OUAT Focused Too Much On Characters

[clockwatcher]

I think we can all agree that each or most of the OUAT episodes have been next to amazing. But at the same time, d they focus too much on characters that seem to have too little effect on the plot? When I watch the show, I keep on wanting to see what happens with the actual plot line. I feel like the episodes keep focusing on new characters when it may be more interesting to follow the plot line more. Any thoughts?

[weedith]

I do get your frustration. Whenever an episode is over and I don’t feel like the “main” plotline has been advanced I can feel a little let down. But drawing on the experience of watching Lost (which is probably instructive, given the pedigree of Eddie and Adam), when I look back at those episodes, I often find that there is more there than I originally thought. I am not suggesting that there is NO “filler” along the way. They can’t tell their story too quickly or they will run out of plot by the time the first season is done. But I do think some of the seemingly lesser plot lines advance the themes of the show as a whole.

I also think it is too early to tell which characters will end up being important to the overall story. They spent a lot of time at the beginning with a couple of main plots — Henry and Emma, Snow and Charming, EQ and Rumplestiltskin. And I think they do that to draw people in and get them invested in the show. But in telling a complex story, you can have a lot of side plots and peripheral characters that enrich the overarching plot. I don’t think we will know until next season, or the next (knock wood) or the next, whether Hansel and Gretel were anything more than a creepy new telling of the Hansel and Gretel story, or whether Nova will end up influencing major events, or whether Malificent is a major player or just a washed up unicorn lover.

[hjbau]

I think it is very important to develop the characters and have them further the plot. And i think everyone needs to think of the one hit episodes like The Price of Gold, True North, and Hat Trick as Emma episodes. They further Emma’s character growth and therefore her plot. I don’t consider them filler because Emma is like the main character, but she isn’t in the fairytale land so they show a character or situation that is parallel to hers and use that to let us glimpse where she is at and further her plot. I mean Emma looked in the book and seems to be considering whether or not what Jefferson said was true or not. That is a huge step forward in the plot in my opinion.

[lissy]

I completely agree with you hjbau. The characters are key to the initial plot. The creators of the show said in an interview that they wanted the plot to actually take a back seat in order to have the main focus on character development. Unlike their other show Lost (which had a crazy, complicated plot) their goal in OUAT was to create characters that are multi dimensional (like the good/evil of Rumpel) which the show would revolve around with a moderately easy story line to understand (while still having the audience guessing because confusion is just their style) 😉 I understand you frustrated because the “main” plotline has not been advanced, but it’s the characters that have had major development, which does affect the plot. I get it’s a slower process, but why rush to finish OUAT? I’m obsessed and care more about the state the of characters lives.

[Phee]

@weedith wrote:

or whether Malificent is a major player or just a washed up unicorn lover.

LOL That was a seriously adorable lil unicorn though, wasn’t it.

All shows have “filler” eps, it’s just the nature of the medium, but IMO even those eps bring something to the show as a whole. Even if an ep like Dreamy didn’t advance the main plot, it still fleshed out the world of the show, (both in Fairytale and Storybrooke), which I think is important because we have to believe these are real places, real communities of real people, so the more we learn about them, the more real they seem.

[enchantedone]

@weedith wrote:

But drawing on the experience of watching Lost (which is probably instructive, given the pedigree of Eddie and Adam), when I look back at those episodes, I often find that there is more there than I originally thought.

Weedith I totally agree…I think that the creaters and writters of the show are leaving little breadcrumb trails for us that will make more sense later. I spent some time last week rewatching all of the episodes one right after another and noticed links that I hadn’t before…I think more clues are being created for us than we realize whitch makes this an even better ride than I obviously thought.

[killianhookfan]

EnchantedOne you’re totally right. Several weeks ago I also watched all the episodes again (and took notes – I know, I’m weird) and even in the shows that may seem like “fillers” there are still clues and little tidbits of knowledge given that are important to the main storyline. BUT – I didn’t pick up on those things the first time I watched the episodes (I also wasn’t listening to the Podcasts when the earlier shows aired – the Podcasts are GREAT for picking out all the little things that you might miss just watching the show by yourself).

But, with that said, there are obviously some characters that I don’t care as much about because they aren’t pivotal to the main storyline. But it’s still cool that they are doing a show on all the fairy tale characters. It’s fun to see the twist they put on the characters in FTL and how the create the characters in SB.

[lorem ipsum]

Definitely love the character development and the character heavy show. I prefer books that are more about character than plot and that’s what this show reminds me of. A great fantasy read come to life. Those “filler” episodes are important, not just for character development, but for the little things they might reveal. Like in “Dreamy” when Mr. Gold says he hates the nuns e.g. fairies. And the first thing that came to my mind was, WHY????

[nonnie]

I enjoy the FILLER shows; I see no purpose of rushing to the end of the plot/arc …. The show is here for our enjoyment. I do not want to see it end even though I know that the season end will come soon. What fun is to have all the answers and have nothing to look forward to. I like learning about the minor characters and as said before there is enough hints and plot development to move us forward to the finale. If the show moves to fast then it would seemed forced.

N

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