Well obviously if Pinocchio hadn’t been sent through the wardrobe Snow could have been with Emma, and without Pinocchio we wouldn’t have Tamara, not to mention I think we would be dealing with a very different Emma Swam (though I daresay one that wouldn’t be as interesting and complicated). If Regina hadn’t saved Snow. If Cora hadn’t killed Snow’s mother.
And of course what would have happened if Rumple had followed Bae….but this could go on and on. For example, Bae wouldn’t have wanted a magic bean if Rumple hadn’t become the dark one, and Rumple wouldn’t have become the dark one if he hadn’t have been called a coward, and Rumple wouldn’t have been called a coward if he didn’t desert the army to be with Bae, and that might not have been so important to him if it wasn’t for the abandonment he felt from his own father. So maybe this whole series would be different if Rumple’s father had stuck around.
Or maybe everything was destined to happen, that was kind of hinted at with the seer.
That is what I like about this show, everything that happens isn’t by chance, it is because of the actions of the characters in this show.