YMMV / Once Upon a Time S4 E19"Lily"

• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot/Intended Audience Reaction: What could have been a several-episodes-spanning plot of the 'helpless' Marian being defamed by a 'jealous' Regina trying to discredit (or kill) her to get Robin back is cut short when Zelena decides to expose herself instead and use the pregnancy to trap him. Whether Zelena knew she couldn't keep Robin in the dark indefinitely, that Regina or Emma would eventually be able to expose her, or she just liked twisting the knife in both him and Regina, one of these tropes likely applies. Which one depends on whether a) you love Manipulative Bitch Zelena being back and think her an awesome villain, or you hate her as a Villain Sue and want her gone; and b) you think the second half of the season has been dragged on and padded out long enough with too many characters and plotlines, so dispensing with this (or the Love Triangle in particular) is good, especially this close to the end...or that if less focus had been given to flashbacks, side characters, and other issues there would have been more time for such a plot—one which would have served as a great distraction to keep Emma and Regina from doing anything to stop Gold and the Author.
  • Of course, such a plot would require, at the very least, Robin to be holding a huge Idiot Ball so getting it out of the way is probably for the best.
  • One also has to wonder if, In-Universe, Zelena herself realized how lame or impossible such a plot would have been, and so dispensed with it to try something much more direct (and, as stated above, mean).