Board Thread:Spoilers!/@comment-26159109-20170115054549/@comment-5106672-20170119040853

Mmh… I think the show would get quite a blow if JMo left, but I don't think it would outright tank. Some fans would flip desks and quit altogether, some would be pleased, some would just shrug, but I can't see the casual viewers' reaction as so polarised (and let's face it, die-hard fans make the bulk of the internet buzz, but casual viewers make the bulk of ratings).

Emma served primarily as an audience surrogate throughout S1 and 2 (the outsider who gets to know the fairy tale world and how it impacts "reality"), and as the linchpin of this whole mess since S2. As of S6, the audience is familiar enough with the Onceverse that it does not need a surrogate anymore (which is why Emma is proficiently integrated in whatever magical shenanigans are going on this week rather than watching and pondering and being skeptical); and the story can easily adjust around a new linchpin if necessary. Her centrality to the actual plot, on the other hand, has been waxing and waning constantly: she was the main focus for S4 and S5A but, for instance, in S3 she was just kinda there tagging along.

Personal preferences and shipping notwithstanding, Once is fortunately enough of a "choral" show that it would allow it to continue even if it lost a core character or two. I, for one, think it would be harder for it to go on without Bobby than JMo: even if the present day storyline could do without both, Emma isn't needed for FTL flashbacks, while Rumple has been lurking and toying with pretty much everything that has happened in the past 200+ years of FTL history; how many flashback can you realistically write without needing for him to pop up at some point?