For the last few days (okay, month) , I’ve been talking to Caroline Dixon about Once Upon a Time. Once Upon a Time is basically about a small town, who in which most of the character’s are from a parallel universe and are commonly seen as “fairly tale character”, who have to be pieced together by an outcast named Emma and her son Henry. Of course, now that the third season has arrived some funky new plots are going on – Especially about Rumplestiltzkin’s evil father Peter Pan, who is trying to take over their small town and swipe everybody’s memory so that Peter Pan can take over the world (or something like that). There are soooo many connections to the story though that I have been able to connect toward AP Lit, but I have to connect Hook (Emma’s probably-future boyfriend) and Emma’s son’s dad (who was the love of her life) to the love triangle in Age of Innocence. After I read Age of Innocence, I kinda saw a weird parallel: Hook and Neal (Emma’s son’s dad) hold the same archetypes as Ellen and May.

                Neal is probably the least and most important character on the entire show. He isn’t really a legit fairy tale character, but he is Rumplestilzkin’s son and when he ran away as a child to get away from his father he accidentally fell into a different universe. When he got into the world, he found he didn’t adapt well but found another girl – Emma – who didn’t fit into the world either. Before they knew who eachother really were, they traveled the United States together (committing thievery like Bonnie & Clyde, of course). The thing about their relationship though, despite how he sooner or later leaves her and gets her sent to jail, is how he grounds her. He is, despite everything, the most normal thing she has. For a long time, he is what gave her a reason to at least try being a part of the world before falling apart. This is a lot like May, who is Archer’s anchor. She forces Archer to adapt to the world. Without her, he would have no reason to go to the dinner parties or the Opera or anything else. She is what brings Archer into society and keeps him there, just like Neal. Pregnancy also bounded them. In OUAT, after Neal is forced to leave her she finds out she is pregnant, and though she despises him a bit for it, it’s the reason she can’t let go of him. It’s the same exact thing for Archer – the pregnancy is what made his final decision to be May.

                Hook is, as you probably know, the pirate who is the antagonist in Peter Pan. In Once Upon a Time though, he shows up in the small town to kill Rumplestiltzkin for killing his love like two hundred years before. We learn quickly that he’s kind of a screwed up guy; he has an obsession with Rumplestiltzkin, has a habit of getting arrested, and really likes seducing people. But when he meets Emma Swan, he sees things clearer and somehow in some way he falls in love with her (after trying to kill her a few times). They, in time, become not only allies in taking down Peter Pan and rescuing her son, but she also develops a crush on him too. Of course, to be with him though, she’d have to go against a lot of the town, her son, her parents, and many others. She wouldn’t be disowned or openly disrespected, but the relationship would be frowned on because Hook is known as a troubled person. It was, like Archer and Ellen, nothing more than a dream. Not only is she tied with Neal in ways that can’t be changed, but their love is a fantasy. It’s exciting – amazing even – but Hook will never ground her like Neal does.