Reply To: Emma + Baelfire = Swanfire

And yeah, I also think much of this had to do with the fact that A and E are not only incompetent storytellers,

Yes. That’s the root cause.

We’ve often said this before but Neal’s death could have actually been a worthwhile story if they were to ease up off the throttle of PLOT all the time and really have it be a character study of loss and regret–told from Rumple, Emma, and Henry’s perspectives. It’s the fact that A and E simply couldn’t write anything that was believable and heartfelt and worthy of killing off one of the heart’s of the show that speaks volumes.