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Has anyone watched the show called “Episodes”? I binge watched it a couple of weeks ago. That was what got me interested in news about ouat. I haven’t thought about this show for years. After the 5th season when they all went to the land of the dead and STILL Neal wasn’t brought back, I just gave up and let go completely. The I watched this series called “Episodes” which I highly recommend (it was recommended to me by Netflix) and it really got me thinking: In the show, two writers are writing a TV show that has been picked up by some network. Those writers had a GREAT show, but to make a long story short, the network ruined it completely until the show had to be cancelled. First they forced an actor on them. (it made me think that maybe Hook was forced on A&E?) Then one thing led to another, until the show was unrecognizable from the original one they were making. Also, politics like a network dislikes an actor, and forces the writers to write him off the show (which made me think of Neal?) I don’t know how it went at ABC and regular audience will never ever be told, but according that show “Episodes” you get a lot of inside information on how a TV show gets ruined. And sometimes, the writers could be brilliant as A&E proved to be in the second and half of third season, but it will still be crap if the network mixes in too much. So the reason i got some small hope is because no matter how much the network might hate Neal or love Hook, if the show was cancelled, shouldn’t the writers be allowed to bring whoeevr they want for the finale and fimish THEIR story however they want?
I definitely think that ABC did effect the plot of this show greatly. They did push for Hook and for getting rid of Neal, for sure. The writers even said stuff about the ABC execs saying they kept asking for Hook to be put into scenes that it didn’t even really make sense that he would be in. It was a tongue and cheek answer, but it was based on the truth that the network wanted more Hook to a point that was detrimental to the story.
That doesn’t change the fact though that the writers also liked Hook at first and decided to insert him into the present day scenes after filming had already began and that decision then snowballed out of hand. I think, at first, the audience liked Hook as a villain who was sarcastic and silly, but would eventually be defeated. The problem happened when this led to him being rewritten between Seasons 2 and 3 into a potential love interest for Emma. It is very clear in Seasons 1 and 2 that Neal/Bae is where the show is leading. There is no romance between Emma and Hook in Season 2. Hook doesn’t exist in Season 1. Then randomly for Season 3, Emma is suddenly considering him as a potential love interest, the show jumps the shark, and a love triangle is created out of thin air.
I think that this decision was pushed by ABC and it was this decision that led to the eventual removal of Neal/Bae and the complete destruction of the story and the mythology and the family part of the show and from that decision the show became unfixable. I don’t really forgive the writers for this decision because based on their actions and how they discuss the show, even though i think that Adam is more aware that things went wrong then Eddy is, i still think that they didn’t really fight ABC when the network starting pushing things in that direction and possible could have thought it was a good idea. The fault is just as much theirs as it is the networks.
The removal of Bae is very similar to the now removal of Emma. Bae’s story and his use as the connection between Rumpel and the family, the connection to Emma’s past, the connection to Rumpel’s history was too important to the larger plot of the show and the show never worked once he was removed. The show lost half of its mythology with his removal. The show now lost the second half with the removal of Emma. There are things that you can’t do on a show and removing your centers is one of them. I mean you can and can still plod along as if your show has a soul anymore, but it doesn’t, and people know that and the show lost half its soul with Bae’s removal and the other half with Emma’s.