e1b/tumblr_nin4dxjDTq1r7krlbo1_500.jpg

Nice and simple, but pretty too. I am very jealous of Jen's hair, and all the ways she can wear it.

[Panopticon]

I always loved Emma's hair for the exact reason that it doesn't match her personality. Personality-wise I would expect her to put it in a ponytail unless she had a specific reason to do otherwise (glamming herself up to catch someone who skipped bail). It's such a mismatch that my assumption was always that she wasn't actually curling and arranging and dosing her hair with appropriate products... her hair just does that because she's a fairytale princess whether she cares to admit it or not. She can subvert the princess look by throwing on a leather jacket instead of a ballgown. She can carry a gun. She can drop a "seriously?!" if someone has a conversation with a woodland creature. But she can't make the princess hair be anything but princess hair. Princess hair is magic; just ask Rapunzel.

 

In my headcanon she's also doesn't ever wear fake eyelashes. Her eyelashes just look like that even though that wouldn't be possible for a native of the land without magic.

[kingshearte]

Make that the two of us who didn't like Emma's Season 1 hair. I always over-analyze tiny details like that and think about how Emma wouldn't have the time in the morning to sit in front of a mirror and create those perfectly bouncy waves. (It takes about 40 minutes with that long of hair.) That's just not her personality; she seems more like the type to roll out of bed, maybe run a brush through her hair quickly, throw on some mascara, and get on with her job. Realistically, Emma shouldn't even have her long hair down all the time, she should probably keep it up in a pony tail because she's so active with fighting monsters and using magic, but that doesn't look as cool on camera.

 

I also like the look of Jen's hair with a simple blowout, but that's just my personal preference.

I thought it was meant to be just one more subtle clue that she really is a fairy tale princess, because fairy tale princesses don't have to expend the effort to have perfect hair; they do just roll out of bed like that. Of course, I'm really not sure if that was actually said by anyone official at any point, or if it was just fanwank. 

[KAOS Agent]

I was thinking about some comments in the Morality/Social Issues thread about Emma choosing to be with a villain. What's funny to me is that her two previous relationships were with guys who were pretty seemingly decent, but both of them screwed her over badly. Now she's with a guy who was seriously messed up in the past and is open about it, but would literally lay down his life for her and only wants to make her happy. Looking at it that way, I'd pick Hook too.

[YaddaYadda]

Steadfast, loyal to a fault, cares about her feelings, tries to keep her from making the mistakes he made?  She could've done a lot worse than him.

[Souris]

Steadfast, loyal to a fault, cares about her feelings, tries to keep her from making the mistakes he made?  She could've done a lot worse than him.

 

 

And did.

[mjgchick]

I love what Jen says about the Elsa and Emma friendship on her commentary episode. It's one of the reasons why I enjoyed the Frozen arc. It showed these stupid writers CAN write friendships.

[YaddaYadda]

I hope Emma realizes that before she wakes up one day and sees that she's been focusing her time and energy on the wrong people because she was too afraid to take a chance and live her own damn life. The Black Swan arc may be the wake up call she needs.

 

This was part of a discussion going on in the relationship thread. Because it's about Emma, I thought I'd bring it here.

 

Am I the only one who is getting some shades of 3B from this mess that could be the Dark Swan arc? Emma was somewhat free when she did not have her Savior title following her around, when people did not have those expectations of her. When she was standing with Hook in NYC, on the sidewalk about to take the potion, one of her arguments was that her life felt real to her, that she had her son, a guy she loved, a job she enjoyed and I've been sort of getting the impression that not being the Savior because of the goop might make her free enough to wanna choose that again until she is basically consumed by it.

 

I mean if anything

that spoiler pic from 5x04 with the rose, her on the horse with Hook. This woman is still living with the goop inside of her but she's taking the time to live

 

One of the things she learned to do in season 4 was to live her life in the moment. One of the weirdest scenes ever for me was her taking a stroll with Hook right after her parents told her Maleficent was resurrected. How unlike Emma was that? Emma would normally be in her battle station, ready for the fight that's coming, but there was no sense of urgency.

[KAOS Agent]

I despise the eggnapping stoyline and the crap about removing Emma's darkness because the writers claim free will conquers all and then claim Lily got shafted by this free will limiting extra dose of darkness. Whatever, show. However, if we go with the premise that Emma is somehow all good & light, I see her parents shafting her in this as well. If Emma has her darker tendencies removed like selfishness and hate and need for vengeance, she's left with an overwhelming tendency towards selflessness. It would be skewed massively upwards and screw her over because she doesn't have the balance in her nature to make her feel like she should take time for herself. There would be constant guilt for not helping others when she's doing something for herself. The removal of the darkness essentially pushes Emma towards self-sacrifice for others, even if they don't deserve it. It's not a healthy thing and it all comes back to her parents for once again putting it all on her to be the lightest hero that ever heroed without giving her the choice to be good or bad herself.

 

Note: I recognize that this whole thing is a ret-con of epic proportions because it doesn't match with Emma's willingness to get really down and dirty in the past, but we'll just go with it as a explanation for why Emma has such a hard time telling Regina to deal with her shit on her own and let Emma get on with her life.

[KingOfHearts]

Just recognized this yesterday: I love watching Emma interact with random fairy tale characters. Not just the main cast, but even the short scenes she gets with the guest stars are fun to watch. The random cases she had in S1, like with Hansel & Gretel, were charming. I even enjoyed her first meeting with Cora down in the pit. The most prime example might be her friendship with Elsa. Since Emma is basically the audience's insert, her interactions with the fairy tale characters really help feeling engaged in the story. I wish they'd branch it out more, and I think they might be in S5.

[YaddaYadda]

I thought her most hilarious reaction to a fairy tale character was when she realized they were talking about finding Tinker Bell in Neverland. 

 

So Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, the Lost Boys...yeah, Tinker Bell! Like for realsies!

[YaddaYadda]

Sometime ago, when we were still on TWoP, someone posted a meta about Emma's nursery and all the little symbols on Killian's rings and I know it was one of you. I just don't know which one. Would someone be so kind as to repost that link? It would be really awesome!

[regularlyleaded]

I didn't find an entire meta post on TWoP, but I did find where some forum members discussed some tumblr posts that talked about Emma's buttercup tattoo (which seems to appear on some of Hook's rings & Charming's royal crest), the Sailor and Knight dolls in Emma's nursery, etc. They made reference to these tumblr posts:
 
Captain Swan Foreshadowing Pt. 1
Captain Swan Foreshadowing Pt. 2
Blue's Clues the Captain Swan Edition
 
Is this what you were talking about?

[Amerilla]

The S1 "foreshadowing" ones will never cease to be silly. The doll everyone points to, for example, isn't a navy officer, it's a gendarme - it's a callback to the original Pinnochio story, not a foreshadowing of Hook.  The knight is one pedestal, the gendarme is on the other: Charming, who risks death to get her to safety, and Pinocchio, who is supposed to be her protector in the LWM.

 

The ceiling represents sun, moon, earth (the compass), and sea (the trident) - common motifs that, if they foreshadows anything, it's the distance Emma will travel on her journey.

 

And, wow, a picture of a sailing ship on the wall of a seaside inn!! Stop right there. That totally means CS was the plan/the endgame right from the pilot. </sarcasm>

 

S2 on, of course, they merged in symbolism. Absolutely.

[Mari]

I have to admit that as much as I'd like to think they put that much thought into the little details, I don't think they'd deliberately foreshadow a character they didn't have rights to--and while I could easily be wrong, I don't think they had Hook rights until season 2.

Now, that doesn't mean they couldn't have gone back and looked at season 1 Emma scenes to look for things to include in Hook's scenes and persona.

[YaddaYadda]

Storybrooke is very nautically themed. I remember a scene where Emma is walking with Henry and this store front has a huge ship wheel inside of it.

 

That said, I thought there were close ups of all the rings in reference with Storybrooke/Emma and I thought those metas would be a good place to start looking for pics.

[Curio]

The S1 "foreshadowing" ones will never cease to be silly.

 

Mostly because it gives way too much credit to the show runners for planning things out in advance. Those guys aren't continuity wizards; they're retcon masters.

[Dianthus]

Mari, on 17 Sept 2015 - 08:39 AM, said:

I have to admit that as much as I'd like to think they put that much thought into the little details, I don't think they'd deliberately foreshadow a character they didn't have rights to--and while I could easily be wrong, I don't think they had Hook rights until season 2.

Now, that doesn't mean they couldn't have gone back and looked at season 1 Emma scenes to look for things to include in Hook's scenes and persona.

They didn't have the rights to Hook, but they did want them. Didn't one of them (don't remember if it was A or E) say that Peter Pan was a favorite childhood story? As I recall, the other mentioned Snow White as a favorite. What better way to marry (SWIDT?) the two?

Still, we see what we want to see.

[mjgchick]

Damn I just read Jennifer's interview with Entertainment Weekly. I love how straight forward she is about her character. I half way realized who interview her and had a nice chuckle because it must've hurt Natalie to post that interview. Loved her saying Henry would be the first person to not push her to the dark side and Hook would be next. I do wonder if that means we'll some time this season have a real storyline that deals with Emma and her parents you know for real this time.

[YaddaYadda]

You could see it during the episode. When she goes in Hook's arms, the darkness was gone.

 

And when she's talking to her parents (when Snow is holding out the dagger), the darkness is standing right there.

 

And when she pulls Henry in her arms, the darkness is gone once more.

 

If that's not a strong, hit you upside the head message, I don't know what it is.

[Rumsy4]

Poor JMo. The fact that Emma saved Regina and everyone else by taking on the Darkness was not even mentioned. The only angle was that Emma saved Regina, and sacrificed herself for Regina's HE. I think JMo should know by now that everything revolves around Regina.

[mjgchick]

Yeah they even had her say it even if it was in a harsh tone. Emma did admit that she saved Regina. They don't even mention that the darkness would've taken everyone.

Hook and Henry are the only people to not leave emotional scars on Emma so it makes sense that they are the two who keeps the darkness at bay. The grown ups in Emma's life as a child abandoned her or thrust this savior stuff on her since birth. Some have tried to kill her and one screwed her over because some puppet said so.

[KingOfHearts]

Poor Emma. She had all these people from the Enchanted Forest encounter her growing up, but none of them tried to make her life any better. (Except maybe Ingrid.) It's getting kind of ridiculous. It makes me mad she felt so lonely when all these people could have leveled and stayed with her. Lily gets to know the truth, but Emma gets to be knocked up and sent to jail? Even if she was supposed to break the curse, why couldn't someone just bring her to Storybrooke at the appropriate time? I'm looking at mostly August, Merlin and the Apprentice. Maybe even Neal later on. It just seems kind of retcon-y that all these people were around her during her childhood.

I'm actually disappointed it didn't work out with Ingrid as a foster mom.

Edited September 30, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[Mari]

Plus, wouldn't it have been more sensible for some of them to insert themselves into her life, gain her trust and affection, if she's young enough work on making her a magic believer, and then push her towards Storybrooke at the appropriate time?

Seriously, August would have probably had better luck if he'd convinced Nealfire to help him with Emma, instead of running away. I still haven't figured out what that accomplished.

[Camera One]

Well, we always wanted Emma's backstory.  Who knew it was going to be ret-con upon ret-con.  

Edited October 1, 2015 by Camera One

[KAOS Agent]

The way they've written Emma's story irritates me because this show wants to be all about choice and made a big deal of Emma saying you have to step up and make your own life. Then they've shown that no matter what Emma chooses to do, there is always some puppet master behind the scenes screwing with her life such that her choices make no difference. 

 

Merlin pops up when she's a child. The Apprentice sends Ingrid to mess with her as a teenager. The Author/her parents messed around with her when she was still in the womb. August/Neal made decisions to ditch her in jail. Even in the AU Emma was stuck chained to the floor of a far off tower. Emma life has been filled with a stream of people moving her into the position they wanted her to be in. Regina spent all last season bitching about how the author was responsible for her poor choices and lack of happy ending, but it's really Emma whose life was written for her without her input.

[YaddaYadda]

Emma's life has never been her own. I wouldn't even put it past Pan to have let Neal escape Neverland on purpose because he somehow figured stuff out about Henry.

 

I've always hated that Emma was labeled by most people as the Savior and that's all they saw of her, that includes her son and her parents (her mother more specifically). Emma's made 2 choices, staying in Storybrooke (which has come back to bite her in the ass in a big way) and being with Hook.

[Curio]

So here's what I don't get—Emma supposedly had all the "darkness" sucked out of her and it went into Lily. But then they go and show a very young Emma stealing a candy bar from someone's pocket. Like, what the hell was the point of that entire egg baby plot if it didn't even affect Emma's character? Why did I waste hours of my life watching Snow and Charming do something incredibly stupid and watch Emma get upset at them for a reason that ended up being a moot point? Why should I feel sorry for Lily's life always being "bad" when life was just as bad, or worse, for Emma?

 

Ugh, I really wish I could forget all of 4B ever happened.

Edited October 1, 2015 by Curio

[KAOS Agent]

Emma was the last hero standing. Now they've turned her doing something incredibly selfless & heroic into mental torture and evil villiany. There are no more heroes on the show. If anyone wants to know why the ratings are off, perhaps they should look to the fact that there is no one who was "good" to root for. Although I'll be over here rooting for Dark Swan because really all these people suck and if anyone has justification to go all evil on them, it's Emma.

[Camera One]

So here's what I don't get—Emma supposedly had all the "darkness" sucked out of her and it went into Lily. But then they go and show a very young Emma stealing a candy bar from someone's pocket. Like, what the hell was the point of that entire egg baby plot if it didn't even affect Emma's character?

 

That's exactly what struck me in the first scene, and it set a bad tone for the rest of it.  Lily said all she did was make bad choices, like she couldn't help it, and the Apprentice reiterated the cards were "stacked against her" because of those selfish evil babynappers, who made an evil choice while the Apprentice was being "forced" to perform that portal spell.  

 

So why was Emma already making bad choices that young, when she started with a cleaner slate?  She was also stealing with zero signs of guilt.  Wait, it must be Eva and Snow's "bratty" genes at work here.  They're too powerful to counteract all the darkness being taken out of Emma.

 

But as usual, A&E would already have their explanation.  The reason why Emma was making bad choices was because Snow and Charming weren't there to raise her.  See, ultimately, it's their fault.  Heroes are far from perfect, you know!