I wasn't much of a fan of the final season of OUAT, unlike the earlier 6 seasons. There are a few reasons why.
Although I know that this was due to actor availability/actors not returning, I did miss Emma, Belle, Snow, Charming, CaptainSwan and Snowing. Several of my favourite characters and couples were almost entirely missing from the final season. I'd think that even fans who dislike those characters would be able to feel the resulting imbalance after following their stories for so many years. I also wasn't keen on how they tried to rewrite the earlier seasons in claiming that it'd been Henry who'd been the main character.
Another reason I dislike the final season is the way they reused several fairy tales. I understand that this was meant to reflect how the stories have several different versions globally, but I think they did this too much - reusing Cinderella, Rapunzel, Hansel & Gretel and even Jack And The Beanstalk/Jack The Giant-Killer in Hansel's alias. The only new stories used were The Princess & The Frog, and Alice In Wonderland if you discount earlier Wonderland references. It felt unoriginal and to me it just seemed like the writers had ran out of ideas for unused stories. I disliked how they combined the Cinderella and Rapunzel stories too. I know they'd mixed stories successfully in previous seasons, but this time I don't think that it worked.
I also felt that the overall story in the season 7 flashbacks was disjointed and incomplete. I couldn't follow it. They skipped from Henry and Ella's meeting to them married with a child, and left out the entire story of the war or rebellion. I couldn't really understand Tiana's story, whereas previously I'd been able to follow the stories based on other Disney films I haven't seen, like Brave and Frozen. I also felt that they took too long to explain that the Curse had brought the characters back in time. Several episodes before, I'd already started asking why the other characters weren't searching for them or at least trying to contact them, and calling this a plot hole.
The final reason I dislike season 7 is that I don't think that Henry/Cinderella had enough chemistry to be the main pairing of the season. I was finding myself caring about their reunion because I felt I should, rather than actually liking them as a couple. I also wish that we'd been given the closure of at least seeing Henry and Violet breaking up or saying goodbye, rather than skipping forwards a few years and immediately introducing a new character as his true love.
However, there are some aspects of season 7 that I did like. I liked Alice/Robin, Alice and Wishverse Hook's relationship and Hook's partnership with Rumplestilskin. I liked how they ended Rumplestilskin's story. I also liked the idea of going full circle in theory by having Henry's unknown child turning up at his doorstep and asking him to come break a Curse.
Although I know that this was due to actor availability/actors not returning, I did miss Emma, Belle, Snow, Charming, CaptainSwan and Snowing. Several of my favourite characters and couples were almost entirely missing from the final season. I'd think that even fans who dislike those characters would be able to feel the resulting imbalance after following their stories for so many years. I also wasn't keen on how they tried to rewrite the earlier seasons in claiming that it'd been Henry who'd been the main character.
Another reason I dislike the final season is the way they reused several fairy tales. I understand that this was meant to reflect how the stories have several different versions globally, but I think they did this too much - reusing Cinderella, Rapunzel, Hansel & Gretel and even Jack And The Beanstalk/Jack The Giant-Killer in Hansel's alias. The only new stories used were The Princess & The Frog, and Alice In Wonderland if you discount earlier Wonderland references. It felt unoriginal and to me it just seemed like the writers had ran out of ideas for unused stories. I disliked how they combined the Cinderella and Rapunzel stories too. I know they'd mixed stories successfully in previous seasons, but this time I don't think that it worked.
I also felt that the overall story in the season 7 flashbacks was disjointed and incomplete. I couldn't follow it. They skipped from Henry and Ella's meeting to them married with a child, and left out the entire story of the war or rebellion. I couldn't really understand Tiana's story, whereas previously I'd been able to follow the stories based on other Disney films I haven't seen, like Brave and Frozen. I also felt that they took too long to explain that the Curse had brought the characters back in time. Several episodes before, I'd already started asking why the other characters weren't searching for them or at least trying to contact them, and calling this a plot hole.
The final reason I dislike season 7 is that I don't think that Henry/Cinderella had enough chemistry to be the main pairing of the season. I was finding myself caring about their reunion because I felt I should, rather than actually liking them as a couple. I also wish that we'd been given the closure of at least seeing Henry and Violet breaking up or saying goodbye, rather than skipping forwards a few years and immediately introducing a new character as his true love.
However, there are some aspects of season 7 that I did like. I liked Alice/Robin, Alice and Wishverse Hook's relationship and Hook's partnership with Rumplestilskin. I liked how they ended Rumplestilskin's story. I also liked the idea of going full circle in theory by having Henry's unknown child turning up at his doorstep and asking him to come break a Curse.
