I think this first half of season 3 suffered for uneven pacing. I think after the third episode people were expecting to see the plot move more quickly, to have more confrontations with Pan, more hero victories instead of wandering around. it is a shame because with this Pan, Tinkerbell and Hook — all of whom have amazing chemistry with each other and are amazing actors — we should have had more interactions and interesting scenes with them. there should have been swordfights with Pan. we should have a greater understanding of Tinkerbell and her relationship with Pan and Hook and even Bae, We should know more about Hook and Bae. Instead it felt like an drawnout overlong quest so that the Rumple Pan reveal could happen near the end of the arc. There was no reason that they needed this to be in Neverland since most of the iconic Neverland relationships/adventures were given lip service and not showcased in any way. Look at the Darlings, it was almost like they were an item on check list rather than woven into the show. The thing is I wouldn’t want this to be all about Hook and Pan. I don’t think it is fair to other character’s fans, but I don’t think A&E made effective use of the Neverland characters. With the non-never land characters they should have been focusing on their evolving relationships and feelings for each other.
Getting back to my point, my sister won’t watch OUAT because she feels like they never move forward and everything gets reset. Someone watching this arc would feel that way for the middle episodes. I think that is what hurt. Beginning with A Common Fairy (which I really liked) the episodes seemed more like filler episodes to get to Save Henry. I also think that they need to rethink the flashback usage. I don’t think that every episode needs them, unless something entirely new is being shown/explained. I think it would be better to use that time to start giving more emotional character moments in the present.
Keeper of Hook and Emma's smoldering first kiss, a certain Pirate's sauciness, the Evil Queen's snarkiness, Grumpy's gruffness and a drop of true love to make it all go down smooth.