Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-71.175.100.53-20130514213520/@comment-6195464-20130515143341

As far as I can tell, coming from a background of writing - most of what the writers do on this show is subplot and context... What may seem like a plot hole or inconsistency, in reality, can easily be understood if you look at where the writer's were going, as far as the underlying message/meanings and where they were attempting to steer the plot...

Greg's main goal wasn't about magic, it was about his father - The idea was that Tamara and the Home office both exploited this in Greg, in order to use him as their pawn. Tamara was never supposed to be a surprise to us - but to Neal. The ploy of bringing her in as Neal's love interest wasn't to cast a wolf in sheep's clothing angle, but to remind Emma that she wasn't, in fact, as over Neal as she wanted to believe.

Cora's storyline ended on a the only note it could. She had to die to further the storyline in any functional sense. To draw it out would have been almost comical. I mean... where was she supposed to go, beyond trying to kill literally everyone in Storybrooke and becoming the Dark One? She needed to be stopped, and the way the writers did it ensured the optimum amount of drama. And really, what could've bene more dramatic than having SNow trick Regina into killing her own mother...?

So many people hate what happened to August based souly on character/actor preference, without really paying any attention to the character, himself and it's so silly to me. August hated himself... He was hiding out in a trailer in the woods, because he was so ashamed of the man he had become. The best thing to happen to him was to revert to a time where he didn't have to remember the disaster he'd made of his life - and really, Emma's life. Eion Bailey's version of August became an unnecessary character, as soon as he served his purpose (with the Neal/Emma arc). If the writers hadn't given the character another angle (by making him a boy again), he would have ridden out the rest of the series as a pointless extra, anyways. There's literally nothing else for August to do on the show.

I thought Emma interacted beautifully with David and MM - particularly in the last few episodes. She looks to them for guidance and support in several pivitol scenes. As far as te consequences of having two lives... Did we not see this in Ruby? Whale? Even Regina in a lot of ways. Greg/Tamara. August. Neal. We saw indication after indication of how having two lives effected people. And magic working differently was a necessary element in the first season and beginning of the second, but once the characters realized this and were able to overcome the differences, it becomes sort of a moot point.

With Regina, I do have to agree. Regina flip flopped worse than a politician during a presidential debate... and it lost it's appeal the third or forth time she decided she was gonna change for Henry, but then became the evil Queen again in the same episode. That said, the resolution in the finale, where she realized her inconsistency summed up this dilemma rather beautifully.

As far as Snow's dark heart, well... It's not over... >_> We've been told by the writers that her darkness will play a part in the series... not the season. Her heart is still dark and the danger of that, I'm sure, will come out in the next season. But really, it wasn't introduced so we could see Snow turn into Rambo... it was introduced to give her something to fight through. She has to figure out how to overcome her darkness, not succumb to it. I doubt we'll ever really see more than a slap to Gepetto's face, because Snow is too strong to give in to the darkness.

Side bar characters are just that... Nove, Kathryn, Cinderella, Sidney? Sorry, but it's likely they will either never be seen again, or if they are, it will only be in the background. These characters were not introduced for the purpose of becomming series regulars. They were introduced to further specific plots, and when their purpose was met, they became irrelevent to the storyline. The writers have indicated that both Kathryn and Cinderella are living their Happily Ever After's with their significant others in some other part of town - there's nothing more that can be done with their characters that wouldn't be adding to an already full pot of soup. Sydney failed Regina, he was punished for it... he's in the asylum, probably for good... or until they need him again, in which case, he'll be reintroduced, but right now, he isn't necessary to the plot. Nova was introduced to explain Grumpy's origin... He seems to have made some peace with not being able to be with her right now, and we should, too.

As far as the Lacey subplot, well... this was introduced to give Rumple a choice - and he chose poorly. He picked what was easy, over what was right and it cost him his son. Once he realized this, keeping Lacey in the picture was pointless - ergo, the magical brain restoring potion. This was also done to add the drama of Rumple having to give up Belle, to do the right thing and help rescue Henry.