30 Days of Fangirl-ism - Day 5: Fandom Secret

I don't really know what this means. I don't really have secrets where my fandom is concerned... I mean even when I think I'm keeping a secret someone calls me out.


It's pretty well known I try very hard not to "ship" characters - unless they are for sure a done deal (like "Snowing" on Once Upon A Time. Somehow I don't see Disney allowing the writers to break up Prince Charming and Snow White). I don't ship Emma with Captain Hook (though in Season 2 I saw it coming. Sorry Swanfire, I'm a bad fan of Neal's I know). I didn't ship Oliver with Felicity for the longest time (I always wait to ship someone after they die... case in point Emma and Neal... Tommy and Laurel... ha ha).

Oh, wait, there I said it - I don't ship Swanfire but I do. If I HAD to choose a ship in OUAT for Emma it'd be Emma and Neal. Mainly because that's what Neal wanted - but also because I find JMo and MRJ's chemistry very natural and real. Not just their romantic chemistry - but just in general. They seem to have an ease about them and they were believable in their "we have a history" attitude they brought to the storyline.

And we all thought he wanted to get her drunk. Ha!

 Whereas while JMo and Colin seem to have a great friendship and work well together - I don't feel that they are as believable as an actual couple (and seriously the "Colifer" stuff needs to stop. I'd lose ALL respect for Colin if he was in any way cheating with her-or anyone for that matter). I don't mean to sound offensive, I just feel that what, admittedly, little I've seen from this season (and the season 3 finale) feels awkward. All of the kisses seem very... I don't know... just not... organic? It's more like "okay this is where we're supposed to kiss" and they do. But when you go back and watch "Tallahassee" JMo and MRJ have their moments feel spontaneous and in the moment. Incredibly natural/organic.

I know, I know, I'm incredibly biased because really MRJ could read the phonebook right now and I'd be all fangirly... but I've always felt that while Hook was definitely the more attractive guy - Emma connects better with Neal.

So I *guess* that can be my secret? I kinda feel like Emma in the Echo Cave telling Neal she loved him but she wished he was dead (seriously WHY hasn't she felt guilty for saying that now that he really is gone?!).

I hate hugs, but I LOVE how he hugs. I want an MRJ/Neal hug.

BOOM! OUAT's Jennifer Morrison Speaks - and fans hopefully listen

Jennifer Morrison - aka Emma Swan in ABC's hit TV Show Once Upon A Time - saw some heated discussion thrown her way earlier today for comments she made about a character on the show. It was in answer to a question about Neal Cassidy (Emma's first true love, played my Michael Raymond-James, who was killed off the show in the second half of the season), and it had Nealfire/Swanfire fans upset.

Fans have been upset for months now with the death of the character - arguing that it happened only to open the door and allow Captain Hook to "win the girl". The creators, writers, and actors have all been "confronted" by fans on twitter demanding answers, demanding Neal be brought back. Certain actors have been vilified for the characters they play, or for what they have or have not said in response to the character death.

The "other side" of the fan wars have been no better, antagonizing and creating rumors. It's gotten ugly. It's gotten bitter. It's definitely made ME wish I hadn't gotten so into the social media version of the fandom (all I wanted to do was follow the actors! what was I thinking?!). As someone who likes both Neal and Hook it's been hard to keep my sanity much less hold my "virtual tongue" on the matter.

Morrison got a lot of heat today with her comments in Monte Carlo saying that Neal and Emma would've had a hard time being the ultimate true love - but that it probably would've happened had he lived. But that Emma would've had a huge hill to climb with the betrayals. It's the multiple of betrayal that had most people at least questioning her statement as most (including me) could only think of one - when he left her at August's request and let her go to jail (nevermind that, that last part was August, not Neal). I was amazed by the hate that was spewed at the actress almost immediately.

Having not been paying attention to her Monte Carlo trip (I normally don't follow the cast around while they go off and do the interview circuit... and I'm really not interested now while I'm still bummed MRJ will not be joining them this year *tear*) I really had no idea what was going on when I logged onto twitter this afternoon. But once I got caught up I had to just roll my eyes. We're taking all of this far too seriously, folks. It's a TV show.

Yes, Neal is a fantastic character. Michael Raymond-James gave such heart and warmth to him that I can't help but really connect with the character (it took time, but OMG... I'm obsessed). But this is not a true life or death situation. This is not the end of the world. MRJ has survived - he's got himself a project that he's excited about (declaring on twitter that "#This1feelsspecial"). And while yes I GET THAT IT IS SAD and FRUSTRATING and something that makes us ANGRY (I have felt all of these emotions more than once since Quiet Minds airred), it is NOT THE TRAVESTY WE'VE MADE IT OUT TO BE.

Was it bad writing - I've contested that it was not the best writing. That it was too soon - too close to the last time Neal "died". However, the way it was written was well done. Neal has been very well respected in the episodes after Quiet Minds as well. This was not to placate the fans - not entirely. It was to give MRJ and Neal the send off he deserved. I hope that this is not the end for him - flashbacks, for me, would be enough if nothing else. Yes, there is a lot of Neal's story that should have been shared. Does it make sense to leave it open ended - this fangirl says no. But others have said that it is. Who am I, as a biased fan, to judge that?

Morrison took to her facebook page to set the record straight, and I'm glad she did. SHE DID NOT OWE ME OR ANYONE an explanation. And while I agree that she probably shouldn't have acknowledged the poor behavior of a few fans, I am glad for my own peace of mind that she did. I have wanted to know how the actors felt about losing MRJ (we've seen some of the "non regular/primary" actors voice their love), and I wanted to know what she meant by the multiple betrayals.

Her explanation is one that I totally understand and get. I typically don't see the "broken" scene where Neal grimaces and then we don't see him again until it's revealed as who he is to the story (first as Emma's lover/the reason she went to jail/Henry's father... and then in a later episode as Baelfire) as a betrayal. But it's obvious that Emma/JMo does. And she knows better than I do. In fact Emma lets him know that it hurt - and that's when he apologizes to her. Saying he wanted to love her, but he was afraid that she'd never forgive him.

Emma will ALWAYS love Neal, always has. But she has to move on for the sake of his memory - she PROMISED him that she would. That it's going too fast is irrelevant - this show moves too fast between emotions and always has. I get that it's icky that she's falling for the guy who at one time was "having relations" with Neal's mother, and I agree. I'm not a CaptainSwan shipper (nor am I a SwanFire shipper, though if I HAD to choose I'd lean more to SwanFire), but I have thought since season 2 that he'd end up being a love interest. In fact in Season 2 I was pulling for Hook, not Neal, to win her heart. It wasn't until we saw Neal fight for Henry and Emma that I started to better like his character.

Ultimately I have to agree with the last part of JMo's statement:

"All that being said, I wish Neal was still alive. I love working with Micheal Raymond James, and I believe that he is such a special part of ONCE UPON A TIME. It was a huge loss for me personally and for Emma when his character died." -- Jennifer Morrison

It sums it up so well... and I've always thought that she was affected by it personally. Her scene with Rumple in the finale where she is crying "I loved him, I wanted to save him. He died a hero, you can't take that away from him," I felt was just too raw and real for her to be acting (I am not a fan of her acting style in general. She normally leaves me cold. But not in that scene).

So, thank you, Jen for giving clarification even though you didn't need to. Hopefully as MRJ begins work on Sons of Liberty he will keep us updated on the progress, and production of OUAT will resume and people will calm down and remember - that even though these are wonderful stories... they are just that, stories (sorry, Jefferson). The people playing these parts are not out to get each other, that they are human just as we the fans are. Let's give them some respect, and the benefit of the doubt... and let's all try to get along.

Another OUAT cast gush post

Stuff like the posts by Sean Maguire (Robin Hood) today just make me happy. With the fan wars going full bore in this summer hiatus of the show, due to the whole Neal's dead and CaptainSwan is happening now, it can get very frustrating to be a fan and read the hate. A lot of it is typical back and forth between what ship is better (SwanFire, CaptainSwan... SwanQueen... blah), and others are just maddening (rumors of a certain actor being "mistreated" by cast and creators, rumors of same actor causing issues on set which resulted in getting fired, and of course the whole "Captain Hook's character is the poster child for Rape Culture" crap).

I've been wanting to rant about the whole Captain Hook/Colin O'Dognahue hate for a while... but I won't be getting into that fully tonight. This is more the whole "Michael Raymond-James deserved better from his castmates" posts that I've read ever since Quiet Minds. Granted, the actors that are most referred to in those rants are the ones who have only referred to MRJ's character when talking about the scene and haven't come out and said much if anything at all about MRJ except to say they'd miss him. Colin O'Donaghue being the exception when he replied to a tweet early on in the aftermath to something Michael had tweeted about working with Colin.

However, that somewhat changed tonight with Sean and Michael's tweets today. Sean obviously does not fit the mold that folks are trying to force the OUAT cast into. As being these hateful, high schoolesque people who don't care about each other and have cliques. I'm sure any set has their share of cliqueish manners, but the OUAT cast seems to genuinely enjoy each other's company and friendship. And if we're going to take our favorite(s) at their word then who's to say it isn't true?

Sean and Michael obviously had a friendship on and off set. Sean, of course, playing Robin Hood who befriends Neal in the Season 3 premier and ultimately helps Neal get back to Neverland to help save Henry. They had a small scene in Season 3B (basically Hood is glad to see Neal survived the Neverland thing, but is sad to hear that Neal and Emma and Henry were once again separated). Interestingly enough I don't recall watching a lot of interaction between the two on twitter, but I was fairly unaware until very recently of the entertainment to be had watching this cast on Social Media. LOL
 
Sean is, in a way, replacing Michael on Once come next season (this is more an assumption on my part, but he definitely got MRJ's screen time for 3B). His character is going to find himself in a love triangle similar (if not even more tragic) to what Nealfire-Emma-Hook had. And I've seen a little bit of flareup from the Swanfire side... which is understandable. I've even felt that twinge of... jealousy? against the men who get to keep going on the show... It's me being selfish of course, but I do feel that Neal/MRJ had more to give the show... but it just couldn't happen with the direction the story was going. Rightly, or wrongly (time will tell on that).

But here's the thing. After it all happened fans started making up a lot of crap to somehow justify hating on certain people. The Once Cast was vilified for not "protecting/standing up for" a fellow cast member who was "forced off" the show. Ignoring for now that the actor supposedly "abused" by the powers that be came out and said his peace about it (he understood the decision, was okay with it, and has nothing but love for cast, crew, and creators), fans have basically started seeing conspiracy upon conspiracy as to how awful life was on set for this guy.

Yet we're seeing time and again on social media the cast continue on as they had before Quiet Minds. For someone so "disliked" for whatever reason, he certainly gets a lot of love from the people who supposedly "betrayed" him.

So why is that? Perhaps it's because what happened with the character of Neal and the development of his story happened exactly - or nearly so - as what the actor and creators have said. Perhaps, instead of freaking out on the people who worked with MRJ, fans should just realize that these things happen on television shows. And, let's face it, if you're a fan of MRJ you KNOW it's bound to happen. He either plays a very unlikeable guy, has a tragic storyline (that typically lands him in jail lol), or he dies... or there's a combo of those things.

Hopefully when the new season of Once is upon us, and the miniseries of Sons of Liberty (Michael's new project) airs the emotions of this past season will have passed or at least died down. I keep telling myself that all it will take is Michael getting a new something on TV for me to get over Neal not being on OUAT. I'm less angry about it than most, but I'm no less bummed about his death... and wishing/hoping that he will somehow not be dead ha ha. But, ultimately, I don't vilify anyone for the decision. It's their story and without it I'd never know about some of the awesome actors on there (MRJ being the main one I'm thankful for OUAT for).


I'm rambling so I'll stop ranting for now. I have VBS brain. Hopefully I can get my brain back so I can be more coherent.

30 Days of OUAT - Day 30: Favorite Season Finale

 Day 30 - Favorite Season Finale

I'm going to miss gushing about OUAT every day on here. Though there are other Once themed Memes I could do (I assume there are since I've seen one for Swanfire... maybe there's one that's JUST Neal? That'd be fun ha ha). Still, like all good things, there must be an end - or at least a hiatus (which is a very very very bad word in the world of OUAT).

My favorite Season Finale is still season 1's. Season 1 just had a lot of heart and a good beginning, middle, and end. Season 2 was all over the map and the finale felt more like an epilogue to me. Season 3 had two finales, the mid season, and the 2 hour movie (which was a whole lot of CaptainSwan messing up while SwanFire kept Emma going... which was a nice picture and all... but all it did was make me sad all over again once MRJ's final scene - and most likely final episode - came up. It's all about the tumblers).

Season 1's finale has Emma rushing her son to the hospital after he collapses from taking a bite of the apple turnover that his adoptive mother gave to Emma for her trip home. Emma is willing to leave Storybrooke to once again give Henry his best chance as she believes she's fueling his crazy ideas of everyone being fairytale characters. Henry takes the turnover to prove to her that he's not crazy. It's what finally gets Emma to realize it's all true. She beats the snot out of Regina and then the two of them go to get the thing that will save Henry.

Only Gold steals it from them, and they get a call from the hospital saying they need to come right away. By the time they reach the hospital Henry has died. Emma goes in to say goodbye and gives her son a tearful kiss on his forehead. The "twu love" rainbow airburst breaks forth and Henry awakens... as does the town. Now they know who they are.

And it cliffhangs right at the best part. They've found each other, and Gold has poured his "twu luv" potion into the well that restores all. A purple cloud falls over the town and... then we had to wait for Season 2 (which would open with a mystery man walking through NYC till he gets home and a dove delivers a postcard that says "Storybrooke, Maine" on the front and "Broken" written on the back... it's Neal, and August has kept his promise to let him know when Emma's done her job).



And, that's a wrap. I'm sure I'll be revisiting OUAT on the blog soon... but I think next up is Disneyland related... and hopefully MRJ will finally play nice and break radio silence with his new project. I WANNA KNOW! ha ha...

Only 120ish days till Season 4? I think?