KingOfHearts

Yeah. It was Regina's turf. She had been controlling it 28 years. She rigged absolutely everything. Watching S1 again, I realize I forgot how truly evil and powerful her character was. She really has fallen... from destroying realms to having boyfriend problems. It's difficult to believe its the same character. Where was that cunning cleverness in S2 and S3? The inconsistency bothers me deeply... Regina didn't put her heart in the Charmings' protected loft... why? She left it in the woods with a guy who didn't stand a chance with Zelena. Oh that's right - it was to push Outlaw Queen even further for the big Marian twist! My vote for the biggest plot hole of S3 is Snow being "pure of heart" for Glinda's door. Such a cop-out.

Funny you mention it, I just finished watching that episode. At least in S1's Emma vs. Mayor Mills, both sides had victories and losses. Emma would win a round, then Regina, and so on. With Zelena, however, Team Hero just kept losing miserably... Emma and Hook just waltzed up to Zelena's farmhouse out in the open, Belle and the gang tried to eliminate Rumple from the showdown when they knew it was a death trap, Hook didn't tell anyone about the kiss curse... The sad part is Zelena's plan wasn't even that brilliant. The only reason she even came close to winning was because she was lucky enough to get the Dark One's dagger. She could have easily executed the plan in the Enchanted Forest if she had an ounce of subtlety. (I apologize if 3B is off-topic. If so, do we need an all seasons thread?)

You're spot on, Mari. I think the character issues are affecting almost everyone on the main show. This has probably been said half a dozen times before, but all the characters seem to get dumbed down for the sake of the plot. Emma, bail bondswoman extraordinaire, never found out Zelena was the midwife until she was flat out told by Rumple. Henry, who was strongly against magic and tried to literally blow it up with dynamite, tried to save magic in Neverland. He ripped out his own heart just because Pan told him to, against the pleas of his own parents. Regina, a master of dark magic, was thrown around like a ragdoll for almost all of 3B because Zelena was overpowered. Belle takes every word out of Rumple's mouth as the gospel truth, even though she's been tricked by him in the past... the list goes on. I know the mains are better than this. I'd like to see them act smart instead of being told they did through dialogue.

In my personal opinion, I think the "consequences" speech Regina gave Emma was a misdirect. The writers want people to think Regina is vengeful of Emma, but when the season premieres that might not be the case. I would be mad too if someone showed up with my lover's dead spouse, breaking up my relationship. She'll cool off though. There is more than meets the eye on this one - we only saw the initial emotional reaction (which was totally understandable). If Regina reverts, 3B meant absolutely nothing for her. Don't think the writers who adore Regina would do that... (would they?)

This also assumes Regina/Emma made at least half-amends :) (I think they will soon)

This is just an story idea I'm throwing out there. As a disclaimer, it involves Regina. I wouldn't count this as speculation as this isn't really based off anything that has happened; it's a detached story concept. I'm not totally sure if the "barrier" that traps the characters inside Storybrooke is gone, but if the flying monkeys were guarding it, that may be why. This idea assumes it is, or that at least Regina can pass through it as she has before. Onto the idea: Since Emma and Henry are moving to Storybrooke from their apartment in New York, Regina could take a trip with Henry to NY to help pack. Emma and Hook could be busy with the Elsa/eternal winter problems back in Storybrooke. During that time, Henry could show Regina around New York a little bit and what his life with Emma was like. This is why I wish for it to happen: - Subplot break from the action - Regina would have a distraction from Robin/Marian - Regina would learn what Henry was missing from his life from being raised in Storybrooke - Similarly to the scene at the pond in The Tower, Regina and Henry could have some non-destructive bonding time - With Rumple honeymooning and Regina gone, stopping Elsa would be more of a challenge - Emma would have to look into the book herself to find who Elsa is, rather than having Henry there to do it for her. Nice Operation Cobra moment for her. - Everyday logistic scenes from Offscreenville I've wanted so bad Highly doubt this will happen, so it's just a wish!

What I treasured about this episode is that it accelerated the show. It was a pivotal point. Putting death on the line in present day really upped the stakes. The writers had guts to kill off a character like Graham so quickly and out of the blue. I was SO glad they ended the Graham/Regina sleeping together subplot. It was utterly disgusting. The tragedy of Emma finally opening up to a guy, then him dying in her arms... it's a masterpiece.

I was thinking the same thing. On Facebook, the official Once Upon a Time page asked if Emma should have brought Marian back with her. There was a resounding "No!" from literally thousands of comments. I would be surprised if Outlaw Queen doesn't happen, because if it doesn't, a lot of the fanbase (mostly Evil Regals) is going to be livid. It's a pickle of a situation, that's for sure. I don't think everyone is going to win in the end. Marian dying/being fake seems to be the quickest way out.

If Regina gets her happily ever after with Robin, then its less drama for her. Thus, more screen time for the Charmings. Regina can be in the background, snarking away and parenting Henry. No Woegina. Problem solved.

I don't think Regina is going to make a big deal about Emma bringing Marian back. She'll be mad at first, but she has had some serious redemption in 3B. As the Blue Fairy says, we must all have faith!

You're right, I just meant as a main feature like Neverland or Enchanted Forest. I agree about Mary Margaret... her cursed self was so much better.

Glinda said, referring to Zelena's pendant, "In many ways, it is your life now." So she could have survived if her life was in fact in her pendant.

I heard about that theory, and truthfully I love it. I know people want to see Regina suffer, but if Zelena carries the charade long enough Regina definitely will be suffering for a while. It would make Marian less of a contrived obstacle and more coherent with S3. There's also been some talk about Zelena being used in future episodes, and also having a sister relationship with Regina if she's not dead. (The cast has even discussed this a little) If Elsa is a misdirect, something else will have to be going on. It's Zelena's portal, she wanted to ruin Regina's life, and Robin's story about Marian dying doesn't match Marian's about defending Snow. It could logically work.

I totally agree, Dani-Elle. The writers seem to be more interested in Point B than how we got there from Point A. Whenever I write fan fiction for Once, I'm always drawn to everyday life. All the dynamics going on in Storybrooke each and every day are a lot more intriguing than the Big Bad of the Half-Season. The main cast has enough exciting plot material on its own. You've got all these different kinds of people from all walks of life living in one small town with their own backstories and relationships. Surely SOMETHING is worth watching. Relationships really are the lifeblood of the show - platonic, familial and romantic.

Well this is an interesting thread. - Regina is my favorite character. Her writing is inconsistent and plagued with development problems, but I adore the actress and her character itself. Believe it or not, I can relate to her in some cases. - Cora is my favorite villain of the show. - I didn't hate Season 2. The latter half was weak, but the first half and middle were still pleasant to watch. - Snow and Charming are boring. - I liked Snow's black spot on her heart. It would have been an interesting storyline. - Ideally, I wish everyone came back to the Enchanted Forest in the end, including Emma and Henry. - Regina's light magic didn't bother me. - The S3 finale was not that great. - I'm hoping Zelena is still alive. - Walsh coming back would have been better than Marian. I need to see Emma realize she dated the Wizard of Oz. - Both Rumple and Regina are redeemable and their evil pasts can be forgiven and repented from. - Redeemed Regina is a better mom than Emma. - Snow is bossy and annoying. - Wonderland should been on the parent show instead. - Jafar would have been better than Elsa for the S4 "Big Bad". - I don't hate Belle or her acting. - Never liked Neal, but I liked Baelfire. - I would totally live in Storybrooke in real life.

I thought the whole Missing Year (which I was originally VERY excited about) was disappointing in many ways. Snowing not missing Emma or Henry felt out of character, especially immediately after the events of Going Home. For the sake of continuity, I can imagine they missed her off-screen.

Snow and Charming's relationship with Emma is still "salvageable". Besides the whole needing Emma to stop Zelena, I think the negligence was due to poor execution and not enough screen time between Emma and her parents having meaningful conversations. (S2, anyone??) They don't seem to have that bad of a relationship. They were, after all, the reason Emma wanted to stay. If Emma has a problem with them not caring for her like they should, then she could talk with them. But that doesn't seem to be the case, because just a few episodes ago they were building cribs, hugging and fighting crime together sans pregnant Snow. I think, after Emma's reevaluation in the finale, they'll come closer. Calling them mom and dad without a life-threatening catastrophe was a growth point. I don't agree with a lot of Snowing's parent choices, but their relationship with Emma isn't exactly on the rocks right now. We may not be okay with how they handle things, but Emma herself is doing just fine at the moment.

If she's going to be the starring character standing in for the Big Bad, I think she's going to have to have some connection to the main cast. A major character like Elsa just would be weird to come from left field. Plus, that would mean less screen time for the mains if she had her own long saga without ties.

I hope they give an explanation on why Elsa has ice powers specifically. I don't think she can practice general magic besides ice, but they could change that for the show. Perhaps Rumple took Elsa in as a deal with Elsa's parents, and tried to train her to control her powers. Maybe Elsa was so wildly strong and dangerous that Rumple had to entrap her in the urn. She would have to be pretty powerful to give Rumple a scare. That's assuming he was the one who put her in there, anyway. It could be Rumple doesn't even know who she is, lol.

There seems to be a major difference between what the writers want the viewer to believe, and what actually happened... On the bright side, hopefully the climax in 3B means she's on the path to accepting herself as a fairy tale character. In my deepest wishes, she'll be working on her relationships with the citizens of Storybrooke as well. In 3B she saw it as short term, but now it's long-term. Meatier character interaction, I wait for thee!

It wasn't Emma wanting to stay in New York that bothered me, but the way her character was written through 3B. It was the same issues she's dealt with before (being uncomfortable with being in a family beside Henry, running away, not wanting to deal with fairy tale stuff), and her character didn't change the whole time until the finale. All the lessons she had learned through S1, S2, and 3A were negated just for the almighty plot. I understand Emma being happier in New York and having a false security there, but they never showed her Storybrooke side. She was written as being one-minded, instead of "we are both". Again, it wasn't Emma as a character's problem, but the writing. The resolution didn't really do any justice, either. A lot of holes were left unfilled.

Bingo. The city life vs. Storybrooke scenario already happened in Season 1. They repeated the issue of being lonely in the city as well. I think Emma already learned her lesson about staying in Storybrooke (as evident in Going Home), but for some reason it was recycled for angst or plot or both. It reminds of when Emma tried to kidnap Henry and bring him to Boston (The Stranger? I think?), but Henry stops her. When she gets back to the loft, Mary Margaret reprimands her and claims she's "reverting" to she was before living in Storybrooke.. Emma also said it was for Henry's well-being, as she did in 3B.

Rumsy4, I'm in love with your post. I agree with every word of it - you took it right out of my mouth! I couldn't have explained it better. Brownies to you! Emma choosing Storybrooke in a "No place like home" fashion was a nice idea, but it was executed poorly. I agree that a little spat between Regina and Emma over where Henry is would have been better than Dramarian. (Drama + Marian)

Trying to keep Henry's mouth shut is like trying to cease the wind... He was giving Emma relationship "advice" with Walsh, and he'll probably be Regina's crutch as she deals with losing Robin. That's sadly the way it goes. He meddles into everything.

That's by far the best case scenario. Which is unfortunate, because that would mean more potentially interesting characters were wasted.