Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25703308-20150428082231/@comment-24950802-20150429134723

Season 4 has done a much better job at keeping both halves of the story connected, with the search for the Author, Lily's early introduction, etc. Season 3's halves feel so very different from one another, like it's two different seasons altogether, whereas I can picture season 4 as a whole as a sequential thing. That being said, I too miss the way the show used to be done, but for different reasons than the ones mentioned: I am sick of the series catering to its regulars and the MVP guests (be it the Queens of Darkness, the Frozen cast, etc.) because I would also like to see more from the original supporting Storybrookers (Archie, Ruby and Granny, Whale, Mother Superior, the 7 dwarfs...), characters I also love and am invested in and who keep getting continually sidelined as the show progresses to make way for the new characters who are all conveniently written off after their arcs are over. Except Zelena, who I guess came back... moo. Anyway, I miss filler stories, you know? Fans don't usually say they miss filler stuff, but I do! I loved the Cinderella episode, the Hansel and Gretel episode... I wasn't big on the Giant episode but shoot I want more stuff like that. I'd love to see their take on Goldilocks, for example, but there is no way in hell they'll ever have a half-season arc based on that character and story (I wouldn't want that either), so it begs the question, CAN they ever even do her if the show continues to be like this? Also, isn't anyone just a little bit tired of this formula that there must always be a villain to defeat? Season 1 had two great villains in Rumple and Regina and it didn't feel at all like there was a quest to take them down by the end of the season. Even when Cora was lurking about, it felt more like a natural thing, but now there's always gotta be a Big Bad... And it's like every classic story we know is told from the villain's point of view (like "Sleeping Beauty"). I was really hoping the show would do something different for season 5, but Black Swan is already sounding like a load of crap to me. Forgive my lack of optimism, but this show about hope has taken all my hope away.