Board Thread:Spoilers!/@comment-1916997-20151229033119/@comment-1916997-20160222054841

Hmcooper4 wrote: Somewhere in 5x21-5x23, there needs to be some reasonable setup for next season. (Of course, we don't know what any of the sub-plots for 5B are). And this season finale may be important, given that some of the original actors for the series are, i believe, due for potential contract renewal. While I don't look for a wholesale turnover of cast, we could potentially see some of the current mains either set aside, or possibly even killed off.

So whatever the plot line for the finale is, I would anticipate setting up for whatever next season holds (and more than just a final scene or 2). 3 out of 4 season finales basically had 11th hour reveals for the next season though, so I'm not sure if we will get much set up for Season 6. Only Season 2 had a good amount of set up for the Neverland arc. Season 4 had some subtle hints toward a Camelot arc coming, and maybe a bit of foreshadowing about a "dark Emma", but I don't think I'd consider it reasonable set up. And Seasons 1 and 3, with the breaking of the curse and the tease of Elsa, had basically no setup. In fact, even the actors have stated being surprised by both events.