Board Thread:Wiki-Related Discussion/@comment-1916997-20171222202521/@comment-6302057-20180122124851

Pulling from on-screen sources, the following comes from the opening scene of 3x11:

Emma: Gold, this curse, is it gonna work like the last one? Gold: The last one was created to service the Queen's wishes, this [curse] will be done per Pan's desire. I would count on something hellish. ... Pan: What she did is child's play compared to what I have in mind.

As we know, the First Curse fulfilled Regina's desires by taking away Snow and Charming's (and everyone else's) happy endings; the Second Curse fulfilled Snow's desire to get back to LWM to find Emma and stop Zelena; the Third Curse fulfilled Hook's desire to return to SB for revenge on Rumple; the Fourth Curse fulfilled Fiona's desires to separate Emma from her family to crush her savior belief.

The curse's effects are focused on the desires of a central figure, as stated by Gold himself. We know that the S7 curse placed Tremaine in a false sense of being in control and the one behind the curse only to have her come crashing down in the latest few episodes. Who do we know that wanted this to happen: Drizella. Her desires were to make her mother suffer, and place her in a hollow position of power. Hyperion Heights is centred around Drizella's desires. Throughout S7 the curse is also regularly credited to Drizella by the characters.

Regina was simply blackmailed into providing the final ingredient, her blood. Arguably, it was Drizella and the Coven who "cast" the curse by focusing their magic to give the curse physical form, Regina and the others just watched. The term "cast" has become unclear in this specific instance, much like the term "realm" has been used in multiple contexts throughout the series. This is not Regina's curse, she is a victim as much as Tremaine is. This curse fulfulled Drizella's desires.