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I’m wondering if there really are missing pages or whether Regina only thinks there are. There was the page which showed up in Robin Hood’s bag, but I thought it just magically appeared out of thin air the same way the book magically showed up in Snow White’s closet. The image of Robin and Regina may not have been an actual event, but just showed a what-might-have-been scenario if Regina had walked into that tavern. Of course, there’s always the explanation that rock trolls took all memories of Regina and Robin’s first meeting the way the rock trolls took all the kingdom of Arendelle’s memories of Ingrid and Helga.

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Okay… So @WickedRegal just gave me an idea…. WHAT IF (and bear with me here) the prophecy that stated Henry would be Rumps undoing… Hasn’t actually occurred yet? What if Henry will actually somehow lead Rump into “finding” Bae by resurrecting him… And then Rump goes full villain and Henry has to end up killing him, becoming the ultimate hero. I mean, Henry never really lead Rump to Bae in the first place… Cora gave him the globe, Emma accompanied him there and chased down Bae… Henry just tagged along. Even in NL, Henry didn’t lead Rump to Bae. So the prophecy could still be open and like Rump said, the future is never what we think…or something like that…. Okay I’m done 🙂 any thoughts?

Sorry, but I’m not convinced. While I do think Henry is very special, I’m thinking that the boy who was Rumple’s undoing was Peter Pan, rather than Henry. I think Peter Pan helped to reunite Rumple with Bae by bringing together Emma and Neal in the first place. Remember PP said to Henry, “You’re descended from the greatest of light and of dark. What, you think it’s a coincidence that the spawn of the Dark One met your mother?” Emma did lead Rumple to Neal, but it was Peter Pan who implicitly arranged it so that Emma and Neal met originally and conceived Henry, whom PP somehow knew would be the truest believer. I don’t think there is anything further to tell about the prophecy (except how the heck PP had a picture of Henry centuries before), since it was already fulfilled when Rumple killed himself and his dad.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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*looks at new spoilers* *twitch*

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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Here’s the problem I’m seeing. When the show has taken too many liberties for their liking (examples being Hook, Peter Pan, and Rapunzel), people complain. When the show sticks too close to the Disney version for their liking (the Frozen cast, and now Maleficent), people will complain too. Are we asking for more of a happy medium between the two concepts? Clearly we’re not all going to agree on which direction the show should take.

I think the writers need to ask themselves an important question. Does the introduction of new characters make narrative sense within the story? Could they be introduced in an organic fashion that fits within the mythology and timeline already established and doesn’t mess up canon events and character motivations? And if so, is their inclusion going to enhance the story or does it detract from the main characters too much?

My main problem with the inclusion of Frozen wasn’t just that it was too new, or that I was already tired of the Frozen franchise before S4 had even begun. My main problem with the over inclusion of basically every Frozen character was that it didn’t fit as much with the story already laid out. It had a lot of convenient plot devices like the wishing star or the magical door from Arendelle to our world, which makes Rumple’s effort to create the dark curse to get to our world in S1 seem (at best) misguided. It required some wonky timeline jumping, including time travel at the end of S3 to get Marian and Elsa to our world, and also a LOT of memory erasing. Amnesia feels very convenient when you want to change the story already set out in S1 and S2. It feels like a lot of retacon went on to try and cram in basically all the Frozen characters, plus Ingrid, even while sometimes compromising previously established canon (why couldn’t Ingrid age in SB, despite the fact that Henry did, though neither was cursed?) By not checking the “show bible” it feel lazy in a way that creates needless contradiction and confusion.

So my main concern headed into S4b is that with the overabundance of villains, the story is going to be stretched so thin that the main characters already in the show won’t be given enough coverage. Why do we need three villains when Mal would’ve been enough? Instead, it feels like the writers are tying to cram them all into 11 episodes before they run out of time or the show ends for good. Characters like Will, Henry and Belle frequently get overlooked, and even though Belle (finally) got a character-centric story, was lucky just to get a cameo in favor of focusing too much on the Frozen characters.

So, I’m left to wonder whether the story really needs Ursula and Cruella. How much they really bring to the table at this point in time? It seems to me like Maleficent would’ve been a big enough nemesis. She was already established as a character, along with her connection to characters like Regina, Aurora, Philip, Mulan, Emma, Charming, Will and Robin Hood. And if we must add Cruella, must she be from the EF, too? Her being magical and from the EF feels a lot like the misguided decision to make Bo Peep into a warlord with a magical staff. That was just a poor narrative decision to insert her into the  Frozen arc in such an awkward way. It just seemed like the decision to include Cruella would’ve felt more natural if she’d been from A Land Without Magic and had some connection to someone like Emma, Neal or August, who spent a lot of time there. Making Cruella have magic and be from a fantasy world just feels less organic than Ariel in NL, were mermaids were already established as part of that NL myth.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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I have my doubts we’ll ever see “the dragon” again, since he was part of August and Tamara’s story, one of whom is a little boy again and the other of whom is dead. But it is interesting that the title of the episode is based on a martial arts film from Hong Kong, were I believe the dragon was living in the episode called “Selfless, Brave, and True.” Most likely, however, the title refers to Maleficent in her dragon form.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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Perhaps the final battle refers generically to the constant battle between good and evil, which we’ve seen play out repeatedly with the introduction of Cora, Peter Pan, Zelena, and now Ingrid.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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And I was staring at that picture for ages trying to figure out what it was… but to no avail.

The object in Cruella’s hand looks like a tiara to me.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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Okay, I think we all have differing opinions about the costume of Maleficent. Lets move on. Lets talk about CRUELLA DE VILLE! *thunder cracks*

I’m fine with the way Cruella looks. I really don’t have a problem with her resembling the Disney live-action version of her. However, I think I would have a problem with Cruella being a shape-shifting dalmatian sorceress. There’s “taking liberties” and then there’s what I would call an overly active imagination. I suppose Cruella could be like Ruby, who is actually a werewolf, but that just seems like a bridge too far as far as I’m concerned.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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I don’t really have a problem with A&E making an executive decision for Eduardo Castro to alter Mal’s original costume to resemble the 2014 film’s costume. I just wish A&E could admit that they (not just Eduardo) decided to make their Mal visually resemble the popularized version of Mal, while ensuring her characterization would remain their own. I think A&E kind of got defensive when the interviewer suggested that Kristen’s Mal looked like Angelina’s Mal, and that they confused a critique about the costume for a critique about the character.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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Seriously, the writers need to watch what they say. Are they trying to make people mad on purpose or something?

Sometimes it really seems that way, because A&E seem to think controversy for the sake of controversy is what keeps fans coming back for more. But, in reality, it’s cost them more than helped them as the show hasn’t managed to hang onto viewers who lost interest after S1.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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