Notebook

Because in 2x06 he can read Emma well, he can see how guarded she is and he likes poking and teasing and coming off cocky enough that he can get under her skin and make her believe that he knows who she is*, or could know, if he works hard enough. It’s mainly a threat (in part an idle one, though I think there is some real interest) and flaunting his abilities in reading people & determination to figure her out (“I love a challenge”), not sincere desire. He doesn’t really want to know all the details of her life. He wants to unnerve her and find just enough useful information to pull out when it’s helpful for him. Even if, as I said, there might be a little genuine interest, it’s largely selfish.

But in 4x05 where she’s pulling childhood items out of her box gently, and she’s tired enough (and trusts him enough!) to let him see, he is not pushing. He recognizes it is a matter of trust and he’s not about to play with her emotions. This is sincere desire to know her—and it’s not about self-interest, it’s not about peacocking or figuring out what makes her tick for his own gain. They both have their walls down with each other here (I could talk more about that but maybe later—they’ve both got walls, they just look different). He wants to know her, to understand her, to take in the parts of her that are only willingly given; there is no other way he will have them. He is not pretending he knows these things from her past, not by any means, and he provides a gentle invitation to let her know he wants to know, but it is not a threat to conquer and claim.

The difference is beautiful: a cocky man who claims he can understand this woman—for his own gain—and a caring man who does not presume to know the intricacies of her life before he came into it and wants her to help him understand.

ONCE UPON A TIME Golden Hook in 2x04 "The Crocodile"

ouat rewatch | 1.13 what happened to frederick