Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26033121-20160211071708/@comment-25926288-20160215170616

My perspective is that the show hasn't devolved into a show about a singular character, just simply crumbled under its own weight.

One of the main issues seems to be its ambition, yet it can never be achieved. In other words, the writers fall victim to their own hype. What we see isn't some fantastic adventure, but a slighly annoying episodic villain and evil scheme while people try to go about their everyday, which would work if it wasn't 11 episodes long. Another issue is that they have lost the intricacies of plot weaving. It's now become: This group does that and if you aren't there, you're doing nothing, until random filler episode.

Season 1 was: Regina has the plot of keeping Status quo, Rumple is a widcard with a scheme of his won, and then there's Emma saving the day. Season 2, there was Regina trying to recover and fall victim to her mother, David and Snow fighting to find each other, Emma dealing with the abnormal, Rumple and his plans. Season 3a was two different factions with a rogue Regina in their efforts to find Henry.......sort of weak on plot, but it did have great character. Season 3b had Henry being kept in the dark by Emma, Hook in collusion with Zelena, Zelena's plot, and Regina's twu lurv. Season 4a had Rumple and Hook's misadventures and then the SQ stuff. Season 4b had Rumple's ever changing plan and Regina's plan which so happened to be the same plan.Season 5a was defeat the Darkness.......and random filler!

So, as the seasons progressed we got less interweaving plots with great character growth (except 3a being less so than 3b) and they got more bland. When the tension is "Will Emma defeat the Darkness in herself?", then there's no real tension at all. When it's "Will Emma save the day (duh), but how does that play into Mr. Gold's hands?" Then there is intrigue.