Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26159109-20150722160646/@comment-28162607-20171125163251

Farerb wrote: I feel like if the show had ended after 3A, people would have had better opinions about it.

It seemed to me like A&E lost their passion in 3B, that is where all the major inconsistencies started to happen in my opinion. I remember reading somewhere a lot of key writers and A&E's personal assistant left before or during 3B, explaining the drip in quality. Although I feel like, while it wasn't great, it was fairly enjoyable. If you cut out most of the Regina stuff and the contrived cursed lips angst it was pretty good.

I think the season 3 finale was a better note to leave it on because it provided a happy ending, rather than 3x11's tragic one (it could work, just not for a show about "hope"). Emma was happy, had her family and was entering a relationship with Hook, Henry was happy. Just cut out Marain, and have Rumple actually change and not keep the dagger and bing bang boom, happy ending.

The end of season 3 does have a "and they all lived happily ever after" feel to it.

Although I live in the happy place where the show ended in season 4 with Rumple getting kicked over the town line, the Darkness evaporating and Regina being locked in the asylum but whatevs.