First, let me go on record and say that the proposal made me emotional. It was the music, the words, the acting in the way Jen and Colin pulled this off, it was Emma’s growth as a character. All of it sort of collided into a perfect moment. I thought it represented the characters really well. And for a minute, there were no walls, or impending death.
But yes, there is that pesky secret, and last night, I thought of episode 6×05 when Killian went out to dispose of the shears and came back and what it is that he tells Emma about wanting her to have what she wants.
For me, that’s the parallel this season for Captain Swan. As usual, the characters have been flipped and the storyline is now practically the same on both ends. They even included Archie in it.
Emma was keeping a secret from her family that only Archie was privy to and she kept it for 5 episodes. During that time, she took a very big step forward in her relationship with Killian with this large secret and threat looming over her head.
In this half, Killian has a secret and though he doesn’t know the nature or what it is, Archie is once again the only one who knows about it. Killian actually called him to see if he could have an appointment, and had that happened, the odds were that Killian was going to spill his guts right then and there.
Killian said in 6×05 that he whatever Emma wanted, that’s what she would have, and he was very true to his word. She wanted him, she wanted the ring, she wanted to hear him ask her to marry him, so he gave her that, because there was no way he was going to turn her down.
And it’s something he wanted as badly as she did.
I think the moment was beautiful, especially when we consider that the last time they used that music was under completely different circumstances. And not for nothing, that moment back in 5×08 was the start of Emma keeping a doozie of a secret. So if anything, the writers have remained very true to the whole Emma and Killian mirror each other.
The moment Killian decided to “chose her happiness over his own release of guilt” (x)
I don’t want to put spoilers in the tags so witness my flail:
BUT YOU CAN ACTUALLY. FUCKING. SEE IT. Like look at that first gif?????????? Like it’s about a second after the blink. His right-hand eyebrow relaxes and raises a millimetre and his eyelid lowers a tiny bit and his mouth maybe? sort of? kind of twitches up at the corners but like…YOU CAN’T EVEN SEE IT REALLY? EVEN IF YOU’RE TRYING TO LOOK FOR IT? And that CHANGES THE WHOLE LOOK???? Like everything FUCKING SOFTENS and you can see that’s the moment he’s bewitched, overwhelmed, in awe, drowning in every fragment of love he’s ever held precious in his heart for her.
I haven’t talked much about the episode because last night I got home, exhausted, from traveling an hour before the episode started, I have bronchitis and I had a busy day at work today. So honestly, I haven’t had the time or energy to talk about the episode.
As far as whether I liked the episode… no. I thought it was a snoozefest. As I said prior to the ep I had zero interest in Beowulf and the episode proved that was a good instinct. I just couldn’t care less about Rumple/Bae backstory.
When the only thing keeping me awake during the middle 50 minutes of the episode are a few Regina, Zelena, FauxRobin scenes you know it’s bad. No Snow and Charming? Good grief, writers, what are you thinking?
As far as the proposal, uhhhhhhhhhhh, I have mixed emotions. I LOVED how happy and excited and open Emma was, that was amazing. And like Killian, when the moment came, and she backed him into a corner, I didn’t want him to break her heart anymore than he wanted to break her heart by telling her the truth. I cringe at the thought of her feeling any sort of rejection when she was being so open with him, so I totally sympathized with his position. I get why he did what he did.
However, I just don’t love that the writers decided to go this route. It feels unnecessary and like… piling on. I thought last week was rock bottom, but apparently that was just the beginning for A&E. They got their steel tipped shovels out and asked how much further can they dig. But mostly I’m disappointed in them that they would taint such a milestone in this way. They’ve always been so careful with CS, always been so mindful of their pure sweetness and the epic nature of the story. In my mind, this development doesn’t fit with that.
As for what’s next… I have no idea. I HATE the idea of Emma finding out from someone else, but so far with what we know it seems like that’s what happens. (because A&E have their shovels out and they just keep digging) Eventually, I do think there will be another proposal, and I hope that it is romantic and epic and everything this couple deserves.
Oh well, my mind is begging me to talk about this scene, so there you go.
Look at this angsty motherfucker. He’s so downcast and scared and sad that he has to tell her. But Emma thinks all of that is his fear of proposing. She thinks he’s afraid she won’t say yes so incredibly excited as she is, she takes the step for him and shows him the ring.
Killian reassures her he can’t be mad at her and Emma just fucking opens up like she hasn’t opened up before.
Look at her. She’s basically ready to propose herself. She gives him the ring and smiles at him with tears in her eyes, waiting for him to propose. And Killian sees that. He sees how excited she is and he knew how she used to be. She was a lost girl with walls up, with fears and insecurities. Killian had seen right through them and was happy to help her overcome them.
And now he sees her honestly overcoming them, right in front of him.
The woman who was scared that a happy ending isn’t in the cards for her is now patiently waiting for him to propose to her. And that’s just GREATLY FUCKING HUGE for Emma Swan and he knowsthat. He knows how important that moment is for her and how hard she’s worked to allow herself that. To allow herself to hope in the future, a happy one, for both of them.
And I think that’s what makes him let go.
He’s happy for her, proud of her, eternally in love with her and he can’t simply ignore the huge step she took. So he kneels. (I mean fuck, even in their engagement Emma was the one who took the first step)
But look at him. His face just gives everything off. It’s like he gave himself up for her to judge and punish him, as if he’s at her complete mercy. He knows, oh Heavens above, he knows how fucked up this all is but he can’t just tell her the truth now that she literally brought down all of her walls. She deserves that. A happy proposal, even if it turns bitter later. Because she was the one to walk out on him, he always stayed. If he walked out on her now, it would break her.
Yes, that’s what she deserves. Not some coward running away right when she’s finally over her fears.
And God damn it she is so happy it makes me wanna cry.
The lost girl found home. The home she chose to have, with a pirate who will never stop fighting for her happiness. And to her it’s just that moment where she can finally lean back and say “It’s finally over” and start living her happy ending/beginning. And he sees that.
He’s happy for her, that even for a little while, she got what she deserved so much. Until he thinks about how little he deserves that.
That he can’t have that. He doesn’t want to have that, not like that.
One of my favorite moments of Murder Most Foul is Killian asking Charming for his blessing to ask Emma to marry him. Normally I am not a fan of this tradition due to the history behind it but this time it melted my heart. It melted so much that it is the focus of Nerd Moment 1 (that’s right, I’m writing 2 this week).
The tradition of ask permission to marry a daughter dates back the the beginning of time. We all have seen it in movies and even read about it in books, fiction and nonfiction. The tradition was not a tradition when it began but actually a contract. A contract between a man with a fortune, land and oh a daughter and a man who wanted to increase his fortune, land and oh have sons so there would be a family name to keep strong. For centuries marriage had nothing to do with love and all to do with increasing wealth and forming alliances. Of course over the centuries this “tradition” died out. Men no longer needed to create talk to a potential wife’s father about a contract for a marriage proposal to happen.
Let me correct myself actually. There was no need for a contract but the tradition of asking for permission or a blessing stood. It was and still is the very gentlemanly thing to do.
I know, I know. For some it is an antiquated idea. Women aren’t cattle or property. No one needs to sign off on women being allowed to be proposed to. You are right no woman does. Which is why when Charming tells Killian he didn’t know he was so old fashioned it showed us that even in Charming’s eyes, Prince of the Enchanted Forest, Killian DID NOT need his permission or blessing because he knows Emma is her own person for one and two this was a tradition that in Emma’s world had become outdated.
My absolute favorite meeting that Emma and Hook have ever had happened in the second hour of the Season 4 finale. We watched as Regina was written as a bandit and Snow White was actually the Evil Queen and Prince Charming her evil henchman … and then we finally found out what Killian’s fate was … to be a cowardly deckhand.
But it didn’t take long for Henry to convince him to help rescue his mother from the tower. When Henry and Emma race down the stairs she runs right into Deckhand Killian and it was the cutest meet cute in the history of meet cutes:
I mean, just look at them, she’s so in love and relieved to see him and even though he doesn’t know who she is he is immediately enamored with her. Need a closer look?
I just can’t with these two.
It was just such a sweet, lovestruck first meeting . I would write more but I’m watching the above gifs over and over again.
And of course this meeting gets better, too … Emma decides that she needs to remind Hook of who he really is and gives him one of the sexiest swordfighting lessons in the history of ever:
I need to talk for a second about Emma’s reaction to wish!Hook. I mean, yeah, it was funny, haha, but also… I think it shows us quite a lot about them as a couple. He’s posturing and being pretty ridiculous but she doesn’t mock him, or rise to him. She’s there in the background, hiding a smile or biting back laughter and making her Emma faces, like “this idiot, oh my god”. She talks to him in that gentle voice that says she cares about him. She makes those wry, snarky remarks but in a teasing way.
The whole time, she just has this good-naturedly exasperated attitude, like “oh what have you done now”. Even if you’d never seen these two characters before, you’d know that they’re close. That she knows him and loves him, no matter what. That she understands him in a way that maybe he (or this version of him) doesn’t even understand himself. That they have the kind of relationship where they’ll tease and torment each other, but also have each other’s backs, 100%.
And it’s not even really him, and she’s aware of that, but you still get this insight into them as a couple. More than ever you can see her treating him like someone she’s really close to, and honest with, someone she knows really well and loves despite (or because of) all his quirks and flaws. It’s a lovely touch.
cshappybeginning 