It’s been a while, but good ships never really disappear from the collective consciousness. And it’s February, the month of love, so we thought we’d go back and examine some of our favorite ships, and why we shipped them.
Bring some more love into the world, so to speak.
So today, I’m going to be tackling Captain Swan, aka Emma and Hook, from Once Upon A Time. Click on the slideshow below and join me as we journey through those moments that made us ship them!
With a look like THAT, how could we not ship them right from the start? Sparks were FLYING. And fine, you need more than sparks to make a ship, but first you need sparks. And Captain Swan always had them in spades. The best thing about the first kiss? Emma made the first move, Emma made the decision. And then she promised it’d be a one time thing, which …yeah Emma. Sure, sure. Whatever you needed to tell yourself. This is a declaration of intent, and the good kind. Hook wants her love, yes, but he doesn’t want her love unless she wants that too. He doesn’t want to trick her. She isn’t a prize to be won. He wants it to be a decision, her decision. And hey, that’s sexy. “Not a day will go by I won’t think of you,” he promises. This is real, he’s saying. I won’t change my mind. I won’t let go, even if you can’t remember. Even if it’s hard. “Good” she replies. Prove it to me, she means. Make me believe in this. Though Emma isn’t around, this is another declaration of intent from Killian, to none other than her father. But it’s also more than that, it’s a declaration of love, in so many words, one Charming, of all people, would perfectly understand. Hook gets a chance to put his money where his mouth is, and does he. He trades his beloved ship to get Emma back, and then, doesn’t actually tell her about it till she confronts him. He did say that when he won her heart it would be because she wanted it. Said with a smile. With certainty. Like it’s obvious. Of course he won’t stop fighting for her, for them. He chose her, and she chose him back, and that means whatever comes next, he’ll be right by her side. She won’t have to be alone ever again. That’s what love is. “I’m going to choose to see the best in you” isn’t about forgive and forget. It isn’t about ignoring previous wrongs, much less about not atoning for them. Instead, it’s about believing in the person you’ve become, in the person you’re working every day to be. It’s about trust. This is, in some ways, even bigger than an ‘I love you’ – that’s about a feeling, one that Emma has learned is fleeting, while this is about permanence. This is about never leaving, about a life spent together, about the future Emma has always wanted but never thought a lost girl like her could get. Part of being a couple, of being partners in this journey called life, is about opening up, about trusting someone else not just with your body, but with your heart. And here Hook is asking Emma to trust him, not just to protect her, but to keep her heart safe, to always fight for the true Emma. Despite the fact that she now has people, Emma still has trouble understanding that she isn’t alone. She doesn’t have to fight this evil by herself, she doesn’t have to shut herself out to protect others. She’s got a family now, and she’s got a partner who will always, always stand by her. This declaration of love is exactly the type Emma needed in this moment, and exactly the type she couldn’t believe. But Hook has seen darkness before, he’s felt darkness before, and he knows you can come out of it. You can be better. And he has faith in Emma, enough faith for both of them. Emma has found the love of her life, she’s found her happy ending, her other half, so to speak. So of course, Emma isn’t going to let a little issue like, you know, death, get in the way. She will find him, always, because that’s what her family does. Find each other. We never doubted it for a second, but it was good for the lost boy and the lost girl who found love and strength and happiness in each other to have that confirmation that true love isn’t just something that is reserved for others, but something that they, together, have created. Parting is such sweet sorrow indeed. And yet, what can Emma do but leave, what can Hook do but let her go. Love, true love, is sometimes about being able to let go when letting go is the best thing for the other person. And so, right after the confirmation, these two are required to prove the depth of that love. But all is well that ends well, because when you love them, and they love you, they will always find you, as Snow once said. And hey, there are apparently deities as invested in the Captain Swan ship as we are, and they decided to send Hook back, because, you know, true love and happy endings and all that. Words are hard for Emma. She’s a woman of action. She can prove how she feels, but saying it …saying it makes it real, saying it means it can be taken away from her. But Hook was already taken away from her, and she just got it back, so now Emma has to be brave. She just has to. It isn’t that Emma fears commitment per se, it’s that commitment has turned out badly for her before. So, for her to take this step, to ask Hook to share not just her life, but her home, is huge. It’s a sign of growth, and a sign that she wants to fight for that happy ending with this man. No, this wasn’t the proposal we wanted. Killian was about to confess to something else – something not as nice – and yet, this still makes the list because of the certainty in Emma’s voice, the intense happiness in her face. She’s sure, for the first time in her life. 100% sure. Thankfully, we get a chance to do it again, now without secrets. And when Killian kneels and Emma kneels beside him, we know that this is meant to last, that they’re meant to get married, have kids, live happily ever after and be partners in life, forever. We didn’t get nearly enough domestic moments, but this one is significant not just because it’s the two of them, at their house, being cute, but because it’s a moment for Emma to stop and reflect on what she has, on what she never thought she could: happiness. Finally, husband and wife! And since the song they sign to each other says it all, let me just quote it: “Tomorrow is uncertain/Who knows what it will bring/But one thing is for sure, love/ With you I have everything.” And, of course: There’s no storm we can’t outrun/We will always find the sun/Leave the past and all its scars/A happy beginning now is ours.” And finally, we have their happy ending/beginning. Killian and Emma, together, with their baby Hope and grown-up Henry. It doesn’t even matter that the timey wimey of it all doesn’t make sense, because the happiness in their eyes says it all. This, together, hand by hand, facing whatever life brings …this is perfect, and it’s forever.
And there you go! We apparently shipped Captain Swan a lot! But who can blame us? In a show that didn’t always get things right, Captain Swan was the bright spot – and the most consistently written couple other than Snowing (and they’re just the standard).
Once Upon A Time is available to stream on Netflix.
