Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4519633-20141022032431/@comment-27213286-20160507201947

Regina needing a book to reboot her powers does not mean she is weak, she was just out of practice. For 28 years Zelena and Cora were frozen so to them it was like no time passed. For Regina she lived and remembered 28 years of not using magic. The only other magical user in Storybrooke during the entire time it was frozen in time would be Rumple and he had 200+ years experience under his belt so it makes since he would be able to use magic again easier than someone with only like 10 years of practicing magic or whatever the time difference is between Regina learning magic from Rumple and her casting the curse.