Board Thread:Spoilers!/@comment-26830263-20170710210232/@comment-4260948-20171006232528

Chameleon-Guy wrote: It's really good to see her again in these pictures. So I continue to speculate, it's definitely like a check mate in my opinion, looking objectively at the situation, besides my personal belief:

1. If Emma is staying behind in Storybrooke or wherever she is, not only it's out of character, but it would leave the door open for more appearances, and the writers "confirmed" (although they could be lying?) that she won't be back again.

2. If Emma is trapped/separated from her family into another realm, they will have to rescue her and it's gonna tease more appearances, which, again, can't happen.

3. This is more of a stretch, but if Emma gets, like, exhiled, and not be allowed to return again, I personally think it could work, but it would not be a satisfying end like the writers promised.

So they pretty much have their hands tied, there's not much they can do, I'm not saying she is 100% dead, but I predict there will be a permanent solution to explain her absence. And if that doesn't happen, people (me included) WILL demand to see her in more episodes, especially if this is the last season. Taking a guess? That Beetle in the hand of the troll in Seattle - Emma is frozen, in stone, inside her bug. So she physically can't reappear as no-one knows she exists anymore.