Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-34563899-20180218220444/@comment-91424-20180220192810

Aine1989 wrote: Edzz wrote:

Potential/Implied Rape -Baelfire (Emma - Below age of consent)

It is not implied that Neal raped Emma, he did. Emma was 16 or 17, depending on what birthday you believe for Henry, since the writers gave him 2 birthdays, one in August and one in March/April. And in Oregon, where they were, the age of consent was 18. Which is sexual abuse, though the common term is statutory rape.

Aine, you keep insisting that Emma was 16 (or sometimes, 16 or 17), but the show has never stated that she was 16. You need to let that part go. First of all, the show established very early on (the fourth episode of the first season, in fact) that Emma was eighteen when she had Henry. Emma says so herself in "The Price of Gold":

Emma: "Screw them. How old are you?" Ashley: "19." Emma: "I was 18." Ashley: "When you... when you had a kid?" Emma: "Yeah".

(Emma was, of course, born in October 1983, but since we later learn that Henry was born in August 2011, we know that Emma was actually two months away from her 18th birthday when she had him - but people often round up their age for convenience, so that is not a goof.)

Secondly: Fast forward to "Tallahassee", the sixth episode of Season Two, where an on-screen title card from the flashback with Emma and Neal says "Portland, Oregon, 11 years ago" (as seen here). The present day events of "Tallahassee" take place in 2012.* 2012 minus 11 equals 2001. But if that is not enough: A title card from the Season Three finale, "There's No Place Like Home", where we see a flashback from the day Emma and Neal met (we know it takes place on the day they met because they have the drink Neal suggested in "Tallahassee"), clearly says "Portland, 2011" (as seen here). Emma was born in October 1983, therefore she turned 17 the year before she met Neal.

So there you have it. The show has never stated that Emma was sixteen and the writers have only given Henry one birthday (not two), which is August 15, 2011. You are free to talk about statutory rape, if that's what you want, but you can't say that Emma was 16, because that is not what the show says. I should know, since I've spent countless hours rewatching episodes and researching the show for my own comprehensive timeline. Emma was 17 when she met Neal, not 16. Period.

 *  ''We know this because "The Stranger" establishes that August started turning into wood when Emma decided to stay in Storybrooke in "Pilot" ("You ever been to Phuket? (...) That's where I was when you decided to stay in Storybrooke.(...) Because at eight-fifteen in the morning, I woke up with a shooting pain in my leg; that's eight-fifteen at night in Storybrooke—sound familiar? That's when time there started to move forward again.") and a title card from 218 "Selfless Brave and True" establishes that August started turning into wood in October 2011 (as seen here). Ergo, "Pilot", where Emma decided to stay in Storybrooke, takes place in October 2011. Between "Pilot" and "Tallahassee", there is Valentine's Day in S1E12 "Skin Deep". Ergo, the story has long since shifted to 2012 during present day "Tallahassee".''