Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25536775-20170510235618/@comment-25536775-20170511022316

Eskaver wrote: I would say that it's due to the fundamental question "How does the curse work?"

This "Dark Curse" is just black fairy dust (aka a bunch of generic dark magic). The one of Fiona's past was a bunch of stuff and wolfsbane. The one Hook cast had a voicemail spell and a heart. Regina and others had the fundamental ingredients (dark souls' hair, etc) and a heart. The way I interpreted it is that certain ingredients control certain aspects of the curse. Regina's curse is the most complex we've seen cast, and it was also the one with the most ingredients. Perhaps that's why it's the only curse that gave the caster total control over everyone.

The Heart is the "realm travel" aspect of the curse. A dreamcatcher or memory potion can do the job of memory removal. We know as of 6x20 that there are individual ingredients responsible for time-stopping.