Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-25701646-20141211121734/@comment-25582606-20141212150128

I totally understand where you are coming from. To an extent, I agree. She has done really terrible things, and there were moments where I didn't feel she truly understood or felt repentant for what she has done. However, I do think that everything weighs heavy on her. In episode 4x05, she tells Emma (probably not the perfect quotation), "Whether or not you meant to, you hurt someone. So, do as I do and learn to live with it. Welcome to my world." I'm not saying that Emma did anything wrong, and I wouldn't equate anything Emma has ever done to some of the things that Regina has done. However, I think that moment was very telling. I think everything does weigh on Regina, and that also seems to show in the fact that she cannot accept that there are others around her that care about her aside from Henry and Robin. At the Thinking Tree, I don't think that she meant that she felt no remorse, simply that she could not feel regret because her actions, no matter how terrible, brought her Henry. The only time that I can think of that she ever considers wanting to change her past is when she is talking with Robin in the vault about wishing she had walked into the pub. I think the writers have done a great job of conveying how human she is. When we make mistakes in our life, it is certainly easier to put them out of sight and out of mind. I think Regina does that from time to time. She has come a long way, and I do think that she has proven that. This next half of the season, though, seems like it is going to really test the authenticity of that change.