If you could give the writers advice for next season…

[angiebelle]

What are your hopes and dreams for next season (assuming there is one)?

Here is what I would say to them…

Slow down! Let the characters breathe! I want more of the quiet moments…the little character developing conversations. Too much has been thrown at everyone this season- so many storylines that nothing got the attention it deserved. That’s why there have been some complaints that the show has lost some of it’s charm- too much intense drama and action adventure. Please take a step back and let the characters live their lives a bit as we saw a lot more of in the first season. I loved seeing Emma and Mary Margaret as best friends and roommates. I want to see more interactions among the Charmings as they navigate this strange new version of their family. It’s the dynamic among the characters that I love about this show far more than watching them try to kill each other or escape from danger.

Please give us more light and less dark. Drama is good- of course things need to happen, I totally get that. I just want to see a little more balance. Light doesn’t have to mean boring. Life can be interesting without a constant threat.

[obisgirl]

I agree with allowing the characters to breathe. It seems ever since Emma and Mary Margaret got back from FT world, they’ve been in constant crisis mode.

I wouldn’t mind a little more light-hearted humor. Family gathering’s like David said, would suck in FT world considering everyone’s relationships but that’s exactly what I want to see on this show. I want to see everyone sit together at a table and try to restrain themselves from killing each other.

[RumplesGirl]

Yeah, some lighthearted stuff would be nice.
ONE Rumbelle date that is uninterrupted. Just ONE.
Fewer “one time only” characters. I’m happy to learn about new fairy tale characters but they should play a part all season, not just one episode because those tend to be the filler episodes and are among my least favorite. If the do Ariel, for example, next season, then let her play a role throughout.
I want a family dinner! The Charmings, SwanFire, Rumbelle, Henry, Regina. All gathering around a table and eating.

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[sarah_tn]

1. Less new characters
2. Slow down (as others have stated)
3. Build more on Hook and Neal
4. Less hiatuses
5. I know the show needs it’s sponsors, but see what you can do about less breaks for advertising. We DVR’d the last episode and after forwarding through the commercials and watching the show, we were like: “is that it?”.
6. Listen to your fans! Listen to their ideas!
7. Writers might like to create a blind idea submission “hat” for the OUAT website on ABC. People who submit ideas would fill out personal information, and then click “agree” when prompted that ideas used will not be rewarded with monetary reimbursement (although, it would be a nice touch those who submit used ideas are noted with a “a special thank you to ____” in show credits). Those who submit ideas will fill out an electronic “index card” that writers can compile into a “hat” and pull for ideas. A lot of times, these can also help to inspire other ideas.
8. Less death
9. More light-hearted and sometimes, maybe even cheesy domestic moments. People like those. The show has been kind of depressing lately. Lighten it up!
10. Everybody should get at least 1 real chance for redemption, if even in part.

[PriceofMagic]

I agree on the uninterrupted date for Rumbelle. I would love to see them have little happy moments together just to show that they’re not always arguing. This season, episode 1 ended with Belle saying she was going to stay with Rumple after they’d had an argument then in her next appearance, she was ready to leave him because of his lack of honesty. There was no set up for how she suddenly came to that decision.

Less new characters- definitely. Or at least, if you are going to introduce a new character, make sure they have some sort of interaction with a character the audience is already familiar with. For example, Hook’s introduction was done really well. He was introduced as part of Rumple’s backstory and has now become a well liked character in his own right. Mulan, on the other hand, was just thrown into the mix and I really didn’t like her or Aurora in Broken because they were taking valuable screentime away from the characters I already know and love.

All magic comes with a price!

Keeper of Felix

[obisgirl]

@Sarah_TN wrote:

4. Less hiatuses

That one too.

[angiebelle]

I had the same problem with Aurora and Mulan in “Broken” because in the past, we were always introduced to their Storybrooke counterparts first and then we saw them in the enchanted forest, so we saw the connection. With Aurora and Mulan, before we knew it was a flash sideways, it was more of a why are we seeing these characters? What do they have to do with the characters we care about? Therefore, I wasn’t terribly interested in them at first. Also, new characters in the first season were always shown in relation to the core characters. Aurora and Mulan came out of nowhere.

I don’t know how else they could have done that though as they had to set those two up to meet Emma and Snow.

[spinninggold]

More humor, definately, sometimes the scenes edge on daytime soap drama, although that was mostly begin of the season. Still Josh, Robert Colin and Lana are naturals at witty remarks that can fit naturally into the scene, without looking forced. Maybe they should give them a bit more free reign to … make snarky remarks to eachother, I am sure they need no help (Just shut up and look pretty! 😆 )

I also think they should listen less to us. This trying to please everybody is hurting the overall story line. I got the feeling they forwarded story lines to please people and sometimes it just hurts the overall story. Belle losing her memory feels like a ploy so we can see more of them, but I still can’t see how it adds to the overall story. And there is more of that. So please Adam and Eddie, write it how YOU want to, not so much to what you think we want to see, because by writing what we want to see, you get a schizofrenic story line that feels pasted together. Season one had episodes that told 1 story and that was far more pleasant.

Last but not least, better pacing. The beginning of the season was too slow, and now all of a sudden we are in a whirwind where Cora is dead before you know it (this should have been a finale I think) It should be more even, giving time to tell stories

[obisgirl]

On the sneak peeks, I felt like they released too much starting with Broken. If you watch the episode and then review the sneak peeks, it’s almost the entire episode. I know at that point, we had suffered through a very long summer hiatus and were OUAT depraved, but throughout much of this season, they give us too much and then you watch the episode, nothing surprises you.

So, fewer episode sneak peeks would be mine.

[RumplesGirl]

To add with the sneak peaks: marketing needs to be careful which ones they put out. This goes for promos too, be careful what you show. For example: The Doctor pretty much laid out exactly who Whale was. Also, for the Miller’s Daughter, I was very surprised that the Rumbelle phone call was out.

I also think that SpinningGold has a good point: they shouldn’t listen to us. Based on Twitter alone, if they were to listen to us this show would be nothing but Rumbelle, SwanQueen, Hook, and redemption for everyone at the drop of a hat. I think they should mark down what we like, but the fact is: I love this show to death and will watch it and what story they want to tell.

*but seriously Adam and Eddy: fewer characters*

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

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