Season Seven: The Reset Anticipation/Apprehension/Dread Topic

[KingOfHearts]

They should have done something closer to OUAT in Wonderland, but keep one or two of the main characters. In the present, have a completely new storyline in a new setting with new characters. Then in flashbacks, have some cameos from the old characters. Make Sparkly!Rumple have an appearance, or Robin or whatever. It would be closer to fan service. Winks and nods to the viewers who have been around since day one. But don't make it so continuous that it can't stand on its own at all. You can watch Wonderland without the parent show, easily. The two Storybrooke episodes would probably be the only confusing thing about it.

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IF these writers could give us scenes were the sisters were acting like sisters, and Zelena didn't kow-tow to Regina, they could be fun together.  "So, are we Evil or Wicked today?" "We were Wicked yesterday; today is your turn!"

Regina could have a great new arc if the writers just dragged her away from her victims. She never really fit in with the Charmings, so it's not like leaving them would be detrimental. Henry is the only person she really cares about. She doesn't seem to give a crap about Zelena though. However, Regina and Zelena becoming roommates could be a very entertaining spinoff. Maybe they move to Los Angeles, start a firm for supernatural cases, and... oh wait.

Edited September 6, 2017 by KingOfHearts

[Souris]

6 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

Okay, you know it's bad when a Regina/Zelena/Henry reboot would be more palatable. 

This is the state that A&E have brought folks to.

[KingOfHearts]

Just now, Souris said:

This is the state that A&E have brought folks to.

Intentional or not? Find out in 7B.

[Camera One]

6 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

They should have done something closer to OUAT in Wonderland, but keep one or two of the main characters. In the present, have a completely new storyline in a new setting with new characters. Then in flashbacks, have some cameos from the old characters. Make Sparkly!Rumple have an appearance, or Robin or whatever. It would be closer to fan service.

Unfortunately, I think Wonderland is seen as a failure, so I think their whole pitch to Channing would hinge on a requel.  Plus they seriously think Regina and Rumple have more story left in them.

17 minutes ago, Featherhat said:

With Emma, she and Hook *just* got married after a long time coming and now there is a huge question mark over what's going to happen to them/Emma. Naturally people are curious/concerned about it and the fact that it is confirmed as only one episode to wrap Emma up is probably more worrying in terms of Emma dying than if she wasn't appearing at all. And whilst it isn't A&E's fault that JMO didn't want to come back as a regular or say 5 episodes (except in terms of general quality of writing for Emma/other BTS issues) and wanting to focus on their new characters you also can't blame people for being more interested in someone who *was* a very important character and is the wife/mother of two main characters than in this glut of new characters they haven't seen yet, especially when at least some seem very generic so far. That may change depending on how the new season is received.

I do wonder if they considered removing Hook from the reboot once they found out Jennifer Morrison was going.  The fact they did not says they really wanted to keep Hook, even at the risk of alienating a large contingent of the fan base.

[Kktjones]

The more I think about S7, the more surprised I am with the direction they decided on. When I initially heard “reboot” the first thing I thought was that they would go younger – maybe do a second generation thing with a grown up Neal, Robin, Gideon, & CS child all in their late teens/early 20s (and maybe add an older Henry in there for good measure). The old cast could still appear here and there in flashbacks or even in modern day. Or they even could have made it center around Henry, but make him 22, just out of college and off to see the world. Seems like either one of those options would be more appealing to new viewers and have less chance of alienating old viewers by splitting up couples/families and ruining happy endings.

[KingOfHearts]

On 9/7/2017 at 5:22 PM, Kktjones said:

The more I think about S7, the more surprised I am with the direction they decided on. When I initially heard “reboot” the first thing I thought was that they would go younger – maybe do a second generation thing with a grown up Neal, Robin, Gideon, & CS child all in their late teens/early 20s (and maybe add an older Henry in there for good measure). The old cast could still appear here and there in flashbacks or even in modern day. Or they even could have made it center around Henry, but make him 22, just out of college and off to see the world. Seems like either one of those options would be more appealing to new viewers and have less chance of alienating old viewers by splitting up couples/families and ruining happy endings.

I've wanted that for the longest time. It seemed like they were setting that up with all the random babies. What if Pistachio, Snowflake, and Gideon started their own "home office", but just fought magical villains? Or maybe something magical tore their parents away, so they hate magic period? It reminds me of that movie where Hansel and Gretel grow up to be witch hunters.

The premiere is less than a month away, and there's a lot of nothing in the hype department.

Edited September 9, 2017 by KingOfHearts

[Camera One]

I don't think that would have worked on two levels.  New viewers would not be interested since those offspring are not fairy tale characters themselves and would be random protagonists if they had never watched the show.  Old viewers may not be interested without the original actors.  Personally, it would be difficult for me to care about the offspring.  I'm usually not a fan of "the next generation" shows.

[KingOfHearts]

I hope Adult Henry isn't nearly as insufferable as his younger counterpart. I hate literally every storyline that involves that kid. Everything his character touches turns to crap. Maybe Andrew J. West will break the mold, who knows. 

[Camera One]

He might be playing a completely different character, as the "adult" versions of this show are wont to do.  Henry seems much more jaded by the time he opens that door to Lucy, so he would presumably not be talking like he's still 10 years old.  I personally loved Henry in Season 1 (especially how he stood up to Regina and of course his chemistry with Jennifer Morrison), so I have never hated Henry (though I hate the writing for him).  I'm not really feeling the connection yet between the younger version and the older version.

Edited September 10, 2017 by Camera One

[kingshearte]

On 9/7/2017 at 6:22 PM, Kktjones said:

The more I think about S7, the more surprised I am with the direction they decided on. When I initially heard “reboot” the first thing I thought was that they would go younger – maybe do a second generation thing with a grown up Neal, Robin, Gideon, & CS child all in their late teens/early 20s (and maybe add an older Henry in there for good measure). The old cast could still appear here and there in flashbacks or even in modern day. Or they even could have made it center around Henry, but make him 22, just out of college and off to see the world. Seems like either one of those options would be more appealing to new viewers and have less chance of alienating old viewers by splitting up couples/families and ruining happy endings.

I'm not a huge fan of "next generation" shows (with one notable exception — ST:TNG 4eva!), but this is such a better idea than whatever the hell they are doing.

[tennisgurl]

On 9/6/2017 at 10:53 AM, Kktjones said:

Yeah, the sad thing for me is that by including Colin in S7, they reduced the likelihood that I'll continue watching (even tho he plays my favorite character). I don't want to see him separated from his wife and everyone else.

Thats kind of where I am at. I know I am going to watch the show (because its basically a compulsion at this point), but I dont see myself getting a lot of joy out of it anymore. I love Killian, and while I am always happy to see him (and how Colin plays him as this new variation), I cant imagine I will enjoy seeing him separated from his family and miserable and alone AGAIN. The poor guy has just been through so much at this point, it just seems mean to make him suffer so much, then get his happy ending, and THEN take it away. 

So one of my friends is watching season 1 of Once. She has never seen the show before, and she is about half way through season 1, and she just KEEPS asking me when Regina will get her cumuppance, because she cant STAND her, and I just dont know what to say! 

Edited September 12, 2017 by tennisgurl

[Kktjones]

8 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

she just KEEPS asking me when Regina will get her cumuppance, because she cant STAND her, and I just dont know what to say! 

Season 7?? Seriously, though, you should tell her that if Regina wasn't so terrible, Snow would never have learned to have hope and Emma would have grown up as a mindless, wimpy, singing princess. Also, it's all the author's fault :).

[ParadoxLost]

20 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

So one of my friends is watching season 1 of Once. She has never seen the show before, and she is about half way through season 1, and she just KEEPS asking me when Regina will get her cumuppance, because she cant STAND her, and I just dont know what to say! 

Just tell her that when they reject her lasagna that's the delicious cheesiness of retribution.

[jhlipton]

On 9/11/2017 at 9:58 PM, tennisgurl said:

So one of my friends is watching season 1 of Once. She has never seen the show before, and she is about half way through season 1, and she just KEEPS asking me when Regina will get her cumuppance, because she cant STAND her, and I just dont know what to say! 

No one taught Regina how to dance so they all deserve to DIE!!!!!!

[KingOfHearts]

I'm cautiously optimistic about S7, more so than I was with S6. Surprisingly, I'm more hyped for some of the new characters than seeing the returning ones.* The writers suck at long-term arcs and character building, but they can sell short stories well and introduce new backstories in an intriguing way. If Lady Tremaine was getting a redemption arc spanning over 3 seasons I'd be concerned. But, if she's just around to play Big Bad for a bit, she'll be much more palatable. I have zero interest in Adult!Henry, Lucy, or Cinderella. Zip. None. But Drizella, Tremaine, Tiana, and Alice might all bring something new to the table. (Or at least recycled material we haven't seen in a while, with a fresh coat of paint.) At least we're in a different setting, with different stories, and different characters. Hopefully that will force the writers to bend their paradigm ever so slightly.

Spoiler

*With the exception of Zelena, I'm totally here for her too.

[PixiePaws1]

In my book ...HEnry+CinderELLa= Hell

That's where I'll be without my weekly dose of CS. No interest in this new 'utterly not' epic romance. Couldn't stand Henry from s2 onwards...and I don't believe for a second he has improved with age.

[Shanna Marie]

They posted a little video to the Facebook page of Colin introducing his new friend, the guy playing adult Henry (whose name has completely slipped my mind). It was rather amusing how very tiny Colin looked next to him. As tall as Henry was at "14," I guess it makes sense that he'd be tall as an adult, but he's also pretty bulky. Neal had kind of a stocky build, so maybe he takes after his father there. There isn't really anything about him that makes me think, "Yes, that's Henry!" unlike some of their other adult/child casting. It's more like Bae-to-Neal, where there doesn't seem to be any connection at all between them, even though they're supposedly the same person.

[Rumsy4]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

There isn't really anything about him that makes me think, "Yes, that's Henry!" unlike some of their other adult/child casting. It's more like Bae-to-Neal, where there doesn't seem to be any connection at all between them, even though they're supposedly the same person.

In this case, it's probably a good thing. Past Season 1, Henry stopped being adorably precocious, and turned into annoying precocious. Part of it was the writing. But part of it was Jared Gilmore's acting skills (and its lack thereof). Besides, as the writers are selling a romance with adult Henry, it's very much a good thing the new actor doesn't resemble Jared. The viewers who have seen Henry as a child for six seasons will find it hard to see him as an adult otherwise. 

[Camera One]

3 hours ago, Shanna Marie said:

They posted a little video to the Facebook page of Colin introducing his new friend, the guy playing adult Henry (whose name has completely slipped my mind). It was rather amusing how very tiny Colin looked next to him. 

Yeah, I was surprised how small Colin looked.  It really took me out of it.  The shape of Adult Henry's face is wide like the Teenage Henry's face, so I can see why they picked him, but I agree that he is lacking any Henry-ness that links the two characters except by name.

[PixiePaws1]

This is very anti!Regina...but sums a lot of my fears for s7:

http://rubbady-pubbady.tumblr.com/post/165623282988/iffinitwereme-replied-to-your-post-says-kitsis#notes

[KingOfHearts]

From Spoilers thread (no spoilers):

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I totally agree.  As usual, they're talking out of both sides of their mouth.  They want the best of both worlds... no longer shackled to the ball and chain of being forced to write for characters they couldn't care less about where they couldn't squeeze out even a drop of creativity, while keeping the characters they loved most and stringing along old viewers.

Which is going to disappoint everyone. New viewers will not tune in because, well, it's not new. It's a show going into its seventh season, and it's really showing its age. Despite what A&E say, you will need some understanding of how their world works in order to fully enjoy it and comprehend what's going on. On the other side, old viewers are going to be put off by all the new faces and the lack of familiar ones. That will apply to both casual watchers and die-hard fans alike. 

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it’s almost like the writers have no imagination and regurgitate all their characters.

This is accurate and a good description of S7 - "regurgitated".

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This is very anti!Regina...but sums a lot of my fears for s7:

Are they trying to combine the two characters in order to make up for Jen's departure? Like Jack becoming half Locke?

Edited September 26, 2017 by KingOfHearts

[Writing Wrongs]

I'm really going to miss Storybrooke. I loved the small town feel and familiar places. Seattle isn't going to feel the same for me.