Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20160821231147/@comment-24674051-20160824174940

Nice exposition on the Rumple and Belle relationship. Very well thought out.

Another point to make clear is that a person can have more than one True Love, and it is not even precluded to be at separate times. First, at the end of Season 1, we have the TL between Emma and Henry that breaks the first curse, then fast foward to season 3 and theTL between Regina and Henry that breaks the second curse. So Henry has the True love of BOTH of his Mom's. (A situation that I would wish for every child/parent relationship in the world).

Another example is with Emma. The first time we see TL with Emma is with her relationship with Graham. I think, had Regina not interfered, that relationship may very well have progressed to the point of being able to break the curse, but Emma was able to break the curse's hold on Graham right before he was killed. And we now have Killian (if we can accept the Ambrosia test from the UW). And that's not saying that Neal was not True Love, as I suspect it was, it was just never tested or confirmed.

Regina we are not as clear, though. She loved Daniel, that is clear, but there is nothing that says that is was True Love (There is nothing that says it wasn't either). And similarly with Robin, though I honestly think that Robin's final sacrifice should speak volumes of the depth of that relationship, not to mention Regina's willingness to protect and save Marian at the expense of her own relationship with Robin. But again, neither one of Regina's relationships were truly tested or confirmed (on screen).

Which I think may bring up a final point, in that people can and do experience love in all of it's various forms, not everyone experiences True Love.

And there are 2 examples of "Love" on the show that are still awaiting full expression, and it may take a while for them to be properly expressed. First is that between siblings (a form of filial love). Zelena choosing to sacrifice her love for Hades to save Regina might be considered as a first step towards true love of the sisterly variety. And regarless of whether Zelena is "redeemed", I hope the writers explore that relationship more.

the other example is the deep bond of friendship that can happen between 2 people. True Love does NOT need to be romantic (as already seen in the parental expression). the relationship between Emma and Regina is one that is poised right on the cusp of being true love of the philial variety. I don't want to see that relationship progress into the realms of romantic love, but I would love to see that relationship blossom into the full expression of love between 2 friends.