Board Thread:Show-Related Questions and Answers/@comment-34924658-20171113182231/@comment-34924658-20180202035504

DeviousPeep wrote: Tysonjackson wrote: DeviousPeep wrote: Tysonjackson wrote: So I’m changing my opinion on 5A to Nimue, Emma and Hook as the mains. Looking back on it, yes, Arthur was the main antagonist in the EF but then again that part of the story ended in like 7 or 8 and the real conflict was honestly trying to save Emma anyways. She was the Big Bad until Birth and then Nimue (mostly through use of Hook).

Also, I think I’m sticking with 7 as Victoria and Drizella, with Gothel as secondary. Even though she was playing them both, she was still not as big of a problem as them. 7B though is Gothel with the Coven as secondary. At least currently. Thoughts? For 5a I'd say "The Darkness" instead of individual characters. The way the show sees it, Emma and Hook weren't really the bad guys, more just being possessed by a greater force as their actions weren't really them in the right mindsets.

For 7a, I'd cut Victoria from being a main antagonist and make it Drizella & Gothel or only Drizella. Victoria was just a redherring until the reveal that Ivy was behind everything. She's a key player in the story, but she's definitely not the main threat they're dealing with. Gothel's trickier because it took a little while for her to get settled in and, from what we know, the curse was still Drizella's idea. It's clear that she's evolving into their main threat though, which seems to be the case for 7b. Well here's how I look at it (and I'm trying to be more open minded and less motivated by favoritism): For the first five episodes, Victoria was our main villain. Ivy was just her henchwoman and Gothel was barely anything. Then Drizella takes over, while Gothel is still basically there for support. Even though she was clearly manipulating them both. Even after Drizella's reveal, Rapunzel/Victoria still managed to act as a threat, especially in 7x09. I'm iffy about Gothel either way, so I'll just forget about her.

Ivy wasn't really Victoria's henchwoman

In my opinion, the only one I think we can definitively say is the "main" antagonist is Drizella.

I think I worded that a bit wrong. What I mean is Ivy appeared as Victoria’s henchwoman. All we see Drizella/Ivy do was what her mother told her and there was no implications that she did anything. That’s honestly why I think it was such a good twist. I was really expecting them to try to redeem her or something. But I do agree that Drizella is the only full out Big Bad in 7A. Some people have argued that it’s Gothel since she was essentially the mastermind behind it all but I disagree. She may have been scheming behind the scenes but she wasn’t a major problem for the heroes, flashback or present until the finale. She’ll clearly be the main antagonist for 7B (at least the first few episodes cause as we know with the Queens, Emma, Lady Tremaine, etc, we can never be too sure with advertised villains) but not 7A imo.