Thank you so much Sandra for requesting this! Because as I was saying before, that TL confirmation was a big “well, duh”. And so I loved taking 20 things that really symbolize how it was true all along.
I do however want to take this mini meta here to a different issue that I didn’t discuss to this day and came to my mind as I was thinking of gifs for this gifset.
I started to think of how the writers have chosen for CS a different proof of true love than all the other couples (Meaning, it wasn’t a true love kiss…), and then I started thinking of the why.
So first of all I think (as I said once before) that it’s related to the fact that they wanted to show that an act of true love is something they did all along (chose the life of the other person over their own so many times), and that door opening as they were doing just that, symbolized how we should have known (and in fact we did) that it’s true love all along. That their actions were screaming true love the entire time.
But then I thought about something that I didn’t think of before. It came from the place of singling out CS over all the other TL couples, and it occurred to me that this is exactly what Disney did with Elsa and Ana in frozen.
One of the things that single out Frozen from all the rest of the movies was the fact that it was an act of true love that was not a kiss that broke the spell. Ana sacrificed her own life so Elsa could live. Exactly like Emma did (without knowing her heart wasn’t really in danger). At the same way for CS, the act in Frozen proven that Ana & Elsa’s love was true all along, and there were so many evidences of that along the way (Elsa practically isolating herself in order to keep Ana safe, Ana going on a journey to help her sister). Disney chose an actof true love there that would single out this movie and would make it more special, and it was.
I often feel like the writing of CS as a love story is the masterpiece of the writers of OUAT. It is the one couple that you could tell for a fact that it’s true love without any proof (I’m dis-including Snowing here because their love proof was the first scene of the show…). And so the writers wanted us to feel like they didn’t show us anything new there. To show us that yes, everything you saw them doing was a proof of TL right there.
Send me a 20 reasons why… request and I will turn it into a gifset
As a tribute to CS winning the vote (for which I don’t really care but it’s a great excuse) I want to talk again how freaking pretty their kisses are.
A crane shot for a kiss? The music in the background swelling and the field they’re standing on looking like a fairytale? And above all, sweetness and intimacy?
Among many other things I’ve said about this kiss, one thing was that it isn’t giffed properly unless Emma’s single tear is visible. Back in the day when it had just happened someone had commented that this tear was like the lone ending note of a song…
Even simple and casual kisses like this seem so full of emotion and so freaking long. I think their shortest peck is from 4×12?
(It’s as if they want us to enjoy those or something…)
AND THAT THING
THEY DO
with the talking while their lips are literally touching the other’s freaking ruins me.
And the close-ups???
I mean???
The entire screen is them sucking faces
and their reactions and all???
And anyway what I mean is that I love how much focus the kissing gets. They devote time and screen to show them kiss and react and be so intimate with each other. They love showing it. And we’re so lucky to have so much love for our ship by the show itself.
Emma Swan 1000% asked Killian if he wanted to hang out with her at Granny’s. 1000%. No one will convince me that Mr. Killian my-lips-are-curse-gotta-protect-my-Swan Jones asked Emma to chill with a cup of cocoa in Gossip Central Restaurant. Nope. Emma asked him to hang, because she likes spending time with him. And her playful mood and attempts to get him to relax and have fun are proof. #all the feels
My favorite part about this scene is how she is 100% trying to flirt with him and he’s so frustrated by it. He’s like, “Why now, Swan? Why couldn’t you have been this way when I could ENJOY it?”
So Crash Course in Emma Swan here, though she vehemently denies it to anyone who would ask, by this point in the story, she already internally considers herself in a relationship with Killian Jones.
The thing about walls, though, is that they work in both directions. They not only keep people OUT, but they also keep her IN. It takes a lot of effort for her to allow herself to show that side and those feelings because they’re behind a wall, so it’s much easier to be a bit prickly, especially with people (like Captain TLK-I-Will-Win-Your-Heart up there) who she knows won’t be so easily shaken by it.
But earlier that night, Emma walked into Regina’s library and IMMEDIATELY zeroed in on the fact that something was wrong with Killian Jones and that it had to do with her. And from that moment on, her whole demeanor changed. She flirted, and teased, and held his hook, and glanced back to make sure he was following her out (which, bless him, he thought was her scolding him for the hand at her back, the poor darling), and asked him on a hot chocolate research date, and magically invaded his personal space, AND FUCKING GIGGLED.
She made the effort to push through the walls because she thought he might be getting discouraged about their relationship. Progress for Emma comes in bursts because she has to build up energy to get through her own barriers and habits. Kinda like this:
She gets to the same place, and she hits a lot of the same milestones along the way, but because it comes in bursts instead of steady progress, it can even seem like she is actually regressing sometimes.
I’ve kinda gone off on a bit of a tangent here, but I just really wanted to point out how big an effort Emma is actually making here and why, because I think it adds so much depth to their relationship in 3B, and really gives a nuanced perspective about why things were so rocky for so long.
I ship Captain Swan because they are a truly beautiful pairing, in looks and in emotional connection. I have never seen a ship have such chemistry like Emma and Killian do. I have never seen a ship be allowed to be romantic on the level that Killian and Emma are. Captain Swan is given such room to grow on the show, is handled elegantly and respectfully, and provides the most fulfilling payoff I have ever experienced in my many years of fangirling. They have had a natural sort of progression that has hit all the shipper sweet spots. They fulfill and subvert so many pairing tropes, it’s ridiculous (in a good way). I love how they conrtrast in so many different ways (Emma is light, Killian is dark), and yet they fit together so perfectly – yin and yang. They balance one another out. They are not perfect by any means and they know and accept that about each other. They are devoted to each other and aren’t afraid to express it. They kiss and they hug and they hold hands. They are affectionate and loving and fierce and determined and only ever bring out the best in each other. Shipping Captain Swan means I don’t have to imagine the simplest romantic gestures in my head because they actually exist for this pairing in canon. They are cheesy and sappy, yet strong and wonderful, and everything I’ve ever wanted out of a fictional romance. They are this absolutely epic romance, steeped in fairy tale and wonder and magic, and yet are so grounded in a sense of realism. The people behind Captain Swan (from the actors, to the writers, to the creators – hell, even the social media) are devoted to telling their story well and realistically and in a way that doesn’t deprive of a single damn thing. They are very much the golden standard – a ship of dreams. The type of OTP that any self-respecting shipper would be honored to love. They are the all-around perfect shipping package and shipping them is one of the easiest, most enjoyable experience a person can have.
Back to the True Love thing – I had no problem with the scale/doors thing, but I tend to feel that the moment at the elevator afterward eclipsed it.
That scene wasn’t framed as a test. No one was watching them or judging them. This was it, the end, the final goodbye, and the last thing they asked of each other was that they try to find happiness. They desperately wanted to be together, but if they couldn’t, they wanted to make sure the other did not give up hope for something. It was a mutually selfless moment that made for a counterbalance to the entire Dark Ones arc – and that is the definition of True Love.
I also just noticed that was Emma was wearing in the Underworld is basically a combination of what she was wearing, and what he was wearing in Camelot.
Beyond that though, these were 2 moments of levity in the middle of two very tense situations, where we discovered that Emma likes quoting stuff, and Killian can read Greek.
#Captain Swan moments #that ruined my life #but also #made it better [37/?]
lol i’m lying here in bed trying not to fall asleep before i get a decent filming spoiler or two (because i am old and also timezones) and this pops up and
look at them, why is this gifset from literally 2 seasons ago giving me feels
look at the great scary pirate captain hook in full leather nuzzling his cold girlfriend and kissing her head and making sure she’s warm and she’s stroking his arm and aww boo you scared me and it’s just so tender and domestic and trusting and he just wants to make her comfortable and they’re in their own quiet little world together and
intentional as well? like the creators were trying to not only hint at the magic/wishing aspect of it all but also to give a shout out and say Killian is an important part of her life and her future and the overall family dynamic?
Hello anon! Regarding the camera panning to Hook when “things that belong to Emma” are mentioned i will direct you tothis gif set that i requested from the talented @lovestruckhook right after 5×01 aired! As you can see, YES – I do believe those camera shots are VERY intentional. Every shot is mapped out – and those are no exception.
And every line of dialog is intentional too. The scripts for OUAT go through multiple revisions. These aren’t real characters or real situations. The writers control the story and the dialog. And regarding the wishing well scene in the finale:
The writers wrote a scenario in which Henry wanted to convince everyone that wishes are REAL MAGIC.
They choose to have him offers her proof by citing the one time he KNOWS making a wish worked…
And the story they choose – the wish coming true story they wrote… was HOOK finding Emma and Henry in NY. And bringing them home.
Henry made that wish because he knew Emma was LONELY. You can argue that the wish was fulfilled by Emma and Henry being reunited with their family in SB – and that Hook was just person who made the wish come true and not really a part of that family. Who cares? The fact that the story is about Hook at all demonstrates his importance. He found them, he saved them, he brought them home.
Because Henry wished it.
The writers could have written ANYTHING to go in that scene – but they chose to have Henry say he made a wish, and have Emma recognize that Hook coming to NY and finding them was what happened in response.
And that was enough to convince everyone, including Regina and Rumple,that the wishing well thing could work. Which means, whether certain fans like it or not, that ALL the characters BELIEVED that Hook finding Emma was MAGIC – that his appearance at her doorstep in 3×11 was WISH FULFILLMENT.
Emma wished on the cupcake in S1 and Henry appeared
Henry wished in the well in S3 and Hook appeared.
Two wishes were made that Emma wouldn’t have to be alone
And Emma’s two True Loves finding her was the way those two wishes were granted.
Once again the writers chose to make a parallel between Henry and Hook. And this is coming on the heels of Emma and Hook being confirmed True Love. It was intentional.
Henry’s S3 wish story doesn’t confirm Hook as family. But the S5 finale does. Because he, Emma, and Regina wish to be reunited with their loved ones – and Snowing, Zelena, and HOOK are magically transported to them through the well.
Hook is a part of their family now. And this scene was a nice acknowledgment of that fact.
It’s no coincidence that we got the backstories for the two most iconic Emma Swan items – the Yellow Bug and her Red Leather Jacket – in episodes Emma shared with Hook.
Abandonment and guardedness were two issues at the core of Emma Swan’s character when we first met her – especially when it came to romantic love. And the writers have chosen to explain the history of her most iconic imagery, and the emotional issues associated with them, during episodes in which she and Hook went on a journey alone together.
Emma Swan has been guarded with her heart for good reason but slowly we’ve witnessed her letting down her walls with Hook. It’s been a wonderful journey the two of them have experienced over the span of these past three seasons – a journey bookended by Tallahassee and Firebird.
Both episodes involve the two of them on a quest, both end with Emma and Hook parting ways; but her feelings towards him – and towards LOVE – couldn’t be more different in the two episodes:
In Tallahassee Emma left Hook behind because she couldn’t risk her heart.
“I can’t take a chance that I’m wrong about you”
And Firebird she risked her heart because she couldn’t leave Hook behind.
“I’m not sure but who could be? We have to try.”
Emma isn’t afraid any more – not of love, not of the future. That chapter in her life is over. And the change in her character was reflected with a change in her icons:
The Yellow Bug was her home when she didn’t have one – it represented the Tallahassee that never was. But now she has a home in Storybrooke and a house with Killian. And each time she ventures away from it her yellow bug brings her back to the people that love her.
The Red Leather Jacket was her armor when she felt she needed to protect her heart. But Hook told her not to put on that armor again after he was gone – not to guard her heart and fear love just because she lost him. And Emma agreed – she realized that the red leather jacket was no longer armor she would wear to keep love away – but armor she would wear to keep loved ones safe.
Emma is no longer a Lost Girl.
Who would have guessed that falling in love with Captain Hook would be such a big part of her journey?
I kind of started on this after rewatching some of the episodes of season 5. Captain Swan are the only couple that is truly a mirror image of each other as individuals. and they already had so much in common before season 5 even began, so this is a sort of double down because what Emma has gone through, Killian has gone through as well. The pain, the struggles. Their experiences are not just similar, they’re practically the same.
This is literally Emma and Killian walking a mile in each others’ shoes.
cshappybeginning 