@Phee wrote:
It would make sense to me if he wasn’t the Dark One any more. It explains away the kissing not having an effect, (you know that’s not the only time they’ve kissed in SB…there was that scene where Belle woke up and noticed he wasn’t in bed beside her, so there’s been kissing), because if he’s not cursed, then there’s nothing for the kiss to fix. But that dang Broken scene just doesn’t jive with that! GAH! *headdesk*
Could the dagger still have held a certain amount of power, the way Regina’s trinkets did? Not running at full capacity, but just enough juice to perform a trick or two, like summoning a Wraith?
Maybe he just likes to call himself the Dark One because it gives him an edge over others…playing on their fears and it’s really only the dagger that retains some of the magic from the Dark One curse, like you said. I wouldn’t tell people I don’t have all my powers. Let them believe I am capable of more than I actually am. It’s not lying, per se, just not correcting an assumption.