Board Thread:Show-Related Questions and Answers/@comment-26255666-20150401220207/@comment-25926288-20150407181602

Farerb wrote: I think they are planning but then something comes up (Peter Pan rights, Frozen) so they toss what they planned in order to play with the new toy. Neal's death was really contrived. They had so much build up for him and his relationships that it didn't make sense to just kill him off like that. His fake death at the end of season 2 made sense. Why did they even bring him back? He didn't do anything in the Neverland arc (he helped them escape.. Well no, they could have figure it out without him). Why did they have a build up for his relationship with Henry in season 2 when in whole season 3 (except for maybe two scenes), he didn't have any contact with Henry. He died without having his son knowing about it. Why did they have a build up for his relationship with his father if they weren't doing anything with it? Why did they even go to that "love triangle" only for Emma to choose Hook by default. That is not a resolution to a love triangle. Clearly something happened there that we don't know. I agree wholeheartedly. They see shiny, new toys and drop everything and pick it back up and things seem odd. I (and many) think that 4b would have been 4a if it wasn't for Frozen. Maybe the Snow queen would stay in 4a, which didn't need Frozen, but it did help with ratings.

Neal was central in many storylines and he had too many potential deaths that having him die made little sense. I know they planned for Hook and Emma, but they left them with stupid plots afterwards. I mean even Hook's romantic gift of memories in early season 3b was from Neal to Emma. Emma was looking for Neal. Neal and Henry bonded, while Neal and Rumple began to regain their lost relationship. Neal and Belle actually interacted and boom....he died. Emma fell right into Hook's arms with trivial melodrama. Rumple became a slave and then almost a one-dimensional villain. Neal was covered up by a baby of the same name. (I mean they could have named it James, Leopold or whatever David's father was named.) It all looked like some cover up or conspiracy against Neal. And to add to the love triangle mess, they left no competition. Walsh was totes evil, August was a child, and Neal was dead. I mean I believe (and I hate Neal a whole lot) Emma was headed for Neal as she was warming up to him, spending time with him, looking for him, and her parents were pushing her towards him. But then, Hook was chosen because there was no one left. That should insult CS and Hook fans because that's exactly how it played out. It's why I dislike OQ because they didn't give Marian a chance or even let her do anything at all. There was no real tension.

But hey, it's "bold-storytelling" by the "Master Storytellers".