Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20180414005814/@comment-7526254-20180416211732

Saintfighteraqua wrote: I'm sure Zelena also paraded the fact that there were no good witches left in Oz. And besides Glinda and the two we see in Oz, how many good witches do we even have in the entire show? How many that are good that are reformed after a career of wickedness.

I'd also argue that Hansel being punished so severely for being biased isn't an excuse. I've met plenty of children who say biased things based on what they were raised to believe. I doubt any of us are completely bias free. That doesn't mean burning people is a good way to educate them! For all we know, a witch could have killed someone in their family, judging by how Ivo reacts. Maybe even his wife. Also, he says it was a logging accident, but it could have been a witch who blinded him, similarly to how the WW East cursed the Tin Woodman in the books. Maybe he was chopping down a tree sacred to one or something. And Zelena seems to have known Gothel's name, so I'm guessing she's been to Oz. Zelena was in a position of power. I get taht she was hurt, but she could have mustered up some courage and been the better person and left. Even leaving the bottle behind or saving it for later. Hansel saw that she was indeed wicked. I'm not excusing his behavior, he obviously had issues. But I do think he cared about Henry and Ella...I don't think he was even after Regina (yet). He wasn't exactly what I'd call a true villain, more of a vigilante. Again, I am not defending Zelena's actions, though Hansel did try to stab her first. Zelena's actions were impulsive. Wanting to hurt someone for making you feel bad is a normal human emotion. Most of us can control ourselves and not actually hurt the person, but Zelena had a magic addiction. She also was not the one who kidnapped and almost ate the children. She just didn't do anything to save them. She eventually went back, fought the witch, stole her eyesight for the woodcutter, and intended to rescue the kids. The woodcutter was fully aware of that, but she was given no credit for the good she did, all because she hesitated to do the right thing.

From what we've seen, most villains have lost someone they love or have been abused their entire lives. They often take things too far and blame the wrong person. Hansel only had one traumatic childhood event that we know of. I think if his mother was killed by a witch, the writers would have included that. I am not understating the seriousness of childhood trauma. But Hansel had a lot of people to help him deal with it. Not only was he offered a second chance. He took it and things got better. The only tragic thing that happened in that time was his sister's death. But that was completely on Drizella. Zelena was in no way connected. It is unclear how much he knew about Gretel's death. Other than that, there is no indication from the show that he had a terrible life or that he knew tons of evil witches prior to meeting the coven. Henry was more of a victim to the witches than Hansel. Yet, Hansel goes after Henry, who has only been a good friend to him. I still don't see how his actions towards Zelena were justified. She burned him once over 2 decades ago after he tried to kill her and she has clearly changed and become a better person, which Hansel should know, after the amount of time he spent around her. I'm not saying any villains had rational motives or that their actions can be justified, but from what we've seen for Hansel, he did not have a strong motivation to turn evil.

Hansel and Gretel grew up in Oz, which was affected by the curse. Assuming Hansel is around Henry's age, the flashback took place right before or after the first curse