Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-25375217-20170529212214/@comment-25375217-20170529235137

Eskaver wrote:

Technically, Maleficent was kept alive due to a spell Regina placed on her. And I can't see the Dark Curse breaking if Fiona really didn't die. I don't remember the exact quote related to the preservation spell, but don't forget that we were also told that Rumple made the Dark Curse even though most recent canon is that he just modified it somewhat, so even if it was claimed that the spell was in addition to the Dark Curse, that could be changed now. And even if it is just a spell, not Dark Curse-related, don't you think that a spell that can be cast by Regina (who is relatively low on the mastery-of-dark-magic scale when compared to the likes of Rumple, Zelena, Cora, and Fiona) could also be cast by the so-called mistress of dark magic? That could also explain why she's supposedly so hard to defeat if it's something everyone already knew about and they don't really even believe Fiona was defeated (which was never explicitly stated as far as I can remember, so that's a reasonable possibility).

Regardless of the reason the Dark Curse was broken, it's inaccurate--we already know from Season 3 that the death of its caster won't stop it. The rules were obviously different this time around, so if they've already made that the case, why not throw in another variable?