Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5521796-20130130052521/@comment-32088217-20170523135837

I don't think the hatred of Hook stems so much from RumBelle as it does from Emma and Neal shippers. Both Hook and Neal were introduced at the same time for unlitmately the same reason; to be a love interest for Emma. Fans picked sides, as they always do, and those who shipped Emma/Neal hated Hook because they felt like he got in the way of that pairing. Likewise when Neal was killed off that only served to fuel fans hatred of Hook even more. I don't agree with this, but the evidence speaks for itself. If you go back and look at the ratings for OUAT there is a significant drop off in viewers that occurs around the time of Neal's death, a drop off that continued to grow as Hook's role in the show (and with Emma) grew. I see so many comments where people say Hook was the reason they quit watching. I liked Hook and Emma from the start (though judging from the ratings I must be in the minority on that), because it was clear to me even then that Hook and Emma were end game. I still liked Neal as a character though, and was ultimately sad to see him go. In the end it seems Emma/Neal shippers will say Emma/Hook have no chemistry and vice versa. Personally I think Emma and Hook have great chemistry, but as a Hook fan I am unquestionably biased. I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with my evaluation, but in my opinion this is why so many people hate Hook.