Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26391241-20150511234157/@comment-24674051-20150513150315

Eskaver wrote: Now that we know the Dark One's heart can be removed...can you crush it? Can you control it? We saw Rumple remove his own heart, and the Apprentice (who I would wager is on par with the DO in terms of power) remove his heart, but only after he was passed out and almost dead. I'm not sure if anyone else could remove it while the DO was alert and functional.

As for crushing, I doubt it. I would wager that there is some magical protection against crushing and controlling. Besides, why go for the heart when you can get the Dagger, which does control the Dark One (but only when it is tethered to a human soul)?