Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26159109-20160320090443/@comment-4453062-20160320165139

Flashbacks have been a large part of the show for so long that getting rid of them altogether wouldn't feel quite right. However, the main purpose of the flashbacks should be to give character development to either our main characters and/or guest stars, while also serving some sort of connection to the present day storyline. I particularly like how both of the Underworld arc flashbacks so far have answered long lingering questions, and would like to see that continued.

Though there have been episodes that are flashbackless or with very few actual flashbacks, the episodes still make sure to go back and forth from two different worlds. For example, "Into the Deep" didn't have flashbacks, but we had both the present day Enchanted Forest and present day Storybrooke. Another example, "The Heart of the Truest Believer"' only had one small flashback scene, which was Emma giving birth to Henry, and it was really the only flashback we needed for that episode. The rest of the episode was both present day Neverland and present day Enchanted Forest. I think "Swan Song" should have followed "The Heart of the Truest Believer"'s example by only having the one flashback scene of Hook's dad abandoning him. We really didn't need that bizarre flashback of Regina sending Hook to kill his dad, especially when it mucked up with the timeline even more. In return, we could have gotten some much more needed screentime in present day Storybrooke.