So, a lot of people like to say that Emma is meant to represent Odette from The Swan Princess. There’s a lot of evidence and I want to point out how this is true…but that Odette’s story diverges from Emma’s in one crucial way: one accepted a terrible lover and the other did not.
(Pictures found via Google)
In the movie, The Swan Princess, Odette is a princess who is betrothed at birth to Prince Derek. Growing up, the two absolutely hate one another. Odette is perceived as an “Ugly Ducking”, though I think she’s adorable as do most people I talk to. It’s Derek that instills in her that she’s just a gross girl. Just an ugly duckling. Remind you of the childhood Emma had?
When Odette is older, however, she’s considered beautiful by both the kingdom…and Derek. This is when he starts to fall for her. When he goes to Odette to profess his love, it goes a bit like this…
Derek does not love Odette for anything outside her beauty. That’s all she is to him, his beautiful fiance. Odette hates this and refuses to marry him, before storming off. Odette is cursed and becomes a swan. It takes Derek a long time to realize that he loves her for more than that and that he loves her just the way she is, even if she’s a swan for the rest of their days. It’s that, that ends up breaking the curse and Odette accepts him, only then knowing how he truly feels.
Now, I think the above scene parallels Emma and Killian’s early stages. Emma was pretty. That was about it. The one thing Killian didn’t like about her, were her walls. He enjoyed when she got hurt, he wanted her to be vulnerable. There’s even a scene in the show where Emma changes to look more like a bar maiden with her boobs spilling out and Killian comments that: “That’s much better.” When Emma explains her discomfort…
The thing is…this never changes between the two. Killian consistently falls more in love with Emma…as she changes who she is. Emma doesn’t see anything wrong with this. It’s quite the opposite of the lessons that Odette and Derek learn about beauty and what love truly means.
Once is all about taking fairytales and flipping them on their head. I believe that’s what they did here. They turned Emma and Killian into Odette and Derek, but also removed the key lesson that must be learned. Maybe they are a fairytale, but not a very good one.
