Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1962215-20140316231135/@comment-8345449-20140422010308

Dan Fox wrote: I find it ironic that Charming and Cora both grew up with humble beginnings but then their tales go in completely opposite directions. Charming grew up with a Mom. Cora Grew up with a drunken father. Charming was fine living as a shepherd. Cora was extremely pissed at her social class and went to extreme measures to become royalty. She even was willing to have a child with a man she believed was a royal. They both became royalty through Rumplestiltskin's help. Cora ultimately abandoned Rumple (her love) and took out her own heart, so she could become the royal she so desperately wanted to become. Charming ultimately abandoned King George's kingdom and his fake marriage with Abigail, and own personal safety, to be with Snow White (his true love). Cora gave up her firstborn daughter to give helself her best chance. Charming gave up Emma to give her, her best chance. They have similarities but their life choices were very much polar opposite. Someone should make a music tribute video of them on youtube to show the comparison.

I think it rather shows how much difference good parental upbringing and nurturing makes. Charming had a loving mother who led him down the correct path so he turned out well, Cora only had a drunken father whom she had to take care of (and so did Zelena). Prince James was brought up by King George with all the best advantages and look how he turned out. And he was Charming's twin so they should genetically be very similar in nature. Would David have turned out the same way if he was raised by George? That's very possible.

Snow White would probably have became an extremely spoilt, selfish brat if she was raised by Leopold alone (maybe even Regina had a hand in molding her into what she is now in the early years). Emma became a criminal and thief at first because she was brought up in bad foster homes. It's like what Regina said in Season 1: "evil isn't born, it's made."