A Thread for All Seasons: OUaT Across All Realms

[Camera One]

Looking at the 8 episodes of 5B so far, 

Episode 1-3: The quest to save Hook.

Episode 4: Basically a transitional episode.  Centric for Hook to conclude the first part of 5B, and transition into second part of 5B, revealing Hades/Zelena connection

Episode 5-8: The only thing tying these episodes together and getting a logical progression from one episode to the next is the Zelena redemption arc, culminating in Zelena regaining her memories of friendship with Regina as a child and acceptance from her long-lost mother.  To hell with everyone who died in the village massacres, Johanna, Marian, etc.  

Edited May 1, 2016 by Camera One

[Mathius]

I count episode 4 as part of the beginning (Episodes 1-4), where it's all about saving Hook.  Hook was freed from Hades in episode 3, but he wasn't truly saved until episode 4 made him conclude that he deserved a chance at a future after all.  The Zelena-centric middle is episodes 5-8, while the end constituting the end of the Underworld arc and then end of the season as a whole is episodes 9-12.

I agree that the middle is the weakest part, especially the wastes that were episodes 6 and 7.

Edited May 1, 2016 by Mathius

[Camera One]

I agree with that.  It makes the 4 episodes at a time pattern even more striking in 5B (I'm not sure it works that precisely in previous arcs but it would be interesting to go back and see).  With the end of every fourth episode bringing in the new trigger for the next part.

Edited May 1, 2016 by Camera One

[Shanna Marie]

On 4/30/2016 at 8:15 PM, Camera One said:

The big big bad will be whoever made the Curse.  Maybe they'll copy Buffy and make them a spirit who can personify anyone.  So they can bring back cameos of all their favorites (favorite villains of course).  Every episode they will look different, and then in the last two episodes, they become lookalikes of Regina and Rumple since we can't get enough of them.  Emma gets to hug Snowing in the finale, and their total significant screentime together will finally reach 10 minutes.

The big bad could also be "The Black Fairy".  It could even be Blue's twin or something.

The originator of the Dark Curse might be interesting as an ultimate Big Bad, but I worry that unless it's based on an actual story it would fail because their track record isn't so good when it comes to creating original mythology. They do seem to have run out of big, iconic villains from either the Disney canon or the fairy tale world. Fairy tales tend to be pretty hero-focused, where we're in the viewpoint of the hero and the villain is mostly just out there. The villains are often minor roles in the stories, if not almost entirely offscreen, so they only become iconic when translated to a different medium.

And whatever it is, they'll probably spin their wheels for 8 or so episodes before pulling a solution out of thin air at the last second. I had high hopes for the current arc, since they started out well with actual plans and ideas, and then it turned out to be a case of "oh well, never mind," and having the solution just handed to them. Meanwhile, Hades' initial actions don't make a lot of sense in light of his apparent plan. The first few episodes seemed to establish one thing, and then we learned his real plan, and what he was doing in the first episodes seems to have been just to give him something to do and to make things shocking until they were ready to reveal what he was up to.

[Mathius]

On 5/1/2016 at 2:30 PM, Camera One said:

I agree with that.  It makes the 4 episodes at a time pattern even more striking in 5B (I'm not sure it works that precisely in previous arcs but it would be interesting to go back and see).  With the end of every fourth episode bringing in the new trigger for the next part.

Well, the half-season arc format officially started in Season 3 (even though Season 2 kind of accidentally created it), and usually it's a 4 episode beginning, 3 episode middle, 4 episode end.  This arc was different since it had 12 episodes instead of 11.

3A: The fourth episode had Neal captured, Henry under Pan's sway, and Pan outright saying it was time to "reset the board" and move the game into its next phase, leading into the middle part, which itself ended with the seventh episode where both the heroes and Pan had everything set to finally launch their big plans. 

Beginning: The Nevengers are aimlessly lost.
Middle: The Nevengers get their shit together.
End: The Nevengers triumph (Or do they!?)

3B: The fourth episode had Neal dying and Zelena's identity exposed, leading into the middle part, which itself ended with the seventh episode where Zelena's full motive was discovered (go back in time to kill Princess Eva) and Regina finally got together with Robin Hood.

Beginning: All about finding the Wicked Witch.
Middle: All about discovering the Wicked Witch's goals.
End: All about defeating the Wicked Witch.

4A: The fourth episode had the Rumple-Hook plot thread set up, which was the last plot thread that needed to be established and would run through the rest of the arc, then the middle part ended with the seventh episode where we get the Snow Queen's backstory and full motivations, and Emma's powers go out of control while the Snow Queen escapes and makes a deal with Rumple.

Beginning: Establishing every plot thread.
Middle: Discovering the Snow Queen's goals.
End: Stopping the Snow Queen and Rumple's plans.

4B: The fourth episode had Ursula leave and Rumple's aim of turning Emma dark revealed, leading into the middle part, which itself ended with the seventh episode where Cruella gets axed off and Emma has taken a supposed step toward going dark.

Beginning: Er...just up until Ursula leaves.
Middle: Um...just up until Cruella leaves.
End: Well...just up until everything wraps up.

5A: The fourth episode was a direct continuation of the third one, both episodes centered around revealing Arthur's treachery and that Emma wants Rumple to become a hero so that he could pull Excalibur out of the stone.  The seventh episode made everything in the Camelot story come to a head, showed the origin of the Dark One, and had Emma unite the Dagger and Excalibur in the present day.

Beginning: All about Dark Emma and Camelot.
Middle: All about Merlin and Excalibur.
End: All about Dark Hook, plus a Merida filler.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Mathius

[Curio]

The Underworld arc is really disappointing now that the main crew has officially left. We didn't see Regina face any legitimate victims (i.e. Graham) and own up to her Evil Queen antics, Rumple was always separated from the main crew, Belle became an idiot, and nobody but Emma were actually doing anything useful for helping get Hook out alive. If they were just going to twiddle their thumbs and help everyone but Hook, why even follow Emma to the Underworld? Regina spent more time dealing with her sister's issues than helping the Hook situation. Robin just chilled in the forest with his baby for the majority of the arc. Snow left mid-arc. Henry was too focused on writing other people's stories, and he didn't even get around to writing Hades's story, which was the whole point of getting the pen. David was too busy getting groceries and dealing with his brother. At the end of the day, our "heroes" caused just about as many people to go into the tortuous river than they helped move on into the light. Bang up job on the #SaveHook mission, guys. 

Edited May 3, 2016 by Curio

[Mathius]

In the end, the Underworld arc was all about fanservice and returning guest stars, and not about, you know, actually using all the possibilities the setting provided for them.  It's somehow both the best and most disappointing arcs we've had in a long time, quite an accomplishment.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Mathius

[KingOfHearts]

5B was heading in the right direction, but it didn't go the whole way. Many of its ideas were good ones, but the creative choices make them less consequential. We saw Hook reunite with his brother, only for it to be a Liam centric. We saw Belle's dark side, only for her to disown it. We saw David confront his twin brother for the first time, only for James to die without any substance. Underbrooke had tons of potential it didn't live up to because we're stuck with these writers.

[HoodlumSheep]

I'll still probably put 5b ahead of season 4 at least. Unless the rest of this season tanks tremendously.

[Curio]

Anything is still better than 4B, really.

[HoodlumSheep]

12 minutes ago, Curio said:

Anything is still better than 4B, really.

Pretty much. *knocks on wood*

[Mathius]

4 hours ago, HoodlumSheep said:

I'll still probably put 5b ahead of season 4 at least. Unless the rest of this season tanks tremendously.

I doubt it will, even if the finale tanks it's kind of a separate thing from the rest of 5B.

For me, it's firmly S1 > 3A > 2A > 5B > 4A > 5A > 3B > 2B > 4B, with the Wonderland spinoff tying with 3A.

While 5B is far from perfect, I still prefer it to 2B and literally every arc we've had since 3A.  It really does seem like a weird combination of 3A and 3B, which means it neither matches 3A nor does it sink to 3B's level, but is both great and disappointing at the same time.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Mathius

[Curio]

I'm probably one of the few who doesn't like Season 1 as much as everyone else. While it had some really strong episodes, it also pissed me off to the point of quitting for a while when they didn't properly deal with Graham's death. I didn't actually become obsessed with the show and start discussing it online until Season 2 and 3.

[KingOfHearts]

Current standings:
S1 > 2A > 3A> 5B > 4A > 5A > 2B > 4B> 3B

Some might be asking why I would put 2B and 4B over 3B. Simply put, I find 3B boring and tedious. 2B and 4B have some episodes I can cherrypick to put in my list of favorites. 3B has almost no substance and feels like a complete waste of time all around. While the CS finale is okay and decently written, I didn't find it as entertaining as some others did. It's not bad by any means, but it didn't grab me. Contrarily, I really enjoyed episodes like The Miller's Daughter or Sympathy for the DeVil.

5A remains low on the list because I continue to despise it. :)

Quote

I'm probably one of the few who doesn't like Season 1 as much as everyone else. While it had some really strong episodes, it also pissed me off to the point of quitting for a while when they didn't properly deal with Graham's death. I didn't actually become obsessed with the show and start discussing it online until Season 2 and 3.

There's parts of Season 1 I don't find to be awesome sauce either. It's not perfect, it's in a whole other league from the rest of the seasons. At its worst, it's still better than 80% of episodes afterwards.

Edited May 4, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[Camera One]

It's hard for me to rank, since even in some horrible arcs, there are some worthwhile episodes hidden within, so I can't really choose between certain arcs. For example, 3B was snoozeworthy but 4B was offensive with a few episodes I did like.

I guess I would go S1 > 2A > 4A > 5B = 3A > 2B > 5A > 4B = 3B

Edited May 4, 2016 by Camera One

[Shanna Marie]

4 hours ago, Curio said:

I'm probably one of the few who doesn't like Season 1 as much as everyone else. While it had some really strong episodes, it also pissed me off to the point of quitting for a while when they didn't properly deal with Graham's death.

The not dealing with Graham's death isn't really a season one issue, though. There wasn't much they could do about it while Emma didn't believe in magic and Regina was full-on villain with no reason to come clean. The problem lies in season two, when Emma had learned about magic and was seeing first-hand that ripping out hearts and using them to control others (as Graham tried to tell Emma was happening to him) was actually a thing, and yet she didn't have that "hey, wait a second ..." moment where she figured it out. Or in seasons two and three, when Henry seemed to totally forget that he fully believed Regina had murdered Graham and he jumped straight to calling Regina a hero, saying he wished he'd never brought Emma to town, and was able to be part of a True Love Kiss with Regina. Or in season four, when supposedly full-on hero Regina, who thought something was wrong with the universe when she didn't get her romantic happy ending, didn't have the empathy to be able to make the connection between what she was going through in losing Robin to his wife and what she put Emma through when she murdered Graham, and she let Emma grovel and apologize for ruining her life without owning up to what she did to Emma. Meanwhile, Emma even brought up Graham and witnessed her current boyfriend about to have his heart crushed, and she still didn't have that "hey, wait a second ..." moment of figuring out what happened to Graham.

[KingOfHearts]

It's hard to pick a favorite episode of 5B. None of them are particularly watchable for me. Mostly because they don't tell a complete story or contain memorable scenes. They don't invoke any positive feelings from me when watching them. Some are better written than others, like Devil's Due, but that doesn't make them necessarily enjoyable. The ones that are supposed to be more "fun", like Ruby Slippers, are so low quality and frustrating I just can't get into it. But if I had to choose, it might be Sisters. 

Least favorite was no contest - Her Handsome Hero.

Edited May 4, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[Dianthus]

On ‎4‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 6:15 PM, Camera One said:

The big big bad will be whoever made the Curse.  Maybe they'll copy Buffy and make them a spirit who can personify anyone.  So they can bring back cameos of all their favorites (favorite villains of course).  Every episode they will look different, and then in the last two episodes, they become lookalikes of Regina and Rumple since we can't get enough of them.  Emma gets to hug Snowing in the finale, and their total significant screentime together will finally reach 10 minutes.

F*ck I hope not. TFE was interesting in concept, but much less so in execution (IMO). An incorporeal villain that can only work through others and can't really be defeated? Pass.

[Curio]

I was thinking about Hook's line to Emma in Camelot about how "the future is nothing to be afraid of." It was supposed to be this really uplifting, lighthearted, and romantic moment, but in hindsight, it's utterly depressing. You're wrong, Hook. The future is something Emma should be terrified of. Look at everything that has happened in Season 5 after he said that. I have no idea what kind of message this show is trying to tell us anymore because Emma's life is going to continually suck until the very last scene of this series.

[KingOfHearts]

Watching the last two episodes of Season 2. Points of interest:
* It occurred to me that the cursed personalities were manifestations of the pre-existing dark threads of each character. Lacey's sadism and adoration for Rumple's evil is Belle's secret darkness.
* Bae. He gets some great flashbacks, but nowadays he feels so irrelevant. Neal was basically a different person and Rumple has a BDO on the way. While Bae was integral as a plot device in early seasons, his legacy doesn't tend to linger very well.
* Confession: I like Regina scoffing at Greg and Tamara's torture attempts. Yeah there's screwed up morals, but they're such weak villains. Not even Regina can take them seriously.
* Rumple keeps Regina's tears, LOL. Abundant supply there.
* I really like the Lacey/Rumple dynamic and I wish it would have gone longer or had some We Are Both repercussions. Maybe Rumple could have started feeling convicted because he knew Belle wouldn't tolerate what Lacey does. I don't know.
* Snow doing everything to atone for killing Cora. Ugh. Why do the heroes earn repentance through works but villains get it for (almost) free?
* That Emma/Neal apology scene at the beach is underrated.
* The anti-magic sentiments on this show vary quite a bit. There's Henry, Greg/Tamara, and Bae. Bae is the only one with legitimate reasons for it, imo.
* There's a good sense of urgency. (Needed for finales like this.)
* The Darlings were iconography done right. 

[Camera One]

This show is so ridiculously circular.  I was thinking about the whole "blame game", with Rumple blaming Emma for Hades being in Storybrooke.

I suppose Emma really did need to go to the Underworld in order to save Hook, because if she hadn't, Hades would never have escaped, and the Gods wouldn't have given Hook the reward of life for getting the info to kill Hades.  

But if you go back a little further, the only reason Hook died in the first place was because Zelena decided to work with Arthur.  

And if you go back even further, the only reason why Emma had to become Dark was because Robin decided help Rumple in NYC, when Rumple could have died and we could have been rid of the Dark One forever.

So as always, the problem always starts with a hero having good intentions and trying to help.  Robin should have let Rumple die.

[Mari]

Except that Hades was working on getting Zelena there, so she could restart his heart.  Judging by how easily Red popped in and out, it was only a matter of time before he figured out how.  Emma had very little to do with it--she wasn't Hades motive, or method, or even how he found out about Storybrooke and decided to rule it.

[KingOfHearts]

Playing the blame game, Nimue is responsible for everything. She created the line of Dark Ones, which became under the possession of the Duke, who gave Rumple only one option in saving his son. Then Rumple orchestrated everything from there. Ultimately, it's all Rumple and Nimue's fault.

[YaddaYadda]

9 hours ago, Camera One said:

This show is so ridiculously circular.  I was thinking about the whole "blame game", with Rumple blaming Emma for Hades being in Storybrooke.

I suppose Emma really did need to go to the Underworld in order to save Hook, because if she hadn't, Hades would never have escaped, and the Gods wouldn't have given Hook the reward of life for getting the info to kill Hades.  

But if you go back a little further, the only reason Hook died in the first place was because Zelena decided to work with Arthur.  

And if you go back even further, the only reason why Emma had to become Dark was because Robin decided help Rumple in NYC, when Rumple could have died and we could have been rid of the Dark One forever.

So as always, the problem always starts with a hero having good intentions and trying to help.  Robin should have let Rumple die.

Actually let's do the blame game.

Hades may not have come to Storybrooke if Regina hadn't encouraged Zelena to give him a chance, no one would have gone to the Underworld if Emma hadn't decided to save Hook, and Emma wouldn't have decided to go to the Underworld if Rumple hadn't stolen Hook's sacrifice, and Hook wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself if he hadn't been turned into a Dark One by Emma, and Emma wouldn't have had to turn him into a Dark One if Arthur hadn't mortally wounded Hook after teaming up with Zelena, and Zelena wouldn't have sought an alliance of the heroes, led by Regina hadn't been crappy to her, and Arthur wouldn't have done that if Merlin hadn't driven him half mad, and Emma wouldn't have become the Dark One if Belle hadn't asked that Rumple be saved even though he's the most evil person ever, and Rumple wouldn't have needed saving if hadn't been allowed to cross back into Storybrooke with the Queens of Darkness, and the Queens of Darkness wouldn't have come into Storybrooke if Regina hadn't chosen to give them a second chance.

In conclusion, this chain of events is everyone's fault.

Edited May 9, 2016 by YaddaYadda

[Curio]

So we now have:

• Robin and Robin
• Neal and Neal
• Henry and Henry
• Liam and Liam

I swear, the writers only do this to screw with us and make discussing these characters infinitely more confusing.

[RulerofallIsurvey]

3 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

Actually let's do the blame game.

 

4 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

Playing the blame game,

 

13 hours ago, Camera One said:

I was thinking about the whole "blame game",

Lol!  I just watched "Into the Woods" yesterday.  Now I'm picturing the OUAT characters running around the Storybrook forest singing "Your Fault".

[Mathius]

I definitely agree that Season 5 was an improvement over Season 4, but only marginally.

This show has had consistent problems since S2, and even more since 3B. 

Edited May 9, 2016 by Mathius

[Curio]

For me, Season 5 is a vast improvement over Season 4 if only because the plot actually kind of makes sense this season. Last season, so much time was devoted to the incomprehensible Author plot that it ended up ruining many of the story lines that went along with it. From the beginning of Season 4 we were all shouting at Regina, "You're in charge of your own happy ending! Forcing the author to change it for you isn't going to end well!" And then it took 20 episodes for them just to prove us correct. And then no one learned a single lesson from Regina's idiotic plan because we jumped straight into the Camelot arc.

[KingOfHearts]

S5 > S4 any day of the week. At least I felt like the writers were trying this time around. There were actual plot developments. Things happened. But as Curio alluded, it wasn't as chaotic either. You could ignore 99% of S4, but S5 felt much more meaningful in the show's timeline. 

[Mathius]

Quote

And then no one learned a single lesson from Regina's idiotic plan because we jumped straight into the Camelot arc.

It is just like TS;TW to have nobody ever call Regina out on what a terrible plan that was or have Regina blame herself for the consequences of it, yet several characters have now beaten Emma up over her plan to go to the Underworld and she herself is racked with guilt over it.

[TheGreenKnight]

Since I doubt the finale will alter my opinion, at the moment I'd rank the seasons as S1 > 3A = 3B = 4A > 5B > 5A > 4B > 2A > 2B. 2 was almost a complete dud for me, but I wasn't really surprised because I always knew they'd have a hard time figuring out what to do after the Curse was broken. 4B had good moments (Cruella and Ursula centrics, the Regina-Maleficent flashback, the Zelena reveal), but overall it was a step below the other seasons. I recently re-watched and remembered how much I didn't like the Catherine/adultery drama and I almost wanted to put the second half of 1 lower, but that season wasn't really structured in halves like the others.

[KingOfHearts]

From Spoilers thread, no spoilers:

Quote

It does suck that Hook gets to live and Robin bites it. I'm so sick of Hook and Emma.

I agree. Hook and Emma were thrown all the thematic goods in S5. Outlaw Queen always got the short end of the stick. They didn't get to have anything original or unique. Robin just sort of held Pistachio when the plot required him too, and Regina didn't get to contribute to anything until the last part of 5B when she convinced Zelena to kill Hades. Meanwhile, while Captain Swan didn't take up all the screen time, they still got the best scenes and involvement with the heart of the arcs. I'm really tired of their angst and drama because it's repetitive and has to push other characters to the side in order to happen.

I hope whatever Regina does in 6A is more integral to the main plot.

Edited May 11, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[ABitOFluff]

I don't think I'll ever get sick of CaptainSwan, but I definitely do not want this show to become the Hook and Emma show. While I'm thrilled with all the progress they've made individually and as a couple, now is a good point to slow down and let the other characters shine for awhile. 

And that's what's going to happen, just as it's happened throughout the series. People seem to forget, save for some really nice scenes, almost all of Season 4 was pretty disappointing to CS fans. 

[InsertWordHere]

My problem with the "CS gets all the good stuff" reasoning is that Captain Swan was pushed aside in season 4 and the writers still didn't give Robin anything decent. They wrote for the Frozen characters, they wrote for the Queens of Darkness and in this recent arc they wrote for Zelena and Hades and Zelena and Regina. I would heartily disagree that Regina didn't contribute to 5B until the end. The 100th episode was practically a Regina love letter. 

[Rumsy4]

There was barely any major CS thrust in 5B other than their centrics. I guess I don't get the criticism that Hook and Emma had too much focus in 5B. The centrics were pretty spread out among the main characters, and a huge part of the arc was spent on Zelena/Hades/Regina. 

Edited May 11, 2016 by Rumsy4

[Curio]

Why do certain characters have to be torn down if another character isn't getting a good story line? We should be rooting for all the characters to have interesting and dynamic story lines. Some of the bad writing over the years has brainwashed us into thinking the writers can only do one good story at a time, but that's not how a TV show has to work. There isn't some magical rule where if Emma and Hook get a good story arc, all the other couples get bad stories. If this show was written by better writers, all the characters would have quality stories all the time, and I still think the writers have it in them to do that. I don't know why other characters have to be pushed to the side or be given an Eggbaby-equivalent plot just to "allow" Regina to have a better story. 

[TheGreenKnight]

I don't even know what they'd do with Emma and Hook at this point. The next logical step after "Last Rites" is marriage to me; Hook is redeemed and Emma has broken down her walls (as must as she ever could, I guess). I'm not sure how you make an arc out of married life. Maybe we go full-on soap opera and Hook has an affair (or Emma just thinks he did)?

[YaddaYadda]

Eh, everyone will this however they wanna see it.

• 3A, CS had some development. 
• 3B, they were sidelined, but got the finale.
• 4A, they had some development
• 4B, completely sidelined
• 5A, CS heavy, a lot of development. But even then 5x02, barely any CS, they got the dance. 5x03, they were there at the end of the episode applauding David for his place at the round table, 5x05 it was Regina/Henry/Emma, 5x06 Merida with Belle and Rumple, 5x07, they had one scene together, 5x08, that was their episode, 5x09 had none of the regular cast in it, 5x10 and 5x11, CS oriented because the arc was coming to a close.
• 5B, not CS heavy, but important milestones.

The finale seems to be fairly well balanced.

[InsertWordHere]

I think Hook and Emma's relationship will be in the background in Season 6 and I am perfectly okay with that. We will get to see them interact separately and together with Charming, Snow, and Henry.

[Mathius]

Also, CS getting "good stuff" is subjective, many fans I know despise all the angst they were put through this season.

Quote

I don't even know what they'd do with Emma and Hook at this point.

Make them the new Snowing against the Evil Queen, with presumably the old Snowing being their mentors (Adam and Eddy have hinted that we're going to actually see Bandit Snow and swashbuckling Prince Charming making a comeback in Storybrooke in S6.)

[RadioGirl27]

39 minutes ago, Mathius said:

Also, CS getting "good stuff" is subjective, many fans I know despise all the angst they were put through this season.

Me for instance. I don't think this season was that great or epic for them as some others think. There was too much angst and misery with no pay-off at all (no, I don't think the tackle or a kiss in a cementery are enough pay-off after this season).

43 minutes ago, TheGreenKnight said:

I don't even know what they'd do with Emma and Hook at this point. The next logical step after "Last Rites" is marriage to me; Hook is redeemed and Emma has broken down her walls (as must as she ever could, I guess). I'm not sure how you make an arc out of married life. Maybe we go full-on soap opera and Hook has an affair (or Emma just thinks he did)?

I don't agree with this idea that two people in a happy commited relationship can't have adventures together or be interesting. I don't think it has to be either constant angst or boredom, there are a lot of things they can do with them that are interesting and that doesn't involve them having an affair or breaking up.

Edited May 11, 2016 by RadioGirl27
Grammar

[Hookian]

10 minutes ago, InsertWordHere said:

I think Hook and Emma's relationship will be in the background in Season 6 and I am perfectly okay with that. We will get to see them interact separately and together with Charming, Snow, and Henry.

I do not think this at all, especially if we're going to parallel S1 in S6. If anything they're gonna be more up front.

[Curio]

14 minutes ago, TheGreenKnight said:

I'm not sure how you make an arc out of married life.

Yes, because once they tie the knot, they'll immediately become a boring couple who shop at Walmart and go to bed early. There's definitely no chance of Emma and Hook remaining a fun and adventurous couple who battle monsters and go sailing into other realms. There will be no discussions about starting a family of their own. There will be no hesitation from Emma about having another baby, especially since being the Savior is a deadly job. They will definitely not have any fun and flirty times. 

Jane and Brad from Happy Endings. Phil and Claire from Modern Family. Leslie and Ben from Parks and Recreation. All married couples who have remained faithful to each other, adore each other, and have interesting stories.

[TheGreenKnight]

2 hours ago, Curio said:

Yes, because once they tie the knot, they'll immediately become a boring couple who shop at Walmart and go to bed early. There's definitely no chance of Emma and Hook remaining a fun and adventurous couple who battle monsters and go sailing into other realms. There will be no discussions about starting a family of their own. There will be no hesitation from Emma about having another baby, especially since being the Savior is a deadly job. They will definitely not have any fun and flirty times. 

Jane and Brad from Happy Endings. Phil and Claire from Modern Family. Leslie and Ben from Parks and Recreation. All married couples who have remained faithful to each other, adore each other, and have interesting stories.

Well, sorry, I don't consider their potential sexlife and babymaking "interesting stories."

[Curio]

Okay, we'll stick with the battling monsters and swashbuckling then. I guess it's just a personal view of mine about marriage, but I don't think tying the knot is this personality-altering event that changes how you live life. If a couple is fun and adventurous before marriage, they'll probably remain that way after marriage. Emma and Hook already act like they're married, so I don't see the show running out of ideas for them just because they decide to add a ring to Emma's finger some time in the future.

[Mari]

35 minutes ago, TheGreenKnight said:

I don't even know what they'd do with Emma and Hook at this point. The next logical step after "Last Rites" is marriage to me; Hook is redeemed and Emma has broken down her walls (as must as she ever could, I guess). I'm not sure how you make an arc out of married life. Maybe we go full-on soap opera and Hook has an affair (or Emma just thinks he did)?

I don't know what they can/should do with Emma/Hook, but to be fair, we went full blown soap opera seasons ago.  Just look at the family tree, and how it got that twisted.  We even got a story arc where two sisters were enemies, and each slept (one as adultery, one in disguise) with a man whose wife they had--or tried to--kill that resulted in one of them pregnant.

 

it doesn't come much soapier.

[KingOfHearts]

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Yes, because once they tie the knot, they'll immediately become a boring couple who shop at Walmart and go to bed early. There's definitely no chance of Emma and Hook remaining a fun and adventurous couple who battle monsters and go sailing into other realms. There will be no discussions about starting a family of their own. There will be no hesitation from Emma about having another baby, especially since being the Savior is a deadly job. They will definitely not have any fun and flirty times. 

Well it's what happened to Snow and Charming.

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I would heartily disagree that Regina didn't contribute to 5B until the end. The 100th episode was practically a Regina love letter. 

Just because Regina got screen time, it doesn't mean she contributed to the main plot. She had her own side thing to do for that episode.

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My problem with the "CS gets all the good stuff" reasoning is that Captain Swan was pushed aside in season 4 

It is an ensemble cast show and everyone should get their turn. I'm not asking for Captain Swan to get nothing. I don't want anyone to get sidelined. Unfortunately, the writers don't know how to write for multiple characters at one time. Hook and Emma got their turn in S5.

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Also, CS getting "good stuff" is subjective, many fans I know despise all the angst they were put through this season.

This is a drama where angst is a key element. The writers put much more effort into Hook/Emma's story in S5 than anyone else's. They were at the center of both of the arcs' core. (Especially 5A.) Whether that angst is entertaining or not is not the point. They had more substance given to them. Their story was always relevant. The same cannot be said of the other characters, besides maybe Rumple.

Edited May 11, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[RulerofallIsurvey]

Just now, KingOfHearts said:

Well it's what happened to Snow and Charming.

Emma is not her mother.  Or her father.  Snow was already a lot more domesticated than Emma.  Ditto for Charming vs. Hook.  I can see them being Mr. & Mrs Jones a la "Mr. &  Mrs. Smith".

[Rumsy4]

7 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

Just because Regina got screen time, it doesn't mean she contributed to the main plot. She had her own side thing to do for that episode.

Regina did not get as much focus as she did in 3B and 4B. But the main chunk of 5B was spent on the Mills family drama. I guess that's why I'm confused by this argument. Is it because the arc was not focused on romance? 

[KingOfHearts]

7 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

Regina did not get as much focus as she did in 3B and 4B. But the main chunk of 5B was spent on the Mills family drama. I guess that's why I'm confused by this argument. Is it because the arc was not focused on romance? 

The main goal of 5B was to save Hook and defeat Hades. Neither of these things were remotely relative to Regina until the very end. Besides the fact it helped Zelena see the error of her ways, the Mills family drama was largely a detour. My point is that Regina hasn't been able to be involved to the main plot or objective. She's always just along for the ride because of her BFF or her town being in peril. 

I've felt like Regina's been on her own separate show since 3B.

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after all the angst of S5 I'll be quite happy for Emma/Hook to take more of a back seat in S6.

This. Captain Swan needs some happy times.

Edited May 11, 2016 by KingOfHearts