Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25703308-20150427001401/@comment-25926288-20150428183850

CoolDudeAl wrote: As for the complaints that the characters don't evolve enough, that's not because the plot is poorly written, or anything, that's because people don't change over night. It takes time. Regina didn't go from all good to all evil in a week, and she isn't going to go back to all good in a week either. Rumple is an addict, and the thing about addicts is even when they try really hard to stay on the straight and narrow, they often relapse. I think some people think there are weird jumps in how these characters act, and while they may change, it takes time, and doesn't happen overnight. Honestly, the biggest jump in a character that doesn't completely make sense has been Will, from where he was at the end of Wonderland, to where he is now, but I'm assuming it will be explained at some point, and then make perfect sense. Of course it's not because the plot is poorly written, it's because the characters are! XD Most characterization is consistent with what was established. It's that the plot affects the characters and how they react to it is the writing for the characters. I think Rumple post-season 3a makes complete sense, but as the writiers know, they didn't explain it clearly for others that watch. There was a PSTD thing going on, but we didn't know that until  they actually had the character to spout some exposition. That was what Frozen the season was pretty much filled with. They had Rumple go all evil without any known reason for much of the arc and Regina was sort of all mopey and even neglected Henry. Regina even said she regretted not going into that tavern, when she clearly said that she regretted nothing because she had Henry. It's moments like these that most complain.

Will is a weird entity that they use as plot device character for this season. Need something to happen, well, throw in Will and have at it. Can't support Scarlet Beauty because they don't explain anything (besides he makes Belle feel secure  and stuff), and everything is Rumple's perspective. We are with him on the outside of the relationship looking in.