Season Seven: The Reset Anticipation/Apprehension/Dread Topic

[RadioGirl27]

Once has gone downhill since Season 3, and in S7 it's going to crash and burn. It's going to be such a horrible mess. I would feel bad for Colin, but I hope it's a total failure.

Those interviews just show how little respect A&E have for their characters, their story, their actors and their fans. 

[Camera One]

From EW interview

KITSIS: That one I don’t want to just fully tease yet. All this stuff is literally just being worked on.

Translation: We have no clue.

[cuppasun]

So, it looks like maybe it was just me who went to "Narnia?" when the little girl introduced herself as Lucy. Not that I think it fits, just what occurred to me. I guess I don't have the right kind of imagination for this show...

...because I don't need Round 2 of the same damn storyline again!

Okay, that's all out of my system. I'm going to try not to watch next season. Might relent if it makes my granddaughter happy. Not impressed with the tease so far, though.

(bring back OUAT in Wonderland, and we can talk!)

[PixiePaws1]

In that THR they raised the word that strikes terror..

Recast

Would they dare recast Emma???? Would they? They wouldn't!! Would they???

[SiobhanJW]

I don't think Emma is going to die. What they kill her in the first episode? No way people would want to keep watching. 

[Last Time Lord]

3 hours ago, Katherine said:

In the casting call for Adult Henry, didn't it say something about him coming from a broken home? That also makes me think that Emma and Hook and the rest of the characters got separated at some point. 

Not necessarily. 

Its not uncommon when casting important new roles to twist the truth of the character around to prevent spoilers. 

For example, on the Angel season two DVD, one of the special features was Amy Acker's screen test. Her screen test character was a librarian. 

Likewise, Vincent Kartheiser's screen test on the season three DVD had him playing a teenager that Angel was trying to pretect from a demon, when the actual character was the grown version of Angel's son, Connor. 

And the original casting sides for Ruby on Supernatural mentioned she was a Demon Hunter, when the character was a demon. 

And that's just three examples, I'm sure there are tons more. 

[Katherine]

2 hours ago, Curio said:

I could see a scenario where Adult Henry and Lucy first travel to Storybrooke because he thinks that's the family who is in trouble. He shows up and everything is fine. We check in on Emma and Hook living happily in their home. We check in on Regina, the Charmings, Belle and Zelena. Everything appears as it should, so what is this little girl talking about? The family that needs help is actually in the Wish Realm or another realm, not Storybrooke. This is either the point where Henry bids farewell to his Storybrooke family as he goes off on an adventure in another realm, or this is the point where Killian, Regina, and Rumple decide they're going to take a few weeks off work to help Adult Henry in the other realm. That's the only scenario I can think of where Jen is only needed for one episode and all the characters' happy endings are still preserved.

I really like this idea. If season 7 is in fact about the wish realm, I hope Adam and Eddy don't make us wait until the fall to find out. I get that they're in love with their #nospoilers shtick, but it would be unwise to leave a decent chunk of their fanbase thinking their beloved characters are going to get their happy endings taken away. 

[Rumsy4]

2 hours ago, Shanna Marie said:

Children tend to grow, and by the third season (assuming they last more than a year) your adorable eight-year-old (she seemed to me younger than Henry was at the beginning of the series) will be needing a bra.

Seriously, I was thinking this exactly! It will become embarassing when puberty hits the little girl, but luckily, the show will have been cancelled by then.

2 hours ago, Kktjones said:

I also love how this question about Hook gets turned into an answer about Regina. If that doesn't confirm where the focus will be next season, I don't know what will.

Everything is about Regina. Pretty sure JMo knew Season 7 would continue the trend of Once Upon Many Evil Queens.

2 hours ago, Curio said:

I could see a scenario where Adult Henry and Lucy first travel to Storybrooke because he thinks that's the family who is in trouble. He shows up and everything is fine. We check in on Emma and Hook living happily in their home. We check in on Regina, the Charmings, Belle and Zelena. Everything appears as it should, so what is this little girl talking about? The family that needs help is actually in the Wish Realm or another realm, not Storybrooke. This is either the point where Henry bids farewell to his Storybrooke family as he goes off on an adventure in another realm, or this is the point where Killian, Regina, and Rumple decide they're going to take a few weeks off work to help Adult Henry in the other realm. That's the only scenario I can think of where Jen is only needed for one episode and all the characters' happy endings are still preserved.

This is my scenario. Lucy's bio dad is Wishverse!Henry. Wish!Rumple there is up to his old shenanigans to reunite with Wish!Baelfire or cleave himself from Wish!Dagger or whatever. Little Lucy somehow ends up in the real world thinking Original!Henry is her dad. Henry, in the meantime, has lost hope because his True Love(TM) Violet died. But he is intrigued by Lucy and goes to Storybrooke. There, he decides to go to the Wish!Realm to help Lucy. Regina accompanies him out of guilt becasue she set Wish!Rumple loose over there (and killed Snowing, but she won't mention that lbr). Hook goes along to help becasue Emma is pregnant and her family want her to be safe. The original charatcers can still be in Storybrooke, while Henry and Lucy, along with Original!Regina and Original!Hook will go to the Wish Realm. A&E can always bring in CloneQueen and wish!EQ and have three Reginas on-screen at the same time. Young and old Hook can fight with each other for laughs. Lucy's mom will be Adult Henry's Love Interest. That solves pretty much all issues.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Rumsy4

[KAOS Agent]

Let's not lie. They've already basically said that the happy endings would be removed as a new chapter begins. I think they really are that stupid. It's interesting to see the comments sections on their interviews because whether people loved the finale or hated it, most are waving goodbye to Once Upon a Time. The rabid fandom that A&E were talking about that was growing (which ha! this fandom has been dying all season long) is mostly 80/20 on leaving for good. Some even left after last episode.

How ridiculous is it that we easily predicted who the guy and little girl were? These guys think they're so clever and pretty much everyone knew instantly that it was Adult!Henry and his little girl when the casting was announced. I have little investment in these characters, but I am invested in the ones who left. I saw what the writers did to them over the seasons. I'm not stupid enough to watch them do the same thing to new characters.

[RadioGirl27]

32 minutes ago, KAOS Agent said:

 I think they really are that stupid.

Yeah, they are. They are so obtuse and stupid. They are insulting their actual fans and they think they are going to get new ones. 

Season 7 premiere is going to be a bloodbath, both in the show and in the ratings. 

[cappoe]

3 hours ago, Souris said:

Jen said she doesn't know what they have planned for her one ep. And now that she's contracted, she HAS to appear.

Eddy pretty much said, Enjoy the CS happiness for now because it's not going to last. Blatant tell.

Yeah but that doesn't mean Emma's going to die. She could just go missing and then next season is about finding her. Or the other 3 get separated from everyone else and it's about getting back to the rest of their family.

If Emma died the little girl would have said "your family is in trouble" instead she said "your family needs you" so it's a Henry issue. 

I don't think Emma died, honestly I don't think they would do that. If they did they can kiss their reboot before it's even taken off. Nobody will stick around passed the premiere. 

[Cindy McLennan]

Hey, I didn't mean to quote any of you, but can't get the quotes to go away. 

What I'm here to say is, I am so deeply disappointed in the OUAT S6 finale, that I feel I let you down. This is not the show I began recapping for you all on TWoP. While it matters not at all, please take my pole. Just so I'll know some of you read a thing I once watched: http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/upon-time-season-seven-will-watch-without-jennifer-morrison/

(How do I get rid of these quote-y things?)

For the record? I will not be watching. UGH.

Edited May 15, 2017 by saoirse
removed quote boxes

[ParadoxLost]

2 hours ago, cappoe said:

Yeah but that doesn't mean Emma's going to die. She could just go missing and then next season is about finding her. Or the other 3 get separated from everyone else and it's about getting back to the rest of their family.

If Emma died the little girl would have said "your family is in trouble" instead she said "your family needs you" so it's a Henry issue. 

I don't think Emma died, honestly I don't think they would do that. If they did they can kiss their reboot before it's even taken off. Nobody will stick around passed the premiere. 

I'm split between

Emma being under a sleeping curse and abducted and guarded by a dragon or something to string along shippers that there may be a Captain Swan TLK at some point.

or

A&E doing an interview saying Captain Swan was never a storybook love.  The were real and as hard as they tried half of real marriages end in divorce. Walls.

[profdanglais]

If Emma dies, at what point does Hook just say eff this noise, 200-odd years is a long enough life when I keep losing everyone I love, and walk his own plank? What's his motivation to keep plugging along when everything he loves is gone? And don't say revenge, because I won't buy that a second time. 

[superloislane]

Especially since he was about to move on and had accepted his death but was pretty much brought back to life by Zeus to be where he belonged - with Emma.

[Souris]

26 minutes ago, ParadoxLost said:

A&E doing an interview saying Captain Swan was never a storybook love.  The were real and as hard as they tried half of real marriages end in divorce. Walls.

More likely than CS being happy. They never had a TLK and in the finale Hook said they weren't a predestined love and had to fight for their love. They stopped fighting for it.

One way or another, the CS happy ending will be destroyed. A&E aren't remotely clever enough to preserve it without Jen. Furthermore, I don't think they even care enough to try. They think they will get new viewers with their amazing writing. Their interviews are practically promising that the CS happy ending will be destroyed. The happiness is only for "right now." 

Fans always come up with these elaborate theories, but the show always goes the easiest route. 

[RadioGirl27]

22 minutes ago, profdanglais said:

If Emma dies, at what point does Hook just say eff this noise, 200-odd years is a long enough life when I keep losing everyone I love, and walk his own plank? What's his motivation to keep plugging along when everything he loves is gone? And don't say revenge, because I won't buy that a second time. 

A son/daughter. If he and Emma had a kid before her death, he/she would be a reason to survive.

[scenicbyway]

6 hours ago, PixiePaws1 said:

In that THR they raised the word that strikes terror..

Recast

Would they dare recast Emma???? Would they? They wouldn't!! Would they???

It's not a terrible idea because, honestly, both the show and Jen have said they wanted her to stay.  Whether it was storylines (personally I think it was more about her than the work) or really wanting to be in LA or NYC we'll never know.

Recasting atleast keeps the hope of a happy ending alive for fans.  If they kill Emma off, there's no hope and the past six years was pointless.

[Amerilla]

A reboot with an aged-up Henry and some of the original cast would be a great thing...four or five years from now. Once nostalgia has had time to dull the sharp edges of the series as a whole. 

To do it after a four-month summer hiatus, with 2/3rds of the original cast missing, feels -- to borrow from @Cindy McLennan on the ep thread -- insulting to us as an audience. 

[RadioGirl27]

49 minutes ago, Amerilla said:

A reboot with an aged-up Henry and some of the original cast would be a great thing...four or five years from now. Once nostalgia has had time to dull the sharp edges of the series as a whole. 

To do it after a four-month summer hiatus, with 2/3rds of the original cast missing, feels -- to borrow from @Cindy McLennan on the ep thread -- insulting to us as an audience. 

This! It's insulting, and this is why I say that A&E have no respect for the audience. It's so obvious that they are going to destroy everything in the Season 7 premiere, it's not even funny. 

1 hour ago, scenicbyway said:

It's not a terrible idea because, honestly, both the show and Jen have said they wanted her to stay.

Nah, they are not going to recast Emma. Emma, and with her CS, are going to pay for Jennifer's negative to continue.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

8 hours ago, Last Time Lord said:

Not necessarily. 

Its not uncommon when casting important new roles to twist the truth of the character around to prevent spoilers.

And it was actually the casting sides for Lucy that said *she* was from a broken home, not the casting sides for Adult Henry.

[Shanna Marie]

I had a wacky thought as I was waking up this morning for how to fit everything they've set up in (this is not entirely serious, but then again, it is this show, with these writers):

All the happy stuff we saw at the end continues for a couple of years -- Farmer David, teacher Snow, the Sheriffs Jones, happy families, probably a baby Jones. A couple of years later, Henry has his driver's license and a car and leaves town for some reason -- probably an adolescent snit. Violet breaks up with him, and he hits the road for a drive to clear his head and listen to 80s music. But while he's gone, a curse hits the town, like the season one original curse, so that time's frozen and the town is invisible to the outside world. Inside the town, happy life seems to go on in a Groundhog Day type existence, with them not being aware of or thinking anything of Henry's absence (Emma and Hook always think he's either at school or with Regina, Regina always thinks he's either at school or at the Jones house), so there's no angst about his absence (if you're imprisoning people, the best prison is one they don't want to escape). When Henry is done with his driving and decides to head home, he's surprised to find that the town isn't there anymore. There's no sign it ever was there. Nothing he tries allows him to get back to Storybrooke. And thus the disillusioned Henry we meet in the coda. Even his Author powers have done nothing to reunite him with his family. We don't need to see this -- this can be the story adult Henry tells Lucy.

But because Lucy has the storybook, they can get into Storybrooke, where adult Henry finds the rest of the family unchanged. Even though years have passed, his baby sister is still a baby, his parents all still look the way they did when he left. There's a happy reunion, though some confusion as to how Lucy can be Henry's daughter, as he protests that he didn't know he had a daughter (this leads to a raised eyebrow and "I thought we had a talk about that, son" from Hook). The curse on them was cast from some other world, maybe some other reality, and merely affected them as a side effect. Breaking it will require finding the source of the curse. They still have the magic bean they didn't use from the finale (grrr), and they decide that Regina and Rumple will head out to deal with it, with Hook taking them all on the Jolly Roger. Emma stays behind to look after Storybrooke and the baby (since I doubt that she'd leave an infant behind with both parents gone, given her own childhood). And thus the rest of the season/series is Regina, Rumple, Hook, Henry, and Lucy trying to track the curse while we get backstories about how it was cast.

That's one way to handle the cast we've got left, the fact that they haven't aged while Henry has, and doesn't mess up their happy endings. I just wonder whether the scenes of Henry and Lucy in the Enchanted Forest were prequel to the coda (either future or alt universe) or are something that happens after/during the events of season 7. It seems more of a prequel to me, that this is what Lucy does with the storybook her version of Henry left her with.

[InsertWordHere]

If Henry's family was scattered throughout the realms and he had to go with Lucy to find them that would be kind of neat. 

However, if all the characters happy endings depend on which non-contracted cast members are willing to come back, then we're going to have a bad time. This will not end well. 

Worse, once they realize (if they haven't already which would be pretty conceited even for these writers) that the main impetus for most of us to watch this show is glimpses of the old cast, they will bait us with them all season long. 

[RadioGirl27]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

I just wonder whether the scenes of Henry and Lucy in the Enchanted Forest were prequel to the coda (either future or alt universe) or are something that happens after/during the events of season 7. It seems more of a prequel to me, that this is what Lucy does with the storybook her version of Henry left her with.

I have read in one the post-mortem interviews wih A&E that the scene in the EF is a flashforward, but now I can't find in which one. 

Edited May 15, 2017 by RadioGirl27

[scenicbyway]

I think A&E said in one of those interviews that they won't really be going to Storybrooke next season.  I would guess if they need to, they'll just do so in studio.

It's curious that Henry ends up in Seattle, about as far away from Maine as you can get.

[Souris]

8 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

I think A&E said in one of those interviews that they won't really be going to Storybrooke next season.  I would guess if they need to, they'll just do so in studio.

It's curious that Henry ends up in Seattle, about as far away from Maine as you can get.

I think that points to something REALLY bad happening in Maine. Henry wanted to get as far away as he could.

This is NOT going to be good for the current regulars, especially Emma and CaptainSwan. A&E are petty, arrogant jerks who will take it out on Jen through Emma, and then blame it on Jen for not returning.

[Shanna Marie]

15 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

I think A&E said in one of those interviews that they won't really be going to Storybrooke next season.  I would guess if they need to, they'll just do so in studio.

That's where I figure in my "new curse" scenario that they could greenscreen the entry to Storybrooke (maybe even just show the "Welcome to Storybrooke" sign on the side of the road, so we know they made it) and then have Henry enter the police station to find his mom and stepdad, and then the planning session for their mission also happens there, which explains why all the other departing characters aren't present. They appease the fans a little by having Emma there and sending Hook off on the mission with a kiss.

8 minutes ago, Souris said:

A&E are petty, arrogant jerks who will take it out on Jen through Emma, and then blame it on Jen for not returning.

That would also be somewhat copying Joss Whedon, who turned Willow gay because he was irked at Seth Green leaving for his movie career. Joss wrote his character's love interest as turning gay so that even if he did want to come back, he wouldn't really fit with the ensemble because he couldn't get back together with Willow, plus the "ha, ha, you were so awful that your girlfriend turned gay after dating you" nasty joke.

[scenicbyway]

20 minutes ago, Souris said:

I think that points to something REALLY bad happening in Maine. Henry wanted to get as far away as he could.

This is NOT going to be good for the current regulars, especially Emma and CaptainSwan. A&E are petty, arrogant jerks who will take it out on Jen through Emma, and then blame it on Jen for not returning.

I'm no A&E fan but Jen has also left them no choice by not returning.  The network renewed ,and  they must produce a show.  Jen could've come back for more than one episode but has so far refused.  Why should Colin be out of a job because his onscreen love interest decided to bail?

It's a bad situation all the way around but the responsibility for what or why happens to Emma in season 7 isn't solely on A&E.

[Writing Wrongs]

12 hours ago, Daisy said:

and JMo can not Speechfight like Sarah Michelle Gellar 

LOL. Can anyone?

[Souris]

19 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

I'm no A&E fan but Jen has also left them no choice by not returning.  The network renewed ,and  they must produce a show.  Jen could've come back for more than one episode but has so far refused.  Why should Colin be out of a job because his onscreen love interest decided to bail?

It's a bad situation all the way around but the responsibility for what or why happens to Emma in season 7 isn't solely on A&E.

Yes, it is. They can write the story ANY way they want to. Of course they have a choice in how they write it. They can write around her not being there in a way that doesn't destroy Emma or CaptainSwan if they want to. Fans have come up with a bunch of ways around it. So if they choose to destroy Emma and CaptainSwan, then that is 100% their writing choice.

[Daisy]

26 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

I'm no A&E fan but Jen has also left them no choice by not returning.  The network renewed ,and  they must produce a show.  Jen could've come back for more than one episode but has so far refused.  Why should Colin be out of a job because his onscreen love interest decided to bail?

It's a bad situation all the way around but the responsibility for what or why happens to Emma in season 7 isn't solely on A&E.

Right. I don't blame JMo for not coming back, she had enough and she fulfilled her contract (same with Ginny/Josh etc), but if A+E feel this show could go on for a while (which - if they got better writers and vision they easily could and multiple spinoffs) then I don't blame them for doing so. 

However. I do find Writers/Show Runners are petty, petty people in this business. People want to go, or whatever, and instead of being gracious - they completely trash the character - which doesn't really have to happen 99.9 percent of the time. 

I mean. I'm not expecting the best out of this. So I am thinking something horrible will happen, so if they feel they can move on with Colin and a new leading lady because Jen will not ever come back, then that's fine. (now. I'm biased because i don't like Emma OR Captain Swan. but again for me it's almost always about the story - not the ships, or anything like that. I LOATHED Meredith/Derek from Grey's Anatomy, but I recognized what that was and I was actually P.O'ed how that ended).  it's how it's written (for me) that's paramount.

Though i totally understand and respect why people are preparing for the worst here. (hugs for them all). 

 

24 minutes ago, Writing Wrongs said:

LOL. Can anyone?

LOL now that I think about it... maybe Lucy Lawless. but I think head to head SMG could take them all on. 

[KingOfHearts]

I think I'm going to throw in the towel, guys. This show adds so much stress to my already stressful life. It used to give me a break and put my mind in a better place, but lately it has done the opposite. The writers try to make me feel like an idiot by telling me up is down, and frankly, it's insulting. I'd rather read or watch things that follow basically rules of storytelling. I don't care if it's predictable or not "edgy" enough. I like getting what I expect from fairy tales. It doesn't need to be Oz meets Game of Thrones or The Misunderstood Villains Hour. You can play with plot elements all you want, but the tone and style should remain true to the source material. At the very least, it needs to make basic sense. That's much more satisfying then diving into the minds of two pretentious writers who think their vision is straight from the hands of God.

As a personal decision, I don't plan on tuning in regularly for S7. Things might change over hiatus, but I doubt it. I need to make a stand for my own sanity.

Edited May 15, 2017 by KingOfHearts

[Curio]

3 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

As a personal decision, I don't plan on tuning in regularly for S7. Things might change over hiatus, but I doubt it. I need to make a stand for my own sanity.

Do what ya gotta do for your sanity. Are you still going to stick around the forums even if you don't watch the show? 

The way the story ended last night seriously has me in a funk. I know it's silly to be so attached to fictional characters, but these characters have taken up a large chunk of my imagination over the years, and the way A&E didn't give a proper ending to the story makes it feel like I broke off real life friendships.

[CCTC]

This is so superficial, but I might have to throw in the towel, because I think the little girl might drive me crazy.   Too small of a sample size for me to really judge her character/acting, but I was getting vibes that I used to get from many child actors I saw growing up in the late 70's - early 80's.  They were either too cute and/or too wise (or wise-ass) and if they were male often had a bowl hair cut.

Say what you want about Henry now, but he was a pretty natural and likable child actor the first season or two.  I am remembering correctly, maybe there was enough other stuff on the show that they were doing right at the time that I was able to block him out.

14 minutes ago, Curio said:

The way the story ended last night seriously has me in a funk. I know it's silly to be so attached to fictional characters, but these characters have taken up a large chunk of my imagination over the years, and the way A&E didn't give a proper ending to the story makes it feel like I broke off real life friendships.

I actually did feel a little bad thinking it was the last time seeing a number of those characters.

Edited May 15, 2017 by CCTC

[InsertWordHere]

2 hours ago, Daisy said:

LOL now that I think about it... maybe Lucy Lawless. but I think head to head SMG could take them all on. 

Given this show's love of Whedon, they should just hire SMG next season. She'll come on as an antagonist to Regina, but I'm sure she'd come to love her eventually.

1 hour ago, KingOfHearts said:

As a personal decision, I don't plan on tuning in regularly for S7. Things might change over hiatus, but I doubt it. I need to make a stand for my own sanity.

 I'm sad to hear it, but you should do what's best for you. This show is not worth your mental health. 

1 hour ago, Curio said:

I know it's silly to be so attached to fictional characters, but these characters have taken up a large chunk of my imagination over the years, and the way A&E didn't give a proper ending to the story makes it feel like I broke off real life friendships.

If you're silly, then so am I. For me, this was the once in a decade show that completely captured my imagination and my heart. The only other shows that I've felt this way about are LOST and Buffy/Angel. Unlike those shows, I've been watching Once since the first week it aired. Sure, I have other television series that I enjoy, some of which are leagues better in quality, like Game of Thrones, but those shows don't cause me to endlessly speculate or make up fanfic in my head before I fall asleep at night (well, the book series for GoT does, and so did Harry Potter, but something is different about a long-running tv series). It's my only "must watch live" show. Part of that's because I enjoy keeping up with the live reactions on social media, but a lot of it is because the premise and actors hooked (heh) me right from the start and some choice parts of this show could be so very, very good when they wanted to be.

I am pretty bitter about this finale. I was going to make a big sentimental post yesterday about this show, but didn't end up having the time, and now I'm glad I didn't. I'll save my sentimentality for this forum instead. Never have I ever gotten so much enjoyment speculating about a show as I did on this forum in the spoiler thread circa season 3; and later, being able to politely discuss the missteps these writers have made.  

I never needed a wedding or a happily ever after for my two favorite couples. I just wanted some nice moments, because this show told me a long time ago that life is made up of moments, but we barely got any of those. Always plot plot plot moving at a lightning speed while it never took a second to breathe. Even the last dinner at Granny's looks like it was a day or two after the final battle. They couldn't even give us a year time jump to show that things were peaceful for a while, most likely because they want to keep us guessing about what happened to cause Henry's flashforward situation and when. It sucks. I would rather have ended it on Going Home or There's No Place Like Home, the last good finale this show has done. 

Perversely, I am glad for the seventh season now because there's still some small part of me that hopes (what is wrong with me?) we'll get some more crumbs about our favorite characters.

Edited May 15, 2017 by InsertWordHere

[KingOfHearts]

Quote

Are you still going to stick around the forums even if you don't watch the show? 

I'll still be here. This show deserves to be tore down for the rest of eternity.

It's funny. I watch a lot of terrible shows for the heck of it. I can tolerate a lot of bad writing and cheesiness. But OUAT feels very arrogant and hypocritical. It's a prime time television drama that places itself up there with Lost or other fictional masterworks. Believe it or not, there are moments of brilliance and the characters are compelling. Not in a tongue-and-cheek way, either. It's the Sword Art Online of live-action fairy tales. The ideas and beautiful designs are there, but the writing makes it all fall apart.

[Souris]

I only hope that I'm emotionally dis-invested enough by the time the inevitable news breaks about what they've done to destroy Emma's/CS's happiness, that I don't get too upset. I want to get to a place where I don't get sad or table-flippy.

On the whole, this forum has been FAR more worthwhile and enjoyable than the show! The show was so frustrating, because it could and should have been so much better.

[Shanna Marie]

1 hour ago, InsertWordHere said:

If you're silly, then so am I. For me, this was the once in a decade show that completely captured my imagination and my heart. The only other shows that  I've felt this way about are LOST and Buffy/Angel. Unlike those shows, I've been watching Once since the first week it aired. Sure, I have other television series that I enjoy, some of which are leagues better in quality, like Game of Thrones, but those shows don't cause me to endlessly speculate or make up fanfic in my head before I fall asleep at night

I'm silly there, too, even with the making up fanfic in my head before I fall asleep at night. For me, this show hit the sweet spot of caring plus curiosity. I was curious about what happened next, and I cared about what happened. That meant it took up a lot of headspace for me. There was a lot to speculate on, especially between seasons. At the end of season one, I was so excited about the possibilities of what would happen with the curse broken and the family reunited. I was mostly disappointed, but I learned to love 2A for what it was. At the end of season 2, I was excited about the possibilities of the Charmings, Hook, and Rumple heading to Neverland, and I spent some time dreaming up things that would happen. At the end of season 3, I was super amped about the possibilities, between the start of a relationship between Emma and Hook and the coming of the Frozen stuff, even the fallout of Marian (wow, but I didn't see how that would play out coming). I spent a lot of time on mental fanfic between seasons. Though I was disappointed in season 4, the end did have me spinning a lot of mental fanfic about how things would go next. After season 5, my mental fanfic was either a complete reset, going back to where they went wrong and rewriting the whole series, or creating my end to the series. And now, I think my caring is pretty much over. I'm curious about where they go with it, but possibly even in a "watching the train wreck, with popcorn" way. But I think I'm done caring. Any mental fanfic will be rewriting, but I'm hoping to channel that into my own writing. They went so far away from my mental fanfic that I think I can safely use all the ideas I came up with without them looking at all like they have anything to do with this show. I'm hoping to be slightly more scarce on this forum this summer. I'll still pop by because this is my office watercooler, but I hope to be devoting that headspace to my own fictional creations.

I did find myself having a few moments during the finale of realizing what I was going to miss about the current cast/format. Everything I enjoyed in the episode involved characters who are leaving. I wanted a season or more of Hook saucily calling Snow "Mommy" and David having to be "Dad" to Hook. When Belle walked into the diner carrying baby Gideon, Hook's face lit up when he saw her, and I thought it would be fun to see their friendship progress -- and see what Rumple thought about that. But then I realized that even if we continued for ten more seasons with these characters, we'd never get to see that kind of stuff. So I will probably keep watching so I can analyze and dissect, and learn a lot about how not to write, but I don't know how much I'll care. I'm already detaching. I think in my head my universe and theirs diverge in 2B. There's some intertwining from 2B to 3B, and then my version goes off in an entirely different direction.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Shanna Marie

[RadioGirl27]

1 hour ago, Curio said:

The way the story ended last night seriously has me in a funk. I know it's silly to be so attached to fictional characters, but these characters have taken up a large chunk of my imagination over the years, and the way A&E didn't give a proper ending to the story makes it feel like I broke off real life friendships.

Yeah, I'm right there with you.

39 minutes ago, InsertWordHere said:

I am pretty bitter about this finale. I was going to make a big sentimental post yesterday about this show, but didn't end up having the time, and now I'm glad I didn't. I'll save my sentimentality for this forum instead. Never have I ever gotten so much enjoyment speculating about a show as I did on this forum in the spoiler thread circa season 3 and later, being able to politely discuss the missteps these writers have made. 

Yeah, this forum has been far more enjoyable than the show itself, especially the last two seasons.

16 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

I'll still be here. This show deserves to be tore down for the rest of eternity.

I haven't decided if I'm going to watch season 7 or not, but I'm going to stay here as long as the forum is active. This show and this writers deserve to be tore down as much as we can.

[Katherine]

I'm right there with all of you who have gotten emotionally attached to these characters. My family and friends don't understand my obsession with this show, and it's really hard to explain why a show that (in recent years at least) is mediocre at best and absolutely cringey-worthy at worst has me so invested.

I haven't always been an active poster on these forums, but I have followed them intently--pretty much daily, actually--ever since that sneak peek of Emma and Hook's first kiss back in season 3 (during the TwoP days). Everyone had such high hopes for the show back then, especially after the season 3 mid-finale, but your speculation almost always proved better than what actually transpired onscreen. I think I'll continue watching in season 7 because it would be too difficult to quit this addiction cold turkey, but it definitely won't be the same show. It hasn't really sunk in for me yet that this show I've come to depend on for my Sunday night entertainment is effectively over.

[SiobhanJW]

So anyone have any guesses as to what Fairytale Character, Lucy's Mom is? 

According to one interview I read her and Henry have an epic romance like Snow & Charming. And that she will be revealed this summer. 

6 hours ago, RadioGirl27 said:

I have read in one the post-mortem interviews wih A&E that the scene in the EF is a flashforward, but now I can't find in which one. 

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/upon-time-creators-tease-season-7s-new-chapter-215647444.html This one? 

[RadioGirl27]

18 minutes ago, SiobhanJW said:

So anyone have any guesses as to what Fairytale Character, Lucy's Mom is? 

According to one interview I read her and Henry have an epic romance like Snow & Charming. And that she will be revealed this summer. 

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/upon-time-creators-tease-season-7s-new-chapter-215647444.html This one? 

Yeah, that one. 

[Camera One]

35 minutes ago, SiobhanJW said:

So anyone have any guesses as to what Fairytale Character, Lucy's Mom is? 

According to one interview I read her and Henry have an epic romance like Snow & Charming. And that she will be revealed this summer. 

The problem is that this show has burned through so many fairy tales and Disney movies... basically, who's left?  Tiana?  Moana?  Pocahontas?  Esmeralda?  None of those would be as epic as Snow White and Prince Charming, except in A&E's eyes.  The funnest aspect of the show were their attempts to explore these existing stories.  I don't see how there could be a new show when the list of remaining stories is so short.

[Daisy]

does it have to be Disney?

(though I am mad they did burn through a lot of fables/fairy tales as one offs). 

[Camera One]

Yeah, even without Disney, a lot of them have been done.  And it's not like these Writers will suddenly have an interest in literature since they haven't bothered truly delving into folk tales or mythology in six years.

Basically, nothing will change next year in terms of the quality of writing, except half the talented cast will be gone.  Considering the actors are the ones who consistently make horrible storylines work, a lot of this depends on the quality of the new cast, which will not be supported by a season of better writing, which "Once" had in Season 1 (since A&E had help from Lindelof and more direction from ABC execs).  

Edited May 16, 2017 by Camera One

[Daisy]

4 hours ago, Curio said:

Do what ya gotta do for your sanity. Are you still going to stick around the forums even if you don't watch the show? 

The way the story ended last night seriously has me in a funk. I know it's silly to be so attached to fictional characters, but these characters have taken up a large chunk of my imagination over the years, and the way A&E didn't give a proper ending to the story makes it feel like I broke off real life friendships.

i don't think it's silly at all. I TOTALLY get how you are feeling. When I finished watching the Gilmore Girls Netflix specials, I gave one hearty F-YOU to Amy Sherman Paladino and Daniel Paladino.  For a lot of shows, especially ones that are like 4-7-10+ years long - that's a DECADE of your life.  or close to it. you get invested, you want closure and everything like that. You want them to be in love to be happy etc. (this is why I try not to be too anti CS here because i know that's what a lot of people want - and for the story, i just want to see it/believe it and be happy for it even though i don't like that 'ship). but i'm WEIRD that way. There's a lot of popular ships I don't like, some that I did, and I liked the Anti-ship because i always felt the story there could be interesting. 

And I think that Hollywood most times forgets that. that "THEY" fall in love with something even though it makes no sense, or it's wrong and they try to forcefeed it. I wish they remembered it truly isn't about them. it's about the story. (I feel i keep saying this LOL but it's so true). Human Nature is dramatic enough that you don't need to force anything. Whitewashing Regina didn't need to have to happen to make people like her (in fact it caused ppl to hate her). just make her struggles real with limited whinging. we could have gotten there on our own.  etc. and so on. and so forth. Most people just wanted to see ONE True Love's Kiss between CS. give it to them. especially if you are making them this big love story.

I'm going to give the show until the winter break to make a decision. it's hard for me to quit a show (Shonda makes it so easy though LOL) and this show pisses me off, but i am intrigued, truly how they are gonna spin this tale with really a lack of fairy tales to tell. 

[LaChavalina]

1 hour ago, Camera One said:

The problem is that this show has burned through so many fairy tales and Disney movies... basically, who's left?  Tiana?  Moana?  Pocahontas?  Esmeralda?

Well, they cast a Hispanic girl so I'm guessing not Tiana. 

And I don't think there's any fantasy realm where Henry could get with Esmeralda. LOL

[oncebluethrone]

18 hours ago, PixiePaws1 said:

In that THR they raised the word that strikes terror..

Recast

Would they dare recast Emma???? Would they? They wouldn't!! Would they???

If they needed an older Emma, they probably would. I wouldn't mind too much as long as the new actress did Emma justice.

[KingOfHearts]

The writers are intentionally straddling along the fans who care about the characters. Even if S7 only has one or two appearances of our favorites, we'll still feel some sort of compulsion to watch to see where they are after so many years. If it were a spinoff with a couple cameos, it would be less disparaging. Overall, it would be less of an official continuation. You could decide for yourself it it was canon or not. But, since it's going to be the seventh season of the parent show, it'll have to be judged against everything else. 

I don't see how A&E can say you won't need knowledge of the past six years of mythology to enjoy this new chapter. New viewers are not going to watch the final season of a dying show. They would much rather be intrigued by a new show altogether. 

[Camera One]

10 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

I don't see how A&E can say you won't need knowledge of the past six years of mythology to enjoy this new chapter. New viewers are not going to watch the final season of a dying show. They would much rather be intrigued by a new show altogether. 

I really side-eye that.  If anything, it would be even more confusing.

Henry is the main character but his entire history doesn't matter?  Alright then...

Edited May 16, 2017 by Camera One