OUAT: Why Regina Should Have Died

Not the best character death.

      Took me a while but finally decided to blog about my feelings on the death of Robin Hood from OUAT. I've been saying it a while that Regina should have died but not because I don't like her. I LOVE Regina which is why I think her death would have had a greater impact on the audience. 

I know what you're thinking:
"It should have been me!"
Believe me I think so too...

       Sean Maguire himself was surprised and a bit miffed that his character was killed off. Robin was a minor character but then was bumped up to the main cast HOWEVER, I felt like Robin Hood's storyline was often shoved in the background in favor of the other main characters still making him a minor character. I know it's hard to shift focus from main characters when you have so many characters, especially ones that have potential to make the story more intriguing and intricate but the writers could have done better with their execution on Robin's story line. So far I only saw him as Regina's boyfriend and not much else. As a result I wasn't as emotionally invested in his character, which made his death feel like a real cheat. So here are reasons why Regina's death would have been much more effective:

Her soul mates die like flies...

   1. Regina is the underdog. She's been through a lot. She started out as a villain but through love of her adopted son, Henry, Regina became a huge part of the Charming Family. She became Emma's best friend when they started out as enemies. That's a huge accomplishment however Regina still felt like a villain; that she was cursed to never be happy. Sacrificing herself would have convinced her that she truly was a hero. Losing Robin only enforces her cynical belief and for me as a viewer, again, it felt like a huge rip off to take away her second soulmate. It's not that I believe a woman needs a man to make her happy. A soul mate can be a best friend or even a child. Both Regina and Emma broke the curse through their true love for their son. Regina is also the type of person who will go all the way for those she loves. She plotted revenge relentlessly against Snow White because she blamed her for her first love's death then followed the Charmings to Neverland to get Henry back. Regina would have jumped in front of that lightning bolt to shield Robin and her niece earning herself a hero's death.

As much as I love sister bonding this shouldn't have happened

     2. Seeing her dead sister at the hands of her boyfriend, Zelena would have still turned on Hades. Zelena and Regina bonded in hell and their mother gave them back memories from their lost childhood of when they were happy together to seal that bond. As a result, Zelena would have named her daughter in honor of her fallen sister to make up for all the pain she caused her in life. The baby started out as a real wedge between them and Zelena naming her after her sister would have been poetic (like some small victory on Regina's part) and have more impact. 

Didn't think you and Robin were so close...
-rolls eyes-

    3. Emma staying at Robin's grave alone made absolutely NO SENSE. Emma wasn't really that close to Robin Hood. Sure they were friends but not so close as to warrant Emma to stick around while everyone else (including Regina) walked away. If it had been Regina in that grave THEN it would have made sense. It would have worked better because Emma and Regina bonded fiercely to the point where Regina would refer to Henry as "our son" instead of just "my son" like before when she saw Emma as a rival. Emma entrusted Regina with her dagger when she became the Dark One because she knew she could trust her to make the right call. Regina's death would have had a big effect on not only Emma but Henry as well. Henry would still see magic as a threat and  try to destroy it so that story line would have remained in tact leading to Storybrooke turning steam punk.

Maybe next time...

        Everything still would have played out the way it did in the season finale if Regina died. The point of killing off characters isn't just to move the story along it's so we see how much it effects the remaining characters. More tears would have been shed by the audience if a real main character was killed off. Sean Maguire is a good actor and killing him off felt like a huge waste of his talent. I hope the writers think more strategically when they think of killing off another character, minor or otherwise.