Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4637931-20180513150817/@comment-1916997-20180515190746

DatNuttyKid wrote: The character arc resolution for our mains was fine in Season 6. There was certainly more that they could add -- Emma and Hook having a baby, Regina finding love again and/or firmly confirming herself as a hero, Zelena getting her magic back, Henry growing up and having a family, Rumple getting rid of the Darkness, etc. -- but it wasn't necessary.

That said, the "final battle" of Season 6 was a huge disappointment (and deus ex machina/plot inconsistency trainwreck) and I much prefer the final battle of Season 7. The Black Fairy had potential as the creator of the curse and the mother of Rumple, but seeing as we didn't find out there was a different creator of the curse until Season 3(?), her character arc was complete nonsense, and her defeat was embarrassingly easy, it didn't work. Plus we had Henry literally reviving Emma with TLK. Somehow.

Wish Realm weirdness aside, the final battle of the series is against a version of the ex-Savior and Dark One without hope and a version of the Author and the Heart of the Truest Believer with nothing to believe in? It comes perfectly full circle and tests two of the key components of the series: Rumple, the eternal darkness of the show, and Henry, the eternal light. With a nice little tidbit for Regina (facing a cruel act she performed in the name of "goodness"). Plus, it actually reconciles characters from across the whole series (even if most of them are Wish Realm versions) instead of just a few characters from Season 6 only (...meaning Aladdin and Jasmine. With cameos by Tinker Bell and Sven.) You mentioned/made me think of some other important things I forgot to mention before. Zelena getting her magic back is a big one, it would have bothered me if we ended the series with the Wicked Witch of the West not having magic. The final villain is another thing. Black Fairy just didn't feel like a series finale villain. Mother Nature, who also ties into the LWM, being the semi-final villain, and then Rumple and a corrupted Henry as the final villains make much more sense for a series finale. More characters from past seasons/arcs appearing is another important thing that a series finale needs, and they are doing a good job with it in 721/722. Finally, I would have been miffed if we never got Alice (I know one already existed, but she never got onto the main show), Tiana, Naveen, and Facilier on the show, which obivously didn't happen in the first  six seasons.