Board Thread:Rant and Rave/@comment-34657163-20180311191124/@comment-34657163-20180325195437

If the first arc was written closer to how this last half is going, I think it would have been more appealling to longtime fans and new audiences in general. So, here are my thoughts on how specific episodes could have been different/improved!

Hyperion Heights - This episode really tried to recapture the original pilot's charm, but really didn't do it justice. There were maybe three memorable scenes in the episode. The flashback also rushes into an awkward Henry & Ella romance. Victoria was also poorly established for me since she was just mean-ish, and lacked the charisma of Regina in season one.

A Pirate's Life - This should have focused far more on Emma. We really didn't need a "I'm gonna disguise myself as you!" plot to reveal that Nook had a child. Throw in an Emma giving birth scene with Hook in the room (with Snowing implied to be there) and it would have done Emma (and Killian) justice (at least for me). The present day story was also just kind of... lame. Granted, it had to follow the previous episode's stuffs...

The Garden of Forking Paths - I already touched on this in my original post, but in terms of the present day story, we didn't need a repeat of Henry jumping into an abandoned mine, and to my memory the only thing that came from the present day was Eloise, and that the garden ended up having magical properties... It also suffers from Jacinda issues.

Beauty - This episode was fine. I'm not a fan of the house montage though and (I explained on another thread this), I just think that it would have been wonderful to actually see Belle on an adventure, under content terms too! They could have just had the guardian talk while...strolling along the yellow brick road? Or even Wonderland?

Greenbacks - Already explained in the original post. It simply didn't balance the plot and her backstory well enough.

Wake Up Call - This episode was fine. Suffers from pacing issues, specifically to do with learning magic (like other episodes of its kind, so it's not new). Not sure what the point of having random thieves come along. Maybe could have started off instead with a young Drizella flashback, showing her being neglected or something (would help with her backstory of course).

Eloise Gardener - Infinite sighs.

Pretty In Blue - Already explained, but I really feel the need to reiterate that this episode was quite forgettable.

One Little Tear -  Besides timeline issues, this episode was good. However, like others have noted, Rapunzel really needed one more episode to really demonstrate her shift into the tyrant Tremaine.

The Eighth Witch -  Suffers from pacing issues, as it threw a lot all in one go.