Emma’s love life and SwanQueen
"Emma is going to find herself with a few choices this season and I think there are the people that are right for you, and there are the people that are wrong for you, and then there are the people that you just choose and I think Emma is going to face all those things." - Edward Kitsis
Having this in mind, let’s analize…
This quote was said when wondering about Emma’s love life in season 2, so, I’m gonna talk about it as well.
If we have “people that are right for your", “people that are wrong for you" and “people you just choose", we need an embodiment for each of these, right? We need three people that represent these 3 aspects for Emma. So, I’m throwing my guesses:
Neal
Hook
Regina
Having Neal as “the right choice" was hard for me to figure out. I expressed before my feelings about their relationship and how wrong is the message of having them together after what he did to Emma.
Although, I’m gonna see this through the eyes of the audience and the major part of the characters on the show.
Since Neal shown up, most characters started to point out the feelings Neal and Emma have for each other. Some started to root for them.
Rumple, Snow and Henry are some examples. This is supposed to tell the audience that SwanFire is the right choise, that he’s the right guy for Emma. Neal is the right choice for Henry, in his mind.
(Thank God the majority of the fandom doesn’t see the appeal and started to talk about the bad implications it has)
Hook is “the wrong choice". He’s presented as a villain that only cares about revenge. I think the moment that defined my belief was when Emma left him with the Giant. She couldn’t trust him.
CaptainSwan might be more appealing to the viewers (and even be tentalizing for Emma) but there is something important we can’t forget: Henry.
Hook is wrong for Henry and Emma knows it as well. And Henry is the most important thing for Emma, so we can’t forget him when talking about Emma’s options.
Then we have Regina, the person you just choose. The one who needs to be chosen the most.
She’s the villain that never wanted to be a villain, she’s the one who is craving for love, the one who dances between light and dark. And she has always been Emma’s choice (consciously or not).
Emma chose to save her many times, Emma chose to believe in her regarding Archie’s death, Emma chose to stand by her when everyone was ready to seize her.
Emma chose to see Regina instead of the Evil Queen, she chose the difficult path, not the easy one. That’s why the scene in the mines, in the finale (let’s talk about the fact that she even chooses to go herself to the mines with Regina) is important.
In the end, Emma chose to save everyone, with Regina. She chose to trust Regina one more time, because together they are strong. She doesn’t trust Neal, she doesn’t trust Hook, but she (unconsciously or not) always trusts Regina in a deep level…and she chooses her.
And because we can’t forget Henry, he too chose Regina. In the end, it was Regina he was hugging, because she’s his choice too, because she’s his stronger bond. Emma, Regina and Henry are the strongest - together…because they are family, they are the main family of the show.
If you think about Neal and Hook’s parallels* with Regina, everything becomes even more interesting.
Because maybe your choice is between right and wrong, because maybe what you choose is what really defines you.
It’s not black or white, it’s grey. Regina is grey, Regina is the grey choice. Emma is grey as well and grey is Swan Queen.
Everybody is thinking about love triangles in season 3. I believe we’ll have them, but not as the main audience thinks.
Regina will also be Emma’s love interest, along with Hook and Neal and this will endure for further seasons. And, in the end, as always, since the very beginning, Regina will be the chosen one.
Emma will prove to her that she is enough…together they are enough. The savior will save the one who needs the most, saving herself as well.