Characters We Love: Hooked on Hook - ONCE UPON A TIME

 Once Upon a Time has some pretty great characters when it comes to their show, but perhaps one of the best characters to come upon the Storybrooke town was none other than Captain Hook, also known as Killian Jones on Once, played by the handsome devil Colin O'Donoghue. 

Like most of the fairy tale characters in the show, there are variations in each story. To young kids, Captain Hook is the villain in Peter Pan with a perm and a bad mustache who is constantly trying to stop Pan from saving the children in Neverland. However, in the original tale, Hook was considered a good guy. Peter Pan was abducting children and taking them to Neverland. In Once Upon a Time, Killian Jones is a dashing pirate who can smooth talk his way out of most situations, but also quite the troublemaker much like pirates are. Originally, the character wasn't intended to be a series regular but the fans adored Colin's take on the pirate so much that the creators decided to keep him permanently and he has been an excellent addition to the team ever since. 

Killian Jones' backstory on Once started as early as when he was a part of his brother's ship in the Royal Navy. When the crew thought they were sailing to an island called Neverland to retrieve what was to heal their soldiers in battle turned out to be the poison Dreamshade where Jones & his brother met Peter Pan. When Jones' brother is poisoned by the Dreamshade, Pan aids him in giving him the water from the mountain but it doesn't come without a price. His brother dies on the ship the moment he leaves the island. After the loss of his brother, that was the moment Jones took over the crew, renamed the ship the Jolly Roger, and decided to become a pirate. The fans know little of Jones' parents, but he was close with his brother. For the writers to write in a loss of someone close to him was an important character shift for Killian. Among all of the pillage and plundering, there was a heart underneath the dear Captain and the fans got to catch a glimpse of it when the writers had him meet the first Storybrooke character, Rumplestiltskin. 

 The first time fans were officially introduced to Killian in the show ever was Season 2's "The Crocodile" episode where Rumplestiltskin was aboard his ship trying to find his wife, Milah. Rumple was a coward and Jones challenges him to a duel in order to get his wife back. In the original fairy tale, Hook lost his hand to a crocodile, but in Once Rumple returns to the ship for a magic bean after discovering Milah ran away with Jones because she was in love with him. Angered by this, Rumple kills Milah by crushing her heart and cutting off Jones' hand with a sword, giving him the official label of Captain Hook.

Hook then comes into the scene and meets Emma Swan for the first time in "The Doctor" episode where he pretends to be an innocent blacksmith in order to gain her trust so he can find a way to Storybrooke. Fans automatically could sense the chemistry and passion between these two characters as they went on an adventure together to climb the beanstalk and find a compass to take them back to Storybrooke. There is an epic battle between Emma and Hook and the fans got a taste of the heat that was about to unfold in hopes Hook and Emma would be more than just enemies in the long run. Hook's charm wasn't something he could use to fool Emma as she was immune to his wit and devilish smile, but both of them had a lot in common already. Hook could read Emma instantly and understood who she was, both of them having lost important parts of their past. 

 Hook and Emma share a common friend: Neal Cassidy. Hook at one point, fans discovered, took Neal under his wing. The writers had a nice twist on this story because Emma knew Neal as not just her friend, but love interest. Hook knew a side of Neal that Emma didn't get to know, which was his younger self, Baelfire. Hook taught Baelfire how to sail and how to be a pirate, so he was more of a mentor to Neal. The connection was beautiful because going into season three, Hook has that sense of respect for Neal, agreeing to stand aside so Neal can try to have a relationship with Emma. In the beginning of season three, after all of Hook's shenanigans and being on the side of evil, he turned over a new leaf. Fans found out Hook fell for someone again and Emma became the woman that stole his heart. Once Neal was gone, Hook stepped up to help Emma as she tried to figure out where she belonged and how to use her magic. In season four, the writers finally explored thoroughly the relationship of Emma and Hook. 

After Hook and Emma fell back in time in the end of season three, their bond grew stronger as they watched Snow White and Prince Charming's love unfold while trying to fix what they messed up in the timeline. Through this adventure, Emma learned where her home was and the fans discovered after the wicked witch cast the curse, what happened to Hook's ship: He traded it for Emma. Once Emma found out that Hook gave his ship up for Emma, the relationship was ready to be built from that moment. Writers went into season four knowing it was time to dive deeper into the chemistry between these two and fans got a chance to enjoy that in Season Four when Hook takes Emma out on an official date. We definitely can say that Hook is quite a gentleman at heart over a pirate. Though we do love watching Hook be his dashing and rapscallion self, it was nice to see a different side to the character. 

Fans might've been worried a little in the middle of season four when Rumple steals Hook's heart and uses Hook to do his bidding. When Emma somehow finds a way to figure that out, there was worry over whether or not Rumple would kill Hook, but Hook was able to get his heart back thanks to Belle and Emma restored it to his chest. There are usually characters who are written in with no clear purpose at all and then there are other characters written into a show with clear intention. When looking at Captain Hook, a character who started out as a foe of Emma's, once given the chance to transform into the seasons, a new clear intention comes to mind. For every hero in a show, there comes the characters that are specifically written to motivate the hero. Like Snow White has Charming, Emma has a strong counterpart to motivate her. 

Hook is a great motivation for Emma Swan. In the end of season three, Hook is there to help her realize where her home is and that magic is a part of who she is. Through season four, when Emma starts to doubt her abilities, Hook assures her that he loves every part of her, including her powers. The reason that Captain Hook works so well for Emma is because both of them lost a lot in their past. While Hook has spent centuries seeking revenge on Rumple, Emma has spent just a few years seeking a home. Typically, it is that of a character like Hook to bring out the best in Emma and vice versa, which both of them do for each other. 

While Hook transformed mostly through his love for Emma, it's a curious thing to think going into season five after Emma took in the darkness, that all of that transformation will pay off in the end. Hook fell in love with the good inside of Emma and who she was prior to The Dark One, and because of that love, it transformed who he was. If Emma was willing to love Hook for the good and the bad, always choosing to see the best in him, Hook was willing to do the same for her. Though Emma will struggle with the darkness in her going into season five, Hook now has to learn to love the bad just as much as the good he fell in love with as well.

Once succeeded at taking a regular fairy tale character like Captain Hook and writing him into their beautiful story, but giving him a new fate. Emma Swan wasn't a part of any fairy tale; she was written into the show on her own. She serves a different purpose for the writers, but because of that, they were able to help transform Captain Hook and making him into a successful motivational protagonist for the show's hero. Through that method, it makes for a compelling, epic love story between Captain Hook and Emma Swan. It's no wonder the fans are hooked on Hook. After centuries of revenge, finally finding the one love of your life, your happy ending, there isn't anything in the world you wouldn't do to protect that. Not only did Hook finally realize it, but Emma finally realized her love in the season four finale. Cora once told Emma that love is weakness, but Emma responded with "No. It's strength." 

Let's see what Hook and Emma's love can do in season five. 

Season Five of Once Upon a Time airs on September 27, 2015 on ABC at 8/7c.