Once Upon a Time Creators Talk 

folks back to Arendelle while welcoming to the canvas three famously wicked women: Maleficent (played again by

Victoria Smurfit). The winter finale also found the beast’s beauty playing hero, while Regina lost a lover but gained a helper for Operation Mongoose.

Once Upon a Time Winter Finale Recap: Saved by the Belle

TVLine invited series creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis to talk about the show’s magical take on Cruella, Rumple’s “collision course” with Regina, dismiss one fan theory and confirm a most logical return.

TVLINE | So I’m looking at the Queens of Darkness — and keep in mind, Victoria Smurfit seemed to get a great reception from our readers — and yet there’s a sense of “One of these things is not like the other.” Suffice to say you’re taking some liberties with Cruella de Vil?

ADAM HOROWITZ | Yes. The traditional Cruella from the classic animated movie has been a jumping off point for our own rendition. If viewers watch what we have in store, you’ll see that while honoring some of the history behind the character, we’re putting a twist on Cruella’s background that involves the Enchanted Forest and a dollop of magic.

EDDY KITSIS | It leans towards what she wears on her back. It deals with animals.

TVLINE | Regarding Rumple’s pitch to Ursula: How might their mission, and how it involves The Author, differ from what Regina and Henry are up to?

KITSIS | It’s not that it’s different. It’s setting them on a collision course. As we saw in that [car] scene last night, Regina laid out to him, “Villains don’t get a happy ending, so I’m going to find this author,” and he said, “That’s bulls–t. Watch me

one.” Well, that blew up in his face, and now he is a man without magic in a land where he is very much not in control, so he’s beginning to see what she said. He has reached a point in his life where he is now asking for help — he can’t do it alone — and he thinks that Regina is on to something.

TVLINE | Would you call Rumple the Big Bad for Season 4B, with the Queens of Darkness almost as his “backup singers”?

| Rumple is absolutely the Big Bad. And I would also say that the three women can more than hold their own. It’s a very formidable team of evil coming our way.

TVLINE | I wanted to get some clarity about the lakeside mansion — it belongs to the Sorcerer…?

HOROWITZ | Well, it sure seems that way….

HOROWITZ | Well, there are some assumptions that characters are making, and that stuff will be cleared up very quickly in 4B. But yes, everyone is assuming that that’s the Sorcerer’s mansion. And some are wondering if he is or isn’t the Author….

| Would you want to rule out one fan theory, that the Sorcerer will turn out to be Yen Sid?

story is a jumping off point. We have something else in mind for the Sorcerer’s background.

TVLINE | Some thought the Emma/Hook reunion felt a bit rushed, especially for someone carrying such a fear about losing the men she loves. Was that a time issue? That you had other story masters to serve?

KITSIS | We would have loved to do 40 minutes of them kissing, but we had a lot to get in.

HOROWITZ | We felt like it was a sweet moment between the two of them, her returning his heart and then the kiss. Could there have been a lot more? Yeah. But there’s still plenty of episodes left in the season.

KITSIS | We thought the kiss and the way she put his heart back said [a lot]…. But the truth is they’re a couple that is continuing, so we’d rather watch them grow together and see what happens.

TVLINE | I very much enjoyed the moment where Regina welcomed Emma to Operation Mongoose.

| Even though Regina did the right thing and she let Robin Hood go, we loved the idea of everyone rallying around to help her — which is a lot different from two years ago, when they all went to get dinner and left her on the side of the road.

TVLINE | Sean Maguire hinted on Twitter that he’ll be back as Robin Hood…?

HOROWITZ | I don’t know what he did or didn’t hint, but I would be sorely disappointed if we did not see more of Robin Hood this season.

TVLINE | And Ginny Goodwin indicated to me that Mary Margaret will be more active in 4B — perhaps with regard to the Queens of Darkness arc.

. Snow and Charming have a very interesting connection to the Queens of Darkness. There’s a backstory that we’re very excited to reveal. We’re going to see a lot more of the Charmings in the second half.

TVLINE | Any returns to confirm, Ariel or otherwise?

HOROWITZ | Yeah, we can for the first time tell you that Ariel is coming back (played by JoAnna Garcia Swisher). You will see her within the first half of 4B. There may be some other returns that we’re not ready to confirm yet, from our past years.

KITSIS | We can’t wait for everybody to get to know the Queens of Darkness. But really, what we’re excited about is to continue on with the characters that we know and love, putting them together in interesting ways.

TVLINE | “Interesting” like Regina and Emma doing shots together. I would have loved to see them let loose after, like, five each. But pesky Henry….

KITSIS | I know! Henry’s always ruining Happy Hour.

, or for any other show? Email insideline@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.

Great interview and a lot of new infos. I’ll be happy to see Ariel again, and I’m curious about Cruella….

I need a special episode dedicated just to Emma and Regina doing shots together! LOL

He’s hardly going to spoil the reveal as to who made the book this early is he? If he outright said it was the sorcerer, the mystery would be gone.

I know it’ll never happen…but can it please be Jefferson? I don’t care how many different angles they use to shoot it, they won’t convince me that’s not his house and I just really want him to come back.

Although I would much prefer somehow resurrecting August/Pinnochio or Neal/Baelfire

Interesting interview. I expected Robin Hood to come back and like Horowitz said I would have been severly disappointed (to say the least) if we wouldn’t get to see him again for the rest of the season, but I’m glad they confirmed it. The way they left his story with Regina in the midseason finale was heartbreaking.

The return of Ariel is probably also not a huge surprise, knowing that the villain of her story is part of the Queens of Darkness trio. Did they ever confirm that Aurora/Sleeping Beauty will be back too?

In an article asking about Aurora and Mulan, they confirmed Aurora will be back and said they would very much like for Mulan to come back.

am i mixing up my once-characters here or did Mulan not join Robin Hood after Aurora told her about the pregnancy?

Why did she not come to Storybrook with them when him and the other merry men were swooped off by the second curse? Did they ever allude to that?

Unless that puppy was supposed to be Pongo, I have a feeling the twist with Cruella will be that she wears a dalmatian coat that allows her to transform herself into a dalmatian.

After all, that puppy appeared out of nowhere to lure Belle away, and then Cruella appeared right after. If it wasn’t Pongo, it had to be her, right?

That makes a lot of sense. I like that theory.

Yeah, I thought too about the Dalmation that Belle saw. Also, maybe it’s not only Dalmatians she can turn into. Maybe she can transform into any animal depending on the type of fur coat she’s wearing.

Someone posted the theory of her transforming into animals by wearing their coats on the recap and I thought that was a pretty great guess. That or controlling them. Cruella was definitely the most dynamic of the three. Malificent never comes across as very threatening to me on the show and while I love Ursula I had a hard time getting past the costume. A rare misstep for them.

So not on board with Curella being one of the “Queens of Darkness”. It all sounds so hokey and they’ve made the actress look like she is in a high school production of the 101 Dalmatians.

I thought she was a decent Cruella de Vil, clearly a younger version too. As far as the costumes go this season, I was more disappointed with Elsas dress more than anything, it didn’t do the movie justice.

Elsa and Cruella at least look like themselves. Are we really okay with Ursula being a youthful skinny black instead of an older heavyset lesbian… They literally kept nothing the same about Ursula, she’s not even wearing purple and black for crap’s sake.

Elsa and Cruella at least look like themselves. Are we really okay with Ursula being a youthful skinny black [girl] instead of an older heavyset lesbian… They literally kept nothing the same about Ursula, she’s not even wearing purple and black for crap’s sake.

I do agree with you on this point. I personally wanted to see an older, heavier actress take the role too.

Well it’s a good thing that they, more often than not, do not adhere strictly to the Disney appearances of the characters? Elsa and Cruella are the exceptions, not the rule. And I would argue that their reasons for doing so are that those characters are very iconically “Disney”. Sure, 101 Dalmatians was originally a novel, but visually, that’s what people see when they picture Cruella, so it makes sense to stick to that appearance. Could they have done that for Ursula? Sure. I’d say her appearance is pretty iconic. But by no means did they *have* to.

Also, I wouldn’t say that Merrin Dungey is a skinny woman. She’s certainly not supermodel thin. To me, in the episode, she looked pretty full-figured and healthy. It may not be Disney’s Divine-inspired Ursula levels of obesity, but she is definitely not skinny.

Kinda bummed that there wasn’t anything about Rumple and Belle in this interview after last night’s powerful moments. IMO they are the most compelling couple on this show even if things are on the rocks at the moment. Hope to see more from them in the future.

I’ve never been a Rumple or Belle, or Rumbelle fan but i appreciate them as i do watch the whole show as a whole show and narrative even if i do have favourite but i will say this… Belle was so on point in the finale, it was fulfilling and those moments i think their fans should be proud of :) I feel for Belle and she was as i said so spot on… i dont feel much for Rumple (but RC is so good but as narrative goes i dont think we meant to feel for him esp since he still hasnt really learnt anything)

I have quotes about Rumbelle (and other topics) that I’m saving for a rainy day. Long 11 weeks ahead, folks.

For Rumbelle fans, it’s already storming like a …witch, as Emma might say. Please share soon!

Why do the Rumbelle fans have to wait? As if the show hasn’t punished us enough :(

I’m so sick of Hook and Emma. How is it possible that he still around, I see no point for his character

Because i like him lol. If you watch the show and also since they always wanted Hook since the beginning just couldnt get the rights to him. Im actually fed of silly comments like this, like what is the point lol

Me too. It’s been almost three seasons and he’s still staying around. I think the complaining will continue till the day the show ends. :/

I love Hook. He’s been a good foil for Emma and for Rumple, and he brings the sass like nobody’s business. I do wish he would’ve stood up to Rumple more or tried to tell Belle or Emma the truth of what Rumple was up to (character development from the Zelena storyline), but maybe that will spill over into 4B — not holding my breath though. Maybe Hook will have something to do with Ariel’s return. After all, he basically refused to help her in the “missing” year & I don’t think he ever confessed the truth about that. I like that Hook is working with the “good guys” now, but he does have some explaining to do.

Rumple had his heart and wasn’t allowed to tell Emma what was going on. One of the writers said that in a tweet. Rumple didn’t allow it. So I assume Rumple told his heart NOT to tell anyone.

Yeah I get that, but someone here pointed out a few weeks ago that in season 2 (my least fave so I’ve forgotten a lot of it) Aurora was in a similar situation with her heart being controlled & she still *tried* to break out of its control (like the earlier scene of Hook & Emma at Granny’s last night).

Hook was lying to Emma about blackmailing Rumple BEFORE Rumple took his heart. Even when he “confessed” about the lies in that phone called, he conveniently left out the bit about him starting the blackmail and threatening Belle.

He also could’ve just told Belle the truth about the dagger way back then. Instead he tried to use Rumple’s secret as leverage & it totally backfired. Learn from your mistakes, Hook!

omg i forgot about the whole ariel and hook thing.what if emma finds out he lied

I hope we get to find out! I’d like the conflicts in their relationship to come from within (him feeling not worthy, her insecurities about being abandoned, his tendency to keep secrets, etc) rather than external sources like monsters or other romantic rivals.

Except he didn’t lie—he said he didn’t help Ariel in her reunion and Emma simply refused to hear it. Additionally, she’s repeatedly stated she doesn’t care what happened during the missing year. Additionally, Ariel was entitled and had Hook not attempted to kill Blackbeard, Blackbeard would’ve killed him.

Emma would be VERY OOC to hold this against him.

Also about Rumple: Hook “blackmailed” him to make him help them save Emma and get his own appendage back. NOT the same as full on pursuit of unfettered power. Plus guess what? Hook’s in SB kissing Emma and hanging with the heroes, Rumple’s banished and his wife hates him. Who was stupid again???

Emma has become OOC to be into Hook in the first place. This ship ruined her character. I am tired of people defending it as cute and romantic and how good he is for her just because the showrunners think so. Forty minutes and then some of them kissing was basically the Season 3 finale. To say they want to watch them “grow” together is a joke. They haven’t grown at all in the month or so they’ve actually known each other. The writers just make them DIFFERENT to fit a badly written romance. Just like all of the other ships on this show, It figures that while Rumbelle and OQ sink (not that I’m against the latter), CS has nothing but lame magical obstacles and nothing about Hook’s lies and the quasincest of their romance, so fans forget that he is a VILLAIN who has not redeemed himself just because a bigger villain victimized him. Milah and that fact that Hook is Henry’s step-grandpa (7 years of shagging is as good as marriage) will never be mentioned again, probably. Like adultery, OUAT thinks this Game of Thrones type stuff is okay for family shows. It’s not. It’s just gross.

All of which is your (erroneous) opinion. And as I noted elsewhere, Bagel’s dead (the guy she acted submissive around and fully OOC, because she regressed) and CS is endgame. Time to get over it.

I’d be OK if they had him sail away provided he turned up on Downton Abbey or some other show where he wore some better clothes.

It will be funny if Henry is Yen Sid or the Sorcerer. I wonder how Regina & Rumple will react to that.

Make sense. Really, Its Henry reincarnated. It could be that henry the author made the book on the flashbacks and was reborn.

That would explain why Henry had that book and never once questioned that it was real.

We didn’t want 40 minutes of kissing for Captain Swan, for heaven’s sake. We wanted them to TALK AND DEAL WITH THE EMOTIONAL REPERCUSSIONS OF THEIR MAJOR ARC AND HOOK ALMOST DYING! It wasn’t a “bit rushed.” It was shoved aside like yesterday’s news after 26 seconds of resolution. These writers are so amateur. No wonder the ratings are tanking.

And the book plot is stupid and I hate that everybody is getting sucked into Regina’s narcissistic, I-don’t-want-to-work-for-my-happy-ending-like-everybody-else quest. Emma has more sense than that, but they’ve got to service Regina and SQ fans, characterization be damned.

Agree. I dont also want 40 minutes of them (wouldnt mind lol) but i do appreciate QUALITY over QUANTITY! I feel like the impact wasnt there, that was need for the Emma and Hook scene at the end thats it.(I would like to see the essense of how it affected Emma when she realised that his heart was taken and so on) But i can only hope we see much of it in season 4B.

Totally agree it’s about quality not quantity. Five minutes of good storytelling would totally be better than 45 minutes of blah. That those in charge seem to feel the only thing they could add was more kissing is rather telling. Since last night’s show hit series low ratings, maybe they should look into some improvements beyond cheap gimmicks.

Thank you. That IS a very good point, how ridiculous it is that they think we only wanted more kissing. How about actually talking about what led to his nearly dying, perhaps Emma being upset that he almost broke his word about being a survivor? Some sort of emotion would have been nice. My faith in this show is going downhill faster with every episode.

Welcome to the world of all the other couples on this show. CS have gotten 60 hours of screentime this season compared to 20 minutes for Snowing and OQ and 5 minutes for Rumbelle.

The amount of exaggeration in this comment….. Regina’s romantic life is actually the one that has been given the most focus this season overall.

What major arc? This was right in line with “Hook and his cursed lips” and “Hook and his cursed hand”. A mini obstacle that was never meant to have any major repercussions for him. Because they’d otherwise have to address that Hook brought them on himself by keeping things from the others for selfish reasons and generally not being the dreamy Prince Killy some of his fans love to see in him. So it’s brushed aside and questions that should be asked about his not-so-heroic behavior and whether or not he’s really as changed as he claims to be are never even asked because they make Emma ignore them.

Hooks hand wasn’t cursed. That was Rumple messing with his head. Hooks problem was more psychological than anything, having the hand made him fall back into bad habits, having the hook reminded him of how he’s changed.

Quen – What show are you watching. This arc with Rumple showed who has changed and who hasn’t. pretty obvious.

Also this hand cursed deal was Rumple playing with him and then took advantage of it, self doubt, same as how Ingrid took advantage of Emma and her out of control magic.. self doubts played in.

Omg hook has more screentime than anyone else on the show. This is not hooks show! Well it shouldn’t be at least. grow up and let others breathe a little. This show used to be good before hook and cs drivel ugh I hate when writers sold out that cheap.

I COMPLETLY DISAGREE! CS is the only reason i still watch this show! there the best, if you hate it so much then stop watching and stop making comments.used to be a fan… really

People have stopped watching. Be careful what you wish for. There will be no one left to watch the show.

I know, I’ve been trying to stick with the show because I used to love it SO much, but now I don’t know how much longer I can watch. Hook really has taken over. He’s boring now, so incredibly boring and wimpy, and Emma is boring when she’s with him. She used to have fire, she used to be interesting, now she’s just there to push the plot along and kiss Killian over and over and over. How long can this relationship last? I’m ready for Hook to find his ship and set sail and let this show get back to the stuff that made it exciting in season 1. I just can’t in good conscience recommend OUAT to anyone now. It’s sad because I used to get people hooked on it all the time…but they’ve all stopped watching too, mostly because of the Hook/Emma teenage soap opera crap :( sigh…I miss you OUAT…please come back soon…

Since “people” have, why don’t you? BTW, while the ratings have dipped, it’s still one of ABC’s highest rated shows. It will get a least a fifth season and I’m sure you’ll still be around whining about how much you hate Hook (who can continue on the show as long as A&E want him there, with CS as endgame) and how annoyed you are that the show failed to follow your headcanon.

Zumple, you really have a death wish for the show. Keep encouraging people to stop watching the show and that 1.7 will be less than 1.0. Bob’s Burgers will beat OUAT. And you’ll lose your precious Hook.

Between the flashbacks & Storybrooke, I think RUMPLE had by far the most screentime this arc. Hook’s barely been in the last few eps, and the majority of his interaction was with Rumple. What show are you watching? (Cuz frankly I’d like to watch Hook’s show)

Well, why have a scene where you actually follow through on the stuff you set up for the other characters when you can watch Regina look sad again and again and blame someone else for being a mass-murdering narcissist?

Clarification: You wanted 40 minutes of Emma and Hook talking.

Some of us want no Emma and Hook scenes together. Some of us are disappointed that Rumple didn’t do the deed.

I would have shut the thing off if they went on for 40 minutes.

Since the show is apparently such a complete disappointment to you (and spoiler alert–it’ll continue to be) and has been for quite awhile, why don’t you just stop watching?

My dear, the show is no longer on my must see TV list. I’m not one of those people who gets captured in the overnight ratings. In fact, Matt does such a fine job with the recaps that I don’t have to catch it for several days.

Which should bother you if you care about the long term prospects for the show. I’m not the only one who has let it go. I’m hoping now that they have moved on from Frozen that the show can get its Mojo back. It’s going to be a Rumple season and he is my favorite character.

The reality is that this show is in its 4th season and it’s on the downside of its arc. They’ve played out the major story arcs and they have to keep repeating themselves. It’s getting kinda boring.

Yet you devote so much time to something so unimportant to you, my dear. Also if you no longer watch, then recap or no recap you’re even less qualified to critique it, no? Nice job contradicting yourself. BTW

And again, it’s comparatively cheap to produce, still one of ABC’s highest rated shows and presents a unique tie-in for their parent company. Just as you’ve been inevitably wrong about everything else (and then whine when the writers fail to follow your head canon), so you’ll be wrong about the show getting renewed.

Wasn’t one of the crows before the first meeting between Rumple and the Queens half white- half black??

Go back and check urself. She might be able to pull any pet :)

Yes, nice to see everyone rally around Regina because she sacrificed her (married) boyfriend, but Belle banishes the husband she’s loved for thirty-some years to save the life of the guy who’s tried to kill her four times, and no one can even bother to thank her or spare her a thought. Regina and Emma were yukking it up at the thought of Rumple’s misery, but what about Belle’s misery?

How about a “wait and see” type of approach? There was next to no aftermath at all to the emotional high points of this episode yet. I imagine we’re going to see more of that once the show returns. Belle was in all of the group shots featured in the promo as far as I remember so it’s hardly like they’re all ignoring her existence.

Im sure in the last 6 weeks – esp The Charmings, Emma and Hook must of kinda looked out for Belle and worked with her on releasing whatever Rumple did esp with the hat seeing as in the promo Regina has the dagger and the hat thing, so i assume they are releasing whoever was captured in there

Yep they are. But he’s arguably the most important person trapped inside, as he’ll know what to do with it.

Didn’t Belle command Rumple to undo everything prior to telling him to take them to the town line? Presumably that meant restoring the fairys and the apprentice. We didn’t see it happen presumably because the budget wouldn’t allow the actors to make a 30 second appearance to say “Yes we are back”

She didn’t banish Rumple for Hook. She banished him because he’s reverted back to his old ways and continues to wreak havoc on the town and hurt people despite lying her for so long about being a changed person. I think also the fact that her figuring out that the thing he loves most (based on that glove leading her to the dagger) was his power and not her played a role in the decision even though it was still a hard decision for her to make.

Do you really think that Belle would have banished him if she hadn’t caught him trying to murder someone? Every other time Rumbelle have broken up, Belle has just walked out–she didn’t banish him because he hurt her feelings, but because she was trying to keep Hook (and presumably others) safe. So yes, it would have been nice for them to thank her.

Why does every time they break up have to be the same or similar? This time around she was actually in control and able to keep people safe by making a tough decision. All those other times, walking away was all she really could do. She had no power. Her only power was leaving him. But now she was actually able to be heroic and take matters into her own hands. She used the dagger for good.

Also, once she told him to drop Hook’s heart and unfreeze Emma, she told Rumple to transport them to the town line immediately. There wasn’t a moment for them to thank her. And who says they haven’t thanked her during the 6 weeks before we see where Rumple ends up. They will most likely show present day Storybrooke when the show comes back and how Belle is coping with what she did to Rumple. They will probably show the people around her (I’m guessing primarily Snow) supporting her. They also mentioned characters from the past might be returning so we may see Red again and she was friends with her.

I think Belle’s reaction had absolutely NOTHING to do with Hook. If Rumple was standing there alone (no Hook, no heart, no Emma, completely and totally alone) I think Belle would’ve done the EXACT same thing. She was mad at him for how he betrayed HER. Everyone else was secondary.

Here’s the thing with Belle, she’s not really a vindictive character. Yes, Hook has tried to kill her in the past … she is deeply connected with his arch-enemy Rumple! I’m not excusing it nor do I think his apology to her last season was done in the right way, but Belle isn’t the type to let someone die over the PAST. We were also shown the flashback with Anna this season, I think, to show that she has personally grown (choosing helping others vs. helping herself). She deserved to know what Rumple was up to, and that power was/is more important to him than her. She didn’t want Rumple to kill anyone OR do anything with that hat. She did “the right thing”. She is a hero.

I definitely think the “wait and see” approach someone else mentioned is the way to go, because we don’t know what is happening with the show between 4a and 4b. And I might be mistaken, but no one really had a chance to say thank you to her? They poofed out of there and to the town line pretty quickly.

Glad to see we will see Robin Hood again. I would be very disappointed if he didn’t reunite with Regina!

It could be that he falls in love with Marian again. Marian has had so little screen time it’s hard to care about her but you have to have some reason to keep Regina and Robin apart. If not there is no story except to break them up. The Charmings, who are happy, really have had no story related their relationship in some time.

The finale was so poorly written that I can’t express it in words. The Hook/Emma plot that has been building up for multiple episodes got completely shafted and given a 30 second resolution. I can’t care at all about this Operation Stupid and the new villains are lacklustre. Also ‘they all went to get dinner and left her on the side of the road’ – yes they didn’t invite the mass murdering psycho, who has ruined their lives for 40 years and in that episode tried to kill them again, to dinner so therefore they are horrible. And now they must rally around Regina, who still doesn’t regret anything she’s done to them and is blaming everything she’s done on a book, and kiss her boots because she lost her dull boyfriend. If there’s any evidence for them writing Regina fanfiction, this interview is it.

Im in total confusion on Regina and this book drama. Like you do realise this book wrote you as a villain because you were one, and did those things… its not like the book lied or whatever lol. So yeah im in confusion with Regina and her mindset over this…

I think it’s fairly easy to understand. Regina has spent the last two seasons working her butt off to get better, make the right choices, help those around her. And yet even as she’s choosing the path of good she keeps getting screwed over again and again and apparently can’t be happy for more than 2 days at a time. So she’s wondering if some higher power insists on STILL painting her as a villain, still pushing her towards that path again because it doesn’t seem to matter what she does it always leads to everything that could make her happy being ripped away from her.

Lol. Thank you. Is it really that difficult to understand? Regina knows how bad she used to be but the whole point in the lame Marian triangle arc was to show that Regina is not making those same harmful choices. Yet, I still read ridiculous statements about Regina trying to cheat her way to a happy ending. Have people not been paying attention? Seriously? She has been doing the right things AND still getting unhappy endings shoved in her face. She is looking for answer as to why that is.

For crying out loud, CS fans have nothing to whine about. OQ has been rushed this whole stupid frozen arc, and separated, and my god, the Rumbelle fandom gets tortured in the writing. At least your couple gets to freaking stay together and there is no cursed wife on the sidelines, no adultery, nor one half of your pairing being turned into a lying power addict who is now apparently the big bad fir part 4b.

I found this finale very rushed mainly the Frozen goodbye and Emma/Hook impactness.

Belle confrontation with Rumple i liked, i think one has to appreciate this was long time coming and so well done by the actors, and dialogues that was said and choices they both made esp Belle.

My other fave scene was Hook and Emma scene at Grannys where Rumple is talking through his heart… Colin was so fantastic, he really did Rumple’s mannerisms, and Hook saying things and some words that Rumple used and so on. And Hook is not a dude who drinks his rum in a teacup lol. Also it was heartbreaking scene when you realise that its Rumple controlling Hook, and then Emma noticing something is up, i loved that Hook broke through Rumple controlling him and gripped Emma’s wrist to somehow for her to see he is not ok, something is up.

As i said i appreciate Quaility over quantity. i wish we got some of that in some areas in this episode esp for a finale!

Emma and Hook at grannys – Rumple controlling his heart and Emma noticed something is up.

vari those were the best scenes in the episode! it was funny with the whole teacup things and stuff like that. i hope they show more CAPTAIN swan scenes in future episodes. and i hope they talk about what happed ing the last 6 weeks.

I love what A&E said about Captain Swan. They had a good (actually GREAT) moment at the end last night, and while a lot of fans would’ve liked it to be longer & more involved, it’s an ensemble show with lots of stories to tell. Emma & Hook are TOGETHER and there will be more opportunities for them in 4B. They’ve come such a long way in the past year! I love the way their relationship is progressing and I can be patient waiting for more.

Agreed! What I am holding onto. Because as Adam says they are together as a couple and we have to watch them grow and so on… which is how relationship work :) and its how I want Emma/Hook’s relationship to work and should be.

I agree completely! I don’t care what people say about disliking Captain Hook and Emma Swan being together on the show. If you don’t like what you are watching on your tv, change the channel or turn it off. Hook is my favorite character!!!

You must be one of those foolish people who want to see the ratings continue to dive. Because it’s quite obvious that people have turned the channel.

I really hope this interview will end all the whining over Cruella. We haven’t even seen what exactly they plan on doing with her and so many people are already complaining and being annoying. Seriously, grow up please!

It’s gonna be a LONG two months. Can’t wait for it to come back and we can see more of Cruella!

I thought that the Frozen thing was a lame Disney infomercial. But Cruella romping around with magic and all of that… so very very bad. Seeing her standing there with the others was like watching Thor, Captain America and Bob. She has no place with those characters. If they wanted to use her, there were better ways of doing it. Now this looks like some cheap Disney straight-to-video movie, aimed at toddlers.

I can’t believe that I once thought this show had promise. It is embarrassing how bad it’s gotten.

i actully liked the frozen storyline and the show has gotten way better now Captain Swan is in it more! so stop complaining

Grr. Still upset about Robin and Regina. I’m getting real tired of Regina being the proverbial whipping boy. Season 4 Regina is so different and changed from Season 1 Regina. She’s grown so much and is so much more than the Evil Queen. I hope that they’re able to find Robin and bring him and Roland back. Regina reminds me a lot of Marilyn Monroe. All she wanted was to find that one love that would give everything she deserves. Regina is the same way. She had that with Robin and it kills me that she gets to be happy for thirty seconds and then the rug is ripped out from under her.

Can Eddy Kitsis give a consistent answer about Rumple’s character? In an interview with another publication (also published today), he said that Rumple’s actions in 4A weren’t motivated by “villainous reasons”, but by fear. In this interview, Rumple is “absolutely the Big Bad”. The fact that he can’t get his answer straight explains a lot to me about the inconsistency in this show’s writing of its characters.

I didn’t mean to imply that you made any error, Matt–it’s that Eddy’s answers on the same topic are inconsistent with one another. Why in one interview is Rumple’s behavior presented as complicated, while in another he’s “absolutely the Big Bad” with no mention of said complications/motivations? I have no interest in watching another half season of Rumple’s complex character being reduced to the cardboard villain that was written and shown onscreen in 4A. Don’t know if I’ll be back for 4B.

He’s not a cardboard villain. He loves power but he also loves Belle. That’s his internal struggle. He’s technically the Big Bad of 4B because he’s opposing the heroes who are Regina and the Charmings. But other than that he’s still the same Rumple he’s always been. Nothing inconsistent about his character.

Everything to do with Emma and Hook is rushed and forced.

which mary is this, coz we have two now lol, is this the one who bashes always here and there and everywhere lol.

This couple Emma/Hook are probably the ONLY couple in the show that is slow burned and rightly so and have been since season 2.

I love the slow burn. It makes me look forward to and appreciate every. single. moment.

Except they made it burn so slow that it felt like it came out of nowhere. Emma told Neal that she loved him and then believed that he died and just a few days later she gives Hook a kiss??? The actors BARELY have any chemistry. Regina had more chemistry with Hook in the first scene they were in together than Captain Swan has had in all their scenes together.

Neal and Emma never had chemistry together , the writers probably noticed this. Neal actor was really terrible in my opinion he seemed bored ,Emma loved Neal but he wasn’t really her true love , he screwed her over whilst he believed he was doing the right thing his choice is what permanently broke them apart forever . Emma in truth lived a very long time without him and l think she was ready to move on , Neal and Emma were not officially together when she told him she loved him so it was okay. I think Hook and Emma have more chemistry than Neal and Ema too , l noticed this way back in season 2.The rushed scene was fine , lm glad they did not drama it up with Emma getting insecure and leaving Hook again because she scared shes cursed , Emma is a different person now she not only embraced her magic but herself completely , it totally made sense and its what the writers had in mind.

Not did BagelSwan not have any chemistry, it was never meant to. It was a toxic relationship, from the past that was sorta teased as a possibility to create a stumbling block for CS. Because in everything, Neal was always a plot contrivance

I disagree. I think Colin O’Donoghue and Jennifer Morrison have some of the best chemistry on television, let alone on OUAT. It always baffles me when I read that some people think they have no chemistry. To me there are sparks every time they’re on screen together and it’s unfathomable that other people don’t see it that way.

Anna’s wedding dress was absolutely perfect, but the costumes for Ursula and Maleficent were BEYOND deficient! (I could barely look at Maleficient — all I could think was “What a cheap costume store costume!” — and Ursula’s wonderful character deserved SO much more!) Cruella’s costume was marginally better and I suspect that’s why she received a more positive reception from readers. The other two Queens of Darkness looked so tawdry as to be entirely unbelievable, and that does not bode at all well for Season 4B!

ITA Ursula looked like a hooker working Comicon, and Maleficent looked like she got the costume at Savers.

I think for finale episode – it felt kinda rushed on some parts.

I really think if Frozen goodbye was going to be that little why not just crammed it in the shattered sight episode?!

I really do wish we see some after effects of how Emma feels about nearly losing Hook. For now she is glad and happy he is alive but I would like to see some kind of impact it had on her. And also Hook and what led him to it in the first place which we knew was his insecurities and trying to be worthy for Emma. So yes I look forward to them even more in the second half of the season and their progression.

I wonder since we seeing Ariel back, will we see Blackbeard and The Jolly Roger ;)

Im still hoping we going to see Davy Jones and that too in connection to Killian Hook Jones ;)

Cruella seems sorely out of place with the other characters. Where does she come from in the context of the fairy tale land? Is there a place in it that resembles the real world where the dalmatians live or something? How could a place like that exist? wouldn’t it technically be a land without magic? or does she hail from the real world and got transported to the fairy tale land?

They said in this interview that they’ll answer these questions, basically.

SHOT! SHOT! SHOT! SHOT! DAMN IT HENRY!!!

Dammit I was looking forward to seeing those two getting bombed. Henry screwed that up royally.

What if they had to face one of the Queens completely smashed? Lol

Should’ve asked why they decided to alter Ursula’s look so much. Cruella and Maleficent look almost exactly like their animated Disney counterparts but Ursula doesn’t resemble hers AT ALL. I think part of the allure of bringing on these iconic characters is their outfits and appearance (obviously, which is why Anna and Elsa wore the exact same outfits – the same ones they wore in Frozen – for 11 episodes)! Big fail with Ursula.

CAPTAIN SWAN CS is the best please show more

Rumple certainly went from being scared to confident during the six week time jump. I wonder if he is staying in Bae’s apartment in NYC, which was still available a year after after Bae went to StorybrooKe, Unlike Robin Hood , Rumple didn’t take money with him. Maybe he ran into Robin at the diner down the road from Storybrooke and loaned Rumple some money. Robin always slept outside,even in Storybrooke, so it’s not like he needs the money for an apartment.

Is Will Scarlett going to get a story in 4B? Since coming back from Wonderland he really has not done anything and we know nothing about why he came back.

Maybe they got the message that the fans want to see the regular characters.

I’m done. Same boring ‘cliffhanger’ every season. Who cares if Robin comes back, the writers will just break up Robin and Regina at the end of the season.. again. How pathetic.

Glad that Ariel’s coming back and hoping that Aurora’s not far behind. I imagine Dr. Hopper will keep “Pongo” on a short leash if Cruella shows up in Storybrooke. As much as I enjoy Emma and Regina’s developing friendship, it’s the Mary Margaret & Regina relationship that is the crux of the show for me.

I don’t like Emma in any relationship, but I totally agree with you about Snow and Regina. They have been awesome this season. They have made a weak first half of the season better.

Thanks for asking my question! I don’t think Rumple’s ever been The Big Bad, opposed to Regina, so this will be interesting to see.

Did anyone else think about the blind item regarding a leading lady being pregnant in the start of 2015 when both Emma and Regina didn’t get to take their shots because Henry interrupted? Maybe I’m reading too much into that one…

I was watching Regina drinking, I guess coffee or tea. I thought maybe the reason she didn’t get to take the drink was because she was pregnant. It’s not Emma because it has already been confirmed that she and Hook have not been intimate yet.

That blind item was spoiled. It’s another show entirely on a different network. Not spoiling it here, but it’s not Once!

I can’t wait to see when the Queen of the Darkness subplot started next year. I got a feeling that there is more to the Rumplestilskin/Queen of Darkness’s past. I hope that Ariel will return next year.

Great news, they confirmed Ariel’s return! It’s in the headline.

My first instinct is that Cruella comes from the black and white universe that Frankenstein came from. Maybe she’s the bride of.. and then eventually learned magic and hopped between worlds.

Also I’m fairly sure the Author is either Merlin (they did name drop Camelot with the gauntlet) or in some time travelish twist it’s going to be Regina herself.

I like the way you think. Your Cruella/Frankenstein hypothesis is would be pretty brilliant if it were true. Unfortunately I don’t foresee them going in that direction.

We never wanted 40 minutes of Hook and Emma kissing. We wanted some sort of emotional resolution considering how much time they spent the entire season building up to it. That doesn’t include kissing, and tbh, I could have done without a kiss if we had seen some sort of reaction out of Emma when Killian almost DIED. (11 episodes of buildup resolved by “I told you I’m a survivor”, um no that’s not how you resolve a story). I want to know how it makes sense for a woman who was so terrified of losing him, once she almost does, she leaves him to go have drinks with Regina. Makes perfect sense. I know they’re not going to ever bring up the heart thing again, and if they do, it’ll most likely be in passing (1 sentence and forever resolved). I’ve given up hope that this show is ever going to do any storyline justice that doesn’t involve Regina. The narrative wants me to feel sorry for her and forget all her horrible mistakes that she’s made which she’s still not sorry for (“operation mongoose” is proof enough) and that alone makes me dislike her even more. I’ve never really been glad for a hiatus, but this one is much needed so I can calm down before it comes back.

I don’t get why everyone is complaining about Regina when Rumple has killed probably more people and has been responsible for many deaths. At least Regina is trying to change while Rumple has “evolved”. And yet no one says stuff about him. The reason Captain Swan doesn’t get more resolution is because they never have and they never will. Captain Swan shippers have just built the hype up in their heads and get disappointed when they don’t get their mental fanfic on screen. You’re lucky they even got together in the first place considering all the inconsistencies in their relationship, mostly with regards to Emma and her always-changing emotions. One week she loves Neal and the next week she’s kissing Hook and when Neal comes back she acts as if she doesn’t care about him…

It’s true, Emma didn’t care about Bagel—because she didn’t want him anymore. And BTW, he’s dead and staying dead. If CS is our fanfic, then it’s A&E’s fanfic, as well. But please, I’m sure you convinced yourself CS would never happen at all and Hook was gonna die, not Bagel, amirite? Since they’re obviously endgame, I’ll be sure to come back and laugh at you when they are.

BagelSwan was a decade old booty call with a loser, CS is happening (per the creators, above) and will be “taking things to the next level” (again, per A&E) this season. But go ahead, insist Emma’s gonna be with the guy who died almost a year ago, after doing little more than standing in the background.

The one living in the headcanon is yourself. But nice projection (as you continue to leave half the plot out to make it fit)

Leaving aside all of the nonsense about Emma’s relationships…actually, Regina has the highest body count on the show. She murdered an ENTIRE village–men, women, and children–because they wouldn’t give up her innocent stepdaughter, who also happened to be their rightful queen. Even Rumple had to tell her “you did just slaughter an entire village. Maybe that’s why they call you the Evil Queen.” And who knows how many children’s bones were in the blind witch’s house that Regina knowingly sent to slaughter. At least Rumple usually had some kind of reason for killing (not that that makes it okay); Regina is just a sadist. I don’t like Rumple as a person, but I do like him on the show as a villain. Regina is just bringing down the entire show; all of the other characters have had to be dumbed down and given apparent amnesia in an attempt to make her look better. And let’s not forget–we know for certain that she literally regrets NOTHING.

How about a kingdom hearts side story ;) thatll be awesome

I want more Sheriff Graham flashbacks. Or better yet, bring him back to life. I don’t care how you do it, just make it happen please!

Since Jamie Dornan is rather busy, I don’t think that’ll happen–but they could at least give him some freaking justice instead of glorifying the woman who used him as a sex slave for 30+ years and then murdered him…

I feel like in order to enjoy this season, you had to not have watched the first two (and a half, perhaps). Regina is the character that we’ve seen do the WORST things and commit the most heinous crimes. The idea that everyone should “rally around her” makes me sick. Some people are beyond redemption, and tyrannical, child-abusing, mass-murdering, torture-prone rapists fall into that category. I used to love this show so much, but at this point it is entirely unrecognizable compared to the first two seasons.

I think Cruella IS Pongo and has been there the whole time.

I want the badstory of snow and the prince taking back the kingdom from his father the evil Charles Widmore played by Alan Dale they never finish that story .

The lot of you have too much free time to spare, haha. Counting the minutes of screentime a couple got?

It’s actually rather sad for me that Adam and Eddy don’t realize that as a Captain Swan fan, I didn’t want them to be kissing for 40 minutes. I wanted them to TALK. About why Killian wanted his hand back, how he got himself into this deal with Gold, why he felt that he’d failed her (remember the message he left on her answering machine?) – all i wanted was for Emma to ask one or two questions. Show that she cares about every part of him, just like he cares about her. I would have taken a short talk over any kiss – and I absolutely love their kisses.

So sad that Adam and Eddy don’t get that…This is just an example of a storyline that didn’t get the satisfying resolution it really needed.

No Rumbelle spoilers!!!! I am on the edge of stoping to watch this show because of what happen to Rumbelle and still no spoilers!!!!

so Ursula is working at an aquarium in the real world so does that mean they will find Cruella at PetSmart?

They should bring back Ruby/Red Riding Hood.

These guys are so cool, I totally love them and what they have done with their show. I thought the Hook-Emma-Reunion totally fine and see what they mean. Can’t wait for more of Cruella.

The ONE thing that did bug me was Rumple’s transition back to the darker side of his dark side.

He had so much developement in a better direction – a year ago he sacrificed himself to his creep-dad and certainly did NOT pick power over everyone else. I get that horrible stuff happened and that put a spin on him… but when since him crying over Neal’s grave, being all regrettful and wanting to switch the fake dagger for the real one did Gold decide to re-jump the evil-train…

Maybe Mr. M. W. Mittovich could ask them next time?

Greeting from Germany, LOVE!!! your site

I wonder whether the Camelot references were any indication of what’s coming…

Ooohh – like where you are going with that.

I think 4B could be really interesting with Team evil vs Operation Mongoose. Re: Cruella. I think she is going to be played fabulously and I am interested to learn more about her.

Maybe the point of all the empty books and who the “author” is could be they all have free will after all and write their own stories.

The resolution to Hook and Emma’s storyline this season was rather ridiculous, and didn’t make sense, no matter how much you like them or not. Emma barely reacted to him nearly dying. Considering how she lost Graham, that should have been a concern. What did you think of the Hook/Emma resolution, Matt?

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