Watching last nights episode I almost felt as if Adam and Eddy were speaking directly to us. Asking for help. I couldn’t help but feel that Emma is almost a metaphor for the show itself at the moment, and the sad thing is that we have all accepted it’s fate rather than attempting to fight it.
This is a nice sentiment and all but here’s my take: all shows get cancelled. It’s the nature of the beast and if that sounds overly harsh then here’s a slightly more positive spin–all stories have an ending.
I get that maybe people don’t want to see their favorite/former favorite show go off air and it’s hard to say goodbye but at its core OUAT has always been about Emma Swan’s hero’s journey. She’s come full circle–orphan, friendless, hopeless to having friends, family, and a destiny. She’s become self-actualized with a sense of worth and importance. The story is over. I’d rather see it end on a high, acknowledging that “the end” is how fairy tales end, than to see the show try to torture itself for another year, grasping at a narrative that is past making sense potentially with characters who don’t mean anything to an audience.
Yeah, Adam and Eddy are losing their show but that’s how TV works. They’ll be back. They’ll come up with another idea–during OUAT’s tenure they’ve actually done TWO other shows! That’s what writers do. Damon Lindeloff moved on to the Leftovers. Carlton Cuse moved on Bates Motel. Joss Whedon moved on to Dollhouse and the Marvel Universe.
It’s not about losing hope or that we aren’t fighting hard enough. It’s time, that’s all.