FAU

Thanks, no surprise there either, but I'll wait until the official announcement in May.

wild sage growing

You know, the spell totally had to have backfired. Otherwise, the Chernabog wouldn't have gone after Emma. Wasn't it going after the person with the most potential for darkness? Or maybe our world simply nullified the effects of the spell?

Which is kind of a good thing, I think, because it suggests that Emma never really needed a spell to keep from going dark. She still had her freewill.

scififan2009

I know.

koodles

I would like a revelation like this.

I really don't like that Snowing is now (and probably always has) saying that the reason their daughter is good is because of this magical compulsion they put in place that ensures she will be good. It's very weird they are taking credit for her goodness when they did something very selfish and dark to do it. I don't like this arrogance they have about it.

I think Emma is good because of who she is as a person and the reality is that Snowing has nothing to do with that because they had no hand in her upbringing.

Maybe Snowing is trying to justify this so much because it somehow makes them feel like they have more of a hand in how Emma turned out. Maybe this arrogance they have that what they did was worth it is actually rooted in their despair of not having had the opportunity to raise their daughter. On some level they take pride in what they did because it means they did have a hand in Emma's development and how good she turned out.

I'm really reaching to try to find some rationalization and feel better about this really disturbing attitude Snowing has adopted.

fox24

Your analysis does make sense koodles

lianamed

Or maybe they know what they did was so terrible they don't want to admit it to themselves that it might never have been necessary. Right now, as self protection they need to lie to themselves and to Emma that what they did was what made her a good person, otherwise their own remorse and self disgust would be crushing.

I'm reaching here, I know, but they kind of remind me of Regina at her worse self denial days when she believed everything she was doing against Snow was justifiable because 'the Kingdom didn't know her as she did, and couldn't see the wretchedness of her heart'.

I hate when Regina calls herself a monster, because she clearly isn't one any more, but, at least, in my eyes, that shows self awareness. She looked at her past actions, and now, is able to see those in the right light, and to feel disgusted at her past. That's an important step towards redemption. It's the kind of attitude both Snow and David had in the EF at the nursery, and it was what made me accept what they did. It was even the kind of attitude Mary Margareth (finally) had when she convinced David they had to tell Emma the truth.

But this scene? It doesn't do them any favours, that's for sure. No wonder Emma appears to be so disgusted at them. Had they shown remorse to her, instead of pride, I'm pretty sure she would be closer to forgive them. It's no wonder she refuses to hug her mother when she comes back from her trip, if this is how her parents have been acting in front of her.

Randysgirl

I think that's a really good observation.

I also think it's interesting that Snow and Charming are forgetting an important component of the process - didn't the Apprentice tell them that they would still need to be there to guide Emma in her childhood if they wanted her not to be dark? And we know that didn't happen... Since Emma left them right after her birth, it would seem that her goodness couldn't just be a result of that spell. She had to make some choices on her own and use her own heart as a guide. Hopefully when Emma encounters the Apprentice, he'll tell her something along those lines.

fox24

Plus Emma like everyone had a 50/50 chance to be good/evil if Snow didn't give into her fear. Emma could have also turn out the way she did

Austenphile

I think you are exactly right, and they are following this advice Snow received in 2.17

x

lianamed

For what I could understand, Emma was never destined to be evil. She was just like everyone else. What happened is that Snowing let themselves be led by their fear of the idea of her having the same choices and temptations as everyone does, including themselves.

They denied her ever making the choice everyone could have. The only reason they didn't have those fears with Neal was because they never faced an enchanted tree when Snow was pregant with him to remind them he was a blank state as well before he was pregnant as everyone was.

I mean, every first time parent is faced with fears about their child, and they are prone to freak out, but not every single parent would go that far based on fear. But since they did, it would be nice to have them back at showing remorse. It certainly would help them to have Emma accept what they did if they did show remorse AND apologize to her for 'changing the essence of her being' AND trying to take away her free will. This is more than just hurting Lily and Maleficent. Emma is right: they also did her wrong, and they are not asking her forgiveness for what they did to her. In fact, they didn't seem to realize what they wronged Emma as well.

But as I said, it self protection. They just don't want to face the truth about how unnecessary what they did truly was.

Randysgirl

And it's a shame they can't see that they're missing an opportunity to be parents to Emma right now. They can't change choices they made in the past, but in the present they can be there to understand the pain she's experiencing. They have to try and see things from her perspective as well, and be there to protect her.

fox24

I agree with what you both said

AlmostEverything

Perfectly said

Austenphile

Let's be fair here. Their fear was driven by the fact that Regina had been a good person before she became the Evil Queen and hunted Snow down like an animal for years. Snow also had exposure to Cora. So her fears were more pronounced than an average first time parent.

I don't agree with what they did but I definitely understand it. (Although I might be the only person on this forum who does). It's a metaphor for genetic disease. Who wouldn't try and prevent your child from having one, especially if you had that disease in your family and if you thought it would be placing it on a dragon.

The later responses is more self preservation. I believe the nursery when they were alone is how they truly feel but they can't admit it now because they want to believe that they have moved beyond that one action. It's wrong but it's a very human response and no different from the no regrets attitude we have seen at one point or another from every single character.

Mace

I get it too, Austenphile. I mean even Regina has said she doesn't regret the things she has done because in the end it got her Henry. And she has done much much worse than Snowing.