What bothers me about this is that they seem to think the missing part of the equation is simply Storybrooke; as if the small town is the missing piece of the puzzle for a great season of OUAT. But that’s super problematic when you break it down realistically. We’ve never NOT had SB.
S1= All in SB, with Flashbacks to the EF
S2A = split between SB and EF
S2B = SB with flashbacks to the EF
S3A = majority in NVL, but finishing up in SB
S3B = all in SB with flashbacks to the EF and once in Oz
S4A and B = all in SB with flashbacks per normal
S5A = all in SB with flashbacks to Camelot
S5B = majority in the Underworld with the ending in SB and Untold Stories land.
So…here’s the rub. S1? Fantastic. Absolutely killer season. S3B and S5A? Miserable! Horrible! No good! S5B? Better than the past few seasons (according to the majority of fans) than it had been in a long while.
So there is no correlation (no direct one) between quality of show and SB, as if SB is what is needed for a good season of OUAT. It’s not just setting, it’s what you do in the scene in question. The Underworld (while problematic) was a better season and the Oz season that took place exclusively in SB (present day).
The difference, for me, is that in past seasons SB felt alive, fleshed out and real. The stories being told inside the town were heartfelt and emotional, full of interesting and complex characters. The stories being told inside SB the past few seasons (S3B-5A) were devoid of those aspects. Putting us back in SB isn’t the problem; it’s what they do inside SB that matters.