ripplestitchskein:

tough-lass:

10 (anti) parallels of Hook’s redemption / Regina’s redemption 

Dedicated to my amazing friend @cat-sophia

I have a lot to say about this anti parallel, but first of all I want to start by saying that I do acknowledge Regina’s redemption. I think she went a long way from being the EQ to the person that she is today. Nevertheless, along the way there were things that bothered me (and still bother me), and I expressed them here in the gifset, and gonna address them below in this meta. I’m gonna do it point by point referring to the order of the gifs.

1) While Hook was always careful about calling himself a hero because he realized the impact of this word, Regina was using/uses it about herself so lightly, even when she’s not being a “true” hero.

2) Like in this moment right here. The second after she talked about her own “heroism” she goes and say this sentence that no real hero would ever say. The real hero here was Emma who told her “What mattered was she was a person. And…whatever she did, she didn’t deserve to die.” This is how heroes should talk and think. However, heroes would end up feeling guilty even for things that weren’t in their control, like Hook did a second after saying that he’s hardly a hero.

3) Another thing that always bugged me was Regina’s motive for change. It always seems like she wanted to change in order to change her “luck” to a good one because “villains always lose, and heroes always win”. When she talked about working to built a future and that she lost it, she meant becoming a hero so she could gain a good future. I don’t like this attitude, because the change should come because you want with all your heart to be a better person, with acceptance that it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have a good life or good luck. Hook on the other hand always seems to accept the cards that were given to him. In the moment of truth he chose to stay good over a possible future. Any future.

4) Something that was always missing for me was Regina’s guilt. I know she did feel it along the way, but after all she did she should have felt a lot more guilty and take responsibility than we ever saw her. That moment from season 3A was so truthful for her. The truth is that all the bad things she did brought her the best thing she ever had in her life, and although she has change for the better, the regret over what she did could never get strong because of it. Hook on the other hand felt guilty even over something he did while being consumed by the darkness of the DO, and that he stopped at the last second.

5) Another thing I don’t like about Regina’s redemption arc is the constant whining and constantly victimizing herself. She caused to others more pain that she ever experienced herself. Like she once told Zelena: “You can’t keep painting yourself as a victim. It’s absurd.” Hook on the other hand always  accepted his fate, and always took responsibility for his own demons.

6) This point was so lately on the show, and it really bugged me. Regina was talking to Zelena about how she saved her because that’s what heroes (like herself) do, but then she comes and say something that heroes will never say: “I can never forgive you”. Because heroism isn’t only about saving people’s lives, it’s also about compassion and forgiveness. Hook had learned that lesson, she hasn’t.

7) I gave Ariel here as an example of how Regina ignores the bad doings that she did to people. In the past she prevented Ariel from reuniting with Eric. A thing that lasted through the entire dark curse and a little more. But when she’s hearing about Ariel she just insults her and call her “that fish”. Hook on the other hand from just hearing that Ariel is there felt that enormous guilt over what he did to her. Not knowing that he didn’t prevent her from being with Eric at all.

8) I gave the Belle example to show how while being after (or better say during) a successful redemption, Regina still manage to be shady, taking out Belle’s heart without her knowing. While Hook is to this day feels guilty about things he did to her before his redemption process began.

9) That author fiasco. Something about Regina is always seeking the easy way out. I’m not happy, I’ll just force someone to write me a happy ending. It doesn’t work like that in life. You make your own story, and you are the one to decide who you are and what you write for yourself. I’m acknowledging the fact that Regina realized it at the end, but it took her an entire season and to place in danger everyone around her. Hook on the other hand always knew his role in his redemption. He knew that he’s the one to decide who he is, and he was even strong enough to resist the darkness of the DO because of it.

10) That EQ fiasco. The entire problem that lead to Regina taking out the EQ was that Regina couldn’t acknowledge that the EQ and “she” were the same person. She started (and later on continued after this sentence) to talk about her as a separated person from her “everything she did”. No Regina, it was YOU who did these horrible things. It is you who needs to live with it. Yes, live with the pain, go through it, overcome it. Again Regina was taking the easy way out in her redemption. To just take out the dark side, blame everything on it and destroy it. Life doesn’t work like that. You need to accept your bad and good side and decide everyday that the good side is wining. Hook on the other hand was always aware of his responsibility. Look at that situation from 5×15. He could have blamed it on the darkness that possessed him. He could have even blame it on Emma that turned him into the DO and didn’t believe in his ability to resist it (which lead to him not believing it himself and let the darkness consume him eventually).

So at the end of this very long meta (sorry!) I want to sum that while both redemption arcs are successful ones, I think the way to it is just as important. And in that sense I can’t be more proud of Killian and the healthy way he got were he is now at.