I would sincerely hope ABC has learned their lesson after the Castle debacle. But I also think Bar Farer has raised an excellent point: if S7 is the last (which it undoubtedly is) then depending on what A and E pitch to the network, Emma–while absolutely vital in our eyes–may not matter to ABC in the long run should JMo not wish to sign her contract.
Nothing that JMO has said indicated that she won’t sign a new contract. She’s retweeted the article talking about S7. Her and Colin were the only one’s in the cast. She talked about hope for S7 on her podcast. She said she had no intentions to abandon her character.
So why are we all doom and gloom? And since when has fate on this show been something that can’t be conquered? I fully expect Emma will defeat her fate.
May I also say that even if JMO does not agree to a full term contract for S7, she could always go the way of Nina Dobrev and come back near the end of the season to finish up her arc and the show.
She also is promoting the show still, going to a panel with the writers as well as Colin. That doesn’t sound like somebody that is going to leave IMO.
On a final note Emma is way more relevant and important than any other character on the show. Don’t compare her to the other characters that have died on the show. She is the most important character on the show, she’s the focal point of the show. She’s the reality of the show. Without Emma Swan, there’s no OUAT. She’s also connected to several people and without her all of our characters would not get happy endings. Hook, Snowing, Henry, etc will not get a happy ending. Sorry Neal fans but you cannot ever compare Emma to Neal. Also just saying but Henry was never close to Neal. Yeah he was his father but he barely spent any time with him. Sorry. Sure he misses him but it’s nowhere near the level he would feel if he lost Emma.
Also the season started with Jafar saying “you never hear these words of a savior, they lived happily ever after. What kind of show actually shows you the villain is right, the savior dies. That would be absolutely horrible writing.