Board Thread:Spoilers!/@comment-25551215-20160315233708/@comment-24674051-20160519165301

Other than the handful killed by David, Regina's black knights were brought to Storybrooke (at least some of them were). I say that because she had a regiment with her when she came to the castle to try and prevent the savior from escaping. Any that were not killed would have been caught in the curse. They would have had 0 chance of avoiding it. and David did not kill all of them.

And just because we see the knights killed (by any number of people) does not mean that they had their hearts. you could still die without your heart. It also does not mean they were heartless. we simply don't know. What we do know is that we have seen at least one black knight whose heart was controlled by Regina. and I would contend that The Huntsman was also one of Regina's fighting men whose heart she controlled. She might not have the hearts of ALL her men, but I would wager that she at least controls the hearts of the men that are allowed to be close to her as a means of avoiding a treacherous attack.

As for not seeing any sign of them, well, there are lots of things that we have not seen any sign of in the show. We didn't see Bo Peep until Season 4. But she was there (and I presume since the very first curse). Storybrooke is larger than what we see.

Not showing some of the black knights in Storybrooke is a relatively minor plot hole, and could make for an interesting story in season 6 should the EQ decide to regain control of her army. (Not that the knights would stand a chance against Regina, Emma, David, Snow, and Killian, plus Mal and Lily if they choose to side with the Heros).