Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25896389-20150509042358/@comment-25926288-20150604202222

Avatar Beta wrote: Once again, I agree. How are we supposed to believe Regina's changed when she's shown plotting to kill Marian {again} or uses Belle as a bargaing chip? It's nuts! One of my friends left the Once fandom bcause he/she felt Regina wasn't truly redeemed and the other characters were letting her guilt trip them into letting her backslide without consequence and just plain verbally abuse them. Regina even said she regrets nothing she did and believes herself to be in the right.

The worst apart (even I as a fan of Regina even if 3b was a bit iffy) is that most of season 4 was all about deleting Marian or Marian's happiness (Hasn't this woman suffered enough!) from ever happening, so she would get her happiness. And everyone went along with this plan, yet get mad at the others that try and call them villains. She claimed to have regretted going into that tavern (which was OOC for Regina to say that when she said she regrets nothing because she has Henry). I rewatched Regina defeating Zelena and read so much hypocrisy over that scene. I may be a Rumple and Regina fan, but Regina was a full-on hypocrite and she knew that if Zelena kiled Henry, she would have killed Zelena. I mean she almost did and Zelena didn't even kill anyone.

The same I apply to the others Hook and Rumple. Hook, though being more self-aware, is turned into just a mooping guy being hard on himself, when he isn't. He threatened a woman he caused so much pain towards and wasn't even sorry about it. Sure he helped her, but that doesn't scream hero, or even decent. Why Hook gets away with it more is that Hook is more realistic, self-aware, and not over-the-top as Regina (Even though I dislike him.)

Rumple seems to be heading in the same way. Regina being cleared of all wrong by everyone esle submitting to her will. Hook being cleared by simplicity of his actions and proclamations of Emma. Rumple's heart is literally cleared or white-washed in the show.

(This is why I deem 3a as the finale for the show, since that had more redemption and character accuracy than anything afterwards.)

I only hope in Season 5 and onwards they stop using their characters to fit the plot for the episode and organically grow them. That is all. But for some reason I think we'll get snarky, borderline evil or mildly irritated Regina with Robin cheering his "bold and audacious" queen, Belle proclaiming the purity and ture heart of Rumple, and Hook's praises or Hook simply looking better than David and Snow (forever looking clueless and stupid). Why should I think that? I don't know but every season post one tells me that.