Board Thread:Spoilers!/@comment-23906605-20131017110136/@comment-23871096-20131021030624

Emma is a broken, bitter young woman when it comes to love on all levels (even familial - as was indicated by her refusal to accept the Charming's "call us Mom and Dad" shpeal). She was hurt by her parents, hurt by Neal and then, when she finally allowed herself to feel anything akin to love again with Graham (though I would argue that wasn't "love", but desire - given the time frame it happened in), Graham was killed. Then Neal comes back and suddenly she's forced the face love again, in a very different sense. She's forced to see that you can love someone, despite being hurt by them and that sometimes even, you can't -help- but love them.

I hadn't heard of the term "Cannon" before ( :

Anyway you got to remember, while it doesn't make it right Emma, Snow, Neal and Henry

Ect ect... are involved in a grande design. Thinking of 2 particular ep's.

One: Manhattan, Neal and Emma are at a bar after they saw eachother for the 1st time in years. Neal was talking about a grande design. or destiny & fate. And that something

good might have come out of their tragedy.

Two: Rumple and the Seer. The Seer told Rumple his actions in the battlefield will leave his child fatherless. Rumple thought he escaped that fate by injuring himself and going home to his family.

So.. As painful as it was for Snow,Emma,&Regina to face such tragedy. In their case

I think it was all part of a grande design leading down to Henry making it to Neverland.

And if one tried to alter it? It would happen anyway.

I mean I see Snow;s face when her and Emma visited their old castle and Snow looked in that room with such pain in her heart. I bet the last thing she wanted to do was give up

Emma. But destiny and prophesy is pretty much written and non-escapeable.