Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-6302057-20171216220411/@comment-31937823-20171216222717

Considering if it was the old Dark Curse it would cause a lot of plot holes, I agree with this theory. Or else the whole heart-splitting in 3B was pointless, and how would Regina not have known of that since she was the one who had possessed it for so long? It only makes sense this is a different curse.

Also hope that this one has the time travel element that other people were theorizing about. The theory is that this curse sent them back in time a few years so they can’t return to Storybrooke as it would cause a time paradox. I want this to be true, even if they haven’t confirmed it, because it would make more sense why The Charming aren’t coming for them. It also explains how they are in 2017, where Henry is supposed to be 16.

Or maybe each of the witches possesses a different type of magic (time, memory, etc) and the power of them coupled with Regina’s makes it powerful enough to break the barriers of previous curses.