Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20151130020049/@comment-1894786-20151201011714

8Rob wrote: But that template is necessary to enact it, isn't it?

I mean, when Pan enacted the Dark Curse, he just re-used the same one Regina used, so I think that was ok.

But here, they just "created" the Dark Curse out of nowhere The Dark Curse has very specific ingredients. Regina collected them in "The Thing You Love Most", Pan collected them in Henry's body in "The New Neverland" and Regina presumably had backups of everything (except the hair of those with dark souls) in her Palace.

Meanwhile, there's no way in hell (LOL) Merlin would have any ingredients for such a dark spell in his cauldron when he practices only light magic. He was doing a communication spell.

Hook poured Merlin's heart ashes in and that was it. No ingredients, no anything. Just the desire to cast the Dark Curse and the sacrifice of a heart.