I remember seeing the first teasers for OUAT in 2011 and not thinking much about it.
Now I don't know if I'm glad or not for not seeing it all until now. I think it helps to have binged on all six seasons for about three weeks straight, averaging about two or three eps a night, as there was a better sense of continuity, rather than having a week in between each episode.
The downside of course, is now I have nothing to watch at night and it won't be coming back on again for another six weeks plus a few days. Oh well...
As for the show, I love it. Yes, warts and all, some repetitiveness and all, I think it is a great show even more for the emotional aspect as for the otherworldly adventures. My favorite characters are Emma and Regina (and yes if there ever was a SwanQueen I'd be jumping up and down but I live in the real world where that will only ever happen in fanfiction so don't anyone worry about another crazy harassing the cast from the comfort of a smelly EZ chair surrounded by Nacho chips and Chitos bags and empty cans of Coke and a box of wet-wipes for bathing...
)
I liked them butting heads over Henry in the first two seasons and I think they are still great as evolving BFFs in the latter. It's a 180 that I think was carried off very well, especially given the time to feel organic and natural. Sometimes your best friend can start out as your worst enemy, cause who else is going to take your s**t but someone who had been trying to kill you for two years..? Plus, I love how Regina may have moved away from her evil self, but she is still a hard-a*s.
(Though I wonder what would happen if Emma was ever to find out that it was Regina who had killed Graham..?)
And despite all she's done, I was still having the Feels each time Regina tried for a happy-ever-after only to get dumped on. For me she is a sympathetic villain, especially with having Cora in her corner as a life-coach. So I was bummed when Robin was killed off by Hades.
Really, they're going to take away her happy ending..!
Ugh! And then of course to have Hook come back at the end, I don't know if that was good or not. It seemed Hook had settled his debts and was ready to move on, and it certainly would have been more emotional baggage for Emma to have to deal with.
She took the risk of turning him into a Dark One to save him, then went to the Underworld to do the same and ended up losing Robin because of it. The angst from that could have been explosive. Maybe not an Evil Queen returns-level event, but something big to get over the following season.
Now though, there's a chance to get Robin back, which I'm hoping will happen in the latter half of S6. Although that begs the question, is the dreamworld the Evil Queen sent Emma to a make believe world, or is it an actual world in the same way Storybrooke is a 'real' town? The initial curse from S1 only created the town and transported the people. The genie-wish looks to have created an entire mirror to the Enchanted Forrest, including all the people. So I wonder if they try to get this Robin back to Storybrooke will he just up and disappear like a puff of smoke from the Magic Dragon..?
Also interesting to see who was under the cloak. For obvious reasons I was hoping it was the Dark Swan (oblivious in that I had wished for a second attempt at the Dark Swan arc. It was good, but seeing the teasers and the comicon first look shows what we missed out on...)
But maybe if Carlyle is going, perhaps we will get a second shot at DS? If he dies for some reason (such as sacrificing himself for his new son) there will still be a need for a new Dark One. It would be sad to see him go in either case, as Rumple is always fun to watch, but his character has really no place else to go.
Several times he's been given the opportunity to relinquish the darkness and he has always run right back to it. I think character death is the only way to end his arc.
Although if he were to go out as a true evil-baddy, then that would be fitting also!
But I would love to see the Dark Swan from the teaser brought to full life! That little clip of her in the cave-jail saying she only a monster, 'on the inside,' was awesome! That they didn't do it was a real missed opportunity. I think they choked a bit on turning her that dark and maybe didn't want to deal with yet another redemption story.
I think it would have been worth it though, especially as the dialogue seemed to lead to her being more powerful than any Dark One before. And that
Nimue was the one needed to defeat the Dark One. It's big change by turning her into the First Dark One rather than being the person the Heroes were supposed to go to get help.
Clearly some dialogue from the initial plot were left dangling...
Anyway, anxiously waiting for March, and it's gotten late. Goodnight!
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