RedKeep

Nope. There wasn't any follow-up to that. I suppose the current status quo is that she's keeping her ONS from him and he's back in off-screen-ville with Amy and Maia's parents. Which is a way of writing for these secondary characters that's really starting to get on my nerves. It's not that I miss Maia's egomaniac parents, but would it kill them to include a line or two about whether or not Lenore's now out of jail and if Maia's keeping in touch, for example? It seems oddly careless how characters like Kurt, Amy, Lenore and Henry, etc. just disappear for half a season with the show then completely ignoring their entire existence.

Based on how they played it in this episode, I'm fairly certain she will. The two of them remembering the outcome of their conversation about the fund so differently just plays further into that unreliable/messy memory spiel they've had going on with Maia and Amy's "why would you want to stay with someone who lies and wants to put you into prison" point seemed to be what first pushed Maia towards finally being done with the one person who has done exactly that - her father. I expect the show to just fully ignore the process of them moving past what happened between the two of them during the trial, though, which is frustrating. Like everytime when the show bothers to actually give them any material, I ended up liking their scenes and wishing they'd use Amy a bit more, especially since Rose Leslie and Heléne Yorke have great chemistry.

No idea what exactly Diane told Lenore, I suppose it was one of quite a few things related to Maia's trial the writers didn't deem necessary to elaborate on any further. But this episode really managed to drive the point home again that both of Maia's parents are way past possible redemption. I mean, Lenore at least did come through for Maia in the end, but if Diane had to step in for that to happen that's painting a pretty sad picture of mother dearest. Either way, count me among those who are glad they actually managed to wrap this story up rather quickly. I, too, expect Henry's trial to play a bit of a role again further down the line, but for now it seems like we can actually focus on other things again. Still not feeling Colin/Lucca. I'm trying, I like both actors, but... nope. Just not feeling it on a story level. Not sure what to make of Liz Reddick yet, but of course Audra McDonald is alway a joy and she's definitely hitting off well with Christine Baranski.

I'm afraid so. Honestly, if there's any main character story I could do without it's Lucca/Colin. But then that's apparently Colin's main reason for existing, as a series regular anyway, and the writers do seem to see something in him that I must have been missing out on thus far. They did somehow manage to get me interested in the Maia/Amy dynamic and the potential of it on the other hand, but yeah... sadly doesn't seem like there's much interest in exploring it any further right now. Maybe once we're done with the ponzi scheme fallout.

I found most of the commentary on RL politics rather cathartic and amusing in this episode, but I agree that it's something that can be overdone and that'll eventually lose its effect if they keep it up on that level. The feeling I'm getting is that the show is struggling to balance its cast. As great as Audra McDonald's first episode turned out to be, it seems like her character is considered to be a direct replacement for Barbara Kolstad whose rushed exit made little sense to me, considering the finer points of her speech at Carl Reddick's funeral. Maia's fresh out of prison and facing more blasts from the past, yet neither her mother nor her girlfriend seem to be of any relevance for the writers in that context. Actually, Amy's sort of a weird case anyway since she also happens to be an ASA and, like Colin, works in the state attorney's office, yet she's non-existent in the day-to-day business world of the show even though including her would make more sense than adding more Good Wife guest stars for the courtroom scenes. Generally, I'd really rather the writing would make a bit more use of their own characters instead of trying to find new ways to bring over characters we know or may have already heard of on the mothership show. Especially if you end up retconning them, like they now did with Audra's character, anyway. Still, I'm glad the show is back. I enjoyed the premiere and I'm looking forward to 2.02.

Yet it also didn't make the list in the Fandom Metrics thingy so I'm not sure I'm buying your point about the relevance of that whole thing. I just had a quick look and it seems those lists are dominated by material that tends to score high with younger audiences (YouTubers, lots of The CW shows) and/or anime/animated shows and movies. The actresses list seems to be full of names who didn't even make the top 30 last year and those who were among the top 10 almost all crashed massively in numbers while the guys' list is superhero movies/The CW central. And those actor/actress lists likely don't really say all that much about how popular one particular project of one particular performer is anyway since their tags are generally dominated by everything that might be somewhat related to them or at least their name. Like, I get you're once again trying to hammer the point home that the show in its current state is desperately unpopular on social media, and that may or may not be true, I'm not the one to judge, but using those Tumblr lists doesn't make a very convicing argument for me.

Didn't she eventually have to cancel some of her scheduled appearances at some of their cons somewhat recently due to work? Don't know about the US, but I know from experience (based on other shows and related events, mind you) that some of the European con organizers tend to push talent that had to cancel on them close(r) to an event more than once down on their list of actors most likely to be invited back. I know Starfury as a UK based con team for example repeatedly gets grief from certain fan groups over that because fans often tend to read more than business related matters into these things and expect some kind of conspiracy. I suppose for most cons it's simply a matter of having (just about any) 2-3 main cast members among their lineup that will then be stocked up with a variety of supporting/guest-stars and as long as Creation still has the likes of LP, EdR and COD they're probably fine. I mean, like I said, I suppose every fan always assumes their fave brings in the most fans and all that, but at the end of the day events like these show specific cons are very much about business and profitability.

Thanks. I get the frustration over the show being renewed after s6 and the state it's now in. I really do. But there's no need to get unreasonable over small things like such scheduling decisions because of a desire to see everything as proof of how much it's failing.

Well that was definitely a lot better than I expected. I agree that most of the sideplots are much more intriguing than the main Henry(/Cinders/Lucy) story, but then again that's almost always been the case with this show. I always thought romance just wasn't something A&E ever did particularly well and they lucked out a lot when they cast JD and GG who breathed a lot more life into Snow and Charming than the writing did right from the start. The same is probably true, to a certain extent, for Rumbelle. Never been a huge fan based on the writing, but I can definitely acknowledge and enjoy the work RC and EDR do with these characters in an episode like this one. Alice is easily one of their best new additions, but I see some potential in Tiana too. Here's hoping they don't end up wasting most of it - in both cases.

For what it's worth, this episode has been hyped as a (supposedly) good one by multiple sources for quite some time now. I guess much depends on how invested one still is in the Rumple/Belle relationship and since I personally stopped caring about that dynamic years ago I have a hard time caring all that much, but maybe Robert Carlyle managed to doing something fun with the present day Rumple/Gold/Weaver stuff, who knows. And a number of entertainment reps seem to like the new Alice so that probably helps too since her main story connection so far seems to be Rum.

I'm not following. According to you the show's a confirmed goner anway so how exactly can the way episode 2 plays out "kill their S7" any more? The ratings look like what was about to be expected to me. Nothing that happens during the next two episodes will suddenly make ABC decide to yank it off the air immediately, imo. Way things stand right now they'll let it play out and then that's that.

There's no way to tell yet how many of "the people leaving", especially among those vocally claiming to do so on the net, are actually relevant to ratings. This fandom has a long history of taking itself way too serious for its own good, after all. That said, Inhumans was a series premiere and it got a ton of bad press long before that even aired, which oddly enough may have helped them initially in the sense that some may have tuned in just to see if it could truly be as bad as those who'd already seen it made it sound. Chances are the way Inhuman's gonna crash in ratings from here on out will be worse than whatever drop OUAT will experience after its 7th season premiere. Just my guess, tho. Only time will tell for sure.

At the end of the day chemistry is subjective, but I think the bigger issue on this show tends to be the writing trying way too hard anyway. I have no issue buying that this might be a legit problem in s7 too since it's just part of how A&E roll, really. They lucked out in season 1 with GG and JD because how they went about setting up Snowing was flawed from the get-go too. Although obviously not nearly as messed up as some of their later attempts at "epic" romance.

I don't remember there being any hints from spoilers that Drizella and Henry will be interacting a lot, let alone as (cursed) love interests, anyway. Isn't Lady Tremaine all about getting Driz to marry up? Doesn't seem like Henry would be someone she'd pick for that in either FTL or the real world.

Pretty sure their egos, especially Kitsis', ultimately trump whatever devotion they have may have left for the characters no longer part of the show. I doubt anyone's gonna die off-screen or whatever, but that's just about it in terms of what I imagine they'll do to express their respect for the important roles these characters played for many years. And since there's apparently still some small chance the show could continue beyond this season, under certain circumstances, I'm not at all convinced the two of them were already preparing for a potential series finale back when they went about plotting how to use JM for her one episode. They've been making it up as they went along for years. I doubt that's ever gonna change.

Besides, it's not like any of the cast likely already knew the details of how their respective stories are going to play out and eventually end over the course of this season at that stage. Promotion for this show prior to a season premiere has always been very much focused on the first couple of episodes and not because the cast was so great at keeping everything beyond that to themselves, but because you got the impression they honestly didn't know any more than that. I personally don't feel like that's changed this year. And yeah, I definitely don't see any flash forwards happening just to reassure a certain portion of their audience. Absolutely not their style and, for what it's worth, considering the scenario they're going for with this season I don't think it would make much sense either, especially not two episodes in.

The promo material they've released so far is definitely much better than anything they've coughed up for the "original" show from seasons 3 to 6. That poster is a great example of how it doesn't even need all that much extravagant Photoshop work to come up with something that captures the themes and spirit of the show. I don't even mind them putting Cinderella/Ramirez at the forefront of their promotional efforts, I'll take her over adult Henry or yet another, only slightly edited take on the Hook or Regina posters they've had in previous years.

I think that's the best way to go about it if JMo has made it clear to the writers that she's only coming back for this 1 episode and that's that, to be honest. I obviously don't want Emma to die and I don't think she will, but I also currently really don't expect Morrison to return for more episodes other than, possibly, an eventual series finale. I would therefore prefer a scenario that means the writers can't/won't spend however long this rebooted version of the show may last baiting and attempting to some of their story around a character who's simply no longer part of it.

I'm not particularly mad she won't be part of it either and I agree that the happy ending didn't feel like a satisfying conclusion to 6 year long journey either, mostly because it seemed very generic and not like something the writers actually spent serious time and effort on. I'm not one of those who expect Jen Morrison to come back for more than the episode she's contracted to appear in, except maybe an eventual series finale if they don't kill her character off before that. Therefore I'd rather have them be upfront about Emma no longer being a part of the show, one way or another, in their story too rather than have Colin/Hook waste time on meaningless off-screen quests or whatever that ultimately don't lead to anything. He chose to stay, so give him something to work with. The character certainly still has potential beyond being Emma's LI and if they don't get to that now what's even the point of keeping him around.

It's definitely a branding thing for the show, but I gotta say I'm not a fan of 'fixing' a handicapped character with magic and possibly as some sort of reward for changing for the better. That would involve some really... unfortunate implications that make me glad the show hasn't gone there. I wouldn't mind them permanently giving him a state of the art prosthetic hand instead of the hook, though. But yeah, branding and A&E being A&E.

Yup. I really don't think they're banking on classic, live/same-day ratings at this point.

Casting Adelaide Kane was definitely a smart move, I have to admit. She comes with a build-in, youngish fanbase that they're likely aiming for with regards to their viewerhip anyway and everyone who has made it through four full seasons of what quickly became a very typical CW show might not have that much trouble adjusting to the writing for OUAT.

If - IF - the show were to continue past season 7, I really don't see why Colin O'Donoghue would be more likely to leave than Lana Parrilla. They're both in the same boat in the sense that this show is their biggest commercial acting success so far and they both have families to support. Robert Carlyle is a different story because of the career he's had since long before he joined the show, but the other two aren't exactly in a similar position. I have no doubt they're under no illusions regarding the quality of the show, but sometimes stable work and a safe paycheck every month goes a long way.

Guess Sean Maguire has no intention to come back again if his response to the third question in this interview is anything to go by - although it's probably worth keeping in mind that it's likely a translation from English to French and back into English. But he's been fairly open in his criticism of the writing for Robin Hood so it doesn't sound too far off from what he's talked about before. And Kitsis/Horowitz being utterly disprespectful in how they speak/think of their audience while pretending RH wasn't brought back because of the backlash caused by their idiotic soul-destroyed-by-magic-mcguffin1001 writing sounds pretty spot on too. Eddy in particular seems like the type of guy who'd hate to see his actors being able to relate to fans like that since he's so dismissive of his audience in interviews all the time.

Regardless of how much I may agree with what's being said there, I'm really side-eyeing the fans who think it's okay to not only post entire transcripts, but also make and share a recording of what's being said during a private meet and greet session. This fandom really manages to shoot itself in the foot time and again. Robert may ultimately not care that much for all the reasons mentioned before, regarding his career prospects once he leaves this show for good, but do people honestly think the other actors will continue to be as open and honest during their meet and greets if fans treat those private sessions like that? It's purposefully different from a press Q&A and I don't believe for a second Robert knew he was being recorded and the con staff allowed such recordings.