Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20151215200142/@comment-25926288-20151216232038

5a is a mixed bag for me. It pretty much confimrs that I dislike the split seasons. Wrapping up a plot in 11 episodes is plenty of time; however, when there is so much to do and so much going on, one would hope that all the plots aren't ending as well because it feels imcomplete.

PLOT

What I liked:

The concept of Camelot and the Dark One mythos is plenty cool, whatever nonsensical twist that is thrown at us. Although I had a different idea in mind, it was perfectly sound as it wasn't predictable. Somethings I didn't like, but was reasonable, so I like it as a concept anyhow. And that's about it.......

What I disliked:

Once has become more plot-driven and if the plot falls apart, so does everything else. The major thing is that Once has a history of failed payoffs and this season started a tad bit ambitious. Whatever plot points weren't delayed (ahem, dropped) were lackluster. Regina becoming the savior of the town was a neat subplot and one I felt would end as it should in the episode with a joint force; however, the finale wraps it up as if this entire arc for her was confidence, which makes no sense. The Underworld was heavily hinted that if you couldn't see the next arc coming, you should question your skills of perception. Interesting elements, just overly ambitious and cloudy.

Character

What I liked:

Emma's descent into Darkness was amazing and shows there are writers in the writers' room. There were a few hiccups, but nothing that couldn't be put aside. But...

What I disliked:

That was it. Regina's arc was odd and very little. Zelena's arc was quickly and quietly reversed. Belle's was as well because now she has even less self-respect. Hook is almost bipolar. Rumple had a touch of good and then swallowed that back into Darkness (which is fine if you think in a roundabout way). Everyone else had nothing to do, even bromantic David was pushed aside quickly. Tons of new characters and only Merida comes out decent, with Arthur a good distance behind. Merida was incredibly unlikable in the beginning, but she's showed some humanity eventually, so kudos!

Setting

Perfect! Worldbuilding decent and much better than previous times......shudders at the thought of Oz. Everything from CGI and music was beyond expectations.

Conflict

In Emma's hero's journey, it gets highly mutilated as some particular Captain gets wedged into and steals that role. If I had known that Emma would never save anything ever past season 1, I would have never been the "Emma is decent" fan that I am. Everyone steals her thunder!

The Dark Swan was oddly vindictive and then it felt as if there was a shift in the narrative which conitnued Emma's story from 508 and beyond. there wasn't much conflict until the end and it went back into predictability range and stole from other shows that I did not see, so that didn't bother me, except my perspective of the writers as "increasingly lazy".

Fan Perspective

Never have I seen a season so disliked in a rapid hurry toward the finshline. Never before have I seen a twist in fan perception. Even some of the "only positive" ones took a gasp. In my own opinion, it was a season half that was too ambitious and too disjointed. After 4 seasons of a show you would think the writers would find their groove, but I fear the constant tonal shifts leaves them in novice experience.

Overall

A step up and a step down from 4b. A step up in plot, but a step down in character. A step up in conflict and a neutral level in setting. A neutral fan perspective (which isn't odd because 3a has fans and haters, same with 3b, and 2, and 4a). So, a small boost from 4b, but nothing spectacular. A solid B-.