Board Thread:Spoilers!/@comment-26347158-20150419103813/@comment-25926288-20150503190447

Utter solitude wrote: everyone is in a relationship because that's what gets viewers. This is a TV show, after all, and they have to balance their story in a way that will attract and keep viewers.

I've also never heard that "a lot of the former die hard fans have left because they don't like what has been done" with Rumple. Personally I love it when he's evil. Not everyone can be redeemed, it would be boring. Balance is one thing I'd say they lack, lol. At least on an average.

I heard of that fandom thing. It was because Rumple at the beginning of season 4. While other main characters got the shaft, Rumple got OOC all evil for the early part. Not that Rumple isn't evil and that I don't like it. It was just that we see normal complex Rumple in season 3 and then dark Rumple in season 4a with little organic progression until like episode 6 in which we got to look a little of his motives and why. Then episode 8 onward he did both dark and grey Rumple (besides telling us literally like fifteen times in three/four episodes what his plans were! That was really starting to get annoying!

In my opinion (formed by what others have said and pointed out), Rumple's character pretty much should have ended in 3a, but I can understand him going full evil, just they didn't clue in the audience before they screamed this is not Rumple! Besides that, he was exposition character for much of the rest of the season. Which they sort of said somewhere about the inside of Rumple's motives. I'll find it if I can. Plus, they sort of wrote a huge section of his character out with Neal. Even some fans think they named the baby Neal to sort of push the adult Neal into oblivion.

Rumple and Regina were the most popular characters of Once when it began (Emma, aside). Robert Carlyle and Lana are also amongst the best actors that worked on the show and to lose them would always be devastating.

Back on topic, I hope it their "bold storytelling" so I can be shocked, angry and sad at the same time.