By that point in the story, did Regina know she was going to cast the curse? Could she have anticipated that someone might stay behind in FTL with powerful enough magic or not? I’m thinking that’s not likely, as she did bring Rumpel and Mal over so doubt it really occurred to Regina or Rumpel that someone could do what Cora did.
I don’t think so she did. She brings up her mermaid problem in Skin Deep, so that’s at least a few years before Snow and Charming get married in the pilot. And we know she didn’t get the idea for the Curse until the wedding day when Rumple told her about “other lands.” Right? Man, I really need to rewatch the Cricket Game. Keb, help a girl out if you see this.
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"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"