#swan queen

[redbrunja]

Oh my god, you guys, I just realized how the writers of Once could have keep the entire story basically the same BUT removed the skeevy adoption metaphor:

imagine that when Henry had first showed up at Emma's door,

it had been to break the curse on Storybrooke.... including the one on his mother, who'd been cursed to be the evil queen.

Right? Right? Isn't that the greatest idea ever? Because then Henry could still be working against Regina (because she's still the evil queen) and Regina could be working against Emma (because who is this woman who shows up out of nowhere to try and take her kid away?) and Regina could still have the same arc in FTL (what agency she has intact) (because Henry is too young to understand nuance and emotional manipulation and control).

Comments

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

Ah, but then, who would have cast the curse, if not Regina?

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

Perhaps Cora?

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I'm caught up to episode 2.02, and Henry's part in the story feels the most unrealistic to me. it has since the show began. I keep expecting someone to say, "You are not a little boy, you're just the reincarnation of Raven the Trickster!" or something. Because his relationship with Regina feels the most unrealistic thing ever, and he never shows any of the confusion he should. There's kids who've endured far, far worse from their parents and still loved their parents very deeply.

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

At first I wasn't sure how that would work, but then I thought about it, and yeah -- say, in FTL, Regina just wanted to learn a spell to hide from Cora's magic, instead of turning fully to Rumplestiltskin. Once the containment spell couldn't recognize her, she went all runaway bride and then abandoned magic. She just wanted to be free, but Cora was determined to give her daughter power -- thought that once she'd tried it, she'd have a taste for it. So since Regina didn't want magical power, Cora set about finding a way to send her to a world where she'd have the ultimate power in a non-magical town, with everyone she felt had given her insufficient respect subject to her.

Meanwhile, Regina had settled down somewhere quiet and met a perfectly nice guy that was helping her finally move past Daniel's death -- perhaps a widower, who could understand not wanting to totally abandon the memory of a loved one, but not to reject a new love when you meet them. Then Cora shows up and is all "Pft, he's not good enough for you. Casting a curse to give you power now." and killed him.

So Regina arrives in Storybrooke pregnant with Henry and stuck as mayor of a small town where everyone is miserable, and any attempt to resign will have a similar result to someone who tries to leave town.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Because his relationship with Regina feels the most unrealistic thing ever, and he never shows any of the confusion he should. There's kids who've endured far, far worse from their parents and still loved their parents very deeply.

It really does! You're absolutely right that it's very common for children who were FAR more abused than Henry (who I would argue wasn't) to still love and want to protect their parents - Henry's behavior doesn't make much emotional sense.