Fandom and Viewer Issues: "Fan" Is Short for "Fanatic"

[mtsmvfn]

I don't think anybody is saying that or expecting that. Wanting SOME promotion for a character is not the same as wanting EVERY promotion to be focused on that character.

 

Whether one likes it or not, or engages in them or not, fandom issues are a part of being in a fandom, so I think it's a perfectly useful topic.

 

Now, I'm curious how Twitter measures fan engagement and buzz. Do they only count posts with hashtags? If so, which hashtags? Do certain keywords count? I'm sure they have methods we don't know about, but it seems a very inexact measurement.

 

I heard about this topic this morning on EW Morning News(Sirius XM radio program). The information that they had about this story was that out of 21 million mentions of the new season 90% were of returning shows and not new shows and then they broke them down from #5 to #1. 

[MostlyC]

Good evening lovely posters!

Promos are not on topic for this Fandom thread- they belong in Spoiler Discussion, or the Storybrooke Daily Mirror thread.

 

Fan or shipper reaction to the promos goes here.  But if you, personally, wish to talk about them, please take it to the spoiler discussion Or Storybooke threads.

[retrograde]

Wow, the Facebook reaction to this (warning: mildly spoilery) article about LGBT representation on the show is so depressing to me. Especially those saying "Don't mess with the fairytales we grew up with!" That's like... the entire point of the show.

[mjgchick]

Even more reasons why I want this to happen. For people like that and for those who are being hypocritical right now because they aren't getting their way.

[Lieutenant]

Taking some thoughts on this to "unpopular" thread...

 

dun dun DUUUUNNNN!!! 

[sharky]

Wow. There are quite a few people on that Facebook thread that have never heard of Swan Queen apparently. They're getting their knickers in a twist over Mulan being gay? Ha! They should spend five minutes in the swan queen tag on tumblr. And btw, I wouldn't recommend that either. Apparently, the SQ fans changed their tune when it comes to LGBT representation. Because they don't want it unless it's Swan Queen. Gee, no one could've ever predicted that kind of reaction.

 

I just don't know. I'm glad Adam and Eddy are going this route with some characters. But it sounds like I'm in a small minority who thinks it's good that it's happening and good that it's not Swan Queen.

[Rumsy4]

It's sad seeing the negative reaction to the news. 

[Curio]

It's clear that most of those commenters haven't even been keeping up with the show. Or if they were, they're clearly the casual type of viewers who forget pretty basic details and plot lines. Also, they're assholes.
 

They will lose my family as viewers. Makes me sad they are ruining the show this way. So few shows without gay and lesbian junk. This was one we enjoyed, one reason being it was free of same sex relationships. It's a sad day when that is forced into a show.

 
Do people seriously still think this way? So Regina murdering an entire village, Graham being forced to be Regina's sex toy, Rumple manipulating his wife, and Zelena having sex with Robin in a disguise is all family-friendly, but a LGBT couple crosses the line? Wow.
 

There are quite a few people on that Facebook thread that have never heard of Swan Queen apparently. They're getting their knickers in a twist over Mulan being gay?

No kidding. I can't even imagine the kind of Facebook comments that would appear if the apocalypse happened and the show made SQ an actual thing. 

[mjgchick]

I had a great laugh. Those SQers are pissed and calling Mulan being an lgbtq character is forced. Do they really block any scene that doesn't have Regina in it?

The more pissed Homophobes and #IStandBySwanQueen are the more excited I am about Mulan.

[Souris]

I saw only a handful of homophobic comments on the Once FB page, but I admittedly read only a small amount of the hundreds of comments on the Mulan article. I'm sadly not surprised, because there are homophobic people in society. It's pretty ridiculous that they're OK with murder and rape going unpunished on the show, but oh no, not a gay romance, that's just wrong! 

 

I'm also not surprised that SQ fans who have been demanding LGBTQ representation have decided that it only counts if it's SQ.

[Curio]

I'm sorry, but I can't stop laughing at this comment:

Wow, another example of liberals spoiling a perfectly good thing by trying to shove politics into it. This is a nice family show and one of the few I have been a big fan of even when they hit a boring storyline slump. Way to go, Horowitz and Kitsis. If you want to really see the ratings take a dive and put the show at risk of being canceled, just keep going where you are headed. You want OUAT to reflect the world as it is now? Are you going to put rapists and murderers in Storybrook too?

 

Is...is this sarcasm? Does the poster not realize these things have already been happening in Storybrooke since Season 1? 

Edited September 19, 2015 by Curio

[mjgchick]

Did they forget what show they are watching? I know they like to consider this show a "family show" but did they forget that their are murderers, and rapists on this show? Robin just became the latest rape victim in The Mills list. WTF is wrong with this fandom?

Also having someone gay doesn't stop a show from being a family show, morons.

Edited September 19, 2015 by mjgchick

[sharky]

Yea, I'm assuming these are casual fans. I'm also assuming these are probably the same fans who got pissed off last year when the actress cast to be Rapunzel turned out to be black because, you know, she wasn't black in the fairy tale written by a bunch of white European men centuries ago. As for these morons on the FB page, I kind of feel like answering a few of them. Is that wrong?

 

ETA: I was going through the FB thread and saw this in response to someone getting bitter because she likes the classic fairy tales the way they are.

So then you want Ariel committing suicide and Aurora being raped and impregnated by her dad, right? Because THOSE are the original classics.

And really, if you like the classic fairy tales untouched, why are you watching this show? I feel like these people were sent over by some "Defenders of Real Marriage" group or something. It's like their checklist today included supporting Kim Davis and trolling the Once FB page.

Edited September 19, 2015 by sharky

[Amerilla]

Did they forget what show they are watching? I know they like to consider this show a "family show" but did they forget that their are murderers, and rapists on this show? Robin just became the latest rape victim in The Mills list. WTF is wrong with this fandom?

 

One of the things I think A&E can be credited with is creating something can be both a "family show" and dark enough for older or more attentive viewers. #ItHappenedOffscreen works for a larger segment of the audience than we might imagine.

 

There's murder, but no gore. There's romance, but no sex. (Even the "hot" kisses are really pretty G-rated, compared to your average TV drama.) There's room to look at at Regina and Zelena as rapists - but it's you can also just chalk it up to "magic" and roll on without losing much of the storyline or characterization. Casual, non-fandom viewers still make up more of the total viewing audience than...us. I suspect those that haven't heard of "SwanQueen" (or don't know what it means) is still the majority.

 

Within that context, yes, Mulan kissing some chick on in a G-rated but decidedly not-sisterly way, is going to be a problem for parents watching with younger or more sheltered children. Or who just don't like gays. 

 

To be very clear: I don't agree with that attitude at all. But I've been around long enough to know that a lot of people are going to bitch and moan about it. And somehow, the world will still keep spinning.

Edited September 19, 2015 by Amerilla

[YaddaYadda]

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

Hypocrisy knows no bounds. 

[myril]

Some of the fandom and audience showing their true colors, again. Not new that some in the audience have homophobic views, we had that discussion about Mulan before. And the threats of some stopping to watch the moment a LGBTQI character might be shown on the show, because all that fairy tale gruesomeness is so family friendly compared to going against some people's antiquated and fundamental world view. Not to mention those not viewing the show but feeling entitled to judge it when doing something they don't approve. As it was to be expected that some rush to exclaim that it's tokenism (to judge if that is wrong or right I will wait for what will be shown on the show) and that it won't stop them pushing for SwanQueen.

 

EW seems particular to attract an audience preferring to stay in their old fashioned pink 50s world soap bubble. At least that's one way to try to explain the number of commentaries on their Facebook site reacting negative and hostile to the news.

 

Time for some bingo card preparation maybe, looks like this will become a season full of "fun" discussions.

[Shanna Marie]

I'm mostly sad for the people who are getting excited after EW blew it out of proportion with a huge "They're going to explore LGBT relationships" headline based on a small comment in an interview. If you've ever read any interviews with these guys before, you know "we'd love to do that" or "we'd be disappointed if that didn't happen" is code for "we might think about it for thirty seconds, and then we'll get distracted, and we don't really have any intention of doing it, but we don't want to come right out and say we're not doing it."

[Camera One]

Many of these people probably do not watch the show.  These days, internet commenters love to throw their two cents on any topic, regardless of whether they watch a show, or even read the article (I swear most of these news commenters only read the headline and then they can launch into their rant).  So they may not even be in the fandom.

Edited September 19, 2015 by Camera One

[sharky]

Shanna -- I think it's different, or at least can be perceived to be different, because this interview came after the media people got to see the premiere. That makes me think there was something in there that triggered that question. On the other hand, this is NA writing the story so take that for what it is.

[Serena]

It's not just NA. All the major entertainment reporters who were invited to the 501 showing reported the same words from A&E.

[Shanna Marie]

Was the question triggered by something actually in the premiere, or by the recent announcement that Mulan was returning and this was their first big public event after that announcement? I guess I just have my skepticism shields up whenever these guys say "we'd love to" or "we hope" or "we'd be disappointed if it didn't" in an interview, because it seldom does happen and that seems to be their weaselwords way of never coming right out and denying something.

[Souris]

Was the question triggered by something actually in the premiere, or by the recent announcement that Mulan was returning and this was their first big public event after that announcement? I guess I just have my skepticism shields up whenever these guys say "we'd love to" or "we hope" or "we'd be disappointed if it didn't" in an interview, because it seldom does happen and that seems to be their weaselwords way of never coming right out and denying something.

 

A&E talked to the reporters after the showing, so that's where their comments come from. I don't know if it was in response to a question or unprompted comments.

[KAOS Agent]

 

Within that context, yes, Mulan kissing some chick on in a G-rated but decidedly not-sisterly way, is going to be a problem for parents watching with younger or more sheltered children. Or who just don't like gays.

 

I live in an area that's heavily Mormon. I know of several families that watched the show in the beginning and really enjoyed it. They tuned out in later seasons, but came back for Frozen. I don't know if they stuck around for 4B, but I can guarantee you that word of a gay relationship on the show will ensure that they won't tune in for Season 5. I don't think they necessarily harbor ill will towards gays, but it's not something that they would ever knowingly expose their young children to since it's completely against their religious beliefs. And beyond the religious parents, there would be families who don't want to try to explain to their young children why Mulan is kissing a girl.

 

Having gay characters on the show isn't going to placate the part of the fandom who are obsessed with the idea of Swan Queen and will most definitely result in lost viewers from more conservative families. No matter what they do with it, people are going to be pissed, which is kind of why I always assumed that they didn't go there.

[BoPeeps]

Yup. No matter what they do, there will be vocal (genuinely sincere AND totally shitforbrains) comments on every social media platform out there. It is the nature of the Internet Beast. And it is certainly the nature of these writers to generate marketing interest in their soon to premiere fifth season. A&E have always, in the past, done what they damn well please in their story telling. They have teased and lied to and placated and toyed with the viewers. Has anyone ever been satisfied? Any fan, really? Nah.

 

With all the utter crap going on in any number of other shows- family oriented or otherwise- ONCE will not implode because of one very sketchy reference to a very politically and socially topical LGBT possibility. It is what it is and ranting hysterically or logically or ANY way is not going to make them change anything they don't want to change. There are egos at work here. The fans. in general, will lose.

 

It will generate talk and discourse. Which for Internet addict like myself (grin) is always interesting.

 

If PG family/Frozen/Disney dreamworld fans are going to leave...so what? LGBT fans could potentially become a whole new block of adoring fans. If there is no follow through on the edgy headline (imagine THEM doing THAT snork) and it all stays peachy but chaotically keen... so what? They will get media scrutiny and attention either way.

 

This fandom is made up of millions of people who have specific favorites, tune in to see a glimpse of them interspersed among TOO MANY CHARACTERS AND TOO MANY STORYLINES, and then basically go about their lives anyway.

 

(And Hook still doesn't have his fucking, glorious ship back. Grrrrrrrr.)

[maryle]

I was in my happy bubble with Jen selfie.

At first just read some stupid comments about Jen just pandering to CS and Colifer shipper( colifer shipper,really?) and shake it off, it seem at the fringe and when Jen doesn't keep hate anyway.

But, I learned that people seem to believe that she must post a pic of Lana and herself.

And I'm like why?? It is a competition everytime she is doing something with Colin she must doing the same with Lana??

Well, if I was liking the close friendship between Lana and Jen (if such a thing exist) I will like much more like any pic between them to be when they choose to take it, and not be forced .

And honestly I'm just tired that Jen cannot just enjoy her canon story and real friendship with a co star without people be critical of her.

She is not a puppet that people can manipulate for their own fantasy, but for me that it is exactly the way some really B. A people act with her and since a long time now.

[KingOfHearts]

Does anyone think the fan controversies will be addressed to any capacity in the fan special airing before the premiere? I doubt it, but I wonder if there would be any subtle referencing.

[HoodlumSheep]

They'll probably just mention how "passionate" all their fans are.

[Amerilla]

Did Ginny just delete her Twitter and Instagram feeds?

[mjgchick]

She totally did. The fans have frightened Snow White away from social media.

[maryle]

That sad! I understand her but it is sad

[sharky]

Although to be fair, she hasn't posted on Twitter in ages. I think she was run off awhile ago. And even posts she did make on Twitter were usually made by a social media person and not her. I'm not saying people weren't mean or whatever, but I have to wonder why now considering she wasn't doing much anyway. And she's taken over the Once Instagram account leading up to the premiere so what made her decide now to delete them? Was there some drama I missed?

[Souris]

If there was any recent drama in relation to Ginny, I missed it, too.

[Writing Wrongs]

So I guess Jamie Chung is getting some hate stuff on Instagram for the upcoming storyline. Oh, boy.

[Souris]

Ugh, usually Instagram is calmer than Twitter. That sucks.

[Mari]

Listened to a podcast yesterday its a heavy  pro-Regina podcast. She can't do no wrong in their eyes. and they are really concerned with the backlash toward Regina that started this Summer and are worried that it will be worse if the story goes where they think its going . . .It surprised me because they want regina all the time but they seemed really worried on the Regina hate that they have seen around the internet. 

Moved from the spoiler thread.  Slightly edited for spoilery mention.

 

Okay, I know this board tends to be pretty anti-Regina a lot of the time.  Frankly, I'm probably one of the most anti-Regina, here.  But I don't spend a lot of time on other boards, or on tumblr.  I don't tweet (I follow no one, but do lurk the occasional account.) or use Facebook.  I don't go to cons, and don't visit many other entertainment websites.

 

I've been just assuming that our little corner of Regina disgruntle was fairly alone;  I know Regina tends to be a popular character.

 

Was there significant backlash/anger about Regina this summer, in other places?  Because I'd easily miss it, if there were.

[HoodlumSheep]

^ I don't know. All I know is the stuff I hear from these forums and tumblr. And the complaints on tumblr are usually split between anti-hook/cs, anti-regina/sq, and rumbellers complaining about how all the characters are stealing screen time from Belle & Rumple.

If the podcasters mentioned it, then either the number of people tired of Regina is growing or people who don't like Regina are growing more vocal. If they were browsing the ouat spoiler tumblr tag I could see where their worry stems from. But then they would have also seen just as much anti-hook/cs stuff. So who knows?

I know people got angry at the news of Regina being the savior, but I don't know if it was more backlash than usual.

Edited October 2, 2015 by HoodlumSheep

[mjgchick]

I honestly think a lot of anti Regina fans got sick of her and just decided to lash out on their social media accounts. Some probably @ the writers and producers. I haven't seen any @ Lana like they @ Adam, Eddy, Dean and JMO for stuff though. I haven't seen Anti Regina stuff as much as late season 4 to be honest.

[maryle]

Impression concerning the love story about LGBT characters ; I am glad that will actually happen because I saw a lot of ( if you do not love SQ who are homophobic!) or ( if you do not write SQ homophobic!!!)

Now, I kind of feel sorry for the writers and all involve in this because : one side is homophobic in their reaction and the other called it token lesbian and said (SQ or nothing!! ) It is a loss loss situation it seems to me.

But, they are doing it anyway, kudos to them!!

Now, sorry for Jamie but she is not the only one the B.A are angry ,at the moment. Jen seems to have angry them because they accuse her of ignoring SQ and does not understand why. I am scraching my head. Maybe, just maybe she got tired to be called ignorant, homophobic or lying about her private life...

Concerning the Regina backclash, it is real and not mostly because of shipwars but because since 3b a lot of Emma fans feels, she is just Emma 2 and the all new savior thing is not helping. Adding all the others fans who just think the show focus a little bit too much on Regina and find her to be a Mary sue charater . And, yes, Regina has become a divisive character whatever ER think about it.

And no, the solution is not more Regina it is a more realistically use of her.

[sharky]

I think it's a combination of bad writing and bad fans. 3B didn't help Regina at all. Then add to it all the "hacking" nonsense this summer by a SQ sock puppet and the crap about Swan Town when JMo said she saved the whole town after some SQ fan with an agenda somehow got a Comic Con press pass. The fandom went through a lot this summer with SQ fans showing their true colors and going after everyone -- fans, actors, writers -- and making Lana their patron saint and this is what happens. The backlash is probably more noticeable among fans because we've been the ones plugged into that drama all summer. But all that drama led me to become more anti-Regina this season.

[mjgchick]

I still want to root for the Regina character because I do tend to laugh at some of her lines but I'm kind of resentful at how the writers just think giving her everything Emma has is going to make me like her more or something. It ain't going to happen Captain.

[kitticup]

I am glad fans are finally being vocal about OUAT being All Regina All the Time. I don't do Twitter, tumblr Facebook, etc. Otherwise I would launch my own campaign.

The SQ faction used social media to lobby to reduce Hook's screen time by claiming that Hook had lots of screen time, which he didn't. Regina on the other hand has to play big part in all the Storylines and has to get shoehorned in, even if it made no sense.

[Serena]

I think the CS fandom is easily as big as the Regina fandom, but until recently they weren't so concerned about Regina, because except for fandom trollishness, in the actual show the two storylines didn't really have anything to do with each other. That was the case for season 2 and 3. But then there was the season 3 finale, where the show made it seem like saving Marian was a huge wrong against Regina, while never taking Regina to task for the many many wrongs she did Emma.

Then season 4 arrived, and there was some backlash in the CS fandom about the friendship with Regina. Not really much after the premiere, but CSers basically revolted after Regina's treatment of Emma in 405. Regina has done much more awful things (village massacre, for example) but they weren't to Emma; she did awful stuff to Emma, but up until that moment Emma was allowed to talk back. So yeah, the CS fans who were just like "Regina is annoying" up until that moment, got out their pitchforks and went "REGINA IS THE WORST, HOW DARE SHE TALK TO EMMA LIKE THAT."

Then in the 4A finale, there was a consensus in the CS fandom that the CS scene was cut short so Emma could go drink with Regina. CSers, once again, revolted. Matt Mitovich asked A&E "WTF was up with that 26 second scene?". Right now, I realize they didn't have Emma react that much because they wanted her big "reacts to Hook's death" scene to be in 422; but we didn't realize that then, and it was still a terrible writing decision.

 

Then 4B arrives, and CS is sidelined for the Emma/Regina "friendship" and (even worse) the Emma/Lily friendship. Lily fed the anti-Regina resentment, since people basically saw her as fake!Regina. Then the very last scene of the season was Emma getting screwed over to save Regina, to give her an happy ending based on a misguided guilt over saving one of Regina's murder victims.

 

So yeah, the Regina backlash has gotten worse. In the first season, the only people who spoke against Regina were the Snowing/Emma fandom, but they mostly stood in their corner amongst themselves. The more the CS fandom developed, the most vocal it became, the more the anti-Regina backlash grew.

[RedKeep]

 

The SQ faction used social media to lobby to reduce Hook's screen time by claiming that Hook had lots of screen time, which he didn't.

I think he has a ton of screentime since season 4 especially for someone whose role on this show is to play the supportive love interest 95% of the time, especially compared to other characters who have basically the exact same job description on this show. Whether or not one needs to go to the writers or ABC on social media to complain about that is another question. I would suspect complaints that are only aimed at taking something away from a character you don't like are likely not going to be very successful, regardless of which corner of the fandom they're coming from. It seems petty to me and in some cases also shows a lack of understanding of how this show operates, for better or worse. I couldn't take it serious when it was SQ fans doing it (and it very obviously also didn't work), but I can't take it any more serious when it's Hook/CS fans now either. In my experience a large faction of them has always been violently anti-Regina anyway and it's not like the powers that be aren't aware of such agendas. (Again: See SQers vs. Hook and Robin Hood.)

[Serena]

I'm not saying people going to A&E with all their show complaints is right or even mature (I mean, some are fair, but a lot of CSers I see whine at Adam on Twitter act like children). But on the other hand, look at what happened to Snowing fans, who in S1 were all nice and polite and everything: they get nada. Snow was supposed to be the co-heroine with Emma and Ginny is first billed, and she barely gets a POV in the storyline about her own daughter going dark. 

Now, I'm not saying people online can influence a storyline completely (look at Rumbelle: their fans are very loud, and they got Belle a spot as a regular, but she's still an afterthought and A&E don't give a fig about that storyline - it's basically a running joke how they're separated every season), but I believe if Snowing fans had made their voices more heard, Snow and Charming wouldn't have become extras and then been so character-assasinated. Part of it could also be the actors: we've heard that Lana lobbied A&E for changes in her storyline, but didn't hear any such thing about Josh and Ginny. Maybe they don't care, or they don't feel confortable doing that. I don't know.

Edited October 2, 2015 by Serena

[RedKeep]

This is kind of what I mean. The lack of real, meaningful family scenes and the lack of Snowing are things that are undeniable issues and I would understand and support people who go to the writers to complain about that. If it's done respectfully and if it's done in a manner that's not trashing a character they don't like to prop up someone they do like/want to see more of. And that's part of why I can't take the vocal fractions of the anti-Regina/Hook/etc. complainers very serious because these people are ultimately campaigning that their favorites, who already are comparatively well-off on this show, get more even more than others. No one's honestly fighting for things that are seriously lacking or characters who have honestly way too little relevant screentime like Snowing. Although I presume that in Snow's case some may have simply assumed that it was a matter of Ginnifer Goodwin having asked for a somewhat reduced work load for obvious reasonst too during 4A at least. And all fighting for your favs only gets you so far when the writers are uninspired or don't see the potential in certain characters that their viewers see. I thought Snowing's 4B story said a lot about how the writers view them and what they consider interesting writing for them. Same with Rumbelle.

[Mari]

The thing is, a few disgruntled, vocal fans aren't usually going to make much of an impact, and there's always been at least a few that loudly disliked certain characters or storylines.

However, if the disgruntlement over Regina's characterization and/or has spread beyond those few, to a more general OUaT audience reaction, that's interesting. If the show decides some of their writing choices are causing problems, they're more likely to let that influence future choices.

Especially if it's coming from sources that were usually excited and supportive. For example, the Mitovich comment Serena mentioned is interesting, simply because if I remember correctly from things posted in spoiler threads, his website had always been pretty enthusiastic about Regina.

[Serena]

Especially if it's coming from sources that were usually excited and supportive. For example, the Mitovich comment Serena mentioned is interesting, simply because if I remember correctly from things posted in spoiler threads, his website had always been pretty enthusiastic about Regina.

His website has, because their job is to get hits and they aren't going to insult a popular character, especially since they may have to interview Lana in the future. But Mitovich personally has shaded Regina quite a bit. Other than the "WTF was that 26 second scene?", I remember him going "So the Author said Regina has been the most screwed over... that's wack." (he did it more diplomatically)

[HoodlumSheep]

I think it should be pointed out that a lot of CSers are Emma stans. And it's not just CSers who are becoming more vocal (and it's not just about shipping at this point either). The fact that Emma has been thrown under the bus for Regina for the past few seasons has finally struck a chord with a lot of people.

Edited October 2, 2015 by HoodlumSheep

[sharky]

The fact that Emma has been thrown under the bus for Regina for the past few seasons has finally struck a chord with a lot of people.

Not just that, but to bring this back to a fan perspective, I think many of us are getting frustrated that JMo is getting thrown under the bus by Lana fans, which has spilled over into our dislike for Regina. Like I mentioned earlier, that whole thing at Comic Con with that "fan" going after JMo about how Emma saved Regina. JMo tried to clarify that she saved the whole town, which led to that "Swan Town" nonsense and all these fans acting like they weren't being harsh to Jennifer but just thought it was a cute meme or some crap. And then they bragged about how a SQ fan hoodwinked the PR people to get a press pass. That pissed me off. Imagine their reaction if a CS fan did the same thing and asked Lana "Why do you think Regina manipulates people like Emma to feel sorry for her when she ruined Emma's life?"

 

These SQ fans never go after Lana if she promotes something OQ related, but Jennifer posted pictures of her with Colin and the SQ fandom starts sending this nonsense about "When are you going to post a picture of you with Lana?" Or the whole photo thing this summer from that Once con where Colin and Jennifer were going to take pictures together and then it was cancelled because of overzealous SQ fans. Whenever these SQ fans see something they don't like, they always seem to go after Jennifer for it and never once has Lana said, "Hey, chill out." She's not dumb or naive about social media. She was the one that posted the Swan Queen sweaters picture. She knows a fellow actor is getting crapped on by her fans and she says nothing. Yea, I know way more than the average fan about all of this but for me, all this off-screen fan drama involving Lana's fans has really affected my view of Regina.

[Shanna Marie]

There's been a fan backlash to Regina going back to season 2, only it's been sort of invisible. It's not on Twitter or tumblr or anything like that. It's just been people voting with their remote controls. Look at where the ratings nosedives have happened. They tend to come with the "poor Regina" arcs. Whenever I bring up this show on my blog, with friends, or at conventions, the reaction is always along the lines of "I used to watch that, but then it became the Regina show and I couldn't take it anymore." Sometimes with a side dose of "Snow White was awesome in the first season, but I gave up on the show in the second season when they had her groveling to Regina after defeating the villain who was going to kill them all." My last friend who was still watching the show quit at the end of last season because that arc just killed all her joy, and the sacrifice for Regina was the final straw. The vocal backlash we're seeing may just be the few remaining people who refuse to be driven away and want to be heard.