Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-1916997-20160111161802/@comment-25926288-20160111165549

I think it's probably what I'll call maintaining the "status quo". Hook is a newer character than much of the main cast and gets a big pull because he's the main character's love interest.

Hook is mainly Regina lite with the rough paragon of good of Snow, the charm from David, and the headstrong thing from Emma. Character development-wise, He's usurped Snow in the mentor/ counselor role while Regina usurped Snow's friend role. Pretty much, he's a pretty bad boy anti-hero that get's the girl type of character and some people like it and some people don't. Most of the people that don't like it have valid reasons.

Emma is the strong female character amongst many, the show claims. Ignoring the others, Emma is the central one. A strong character is one that's proactive, sympathetic and competent, which is the exact opposite of a damsel in distress which we always see who need a man to be the proactive one, a man to help them be competent, and so on. Strong female character doesn't mean a loner with no emotions, that's not a character at all.

Besides the random lies about planning things out and the murder of Neal, it's primarily this thought. Emma is made to be emotional which is fine, but she had a support from her family and looked up to Snow. Now it's not as clear as Hook has filled in that role. Check mark for potential DiD (Damsel in Distress). Season 4 Emma was so odd season which I'll disregard because Emma was wildly erratic and bewildered. The Dark Swan arc was Emma's time to show her strength and we'll realize how incompetent a woman's help was (Regina's) and how incompetent her family's help was and how incompetent her own help was. But who's help did actually make way.........Hook's (aka a man's). Even Emma's sympathetic reasons to go Dark, to not give up the Darkness, to enact this weird plan was all because of a man aka Hook. A woman's arc becoming all about a man and even vice versa is a sham and a disgrace to that character. Hook being the most proactive and sympathetic during the arc was totally fine, but the twist wasn't as much.

It's all fine and dandy, but then it's false advertisement. The talk about girl power and strong female characters and thinking Emma is still a strong woman that takes no crap is a lie when you have the patriarchal/chauvanistic/traditional symbol being wedged into your face. Many signed on to seeing strong woman, not an arc that's seemingly about a man. Yes, it's about Emma's love for Hook, but having Hook there relays the olden days. The only thing going for Hook on any side is that he's not a Mary Sue and does fail and have great flaws and stuff.

Plus, Hook's flashabcks consistently paint him in some anti-hero light and we don't really learn anything. Or it's like Good Form, which was terrible.