I get what the writers were doing in terms of showing that she'd finally been accepted by everyone, and since a romantic happy ending wasn't possible any longer maybe they felt that they had to do something different or additional for her.

But she wasn't the rightful queen or heir - that was Snow. Emma, all 3 versions of Henry, even Lucy and Neal and Hope would be before Regina in any succession. She only became Queen in the first place by having her husband assassinated, trying to have her step-daughter killed and then framing Snow for treason. Maybe such actions shouldn't be rewarded?

I'm also not certain if Regina would actually want to be Queen. That was more Cora's dream than hers. Regina as Evil Queen was more clinging to the power because that's all she had left, and because she thought she needed it for her revenge. And again, I'm wondering if Cora's memory should be rewarded with what she always wanted, given what she did in the name of earning that.

Finally, what has happened to the royal families of the other kingdoms surrounding the Enchanted Forest? Did King George have any extended family to succeed him, or was Charming still his heir? Was the family Cinderella married into their own kingdom, or were they princes in terms of being distantly related to royalty? What about Agrabah?

I am suddenly very happy with my decision to give up on OUAT before it got here. I knew they'd drag her through some ridiculously cheesy redemption arc. I want my Evil Queen EVIL, dammit! =P

Anyway, based on my memories of her in the early seasons, I agree with everything you've said. *shakes fist at writers!*

^When did you give up on the series?

I think her redemption was almost inevitable. It was apparently one of the formative ideas of the show - "what if the Evil Queen got her happy ending?" which the writers interpreted as being accepted by all the other fairy-tale characters. I also think it was needed in a way, with her being Henry's adoptive mother. The only way she could stay evil/unredeemed without that affecting him is if they went in the entirely opposite direction, and made her so evil that he'd barely care even if she died.

I wanna say early S3? But I wouldn't swear to it.

I'd have made Regina go Full Sauron. Much more fun. XD

^I guess that fits with your username :D

On one hand it kind of brings her arc full circle, on the other hand she said she never wanted to be queen and only wanted true love. She got the exact opposite which makes it feel more bittersweet than happy imo.

^Agreed. I suspect they might not have done so if they hadn't already killed off Robin, after identifying him as her true love so introducing a third love interest later would be a little incredible.