Board Thread:Show-Related Questions and Answers/@comment-26255666-20150401220207/@comment-26088930-20150408140213

Eskaver wrote:

Marissaloohoo wrote: Totally agree with all of the comments about Neal. I get so annoyed with CS because it feels extremely vapid and forced. I personally thought that Neal had the most depth of almost any character on the show. Even Rumple? Haha (you did say most, I see), I think Rumple has he most depth. Neal had great potential though. He would have been up there with Regina and umm...Snow in terms of character. Those are the major premises of the show: Rumple and his son; Regina and Snow (and of course Emma).

That's why if Rumple, Regina, or Snow randomly died next episode, the show would be thrown in total chaos. Without those main characters (including Emma though I do forget her at times), there'll be no show. I think they had no plan for Neal whatsoever since you can see in season three he was in the background almost as a non-entity. I think though the main misstep (besides his death) was the Neal = Baelfire connection. Bae seemed like a Snow White variation in boy form, spouting hope and general dislike of magic, losing parents, etc. Neal was some matter-of-fact thief with some rough edges and a generally pessimistic view and used his father for leverage and endangered a kid's life to get to Neverland and other selfish things. Where did that come from? Rumple and Regina are by far the two most compelling characters on the show. I say that Neal was one with the most depth because of his complexity and the way the actor played him. To me he was one of the most relatble characters. Yes, he came from the EF, but he spent a lot of time on his own in this world. He has lived for well over a normal person's lifetime, yet he remained level-headed, funny, and pretty damn heroic through it all. Yes, he was bitter about Rumple leaving him, but not to the point that he turned dark or took it out on other people. He didn't WANT to leave Emma and had no way of knowing she was pregnant. He left her so she could find her way home. That's what August told him was best for her. That's pretty selfless in my opinion. He could have acted selfishly and tried to make it work with her even though he knew he needed to step back in order for her to fulfill her destiny. Then when they found him in New York he was super duper upset to see his dad, but he sucked it up and focused his attention on Henry because that's what really mattered. He was more concerned about his son's well being than his own even though he literally JUST found out that he existed. Then, finally, he ended up sacrificing himself for everyone. I just think he is an all-around awesome guy. No other character on the show has even come close to showing that level of integrity and real-life heroism.