Board Thread:Rant and Rave/@comment-25733960-20171216035405/@comment-1295345-20171229174130

Eskaver wrote: Rewatching episodes and this sort of goes without say...

I think the weakest part in this episode is the Dark Curse. It’s been overplayed (1, 3, 5, and 7). It no longer feels terrifying or too much an obstacle.

So, when Drizella says an extremely random prophecy, do I care?

When Hook goes to randomly located Rumplestilskin for help, which has never worked, so do I care?

After the first three castings in the first three seasons, I felt something for the casters or for the implications. Season 5 was a case of the absurd (to just kill off Merlin). Season 7?

That’s what (Besides the amount of stuff shoved into it) hurts the episode, especially on rewatch value/binge watching. It also hurts future potential seasons like season 9 when the “Real, Super Duper Dark Curse is cast!” Now you don't need to sacrifice the heart of the person you love most anymore, you just need 8 witches including one who already cast the curse.

It would have worked better if it turned out it wasn't the dark curse at all, but something else, which not only would have been a great twist but would have raised the stakes if the theory I had was right.