I must not follow as many Rumple/Hook/good God how many male villains do we have stans as you do, because I've never seen anyone defending what they do. Usually there's a "Wow, what a bastard, how long will it take for that redemption to come about?" However, every single time Regina does something horrible, there's a flood of academic papers defending every movement she makes because "SHE'S JUST SO MISUNDERSTOOD AND HER MOTHER NEVER REALLY LOVED HER AND USED HER AND SHE DESERVES HENRY BECAUSE--" and then there's a lot of whining about adoptive vs. biological parents (oh my God I have read every single opinion about adoption that exists in the universe)