Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4962906-20151021085039/@comment-24674051-20151021141513

Well, Using magic in the open may still not be advisable. And Regina had better keep a close (and I mean CLOSE) eye on the Dagger.

And, as far as I'm aware, the prophecy stated that only the saviore can free Merlin. However, given that Merlin always speaks in part truths, he could very easily have meant that only the Saviour that has controlled the Dark One can free Merlin. And honestly, would you listen to any prophecy that states that the Dark One is the only one that can free Merlin? Given the choice of dealing with the Dark One or letting Merlin Rot in the tree, guess where I choose? (Sorry, Merlin)

As for "wiggling her nose" (I love the call out to Bewitched there), I don't think it's as simple as that. And I have a feeling that we'll find out in DreamCatcher that Emma is the one to Free Merlin, but in order to do so she needs something more than she already has (probably the hilt and shards of Excalibur).

Also, as we saw with Rumple (particularly last season), the cost for using DO magic is slow to build, and limited, wise use of the magic should not incur too great a debt. As an aside, I think that's why Rumple continually sought different magical objects, so that he could get by without relying solely on DO Magic.