Season Seven: The Reset Anticipation/Apprehension/Dread Topic

[Delphi]

It does count! I'm stupid and watched the Cats musical when I was a kid,  so I'm a huge fan of Jellicle names. I'm am a nerd,  but all my animals have fantastic names. 

[oncebluethrone]

2 hours ago, profdanglais said:

I disagree, I think it was love at first sight for Deckhand Hook. The look on his face when they run into each other (literally) is one of my favourite bits from the whole series. 

I also think it was love at first sight for him

[Camera One]

On 5/8/2017 at 8:42 AM, KingOfHearts said:

I'm beginning to realize I'll be the only person still watching in S7. lol.

No matter how bad Sunday's "ending" is, you just know we'll all be back here when the next season begins.  This show will ALWAYS find you.  Like the heroes singing and dancing in the last moments before another Curse, we forumers can't cut our ties with "Once Upon a Masochist".

[KAOS Agent]

It's interesting that they are turning the show that featured mostly female leads into a show that will now be male dominated. The new lead is male, then we have Rumpel and Hook with only Regina as the remaining female regular. Little kids don't count, so a girl replacement Henry as the obligatory plot moppet doesn't balance things. I'm not one to harp on female empowerment or even complain about gender representation because if I like it, I like it regardless of who is the lead, but this seems like a big change for Once and I'm not sure that the show will benefit from it.

Edited May 13, 2017 by KAOS Agent

[jhlipton]

4 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

Merida: "Did someone call me?"

Merida's plot was dumb, but I thought the actress was OK.  Aladdin is just dumb.  YMMV

2 hours ago, Camera One said:

No matter how bad Sunday's "ending" is, you just know we'll all be back here when the next season begins.  This show will ALWAYS find you.  Like the heroes singing and dancing in the last moments before another Curse, we forumers can't cut our ties with "Once Upon a Masochist".

Where are the Shears of Hate-Watching TV?????

1 hour ago, KAOS Agent said:

It's interesting that they are turning the show that featured mostly female leads into a show that will now be male dominated.

At least none of them are Black, amirite. #NoRacismHereMoveAlong

[Rumsy4]

Quote

Then the season seven premiere will show Hook and Regina reuniting with their loved ones in the Enchanted Forest, and the rest of the season will tell us how they got there. 

That could work. That would give the writers flexibility to make the separation as long as possible. And whenever the series finale happens, they'd just have to replay that montage. 

[daxx]

3 hours ago, Rumsy4 said:

That could work. That would give the writers flexibility to make the separation as long as possible. And whenever the series finale happens, they'd just have to replay that montage. 

And people wouldn't get up in arms about the angst and separation since we know it works out and they reunite.

[Kktjones]

4 hours ago, Rumsy4 said:

Then the season seven premiere will show Hook and Regina reuniting with their loved ones in the Enchanted Forest, and the rest of the season will tell us how they got there. 

I really like this idea, but I don't think we've heard that anyone is coming back for the season premiere except JMo. Not sure it would be much of a reunion for Regina without Henry or Zelena...

[ParadoxLost]

10 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

I think the fact that only three of the main characters are returning is proof that season 7 will be a true relaunch, so I'm not too worried about them ruining any previous storylines.  It'll probably be a completely new show,  just in the same universe.  They probably didn't want to abandon the idea of modern fairy tale characters, and thought including some of the previous actors would secure a built-in audience. I'm going to reserve judgement until after I see the season finale, before I go all doom and gloom.

I think the show could have been a relaunch but they made one decision that even competent writers (which these aren't) can't overcome.  They made it because of his popularity but its not the best way to do a relaunch.

Its going to fail because Hook is still on the show.  Don't get me wrong, I really like Hook.  He's my favorite character.  I'm happy Colin still has a job.  But its going to be impossible to give him a storyline that isn't depressing or frustrating or rage inducing.  He's boxed in by his relationship with Emma.  His presence is going to be a constant reminder that the Emma and the Charmings aren't there.  I can't think of a way to handle his storyline that is something I want to watch.  Widower moving on?  Futile search for Emma?  I can't deal with morose and revengy Hook forever. I'm not sure I can get on board with Hook being on a constant search for Emma Macguffin.  He's going to need a love interest eventually because that is what makes his character shine but do I want to see that?

Had they let Hook go have a happily ever after with Emma, they'd have Regina and Rumple and a new cast.  That would be starting over.

Regina might actually be helped as a rootable character by not being "family" to her victims,

Rumple can easily be Rumple/Gold on a new show.  Belle's absence isn't a big problem because Rumple historically knocks her unconscious and has chosen power over her.  Heck, whatever happened to her can be Rumple's new motivation and that's fine. I just have a different reaction to the idea that Rumple has been kicked in the nards by love again (its fine) compared to Hook (its not). 

They haven't announced anything but I think its logical that they will cast a love interest for the new guy and that will be the central couple. 

I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be a new cast of regulars and that is why they cut so deep into the existing cast.  Frankly, it doesn't make sense that Zelena is gone given the rest of Regina's "family" is also gone.

My gut feeling is that the cast will start skewing younger. I think there will be a new CW like cast driving most of the story. Rumple will have the same role he always does.  Regina will have a storyline.  But Hook will eventually be in the role of a "dad" on a CW show.  There (because of his popularity) but mostly as a supporting character.

[jhlipton]

How does a 10 year-old girl fit in with three "villains" (at the best of times, non of them are the best parent material) anyway?  I hope they're not going to go the way of Grimm and have her be super-duper powerful.  Because Diana sucked... rocks.

So here's an idea.  Andrew is the girl's father and they've been separated (not by a curse) in different realms.  The season is then about R, R & H helping or hindering their reunion, ass both travel through several realms.  If the show starts several years later and lasts a week or two show-time, Hook will take the quest at Emma's bequest without being mopey.

[RadioGirl27]

19 minutes ago, ParadoxLost said:

Its going to fail because Hook is still on the show.  Don't get me wrong, I really like Hook.  He's my favorite character.  I'm happy Colin still has a job.  But its going to be impossible to give him a storyline that isn't depressing or frustrating or rage inducing.  He's boxed in by his relationship with Emma.  His presence is going to be a constant reminder that the Emma and the Charmings aren't there.  I can't think of a way to handle his storyline that is something I want to watch.  Widower moving on?  Futile search for Emma?  I can't deal with morose and revengy Hook forever. I'm not sure I can get on board with Hook being on a constant search for Emma Macguffin.  He's going to need a love interest eventually because that is what makes his character shine but do I want to see that?

Had they let Hook go have a happily ever after with Emma, they'd have Regina and Rumple and a new cast.  That would be starting over.

This. As much as I love Hook, they should have let him go with Emma and the Charmings and keep just Regina and Rumple. Unless the whole season last one or two weeks in show-time and Hook goes in a quest with Emma's blessing, I think keeping him is a mistake.

[ParadoxLost]

22 minutes ago, RadioGirl27 said:

This. As much as I love Hook, they should have let him go with Emma and the Charmings and keep just Regina and Rumple. Unless the whole season last one or two weeks in show-time and Hook goes in a quest with Emma's blessing, I think keeping him is a mistake.

For me the problem is that I don't want to watch Hook on a 22 episode quest without the types of interactions he has with Emma and Charming.  So they would need new cast members to have a chance at that because it sure isn't going to work with Regina and Rumple as it doesn't now.

I view season 6 as a test run.  How did Hook being flung into a different realm trying to get back to Emma work for me?  It was better than the stuff happening in Storybrooke because of Colin but not a show I wanted to watch week after week.

[Shanna Marie]

15 hours ago, Camera One said:

That "tribute" posted by A&E to Ginny, Josh, Jared, Emilie and Rebecca felt really disingenuous.  

That's why I'm dying to know what the behind-the-scenes process was in the decision making. We know they wanted Jen back and she refused (and there I'd really love to hear what she actually felt about it, without the diplomatic PR speak), and we know that Emilie and Rebecca were fired, without it being any kind of mutual decision. It's less clear about Ginny and Josh. Did they make it clear they weren't renewing their contracts, were they fired, or was it a mutual decision where they were okay with being written out because they weren't planning to renew/the producers were okay with them not renewing because they weren't really planning on using them? And where were these "creative" decisions coming from? Did the network just set budget parameters and A&E decided how to trim cast to cut the budget, or did the network dictate which characters they wanted to keep based on Q scores, focus groups, polling, etc.? The three they kept probably do have the most vocal fan bases and tend to be used in promos, so I could see that being a network dictate, but they also seem to be the characters the writers like the most.

1 hour ago, ParadoxLost said:

Its going to fail because Hook is still on the show.  Don't get me wrong, I really like Hook.  He's my favorite character.  I'm happy Colin still has a job.  But its going to be impossible to give him a storyline that isn't depressing or frustrating or rage inducing. 

That's where I am. He's my favorite character, but he's my favorite character because of the stories he's been in and the relationships he has with the other characters. I liked his romance with Emma, his bromance with David (sometimes), the potential of a stepdad relationship with Henry (sometimes), his growing friendship with Belle. I don't care to see the nth iteration of his feud with Rumple, don't care to see him so much as speak to Regina. If he's an alt universe version of Hook who never knew Emma and the Charmings, I don't know that this version of the character would be that interesting to me. I don't want to see him get into a relationship with anyone else, and if the network sees him as a heartthrob/romantic leading man, then a relationship is probably inevitable. I definitely don't want to see mournful widower Hook. I don't want to consider that he lost his happy ending in any way. I don't even really want to see Hook and the other returning regulars relegated to second-tier status and only showing up in the background or in flashbacks while the show focuses entirely on new characters.

I'd have been a lot happier with an entirely new series using the "Once Upon a Time" concept, like Wonderland. That also seems like it would have been easier to promote because they could bring in new viewers without the burden of all that complicated backstory. This seems like the worst of both worlds -- it's still the same series with some of the same characters, so people who didn't want to dive in still won't want to try it, but it's not "same" enough to really please the few remaining viewers.

[RadioGirl27]

I adore Hook, he is my favourite character,  I don't want to see him being miserable for 22 episodes. I guess we would have a clear idea on Monday, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to hate it.

34 minutes ago, Shanna Marie said:

This seems like the worst of both worlds -- it's still the same series with some of the same characters, so people who didn't want to dive in still won't want to try it, but it's not "same" enough to really please the few remaining viewers.

So much this. It's a very stupid decision that it's going to backfire. I just hope Colin doesn't end up traped in the fire.

[Curio]

2 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

Its going to fail because Hook is still on the show.  Don't get me wrong, I really like Hook.  He's my favorite character.  I'm happy Colin still has a job.  But its going to be impossible to give him a storyline that isn't depressing or frustrating or rage inducing. 

I'm a huge Hook fan and I sadly agree. I'll watch next season because I want to support Colin's acting career, but I'm so nervous about what they'll do with his character. The only way I see it working is if the entire story takes place in flashbacks, but that's not going to happen. As much chemistry Bobby and Colin have as adversaries, their feuding has already gotten old. And if Season 7 Hook is the same Hook that married Emma, then Hook being unable to let go of his vengeance against Rumple is repetitive and stagnant storytelling. Killian is married to Emma now, he has his happy ending, so he should be able to live his life with Emma and ignore Rumple. And Regina/Hook has never done anything for me. They're decent as frenemies, but without Emma in the picture, there is absolutely no reason those two would want to hang out by themselves. We went a good season and a half where Regina and Hook didn't even exchange dialogue with each other when Operation Dumbass was going on. Why pair them up now? Regina/Rumple has story potential, but as the writers proved with the awkward Golden Queen scenes in 6A, they don't really care to dig deep into that relationship beyond the superficial surface. Heck, they devoted much of 6A to Golden Queen and then completely ignored that any of it happened by the time 6B rolled around. The only way I see a Regina/Rumple/Hook show working is if they each have very distinct story lines and rarely interact with each other. But if that's the case, then what was the point in picking those three if it's nearly impossible to pair them together organically?

I know A&E always go on about how OUAT is an "ensemble show" or whatever, but I think Jen's departure really hits home how significant of a role Emma played in the overall narrative. We've joked that the writers' room always seemed to have an inner battle about whether or not Emma or Regina should be the main character and that's why we've always had competing A/B arcs, but I think everyone freaking out now proves that Emma is the main character. She's the glue, the heart, and the soul of the series. The series finale always belonged to her fairy tale happy ending. That's why the wedding felt like it should have been the series finale. As long as Emma was involved with Season 7, it still would have felt like the same show. You can get rid of popular characters (Regina, Rumple, Hook) and still maintain a passable story, but you can't get rid of the heart (Emma) and expect us to still care. 

Edited May 13, 2017 by Curio

[buffynut]

I haven't watched regularly for a couple seasons, but I did watch (and enjoyed) the musical last week.  I'm now trying to decide whether to watch tomorrow or not.  OUAT for me was all about Emma, her parents and her son.  So I can't believe they are continuing without them. And it seems even stranger that they are keeping Hook but not his new wife and step-son.  Like I posted in the episode thread, I may just stop watching now and consider the musical and wedding the series finale.

[MadyGirl1987]

13 hours ago, Delphi said:

It does count! I'm stupid and watched the Cats musical when I was a kid,  so I'm a huge fan of Jellicle names. I'm am a nerd,  but all my animals have fantastic names. 

While I prefer dogs, as a musical fan I have long held any cat I have will be named after the cats in that show... :)

I don't know what to think... Honestly, I was not all that surprised at renewal since ABC's dramas need work and there were shows doing worse. I am surprised, however, that Lana, Colin and Robert are the names from the current main cast attached to the season so far. I am trying to figure out how that will work, and I do think the wish-realm/ other AU speculation sounds plausible. I am still going to watch, however, because I am interested in where this is headed. Whether I tune in with cautious excitement or dread will become clearer after Sunday and based on whatever news, spoilers or promos, come out heading into next season.

[daxx]

More clues that Storybrooke and the folks that end the season there will have a happy ending and the new show will be elsewhere.

 

[KingOfHearts]

I hope Storybrooke gets deleted in-universe. It was never meant to be permanent and I had to side-eye when all the characters saw it as "home". Ever since 3B, there's been no point to it. All realism was thrown out the window. You could set any arc starting with Zelena's in the Enchanted Forest, and it wouldn't be all that different. 

[Sarcastica]

4 hours ago, Shanna Marie said:

That's why I'm dying to know what the behind-the-scenes process was in the decision making. We know they wanted Jen back and she refused (and there I'd really love to hear what she actually felt about it, without the diplomatic PR speak), and we know that Emilie and Rebecca were fired, without it being any kind of mutual decision. It's less clear about Ginny and Josh. Did they make it clear they weren't renewing their contracts, were they fired, or was it a mutual decision where they were okay with being written out because they weren't planning to renew/the producers were okay with them not renewing because they weren't really planning on using them? And where were these "creative" decisions coming from? Did the network just set budget parameters and A&E decided how to trim cast to cut the budget, or did the network dictate which characters they wanted to keep based on Q scores, focus groups, polling, etc.? The three they kept probably do have the most vocal fan bases and tend to be used in promos, so I could see that being a network dictate, but they also seem to be the characters the writers like the most.

 

 

Well..there is this blind gossip thing. Who knows if it Once, most people are guessing it is. 

http://blindgossip.com/?p=85284#more-85284

Anywho, all the speculation of what might happen in season 7 is just making me cringe. Ugh. Oh well. 

[Souris]

12 minutes ago, Sarcastica said:

Well..there is this blind gossip thing. Who knows if it Once, most people are guessing it is. 

http://blindgossip.com/?p=85284#more-85284

The "quiet as a MOUSE" is a pretty big clue that it's ABC.

There will be more new regulars added next season and I'd bet they'll be significantly younger than the cast who were let go.

[RadioGirl27]

10 minutes ago, Souris said:

The "quiet as a MOUSE" is a pretty big clue that it's ABC.

There will be more new regulars added next season and I'd bet they'll be significantly younger than the cast who were let go.

Yeah, it sounds a lot like Once, but they are keeping the two oldest cast members (Bobby is 56 and Lana, like Rebecca, 40).

[Souris]

3 minutes ago, RadioGirl27 said:

Yeah, it sounds a lot like Once, but they are keeping the two oldest cast members (Bobby is 56 and Lana, like Rebecca, 40).

They felt they had to keep some regulars to entice current fans to watch, so they invited back the ones with the biggest fan bases (two of which are also the ones who are A&E's faves, Regina and Rumple).

[ParadoxLost]

9 minutes ago, RadioGirl27 said:

Yeah, it sounds a lot like Once, but they are keeping the two oldest cast members (Bobby is 56 and Lana, like Rebecca, 40).

But most shows that skew younger have a handful of parents with a better acting/fame pedigree than the young adults.  That blind item is how I'm expecting the show to go next season.  Hook, Rumple, and Regina are the older generation. 

Then they have the young adults who are all new.  I halfway expect them to bring a handful of Henry's not fairy tale character friends  to the show to recreate the wonder/discovery of fairy tales are real.  Then they will all eventually be revealed to be the kids of fairy tale characters because "normals" on these shows always end up with powers.

[TheGreenKnight]

3 hours ago, Sarcastica said:

Well..there is this blind gossip thing. Who knows if it Once, most people are guessing it is. 

http://blindgossip.com/?p=85284#more-85284

I really hope that is not related to OUAT. Honestly, I can't really believe it consider Parrilla and Morrison are close to the same age, so not sure why they'd bother.

[Camera One]

Though Morrison was also invited to come back.  So they were originally going to have 4 older characters.  That would allow them to send the other "old" characters (Snow, Charming, Belle and Zelena) out to pasture.  Then, there's Jared, who was too young.  Characters in their early 20s are probably most attractive.

Edited May 13, 2017 by Camera One

[Twilight Man]

With the Charmings and Emma leaving Storybrooke, Regina and Rumple decide to open a medical school, where several new recruits decide to .................

No, Ok, then ...............

After the Charmings and Emma leave Storybrooke, a suave newcomer named Alan Shore comes to Storybrooke, where he then proceeds to turn the entire town up-side-down by ............

No, OK, then .........................

After the Charmings and Emma leave Storybrooke, a young farmer named Sam Jones decides to come to Storybrooke, where he .......................   (that actually lasted for three more seasons!!!!)

No, OK, then how about ................

Once the Charmings and Emma leave Storybrooke, Regina and Rumple open up a bar called Rumple's Place, where the laughs never ..................  (that lasted for four!!!!!!!)

OK, how about ............

Once the Charmings and Emma leave Storybrooke, Regina and Rumple decide to invest in a Miami hotel that is up for sale, but it turns out...................

No, how about .......................

Rumple and Regina form a rock band and then they ..................

OK, then, I give up ...............

Edited May 13, 2017 by Twilight Man

[Camera One]

I finally see the light.  You only need 2 hours to say goodbye to Emma, Snow, Charming, Henry, Belle and Zelena.  But you need a full season to say goodbye to Regina and Rumple.  

[scenicbyway]

My guess is that Bex and Emilie were on year to year contracts so their contracts were simply not renewed.  Josh and Ginny did not want to continue.  I can't help but wonder if part of Jmo's decision was based on who was staying with the show.  She's friends with Colin and his wife but with baby 2 they have their hands full.  I doubt she hangs out with the Carlyles and definetly not Lana.  So other than wanting to live in LA, having no reason (social life in Van) would play into it too.

[Artsda]

6 hours ago, Sarcastica said:

Well..there is this blind gossip thing. Who knows if it Once, most people are guessing it is. 

http://blindgossip.com/?p=85284#more-85284

Anywho, all the speculation of what might happen in season 7 is just making me cringe. Ugh. Oh well. 

If this would the case wouldn't it make more sense to keep Charming and lose Rumple? 

I also think all their contracts were up and some were asked to renew and some weren't. So I don't really consider that involuntarily leaving. You signed and deal and it's up. 

[ParadoxLost]

31 minutes ago, Artsda said:

If this would the case wouldn't it make more sense to keep Charming and lose Rumple? 

But Charming is a package deal with Snow because of both on screen and offscreen.

Also I find it highly suspect that they ever thought they might be able to get JMo to sign for S7.  I think that likely helped determine who was going to leave to a degree.  I don't think the contract negotiation was anything but PR and getting JMo to make an appearance in S7 to kickoff the reboot.

[Camera One]

39 minutes ago, Artsda said:

If this would the case wouldn't it make more sense to keep Charming and lose Rumple? 

"Because Charming is boring as hell and Rumple is a delicious baddie who can torment the good looking young new characters" is probably what A&E believes.

Edited May 14, 2017 by Camera One

[Rosiejuliemom]

I have been on the fence as to whether or not to give up on this show all season. Sorry, Once, Robert and Colin aren't enough to keep me around. After the finale, I'm out. Well...I'll still check in here for the delicious snark. 

[KingOfHearts]

37 minutes ago, Camera One said:

"Because Charming is boring as hell and Rumple is a delicious baddie who can torment the good looking young new characters" is probably what A&E believes.

Oh great. Another 22 episodes of Rumple waffling. Brigette Hales mentioned she hopes he never redeems himself. The writers are so addicted to villains that flip flop. It's ridiculous. It doesn't make the characters human, just contradictory. 

Quote

But Charming is a package deal with Snow because of both on screen and offscreen.

To be honest, package deals seem to be irrelevant. Lots of crucial couples are being broken up and it makes little sense.

Edited May 14, 2017 by KingOfHearts

[KAOS Agent]

I think most of the original cast members were expecting S6 to be the end. Josh and Ginny were fine with walking, Jen had been ramping up her production company and getting her directorial feature on the festival circuit, Robert had some sort of project planned that fell through (I think this is the real reason he stayed) and the others were hitting the convention circuit really hard. S7 was only a remote possibility. 

I wonder if the broad strokes Jen got left her cold and she realized she could end up like Michael Socha, under contract and stuck in Vancouver with nothing to do. Emma was fairly marginalized in S6 as it was. There's nowhere else to go with her really that isn't going to seriously screw up where the character should be at the end of this season. I still think it's going to be weird to have a story with Hook/Regina/Rumpel that doesn't involve their family, friends & romantic partners. Something is going to have to go seriously wrong for all those people to be missing from the story.

[Curio]

My ideal (well, the most ideal in this crappy situation) scenario is that the network somehow convinces Jen to film a bunch of scenes upfront that can be used as snippets throughout the season. ABC would obviously have to pay her more for those episode appearances even if she's not physically filming during the episode shoots, but it sounds like the network was willing to give her a regular status anyways. Her contract could be restructured so that her only active acting role is the premiere episode, but she could also film enough B-roll clips in a few days that could be used for weekly FaceTime messages with Killian. Even 20 seconds of Hook FaceTiming Emma at the end of an episode occasionally would go a long way towards keeping their relationship and Emma's spirit alive in Season 7. But that would also require A&E to plot out an entire season ahead of time and not get "shiny object!" syndrome and waver off of their story path in order for Jen to record generic messages that can be used throughout the year...and there's no way that's ever going to happen.

Edited May 14, 2017 by Curio

[SiobhanJW]

I don't know if this has been said yet, but I saw this theory elsewhere. Basically since the A&E and the writers keep referring to it as a brand new story & show, that maybe it's a new town (since there have been rumors that Stevenson will not be used in the new season) with a new curse, and they will use Hook, Rumple & Regina in Flashbacks only, interacting with the new main characters. Theh have all been around long enough to have interacted with a ton more people- especially Rumple & Hook. 

So basically they won't ruin the Happy Endings of anyone who is still on the show because most of it is Flashbacks. And since they have Jennifer back for the one episode it could just be them showing her happy and content? 

And then the theory was that if they got another season then Regina, Rumple & Hook wouldn't be back for an 8th season and it would get handed off to the newbies? 

Who the hell knows. I can't imagine it going more then a 7th season, but I couldn't imagine it being renewed this year. So what do I know. Haha. 

Edited May 14, 2017 by SiobhanJW

[superloislane]

6 hours ago, KAOS Agent said:

I think most of the original cast members were expecting S6 to be the end.

I remember reading that JMo said she believed the show would end with season 6. That was from a convention she was at during season 5 sometime. I could be wrong but I definitely remember everyone talking and panicking about that which means JMo (and probably others) were preparing for season 6 to be the last for a while

[ParadoxLost]

7 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

To be honest, package deals seem to be irrelevant. Lots of crucial couples are being broken up and it makes little sense.

I meant off screen more than on.  Kind of more difficult to dump one and keep the other when the actors are married.   Especially if they aren't moving production to a place with more jobs.

Edited May 14, 2017 by ParadoxLost

[Souris]

3 hours ago, superloislane said:

I remember reading that JMo said she believed the show would end with season 6. That was from a convention she was at during season 5 sometime. I could be wrong but I definitely remember everyone talking and panicking about that which means JMo (and probably others) were preparing for season 6 to be the last for a while

It wasn't just JMo. Other actors also said that A&E told them at the start that they saw it as a six-season show.

[OnceUponAJen]

4 hours ago, superloislane said:

I remember reading that JMo said she believed the show would end with season 6. That was from a convention she was at during season 5 sometime. I could be wrong but I definitely remember everyone talking and panicking about that which means JMo (and probably others) were preparing for season 6 to be the last for a while

I also remember thinking when I saw all the convention dates that it was looking like S6 would be it.

[tennisgurl]

I would laugh super hard if all Emma and the Charming's and everyone never actually get written out of the show, we just never see them, they're always conveniently off screen.

"Oh yeah, Snow and Charming are off having a picnic with Little Neal"

"Oh yeah, Belle is going to be in the library all day, shelving books."

"Oh yeah, Emma is off practicing her water sports with Henry again. She does that a lot lately."

It would suck, but I could find some humor in the lameness.

[maryle]

I remember the 6 year comments and totally buy that Jen thought Emma's journey as real lead ( actually she already was not the factual lead) was ending and adding personal reasons too.

The reasons everyone already mentioned are why I will have preferred a real spin off. I don't see how the show can be new enough for some or center enough toward the returned actors for others.

One thing is  sure is I find this final (season, final ) tonight anticlimactic and I will watch it but...my heart is already out!

Edited May 14, 2017 by maryle

[Camera One]

13 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I would laugh super hard if all Emma and the Charming's and everyone never actually get written out of the show, we just never see them, they're always conveniently off screen.

LOL.  It is A&E after all, so this is actually a possibility.  If it's in the Enchanted forest, Snow, Charming and Henry went to rebuild their castle and Regina and Hook were sent to deal with the Ogre problem.  "Now I'm starting to miss the infernal cellular phone," says Hook.  In the season premiere, as predicted by others, Emma is pregnant, so she can't do anything dangerous.

Edited May 14, 2017 by Camera One

[scenicbyway]

1 hour ago, maryle said:

I remember the 6year comments and totally buy that Jen thought Emma's journey as real lead ( actually she already was not the factual lead) was ending. The reason everyone already mentioned are why I will have preferred a real spin off. I don't see how the show can be new enough for some or center enough toward the returned actors.

Why is sure is I find this final tonight anticlimactic and I will watch it but...

Well, I've decided I'm not watching tonight, I'm still incredibly annoyed about the timing of the announcement about Jenn's departure. I'm DVRing as usual but will read the episode comments here first.

I just can't picture the show continuing without Emma or some kind of transition since Hook will still be on the show.

[maryle]

IT is probably better not to watch live but I will check the forum and Tumblr. 

Is there a something similar as the wedding live threats tonight!

[RadioGirl27]

I don't have any interest in the finale other than the last scene when they set the reboot, and just to see how stupid it is. I'm just too mad at the writers right now. They knew this was Jennifer's last episode and they thought it was a good idea to have Emma apart from everybody, especially from Hook, for most of it. It's just infuriating.

[Camera One]

If the finale ending tonight is really really bad, at least it makes it easier to emotionally segregate Season 7 from the rest of the show, and next year, can be just full-out making fun of the "reboot".

[KingOfHearts]

As different from the rest of the show, the better. I hope S7 is very much its own thing. The writers did write tonight's ending as ambiguous for whether or not the show would continue, so I'm not sure what to expect. It can't be so interesting that S7 is a must, but it can't be so vague that it doesn't hype up anything at all. We shall see.

Edited May 14, 2017 by KingOfHearts

[Camera One]

38 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

As different from the rest of the show, the better. I hope S7 is very much its own thing. The writers did write tonight's ending as ambiguous for whether or not the show would continue, so I'm not sure what to expect. It can't be so interesting that S7 is a must, but it can't be so vague that it doesn't hype up anything at all. We shall see.

They could have used the strategy where the last 3 minutes could be cut if it were the series finale.  Several season finales in the past have had an epilogue of sorts which sets up the cliffhanger... Elsa walking out of the barn at the end of 3B, Gold walking through the aquarium to talk to Ursula at the end of 4A, Hook knocking on Emma's door at the end of 3A, the longer black goo segment at the end of 4B, let's go to hell at the end of 5A, and Evil Queen comes alive at the end of 5B.

If they go to the flashforward interspersed throughout route, that would be much harder to excise from the episode.

Edited May 14, 2017 by Camera One