Take_my_Revolution

I think that the problem was we didn't really get to see the transition from young Baelfire to Neal. We saw Bae as a self sacrificing and earnest boy/teen. Then Neal is an adult living in New York and I forget where else, but he is jaded. I've always been amazed with how Neal survived in different worlds/realms on his own. Honestly, I always saw Neal's sarcastic quips as how he handles a situation. I get it because my mouth moves a lot faster than my mind.

BlueDog9

We did need to see that

Krista_N

I wondered about that too.

BlueDog9

Well clearly our world made him jaded.

Krista_N

Manhattan was also an emotional rollercoaster for him (and everyone else). First he panicked and ran (we will never know why but he must have had a good reason), then he saw Emma again, then Rumple - and that conversation did not go well and then he found out that he had a son. That's a lot to take in for anyone. He needed time to process everything.

BlueDog9

And he didn't really get the time.

CityGal

Yep.

Krista_N

Exactly. And I'm sure Neal was very honest with Henry and took full responsibility for what happened in 'Tallahassee'. Anything else would be completely OOC for him. I don't blame Emma for lying to Henry but I can also understand that Henry was disappointed in her. There was not much Neal could have said to make him feel differently about it. That was between Henry and Emma.

BlueDog9

I agree. And considering what Emma thought Neal had done, it was easier and understandable why she lied to Henry.

Krista_N

She didn't want to tell her 11 year old son what a terrible person his father was and who could blame her for that? But Henry had been lied to so many times that he couldn't deal with it. They all needed time to deal with the new situation.

BlueDog9

Time and to talk

Krista_N

I wish there would have been more scenes of them talking about everything.

BlueDog9

Me too

Krista_N

We needed those scenes and it would have brought them closer together as a family.

DigificWriter

Whenever I hear people talk about 'missed opportunities' with regards to Neal and Emma's relationship, especially after they re-entered each other's lives, I can't help but feel like those people missed the point of the writers handling the Emma/Neal relationship the way that they did. Even though I was initially disappointed that this relationship didn't end up being "endgame" the way that I thought it was going to (especially in light of my then-dislike of the Hook/Emma pairing), I've since come to the conclusion and realization that, by handling the Emma/Neal relationship in the manner that they did, the writers were further turning the entire concept of Fairytales and Fairytale romances on their head by giving us an archetypal Fairytale romance that DIDN'T end in a Happy Ending, and have concluded that, if anything about the way that the Neal/Emma relationship was handled were to have been changed so that it played out differently, the show wouldn't really be as strong as it's been in the time since they chose to kill Neal off while his and Emma's relationship was starting to evolve from what it had been, especially when it comes to Emma and Henry's individual characterization and character development.