To be fair, most of the villains before the Snow Queen were tied directly to Regina or Rumple. Pan was Rumple’s father, Zelena was Regina’s sister. Therefore, Pan was Rumple’s villain and Zelena was Regina’s villain. Neither were directly connected to Emma, which the Snow Queen is. Because she played a part in Emma’s childhood.
True, but all of those people were still tied indirectly to Henry and by extension Emma. Peter Pan was Henry’s great-grandfather. Zelena was Henry’s adoptive aunt through Regina. The only difference is that this time the villain has more of a direct connection to Emma. No matter how they’re related to Henry, his family tree just feels really crowded.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy