Souris

Pretty sure they're aware by this point!

Oh, so they included the show's mission statement in the dialogue.

There is no way to translate what Adam said into confirmation of a "big arc" without completely ignoring their past statements and how what they spoke about actually happened -- or didn't. They hype something as big and it's maybe a scene or two. If it even happens at all. They lie. Constantly. They say whatever they think will string people along to get them to watch, even if it's not true. That answer made me irrationally angry. First, he completely dismissed the asker's concerns about the winter finale as unimportant. Then he baited like he was trying to catch a school of fish. He's 100% playing CS fans with this nebulous "adventure" that is far from a sure bet of being big or even actually happening. How quickly people forget they promised domestic CS moments and a movie list/movie night for the first part of the season. Those were nothing but lies. I feel the need to bring this back: The 26 Things the Cast/Writers Promised Would Happen in Season 4 of OUAT That Never Actually Happened. And that was S4. We could come up with another huge list since then. I have had a sinking suspicion for awhile that Emma will die at the end of this season, too. I really feel like JMo is 100% over the show. It will seem like she beat the hooded figure, but as the Oracle said, the path may change but it will still happen.

Now, I KNOW you are not new to this rodeo, Curio! ;-)

So they're on to 6x13 then? FWIW, Jen is still in LA.

I expect the show to get a S7, whether shortened or not, but I also wouldn't be shocked if it didn't. The S6 renewal was announced on March 3 last season. But just because that's when it was made last time doesn't mean that's when it would be made this time.

A&E were post-truth before post-truth was cool. The level of their misinformation and deception in interviews is mind-boggling.

Exactly. TV is a business first and foremost. Respect has very little, if any, role in network decisions. It's all about the $$$$. I doubt ABC even really cares about working with A&E again at this point, so it's not like they'd even take that relationship into account.

You're assuming they get to reunite before she fights Gideon. But if they do, your scenario is likely. However, it wouldn't be Hook sobbing over dead Emma. You know this season, it would be Regina. They're still currently filming 6x12 (they took all last week off for Thanksgiving), so we can't know yet if EQ is still around. And yes, they're putting the two eps of the AU on either side of the hiatus. We don't know yet how long it will be, but March is probable given they've announced a game show for Once's slot in January and pretty much every Sunday in February has a big ratings event (Super Bowl, Grammys, Oscars). Apologies for undeletable box below.

Once is a family show because it has fairy-tale characters in the way that Archer is a family show because it's a cartoon.

First paragraph response: HA! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! As if THAT would ever happen! Second paragraph response: HA! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! As if THAT would ever happen! People on this forum have a MUCH better grasp of what makes good and resonant drama than A&E could ever dream of having. Man, that second paragraph would be brutal and emotional and wonderful. I'm sure it never even occurred to A&E, since all they care about is how Regina feels about things.

Emma & Regina have a LOT of scenes together in the AU, according to set spoilers. Way more than any other character combinations. The spec about Regina entering Emma's dream world while her family and true love sit around SB looks spot-on given the set spoilers. It SHOULD be Hook or Charming to enter Emma's dream world, but nope, gotta pander instead of writing what would make emotional sense. So, yeah, fifth E/R adventure out of the last 13 eps. That's more than a third of the eps. That is clearly the only relationship that A&E are concentrating on now, whether romantic or not. Other relationships have been downgraded or put on the shelf.

Probably because December ratings traditionally suck.

Yeah, there are spoilers of Regina in the AU. There are spoilers of her in the AU dressed in SB clothing. There are actually spoilers of Emma in SB clothes in the AU, too. There's also a scene of Emma with Regina & Robin. It's totally pandering. They've been doing a LOT of that since the finale last season for one fandom segment, while not showing really important CS scenes that CS fans want.

So A&E created this AU/whatever-it-is solely for Regina to play hero, much like they centered the 100th ep only around her when it should have celebrated all the characters. Regina gets to save Emma while her True Love & family are left behind & aren't allowed to be part of it. Is there any secret why Adam thinks this AU are his favorite eps of the season? No, Regina entering Emma's dream while CS is separated yet again isn't AT ALL baiting for SQ. Yeah, sure. So that's what, five eps out of the last 13 eps where Emma & Regina have been separated together from everybody else? Ugh. Yeah, pretty sure 6x06 was the last ep of this show I'll watch.

Where are you looking? Once is still listed on Dec. 4 here.

Huh. So this Sunday's ep could be the last before the undefined hiatus?

Apparently there are some "on the record" Tumblrs saying it. Others say it's BS. Who knows. Whatever it is, whether Hook is aged up or not, we know it's "twisted." So it's not going to be some cute, fun, romantic CaptainDuckling AU like waaaay too many are assuming. That is NOT how "twisted" works. Or this show, for that matter. The AU has to be a bad thing to make Regina's curse preferable.

I wouldn't be at all surprised. I think A&E would get a giant kick out of that. This whole season has been a trolling of CS fans. But, yes, still go stand in the corner! ;-) I believe that "spoiler" sprang entirely from an Anonymous ask to somebody's Tumblr. Which doesn't mean it couldn't be true, but it certainly makes it less than trustworthy.

Exactly. I know hope springs eternal, but when was the last time this show actually delivered something satisfying, especially if it was something people were wanting to see? I think people were still writing on papyrus the last time that happened. Given that it's TS;TW, I can conceive of nothing but disappointment and anger at whatever they come up with. It's NOT going to be happy satisfying fun times AU. Like is widely feared, there's no way I can see these writers going in any direction except that Regina casting the Dark Curse was much better for everybody than if she hadn't. Why, she was a true HERO for casting it and making their lives better! So poor heroic Regina will give up her happiness in the AU to reset the timeline and save everybody else's happy ending, thereby proving that she is the real and rightful Savior of everything. Bow down before her greatness and glory! I also think Emma will be marrying August in the AU, or at the very least will be engaged to him.

I loved her sci-fi take on fairy tales in the Lunar Chronicles series.

If that happens, please alert us before your Twitter flounce! I want to make popcorn. Interesting thought about someone else casting the curse. Maybe that's where Zelena could come back in. There does seem to be something hinky about the AU/pseudo-AU/whatever it is, so that it's clearly not a straight AU. Stealthy & Robin are back alive and in SB. (Though one or either could possibly have something to do with a genie wish.) There were reports of Emma & Regina in both EF and SB clothes in the "AU," so it could be a dreamscape sort of thing where Emma & Regina are sharing a dream. (Baiting alert!) We did have the pic of Emma asleep in bed that JMo posted.

I suspect ABC is scrambling trying to figure out a way to stop the ratings bleeding. They're probably desperate to fix Sunday nights, hence the game shows. That may not have been their intentions previously, but there's probably a bit of panic, so they're rethinking things.

That is EXACTLY what I think & fear it will be. I expect Snow or Emma to tell Regina that her curse was the best thing that ever happened to them. Because TS;TW.

A&E actually said that Regina represents them in Hollywood. No lie. For reals. No wonder they think she's been sooooooo unfairly judged and everybody are big meanies to poor little her. Emma probably represents all those other writers who get more respect even though they're not nearly so awesome as A&E. ::coughcough::