Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25315804-20171213050707

I'm interested in learning who actually runs Hyperion Heights. I feel like even though Drizella cast the curse, and her mother is an urban developer, their power in the town in limited. At least when Regina/Roni cast the original curse, she was given the most power as Storybrooke's mayor.

By this logic, I feel like we're lead to believe that Drizella and Rapunzel Tremaine are actually in charge of the town since Drizella cast the Curse, and her mother has some influence over the neighborhood's police force. The fundamental difference between Storybrooke and Hyperion Heights though is that Storybrooke was it's own town, but Hyperion Heights is just a neighborhood in Seattle. This means that as far as we know, Seattle could be run by an ordinary mayor that has no connection whatsoever to the characters.

This has led me to question how the Dark Curse actually works. It was never actually explained how much control the caster has over the curse's effects. We know that Regina/Roni's ultimate goal in casting the curse was to destroy Snow and Charming's happiness (which she succeeded in doing before Emma came along). We also know that she was made mayor, but was that because she set it up that way, or was that just how the Curse made things turn out? It also has me questiono

Why was it different this time? Why was a neigborhood created this time, instead of a fully independent town? Does it have to do with Drizella removing the True Loves Kiss curse breaker?

I feel like Drizella was given the short end of the stick despite being the one to cast the Curse this time. Sure, her mother is an urban developer and can force people out of the neighborhood if they wish, but that doesn't mean the people are banned permanently. There's no magical town line to cross, so people can come and go from Hyperion Heights if they please. I feel like if Drizella or Rapunzel were actually given the ability to make laws for the town, they would have had a stronger grip on how they wanted things to go.

Plus, Drizella's intentions in casting the curse were to be free of her mother and to also make her mother's life hell. She got neither of those as instead of being released from her mother's grasp in Hyperion Heights, she's her secretary. She also seems to have only put a small dent in ruining her mother's life by releasing Gothel. Most of Rapunzel's problems instead seem to stem from Henry and Jacinda. 