For the first half of this season, we were told to fear the Snow Queen (Elizabeth Mitchell), whose intentions were never quite clear and not that evil, and now we are told that the big villains of the second half — Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, and Ursula — pose some danger to our heroes. In both cases, the characters are not that threatening, and worse, not interesting. Let's face it: this show has faced down all the villains. Even the original Big Bad, Regina, is now kind of a sweet mom looking for her happy ending, and the other original, Rumplestiltskin, is trying to convince us he's evil again after a few seasons of being a semiharmless grandpa. All the latest villain turns have been uninspired, so it's time to at least let go of the idea that we need someone to shake things up.
