Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-11058666-20150819040345/@comment-24950802-20150827212126

^^In regards to Emma, you have to remember that it was established very early on that she had problems opening up to others about what she felt or was going through; she'd put up many walls over the years. It's natural that, when we first see her in the pilot, she's all bad-ass and not much else to it, but as soon as her biological son comes back into her life, and she reconnects with her mother (oblivious to that, or unwilling to believe it at the moment), she starts to give herself away more easily. I like that about Emma, and I actually quite enjoyed her arc in season 4, disregarding the craziness that was her behavior following Cruella's death.

Some people say that Emma's attitude towards her innate magic was molded in season 4 to acommodate the Frozen story, but I don't believe that, I actually think it felt so natural. Those people claim that Emma hadn't shown any signs of being afraid of her powers before, but it's not like she was ever all that enthusiastic about them. Let me put it this way: if I had magic powers like Emma, I'd be using them for everything. EVERYTHING!.

On the topic of Emma no longer being bad-ass, I am reminded of Lily Sparks' review of episode 3.04, in which Emma broke down to her parents about Neal's death. She criticized it, noting that the writers were slowly destroying the strong female role model they had built in Emma, but I think that was her overt feminism talking (she's a heavy Swan Queen shipper). I love when the characters show their emotions like that, because I actually think there's a lot of strength to showing one's vulnerability. Not everyone can do that, actually. They mistake it for weakness, a lot of people do. We're all susceptible to feeling depressed every now and then, and I'd say that losing the first person you fell in love with or learning that your parents did something awful are up there on the list of reasons why you'd feel bummed out or irritated.