Board Thread:Wiki-Related Discussion/@comment-3440938-20180505055552/@comment-25375217-20180510011309

Lady Junky wrote: Eskaver wrote:

Lady Junky wrote:

Eskaver wrote: I’m really thinking the show has begun to have more evidence against the writers than towards it in the case of Leota.

What we know:

1. Leota wasn’t resurected via Ressurection Amulet.

Zelena has kept the Amulet the entire time, even with her during early on in the Curse. The likelihood of her being ressurected another way is speculative at best.

2. Leota was recruited after Drizella.

The specific wording and the timeline in recruiting Drizella and recruiting Leota gives the impression that Leota was recruited afterwards and unless we add speculation that a Coven witch dropped dead and Gothel didn’t want to raise her, then its possible that Leota logically would have been the Eighth Witch. And seeing that the Eight Witch was never recruited until Regina, I think it’s really hard to keep Leota around.

Not saying the decision settled upon will change, just saying writer confirmation is really necessary. We have a writer confirmation (Kitsis, more importantly) about Leota being in the Coven.

The answer to this interview is clear and very straightforward. Not really. "Will we be able to recognize any of these new witches?

Kitsis: We'll definitely recognize a few of their names, absolutely. These are witches from iconic fairytales or Disney lore."

source: http://www.tvguide.com/news/once-upon-a-time-bosses-lesbian-alice-robin-anastasia/

"We'll definitely" + "absolutely".

So yeah, I really don't see how this answer is not absolutely clear and straightforward. I agree that Leota is a member of the Coven, but to play devil's advocate and use your own "exactly what they said" argument against you, Lady, Kitsis said "iconic fairytales  or  Disney lore". Meaning those two options don't necessarily co-exist; one, the other, or both may occur. We already have Hilda as an iconic fairytale witch, so this doesn't necessarily confirm Leota.

That said, we aren't going to get a straight answer probably ever (at least not in the foreseeable future). The writers are particularly stepping up their "dodging questions"/"half-answers" game on Twitter this season, so even the chances of getting an out-of-universe confirmation are slim to none. They heavily indicated Leota is a Coven member, we don't have any particular evidence that she isn't (just lack of strong evidence that she is), we should just go with it. It might not be perfectly encyclopedic, but the show isn't giving us much to work with anymore. There are a lot of things this season left to the fans' interpretation; we are fans, we should interpret.