Tallahassee. In the pilot episode, we found out that it was the longest Emma had lived anywhere. Regina asks, "What did you like so much about Tallahassee?" In Episode 6 of OUAT, we find out Emma's back story and that she once had a true love.
The episode, however, actually begins in FTL with the four girls (Aurora, Mulan, Mary Margaret, and Emma) along with Captain Hook approach the gigantic beanstalk that leads to the giants home. Only one giant is left, "the strongest and most terrible." The story of Jack and the beanstalk that we all know and love in our modern world, is not the case in FTL. According to Hook, the giants used the beans to plunder all the lands and Jack took an army up there and killed the giants (except one) and destroyed the beans.
The four girls argue about who is going, but ultimately it is Emma would climbs up with Hook. I love the two of them! Emma is certainly worthy of love and Hook is definitely swoon worthy. I think I might be over Graham's death; Emma and Hook need to get together! I absolutely loved Graham and Emma together and I wish he had lived. I personally do not think Emma and Hook will really end up together, just because Hook is not trustworthy and he has different goals in life than Emma.
Up they go! As the climb, Hook reveals to Emma that he can tell she was orphaned, because he spent time with the Lost Boys in Neverland and she has the same look they did. I think that Hook had been to Neverland before he went after Rumplestilksin cut off his hand. I think he must have gone there before, because in E4 (the Crocodile) he told stories about the places he went and the treasure he found. (or maybe that was William Smee who did that...?) Either way it just makes sense that he visited it before he became Captain Hook. I am very curious about his backstory in Neverland.
When Emma and Hook reach the top, the giant's home has been destroyed. Hooks says it happen in the battle. They make a plan to use Mulan's powder to put the giant asleep. It works! They certainly make quite the team. They go into the giant's lair that is full of the treasure they plundered. Hook is more interested in the treasure than in finding the compass, which Emma is determined to find among the gold. The powder doesn't last very long, however, and soon the giant has woken up and is out to get them. Emma, using Jack's sword (yes Jack from the story) to cut the trip wire of an iron cage, which fall on the giant trapping him. She demands the compass, which he gives her, because he says Emma is going to kill him anyways, but that's what humans do and all humans are alike. Emma tells him that not all humans.
We also learn from the giant that Jack's army destroyed the magic
beans, not the giants. We get to hear the famous line, "That's because the
victors tell the story." Even though the giants were wrong to plunder the
lands, were the humans less wrong when they killed the giants? I am also
curious about this Jack character. His skeleton and sword remained in the giant’s
castle, but he still has his own story, and I’m eager to hear it. Emma is
allowed to leave with the compass and jumps from the beanstalk.
Meanwhile, Hook remains? Yep! As she pulls Hook out from
underneath his hiding place, and takes his open hand, she chains him to the
wall. Emma says she’s sorry, but also that she can’t trust him. That she just
needs a head start, but that he won’t be chained there forever. I expected
this, but think it may be a potentially dangerous thing to have done. After
all, Hook is not the type of person who stands to be bested, and we never knew
in the first place if he really was going to steal the compass for him and
cora! It’s a smart move in that sense, but what if Hook was telling the truth? Then
Emma and company have got an angry Captain Hook on their hands!
Back on the ground, Mulan was told to cut the beanstalk down if
Emma wasn’t back in 10 hours. Shortly before Emma comes down, Mulan sadly notes
that it’s been ten hours and takes out her sword. Snow notices and yells and
her, but Mulan strikes the beanstalk anyways, shaking it. Aurora and Snow are
both upset; Aurora screams “You’re just going to leave them up there to die?”
To which Mulan calmly replies, “They may already be dead.” Snow, however, will
not leave her daughter. She tackles Mulan and they struggle. As Emma jumps
down, she yells at them to stop. Mary Margaret runs to Emma, upset. She tells
Emma that they go home together. No matter what. I fail to understand why they
would have needed to cut the beanstalk down in the first place. After all, the way
of getting home is through the compass. I guess Emma to Mulan to do it, because
she didn’t want Snow to risk going up, if she in fact was killed by the giant.
I really enjoyed the reunion scene between MM and Emma, because MM really does
love Emma and I love seeing that in the show.
As the four girls go on to steal the ashes from cora, we get to
travel back to Emma’s past.
11 years ago, in Portland OR, Emma steals her beloved yellow BW
bug. From a guy named Neal Cassidy. Oh, wait, actually it’s not his car either.
Emma stole a stolen car from a fellow thief and thus begins their relationship.
Emma and Neal are later seen at a convenience store, Emma stealing from the
shelves and Neal distracting the manager with a map. When a real customer comes
in, Emma fakes going into labor and the two make a run for it. However, Emma
was only faking being pregnant. The two later go to a rundown hotel and Neal
talks about settling down somewhere. Emma asks, “is this what you really want?”
To which he replies, “what I really want is you.” It’s a really romantic scene.
Emma says okay and wants to know where they will go. Neal tells her to close
her eyes and point to a place on a map. She points to Tallahassee. So that’s
where they plan to go. Neal stole some watches a while back and Emma goes and
gets them out an airport locker. Neal plans to pawn them and tells Emma to meet
him somewhere and sometime later.
As Neal is on his way to his destination, he is stopped by none
other than August Wayne Booth! He tells Neal that Emma has a destiny, a curse
that she must break and that Neal is getting in the way of Emma doing so.
August quickly finds out that Neal is in love with Emma, but after showing him
something inside of his box, Neal decides to do what August calls “the right
thing.”
So, Neal goes to Canada. August calls Emma in and she is arrested
for possession of stolen goods. In Vancouver, Canada, two months later, Neal
meets up with August. August tells Neal he’ll send him a postcard when the
curse is broken. Neal gives him the car keys and the cash he got with the
watches and tells August to give them to her. (August sends her the keys, not
the money). It is there we find out that Emma was given 11 months in jail in
Arizona. The last scene is of her getting the keys—and also getting the results
of a pregnancy test.
This was the saddest part of E6. Emma could have had a home, a
normal life in Tallahassee with Neal and Henry. Only August ruined it. Whereas
I think he had the right intentions, I don’t think that Emma needed to go to
jail in order to end up breaking the curse. The Blue Fairy said she would do
that when she was 28 years old so I think Emma would have ended up in Storybrooke
eventually. But she could have had a family, with Neal and Henry and with their
other children! What they could have had kills me! The life and home that Emma
had always wanted was taken away from her by August. Instead, she ended up in
jail at 18 years of age, with a child that she gave up for adoption, so he could
have his best chance at life, never knowing if she would ever meet him or get
to see him grow up. (And yet, ten years later he becomes the most important
person in her life.)
Emma learns not to risk her heart. She learns not to trust. She
gets out of prison a different person. The carefree girl is gone, instead is
the Emma we’ve gotten to know. Tough and strong and independent. Yet, when Emma
gets out she still keeps and drives the stolen car to Tallahassee where she
waits for two years for Neal. August kept his word and sent him the postcard.
Will he end up meeting August sometime soon and taking a trip to Storybrooke?
Will he be reunited with Emma and get to meet his son? What will happen when he
sees Emma again? And when can we get to know what was in the BOX????
Please share your thoughts. After all I did just write 1,668 words
for you. Thanks, Rachel
