Board Thread:Spoilers!/@comment-4877635-20150304180627/@comment-25926288-20150305145708

Hmcooper4 wrote: Before we go too far down the "Cora is Dead" route. a couple of things.

While I agree that Cora 'died' when Mary Margaret cast the spell and Regina shoved her heart back in, that was a magical death. And as we all know, magical deaths can be undone. Rumple Died, but is back. Apparently Zelena "died" (Ok, this one may be fake), and is back. Mother Superior died, and is back.

The only deaths that I have seen that actually stick (at least so far) are either Natural deaths (That includes being squished by a boot after being turned into a snail), or deaths where the victim's heart is crushed. And they even found a way around that last one with Snowing.

Basically, Graham is dead, because we don't know who his "true love" might be (Emma?), and we don't know if his True Love would willingly split their heart. Same for Henry (Regina's Dad), Milah, and Tamara. Daniel was an unusual case, since he wasn't fully alive, but not fully dead, after having the heart transplant. Just about every other death quite likely has some way of reversing it.

I guess we'll know for sure when we see Gold, Cruella, and Ursula ressurect Mal in the next episode. Cora is dead, we saw her soul/ghost/spirit from the very blue afterlife. Her body is likely decayed (after a year and some months). I go for this:

Magical death can be reversed in some way as long as the body isn't in a rampant state of decay.

Most of the magical deaths reversed were super-magic beings, the dark one and blue fairy. Zelena had her horocrux. David was only out for at most a minute. Daniel was brought back temporarily being in a preservation spell and an enchanted heart. The others are beyond the hope of resurrection, which is why Greg/Owen is dead.