Dreamcatchers - a theory 

Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing.

  best of progress by episode/season by theme all tags

If I were to pick a theme for it that would be home and family. Here’s why

2x06 Tallahassee - “Close your eyes and point. whatever spot you pick is our home” (Neal to Emma)

After seeing the dreamcatcher Neal and Emma decide to settle home and Emma picks Tallahassee. They would have had a home and Neal, Emma and Henry would have been a family. Obviously the plan did not work, Neal meets August and they decide to ‘help’ Emma get to Storybrooke which is her home and to her family.

1x01 - The Pilot - “Please, come home with me” (Henry to Emma)

Emma tells Regina about her birthday wish and how Henry showed up. She asks Regina if she loves Henry but doesn’t believe Regina when she says she does love Henry. Emma decides to remain in Storybrooke.

also note that in s3 we have “Let’s go home”, We’re gonna get you home Henry” - both said by Regina to Henry - so Regina’s home is Henry’s home so Henry took Emma home which is Regina’s home - that’s also the first house they ended up in - Emma even went in for a drink.

“It’s all going to lead to me isn’t it?” “I am going to take away someone you love. I am taking back my son”

As a result of the events surrounding Katherine’s kidnapping Emma decides to fight against Regina for Henry. She threatens Regina that she’s taking Henry back. Regina is forced to retaliate and although we don’t see anything in 1x20 we do see a epi flashback in 1x21 to the events in 1x19 and Emma’s threat just before we see Regina’s nightmare.

1x21 - An Apple Red as Blood - “everyone is here, me, your parents, your family

Regina’s nightmare in which she dreams of the town coming for her to kill her and Emma and Henry going along with it. She only wears the earing in her dream. This nightmare happens while Emma kidnaps Henry and plans to go out of Storybrooke. Regina decides to get the poisoned apple which leads to Henry eating the turnover and Emma breaking the curse.

I find Henry’s line intriguing “we can’t go. Everyone is here, me, your parents, your family” Why your family? Who else was Henry speaking off since he only knew Snow and Charming as his grandparents. He had no idea about the rest of his family tree so it could only mean one thing Regina is part of that family.

also this ties in with “your family is in danger” from Hook - sheesh - so her family is not just her parents - again in s3 the WW is after Regina in a personal, threatening Regina that she will take away everything that she loves, and again Emma has to step in and save Regina.

Notice a trend? R+H =/= happy ever after and E+H =/= happy ever after either but what about R+H+E? What would that mean? Because it seems that in the previously attempted combinations they were not truly happy as if that 3rd person was missing - that 3rd person that is part of family -either Regina or Emma is missing from that happiness whether it’s pre s1 or that year in NY post 3x11. Also both Regina and Emma loose any memory of each other’s existence when the E/H or R/H combination happens - hence why it’s not happily ever after. Regina forgets about Emma because of that potion, Emma forgets Regina because of the curse. Henry also doesn’t know his other parent.

2x05 - The Doctor - “then love again” (Daniel to Regina)

Next time we see the earrings is when Regina lets go of Daniel for the last time and he tells her to love again.

interesting. She even has the earrings - the difference is that only one actually happened - Emma’s scene is just a nightmare - Emma never did this to Regina. Here’s what actually happened when the mob came after Regina:

2x10 - The Cricket Game - ” magic always comes with a price"/ “yeah well that’s a price we’re both gonna pay”

Framed murder. Emma doesn’t believe Regina and it all goes down the literal drain from then on. Cora dies, Regina gets the trigger, the trigger is activated, Henry is kidnapped, Pan recasts the curse, Regina undoes it and Emma loses her family. Regina is also separated from her own family. they both literally paid the price for that magic done by Emma. They both lost their family and their home, and Henry lost his family and home as well - all of them.

2x14 Manhattan - “there are no coincidences, everything that happens, happens by design”

Emma meets Neal again, Neal meets Henry and Henry’s family tree is expanded by adding the Gold family to his tree as his father’s branch.

2x20 - The Evil Queen - “You don’t think it’s too late for her?” / ”I don’t think it’s too late for anyone”

Regina is captured and tortured by Greg and Tamara. Emma, Neal, Snow and Charming work together to save her. Unlike in other episodes she wears the earrings the whole time. In the flashback Regina and Snow talk about how Regina still has good in her and can change if she picks love instead of revenge and anger. Snow expresses the idea that if Regina was willing to change Snow would accept her as family again.

2x21 - Second Star to the Right - “despite our differences we’re family”

Continuation from 2x20 - Regina is tortured by Greg, Neal/Emma/David/Snow attempt to rescue Regina. Neal “dies” and Emma has to let go of him.

3x03 - 3x11 - “Seems like the Evil Queen was able to love after all”

Tink is the only one besides Regina wears dreamcatcher jewelery. She doesn’t wear the earring in the 3x03 flashback when she attempts to find Regina’s soulmate and happy ending.

She does wear them in Neverland and after Neverland. She even wears them in a Neverland flashback with Hook. So it appears that after she attempted to help Regina and she lost her wings, she somehow ended up in Neverland wearing those dream catcher earrings. Tink has a connection with Hook, Neal and Regina and she’s the one who attempted to find Regina’s happiness and believed that Regina can be happy if she opens herself to love.

Funny to note than when we Emma first meets Tink she describes herself as a “pissed off mother” - odd choice of words considering she was looking for Regina who is the mother of her son.

Also interesting to note is that after she says “seems like the EQ was able to love after all” and “I knew you still had some good in you” - the pixie dust glows for the first time on its own without Tink even being a fairy or having any magic. The pixie dust glowed in connection to Henry - Regina loves Henry and Tink realizes that Regina has found love in her son, that she’s not evil, that she’s changed and that Regina also has a family now. The pixie dust reacted somewhat to Tink realizing where Regina’s happy ending lies. This vial of pixie dust is also not stolen but given to her as a gift. So maybe the pixie dust reacted properly this time around.

3x12 - New York City Serenade - in an odd enactment of the scene from Manhattan - Emma sees that dreamcatcher again - the dreamcatcher that led started everything way back in Tallahassee, the dreamcatcher that sent her towards her home and family.

Adam said that Emma and Regina want the same thing: Love, family and home.

How fitting that they are connected by the same object and that there is even a fairy who once attempted to find Regina that happy ending that wears that object as jewelry?

Home for Emma is not Boston, Tallahassee or NY - home is Storybrooke, Maine. The first house Emma ends up in SB is Regina’s mansion. Regina also wears dreamcatcher earrings when Emma tells her of her birthday wish to not be alone.

Every time a dreamcatcher appeared although things went from bad to worse it also brought Emma and Regina closer to the point where from sworn enemies they became friends and Regina giving Emma the life she always wanted - she gave her memories of Henry growing up as if she never gave him up.

Regina wears them also in crucial moments - the biggest one being when she lets go of Daniel. The other is when she is captured by Greg and Tamara and she has her true 180 turn and is acknowledged by the Charmings as family. Plus Henry fully accepts her and tells her he loves her (I believe that’s the first time he tells her that in the series). She also gains her son, her family and saves her home together with Emma.

Tink wearing the dreamcatcher earrings after the Robin Hood incident shows that perhaps Regina’s future is not in the EF and is not with Robin but with Emma. The pixie dust glows without reasons when she believes that Regina has changed and that there is good in Regina after all - basically the pixie dust glows when Tink realizes Regina has found her happiness. important to note that this was not stolen pixie dust but a gift from Wendy to Tink.

So what does this mean? To me it means that Regina and Emma have found what they were looking for in each other and that complicated family they have. I also believe that unless proven otherwise SwanQueen is endgame and the only way for Emma and Regina to be happy. (ps that proven otherwise is only if Regina & Emma are blood related - the multitude of men thrown at them does nothing to change my opinion)

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