#and he just died and killian didn't have a chance to make amends with him

[sotangledupinit]

Listen, I don’t think we as a society talk about the fact that Killian gave up his revenge to save Henry (and I kind of think he did it in memory of Neal so).

Like hear me out with this and I’m not sure how much of this makes sense but it does, trust me.

So like the season two finale really focuses on Killian’s relationship with Neal when he was just a boy and still Baelfire. He was Milah’s son and Killian’s first chance at a family. (This could be a headcanon or fanon or whatever but I think it was pretty obvious that despite how blinded by revenge he was, he still regretted what he did to Bae in Neverland. Anyway.)

I don’t think the guilt of his past actions with Baelfire weigh as heavily on Killian as they do when Emma reveals that, not only is he Henry’s father but, he is also now dead. Killian’s plan by then is already in motion -- he already took the bean out of the bag and decided to take his ship and leave. 

It is Baelfire that is the reason Killian turns back. He feels full-force the regret of what he did in leaving Baelfire and he decides that he won’t do that to Emma; he will not leave her to die or at the hands of some evil force like he’s already done and regretted in the past. So he makes his first step in being a better man and turns around. It’s something he should have done for Baelfire, it’s something Milah and Liam would be proud of him for. Emma reminded him of what it means to do something good that would benefit more than just himself.

Killian turns back with good intentions and, luckily for him, the town didn’t blow up and they didn’t need the magic bean. However, he quickly finds out that Henry -- Baelfire’s son, Milah’s grandson -- has been kidnapped. He immediately offers his ship and his services without a second to think when Emma tells him what happened.

Rumple goes, “So, you done trying to kill me?”

Killian replies, “I believe so.”

Killian puts aside his thirst for revenge, his desire to see the Dark One suffer for all the pain he’s caused him, so that they can save Henry. They are literally standing on the deck of The Jolly Roger, where Rumple once begged for his wife back, and later right where Rumple crushed Milah’s heart and took his hand. It’s so poetic that Killian states then and there that he’s done trying to kill him, atop the scene of the crime where he vowed to find a way to destroy him and avenge Milah!

Instead, he gives this all up, offers his ship and services, to save Henry, a boy he hasn’t even met before this. But the boy is special because he is everything he loves (and is beginning to love) -- Milah, Baelfire, and Emma. 

I truly think him being Baelfire’s son is what sealed the deal. Baelfire found himself ripped from his world and without his family and then betrayed by a man he began to care for and Killian, fully regretting how his last encounter with Baelfire went down, decides he is going to do everything to save Henry in the way he couldn’t save Bae.

And I just love that.