Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4519633-20141022032431/@comment-31828520-20170425003607

I think this question is impossible to answer since the writers of the show seem to change just how powerful the characters are to suit their needs. Regina is a perfect example. As the show goes on she clearly gets weaker. When she was the Evil Queen they made it seem like other than Rumple, no one could even touch her abilities (I mean she defeated Maleficent without even breaking a sweat). Then when she started to reform they made her weaker as they introduced new villains. But then they reintroduced the Evil Queen this season and for a few episodes we started to see more of what Regina's magic was capable of but now that the Evil Queen is gone we're back to Regina being weak again. Zelena was clearly stronger than Regina when she had the pendant but then it was Regina, not Emma, who fulfilled the prophecy and defeated Zelena with the "strongest light magic." In the most recent one-on-one fight between Zelena and Regina (Evil Queen), the Evil Queen won. Yet for the plot to work in this latest episode the writers had the Black Fairy "confirm" that Zelena is more powerful even though what Regina said is true (having to rip her heart out to save her from the Evil Queen.)  Another example is at first Reigina wasn't poweful enough to use the apprentice's wand but then all of a sudden we find out it had nothing to do with her power but instead her confidence (again, the writers do what they want for the plot to work.) For the past 2-3 seasons it seems like Regina has been relegated to shooting fireballs instead of using her vast arsenal of skills that we know she has. And I don't think Regina's light magic was a fluke. Didn't the creators of the show say not too long ago in a Hot Seat interview or whatever when asked why we haven't seen her light magic manifest itself lately they basically said that her magic now is a mix between both light and dark? She used light magic twice (kissing Henry and defeating Zelena) so I don't think it's a fluke. She's clearly capable of using light magic, she just hasn't had to recently since Emma's magic has grown over the last two seasons.