Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-6175354-20130130015306/@comment-101.169.255.243-20130207144242

I'm really hoping this is explored more over the course of the show. As you say, there are many kinds of love, and the notion of true love is not necessarily just love between two consenting adults, as we have seen with Emma's love for Henry. I think there is a possibility that some of the characters who have loved and lost (e.g. Red, Hook, perhaps even Regina) may find love again. It would also be interesting to see if Regina's love for Henry eventually becames as 'true' as Emma's love for him, and if Cora's rather twisted love for her daughter is reedemable. Will she ever be persuaded that love is strength, not weakness? If we're talking friendship, the love between Red and Snow seems to be true, and Aurora and Mulan also seem to be heading that way. And what about the characters who appear never to have never known romantic love (such as Whale and Archie) but have known love for a brother or a pet? There are so many possibilities, I hope the writers explore some of them! I'm intrigued by the fact that all of virtually all the characters - heros or villains - and their actions are driven by either love (most of the heros), or loss of love (e.g. Regina-Daniel, Hook-Milah, Whale - loss of his father's love) - with the possible exception of Archie (guilt?) and Cora who seems to be driven by the desire for power. And of course, one of the biggest questions of all, is whether Rumple's desire for power stems from love for his son (and fear of losing him / desire to find him again) and Belle or from fear and cowardice. Surely that will be the difference between his redemption or remaining cursed for eternity?! I look forward to seeing which direction the writers take! For me, that's really the heart of the show, the battle of good v evil really comes down to love, what and who it means for the individual characters, how far they'll go to hold on to it or avenge it, and where the lines are - what's acceptable to themselves (and to viewers)! There is so much more to this show than just the great fun and imagination you can enjoy on the surface. Loving it.