I am sorry as I enjoyed your perspectives as a different take on many things.
I think this season has tried to throw the characters off kilter on purpose and that leads to an uneven feeling that reminds me of Season 3 Heroes Problems .
With Heroes, which I was just as fascinated with as this one, I began to feel my enthusiasm drift away until I didn’t really like or care about too many characters by the end. I think OUAT benefits from corporate Disney cross promotion so may get carried longer, but in the end, that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, so I understand why you feel how you feel.
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass