Board Thread:Show-Related Questions and Answers/@comment-5679696-20160905210537/@comment-25926288-20160905213743

Loving it? Not that it's the worst, but it had a lot going for it that it could have done better.

1. Hook was the DO all along. I think this was clever and maybe a few more hints could have been given, but I feel that it was fine. The issue was that it didn't mesh super well with Emma or some of the DO mythology. Hook being a DO, fine, but not being the Nimue branch of Dark One. Plus, the means of making him a Dark One was almost as bad as ....."A vial of magic". Second, his quick shift was a little hard to digest. He goes from "Emma, I love you and want to help you" to "I hate you" in a split second. If Emma and Rumple are blamed for their actions as DO, so should "I almost killed your family" Hook.

2. '''Emma's plans. I'''t's clear that she shifted somewhere within the arc. Her plans were sensical going forward, but in hindsight it hurts all those around it. Nimue and Head!Rumple look like idiots when they should have already known her plans from the beginning. Her interactions with Rumple went.....nowhere. She also almost killed Belle! Like not, set up like that, but legit would have had killed Belle as Merida had no choice but to listen to Emma and it wasn't like she was watching closely. Her setup with Regina makes no sense and its clear that she had no clue about the fury, which is nice. So, it was more of Emma throwing vendettas and lines she always wanted to say, while sitting around until halfway through the arc. Then she was quickly replaced by Hook.

Plan 

501 and 502- nothing, but introduction, testing the waters, Hook hears Excalibur, sadface

503- nothing to do with the fury, so all she did was break an axe. Wakes Rumple (even though she could have chose anybody.

​504- advertise Brave

​505- spend time with Henry, heroes discover some of her actions, sadface

506- almost kill Belle unintentionally, gets the sword. Tries to deal with Zelena, but secretly encacts baby-accelerating.

507- merges the two pieces, all the DOs are supporting her plans to snuff out the light even though they are "her" and knows her thoughts.

If anything, she did have her plan (being oddly slow) and she eventually got started just to fail. But she didn't even get to save the day as Hook did that with an abrupt face turn almost as abrupt as his heel turn.

All in All, 5A was bad-bad, however, there are thigns they could have improved upon like:

- Regina's Savior plotline that went nowhere

- a better way for Rumple to regress than "a vial of magic"

- Robin actually doing something

- Snow and David not talking to their daughter at all during the present day first 8 episodes

ETC

508- Time to actually do her plan. Fail.